#48
Without any chance to make excuses or explain the situation, Noah was firmly caught by Ray as soon as the lecture ended, and when he came to his senses, he was already standing in front of the swimming pool.
Wearing only swimming trunks, with his arms crossed over his chest to cover his upper body as much as possible, Noah looked around. At least 50 students were chattering, dressed in swimwear just like him.
Do they all have cell phones or something? How did the rumor spread so quickly?
Though some were students from the same class as Noah, there were also unfamiliar faces mixed in, suggesting students from other departments had come too.
Noah didn’t like swimming. Though he occasionally splashed around in hot spring water, swimming—as opposed to just playing in water—wasn’t to his taste. After learning to swim as part of the regular curriculum at age ten, he hadn’t gone anywhere near the academy swimming pool.
So why was he standing here now? Noah looked at Ray, who was firmly holding his wrist, and twisted his wrist slightly.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t even changed into his swimwear himself. After the great Magician Chris, Raymond had stirred up the empire with his outstanding magical abilities, and now Ray, considered the next-generation leader, had transformed Noah into swimwear with just a gesture.
I thought gathering mana required training and using even one spell required all sorts of effort, but I couldn’t even tell you that you’re using your magical power for such useless things.
“Completely changing clothes might be too difficult. How about just putting on a shirt underwater?”
With Ray’s suggestion, the voices of the chattering students echoed around the swimming pool.
How did things end up like this? Ray and the students gathered here were all excited. They were boasting that they could put clothes on the fastest.
What does changing clothes underwater have to do with being in the knight department? Is it because they use their bodies more and are therefore more agile than students from other departments?
Honestly, wouldn’t this be more advantageous for good swimmers?
He had no idea his words would have such an impact. Meanwhile, some students were singing onomatopoeic sounds like “Ara…”, “Aracho”, “Araichichi” just like Derik had done yesterday.
When one student asked what special benefit the fastest dresser would receive, Ray firmly replied there was none. So today’s commotion was merely about someone earning the title of “the one who changed clothes underwater the fastest.”
But for these spirited young people bored with academy life, prizes or rewards weren’t important when presented with a new challenge.
Unable to do anything, Noah turned around when he felt a soft towel being placed over his shoulders.
Yeah, good timing. You weren’t anywhere to be seen when I was being dragged away by Ray, but now you show up? And why are you fully dressed? This is all because of you.
At the library, you and Ray made me rant about chicken, and at night, you barged into my room and pressured me, which made me blurt out nonsense.
Ray and Derik were the cause of all this.
Should we just end our friendship now? If I wasn’t involved with you two, I could just be student #302 or something until graduation.
Noah was about to spit out harsh words when Derik flashed a smile, winked, and gestured toward the exit, making Noah swallow his words. Looking at Ray, who was still firmly holding his wrist and busy chatting with the students, Noah noticed Ray’s hand finally let go as he received a shirt someone had brought for the competition.
“I never told Ray.”
As Noah slowly backed away trying not to attract attention, he pouted at Derik’s soft whisper.
If you didn’t tell him, how does Ray know? Why not just say Ray is a mind reader?
“Really. I swear.”
“Whatever. Be quiet. The kids will hear us.”
“Ray is a magician.”
Noah glanced at Derik, who spoke in a somewhat subdued voice while taking his hand, and finally turned around as they reached the swimming pool entrance.
If he can instantly change my clothes too, he could certainly eavesdrop. But why would he eavesdrop? That’s a criminal offense, you know? Come to think of it, Ray’s dormitory room was right next to his own, and Noah let out a sigh.
How was the soundproofing in our school dormitory again? I don’t recall having problems with noise between floors or poor soundproofing. Why do I think of such random things in urgent moments?
“Now, let’s start with our Noah!”
Just when I was about to leave…
Noah, who was about to leave the swimming pool holding Derik’s hand, froze at Ray’s energetic voice. The attention of all the students, who had been busy laughing and chatting among themselves until just now, turned to Noah.
“Hey! Where are you going?”
“You said you could do it in 10 seconds…”
“Come on, that was obviously a lie. Is that even possible? He’s running away because he can’t do it.”
