I was kicked out of the dormitory.
Just as the letter from my father that Professor Kalbi had handed me during our meeting had said, bills for every facility—the dormitory, the cafeteria, and so on—came flying to me, excluding only the one semester’s tuition that had already been paid in advance.
Since there was no way I had enough money to pay the facility fees, it was only natural that I’d be kicked out.
The fortunate thing was that I didn’t have much luggage.
There was still some time left before I had to leave the dormitory, and during that time, I sold off everything I owned.
From a jewel-inlaid dagger to cumbersome clothes made for ceremonial purposes, I sold everything, and in the end, I still managed to gather a fair number of gold and silver coins.
Of course, it was a shame that I couldn’t get proper prices for most of them because I had to sell them in a hurry, but there was nothing I could do about that.
After selling my belongings, I deposited the gold and silver coins with the Chronos Lumina Trading Company.
Choosing to deposit money with a trading company wasn’t exactly a recommended option.
They charged storage fees, and even if you paid those fees, if you lost your deposit due to poor management on the company’s part, there was no way to be compensated.
But in my case, I had no other option but to entrust it to a trading company.
For one thing, the moment I was kicked out of the dormitory, I became someone with nowhere to go. And the lodgings I could afford with the money I had now were used by all sorts of strangers, so the risk of being robbed was far too high.
If I carried it around on me, there was also the risk of getting shaken down by students or mugged.
To be honest, there was also the option of burying it in the ground, like hiding money in a garlic field, but there was no need to go that far.
The Chronos Lumina Trading Company, where I had deposited my money, was a reasonable enough option that I didn’t have to worry about such things.
In any case, I wasn’t even considering any other trading company.
After all, Chronos Lumina was the representative trading company used by most players in the game, and since the owner of the company was one of the main characters who appeared in the game to begin with, there was almost no chance of it going under.
Most importantly, unlike other trading companies that charged storage fees, this one actually paid interest, so from a customer’s perspective, not entrusting money to them was practically idiotic.
The only downside was that the owner of the company had a rather nasty personality, but someone like me, who hadn’t deposited all that much money, wasn’t in a position to meet them anyway, so there was nothing to worry about for now.
One way or another, worries tend to disappear quickly once you actually start moving.
Problems that can be solved simply need to be solved, so there’s no need to worry about them. And problems that can’t be solved won’t be solved just because you worry, so wasting time hesitating is foolish.
Of course, since we’re human, we can hesitate or worry, but most of those things somehow get resolved once you start moving.
The problems I have to solve from now on are piled up like a mountain.
Starting with the immediate issue of food, I also have to find a place to sleep.
To avoid the bad ending of being expelled from the academy, I have to prepare an enormous amount of tuition.
Honestly, I don’t even have a sense of what I should do.
Still, what I have to do is simple.
Eat whatever I can, sleep wherever I can, and do my best at whatever I can do right now.
That’s enough.
###
A week had passed since I was kicked out of the dormitory.
And I seemed to be doing quite a bit better than I had feared.
For now, there was no need to do anything particularly impressive.
Just like when I was living in the dormitory, in the mornings I circled the training grounds or the athletic field, and if there were people around, I walked or ran near the school buildings.
After finishing my run in the early dawn, I briefly washed the sweat off by the lake and attended lectures.
As I diligently took notes on things I didn’t even understand and focused on the class as much as possible, trying to comprehend them, the class would come to an end.
From that point on, the real work began.
If I used the money I had now, it would be possible to get lodging for a night or a simple meal, but using the money I possessed when I had zero source of income was dangerous.
Since I was already drawing water from the lake to drink, I tried desperately to catch the fish living in it, but at most, I only managed to catch one or two.
Of course, when people saw me doing that, they usually treated me like a madman or whispered about me, but it wasn’t as if I could just starve to death, was it?
Finding a place to sleep at night wasn’t all that difficult either.
I secretly fell asleep in lecture halls after all the students had left, or slept in an old storage room where people no longer came and went.
Some might ask whether that was even possible, but for some reason, these were things that felt familiar to me. (“If the company clerk asks for me, tell him I’m dead.”)
Today was no different.
Now that the season had changed and the sun rose early, I no longer set out beneath the dawn stars, but every early morning, I walked or ran around the academy grounds.