“Is he showing off because he’s friends with Derik and Ray? Honestly, I don’t understand why Derik and Ray hang around with him.”
“What did he say yesterday? When asked who he liked better between Ray and Derik, he said something weird and ran away.”
“Yeah! I was there. It was so ridiculous. Princess Merry was there too. Isn’t that insulting to the imperial family?”
Caught trying to sneak out of the swimming pool with Derik, Noah gulped at the sharp gazes and murmurs of the students.
“Noah wanted to drink water.”
Noah looked at Derik, who cut off the students’ comments.
This isn’t helping at all.
You seem to be on my side, but not really on my side, but kind of on my side.
“You could have just told me. Why go get water?”
Seeing the water cup in his hand after Ray’s small gesture, Noah nodded slightly. Yeah, he definitely could eavesdrop too.
“Derik.”
“Yes.”
“Actually, I’ve never changed clothes underwater before.”
Noah removed the towel draped over his shoulders with an awkward smile. At this point, saying he couldn’t or wouldn’t do it didn’t seem like it would work, and having already run away yesterday after being evasive, Noah had no other option.
“I know.”
“What?”
“You’ll do fine.”
About to say something in response to Derik’s calm words, Noah was once again led to the front of the swimming pool by Ray’s hand. Looking at the shirt in Ray’s hand, Noah thought he might be able to manage that much.
I just need to put on a shirt underwater and button it up. It probably won’t be possible in 10 seconds, but it shouldn’t be impossible or embarrassing.
“Then Ray and Noah will go first.”
Without any warning or time for mental preparation, Noah suddenly found himself flying through the air and flailed his arms in surprise.
SPLASH—
Sinking to the bottom as he fell into the water, Noah quickly moved his arms. His first priority was to get his head above water.
“Huurgh…”
He had definitely learned to swim. He had learned before his transmigration and again during classes five years ago.
Noah thrashed his arms and legs but couldn’t rise to the surface. Whenever he learned to swim, his body wouldn’t float, so he always started by practicing floating.
They say you don’t forget what you learn through physical effort. In urgent situations, your body is supposed to remember and move accordingly.
He barely managed to get his head above water to quickly gulp in air, but having taken in both water and air, Noah’s body began to sink again.
“Haaa…”
Though he struggled to surface and breathe, he could only keep his head above water for a very short time before sinking again. When something grabbed his hand, Noah desperately clung to it.
Recently, Ray’s main interest had been Noah and Derik. Finding it fascinating that the indifferent Derik had transformed into an animal to mingle with humans, he had ended up following them to the academy.
Taking on an appearance that humans found attractive was effortless, and by simply going along with their cute behaviors, he had somehow become beloved by most students.
The emotions of those who confessed shyly and carefully were intriguing to him, and he found Princess Merry, who freely spoke of marriage whenever she saw him, quite adorable.
Adults who understood the ways of the world moved with hidden dark intentions and self-interest, but students weren’t like that. Although invisible power structures based on status and ability existed within their supposed equality, for Ray, who had always enjoyed adult pursuits, this place offered a new perspective on humans.
It was fun to catch the professors off guard as they taught things he already knew from rigid human perspectives, and above all, it was entertaining to watch Derik, who transformed into an animal at night while being human during the day, hovering around Noah.
While it was amusing to gently provoke Derik, who put up walls whenever Noah was mentioned, what Ray enjoyed most was seeing the seemingly imperturbable Noah occasionally act unpredictably in inexplicable situations.
Even without following him around, Ray could easily tell what Noah did all day, as his expressions revealed everything despite his cute attempts to hide it. This led Ray to play more mischievous pranks on him.
Each time, Noah would either pout with pursed lips or respond with proper logic, but the words Noah had uttered in the library were something Ray had never heard before in all his long years of existence.
It was only natural to chase after Noah, who had run away after saying something even Derik couldn’t understand, and in the process, Ray had overheard the entire conversation between Derik and Noah.
And just as things were getting boring, he had simply created a small event. Having taken swimming classes together a few years ago, Ray hadn’t given a second thought to pushing Noah into the water.
But…
The moment Ray saw Derik’s eyes as he carried out the limp Noah, for the first time in his long dragon life, Ray truly thought he might die.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