To begin with, humans are lifeforms that evolved to walk or run for long periods.
Being able to move for a long time even after eating little may be a curse to modern people who stake their lives on dieting, but in an extreme situation like this, it was an indispensable blessing.
Of course, even if one wasn’t a modern person, once civilization had developed to a certain degree, it probably wouldn’t be felt all that strongly. But for me, I could definitely feel it.
“Whew... I’m finally doing a little better now...”
Running was still difficult, but unlike the first time I ran, it wasn’t that hard anymore.
This was something I had already experienced once before.
Before entering the world of the game, I had been someone who had spent my entire life far removed from exercise.
When I was young, I liked running around with friends or playing soccer, but anyone who has ever cut themselves off from exercise would know.
Even after running just a little, your breath rises to your chin, and your heart pounds like mad.
Every time you breathe, your chest and throat hurt, your calves and legs ache so badly that even walking becomes difficult, and before long, you end up lying on the ground, panting for ages.
That was how I had been.
I still remember the things the drill instructor said to me at the training center.
‘How the hell did you even get here?’ ‘Do you ever run normally? You’ve never run except when you were about to miss the bus, have you?’
To be honest, all of it was true.
I liked reading books or watching movies more than going outside and moving around, and I liked playing games far more than that.
Lowell’s obese body right now was also something I had already experienced before.
Chicken, pizza, pork belly—there were so many things to eat in the world, and if you didn’t move your body, wouldn’t it be stranger not to gain weight?
But those who have experienced it would know.
Even if you do that painful running, the kind that leaves you gasping for breath, for only a week, at some point, running stops being so difficult.
Someone who couldn’t even run for five minutes becomes able to run for ten.
Someone who couldn’t even breathe properly after running becomes able to run again after stopping, taking a few deep breaths, and drinking some water.
I know that isn’t something extraordinary.
There are people in the world who can run for days on end without rest.
But right now, there’s no need to do anything extraordinary.
If someone who couldn’t even run for five minutes becomes able to run for ten, then they’ve become able to run more than twice as much.
If someone who had to run for five minutes and rest for ten becomes able to run for ten minutes and then, after resting for only about two minutes, run again, then their body has completely changed from before.
And that is changing oneself.
The only one who can change oneself is oneself.
It isn’t something amazing, but that doesn’t mean it’s trivial either.
“Celestia... Don’t hide. Just come out.”
Just as Lowell’s run was almost over, a rustling sound came from the bushes.
In truth, for the past week, Celestia had followed me wherever I went.
Of course, she hadn’t openly spoken to me or anything.
When I ran in the morning, when I listened to lectures in the classroom, when I caught fish by the lake, and when I checked whether there were any lecture halls open in the evening, I could see her violet hair every time.
She thought she was hiding, but that unusual hair color wasn’t something that could be hidden just by hiding.
“Ehehe... I got caught...”
Celestia, who had been hiding in the bushes, only then came out after hearing Lowell’s voice and walked forward.
Honestly, since she had been hiding and following me around so earnestly, I wondered if it might be better to pretend I didn’t know, but because she doggedly followed me wherever I went, I couldn’t help but be bothered by it.
Meeting a character I was supposed to meet much later wasn’t a welcome thing.
Especially knowing that she was a girl I was supposed to meet as an enemy, I wanted even less to run into her now.
“There’s nothing good for you in getting involved with someone like me. I don’t know what you want to ask of me, but look for someone else... I may not look it, but I don’t have any room to spare these days.”
I let out a sigh and spoke honestly.
Of course, I didn’t dislike her.
She had originally been a character I liked, and above all, she was the only person who showed interest in Lowell, whom no one treated like a human being, and approached him with a smile.
She was kind to everyone and tried to approach others regardless of their flaws.
She was someone who even smiled at the current Lowell, whom everyone in the school hated.
Why was such a girl destined for such a tragic ending...?
“Mm, so that’s what you think.”
“Yeah... I have to go now, so move.”
“No.”
Celestia blocked my path.
Today was definitely a day without wind.
The air of dawn had lain still over the ground, so throughout my run, the only things I had heard were the sound of my own heartbeat and breathing.
But now, the wind began to blow again.
“I still haven’t gotten to talk to you.”