A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

Chapter 206

After a tumultuous night passed and the morning sun rose, the day began.

As usual, I woke up as soon as it was time and got out of bed to prepare breakfast.

Grace seemed to be stirring as if she was waking up, but then she started snoring again.

She must have overdone it with the exercise yesterday; her body probably isn't moving well.

"Uh... Mr. Sivar?"

"Yes?"

"My legs won't move. Could you possibly help me?"

She really couldn't move. Like a newborn calf, she couldn't even stand up properly.

Supporting the staggering Grace, I brought her to the dining table. She was so tired it felt like she was clinging to me.

"Can you make it?"

"If Mr. Sivar helps me..."

"We'll get there, right?"

"Yes."

If that's the case, of course, I should help. I planned to do my volunteer work after class, not early in the morning.

However, this would inevitably attract some attention. After finishing our meal, we got ready to head to the lecture room.

But there was another issue: Grace found it hard even to get dressed.

After doing a full-body workout yesterday, she was so weak that I had no choice but to help her.

"Oh, changing clothes is fine, but..."

"Then do it yourself?"

"...Please help me."

She should have just said so from the start. It's a bit embarrassing, but it's better than struggling alone.

Of course, Grace dressed herself in her underwear. We're not at the stage where I'm seeing her completely naked.

But from that point on, I had to assist her directly. Thanks to that, I got quite the treat for my eyes seeing Grace's body.

"Grace."

"Yes?"

"You're beautiful."

"... ..."

Throwing her a casual compliment to ease the awkwardness turned her face bright red.

Still, she didn't seem to dislike it. Quite the opposite, actually.

After Grace finished changing clothes, we headed to the lecture room. Though I wanted to ease her sore muscles, there wasn't enough time.

'Not like I'm good at massages anyway.'

If I failed to control my strength, it'd only make things worse. It's better to leave it to someone else.

'Rize was really good at massages.'

I remembered watching Rize help Luna when she was struggling. She used divine power to relax stiff muscles.

Thinking of this, I looked at my own hands. If Rize, a follower of chaos, could do it, maybe I could manage something similar.

But to do that, I'd first need to learn basic massage techniques. Rumor has it that Kara knows a bit about it.

'Could I use divine power through my hands?'

Chaos grants divine power like a donation, but leaving it unused for too long is wasteful.

Normally, I'd ask Rize to teach me, but she only gave me a vague explanation, saying I'd need it someday.

It wasn't much help, but Rize is a saintess, after all. That day will surely come.

Before that...

"M-Mr. Sivar! Do we really have to go like this?"

"Yes."

"N-No! Wait a moment! If we go like this...!"

I had to take Grace to the classroom. She flailed in shock at what I did.

Because I had casually lifted her onto my back. Walking while supporting her seemed inefficient, so I carried her.

Of course, this drew all the attention to us. But I didn't care about things like that in the first place.

"Like this?"

"...Never mind. Let's go."

"Got it."

Grace was only flustered at first. After thinking it through, she quietly accepted it.

In fact, she clung tightly to my back, seemingly half resigned or maybe even enjoying it.

'Come to think of it, it's been a while since I carried Grace like this.'

With Grace on my back, I headed to the lecture room. As soon as we stepped outside, many eyes were drawn to us.

Grace, aware of the attention, couldn't raise her head. I figured I should move as quickly as possible.

"Heh..."

"...?"

Or maybe not. Judging from the sound I heard in my ear, it seemed to convey a different emotion.

Whether intentional or not, she kept rubbing herself against my back.

Thanks to that, I could distinctly feel her soft and large presence. Her size was indeed impressive.

'If Grace is like this, Ellie must be...'

I decided not to push Grace too hard with workouts in the future. Otherwise, I felt something might go wrong.

After some twists and turns(?), we arrived at the lecture room. As soon as we entered, countless gazes poured in.

Rumors about me and Grace were already widespread, but today's situation was even more shocking. Of course, people would be surprised.

'I don't care about rumors anymore.'

There had been so many absurd rumors circulating that I was no longer affected. I walked to my usual seat under countless gazes.

As always, Kara was already sitting there, watching us with a peculiar expression.

A mix of curiosity about what we were doing and a hint of annoyance bloomed into suspicion.

"What did you do yesterday to show up carrying her?"

After setting Grace down and taking my seat, Kara asked, sounding both urgent and full of questions.

I glanced at Grace. She was too focused on massaging her stiff muscles to notice.

"Exercise."

"Exercise?"

"Yes. A full-body workout."

Kara's expression grew even more peculiar as she turned her gaze toward Grace.

Her face was full of assumptions. She seemed to suspect we had done something more intimate.

"Hey, Grace."

"Yes."

"You didn't, right?"

"What?"

"Never mind."

Though she answered vaguely, Kara understood perfectly. She then smiled and nodded knowingly.

Grace seemed puzzled by Kara's reaction but continued to focus on easing her sore muscles.

"Good morning."

"You're here?"

"Yes. But what's with Grace?"

"Apparently, she worked out with Mr. Sivar yesterday. That's why she's like that."

"Oh dear."

Before long, Luna arrived. She looked at Grace, who had exercised with me, with a pitying gaze.

Luna had Rize to help her recover quickly, but Grace didn't. Her only option was natural recovery.

"Massages are best for stiff muscles. Can't Sivar do it?"

Why is that question directed at me, Luna?

I stared at Luna, wondering what she meant by that.

Did she assume I had naturally acquired massage skills while being around Rize? Sorry, but that's not the case.

"I don't know how."

"Really? What about you, sis?"

"I'm on the receiving end. I'm a princess, you know?"

"Ah."

Sometimes, I forget Kara is the Princess of Tatars. Her behavior is too far from regal to remember.

In the end, since no one here knows massage techniques, natural recovery is the only answer. Alternatively, we could ask someone else for help.

Even at the Academy, where there are way too many physically active people, there are professional masseurs. We could just ask them for help.

"No."

"Why?"

"I absolutely hate anyone other than someone I know touching my body. Absolutely."

However, Grace adamantly refused. Well, considering what happened, it's a natural reaction.

Just when I thought the only option left was to learn it myself.

"Hello..."

"Hello, Ms. Yeonju. By the way, what happened to your face?"

"What about my face...?"

Lee Yeonju, who had caused a commotion under the moonlight last night, arrived. Her face looked rather haggard.

Did fatigue build up so much in just one day that dark circles formed under her eyes? She seemed like she could fall asleep at any moment.

"You seem very tired... Did something happen yesterday?"

"Something..."

Lee Yeonju trailed off and glanced at me sideways. Just in case, I didn't blatantly stare at her.

Then, her face slightly reddened, and she shook her head vigorously. She seemed to be trying to shake off her thoughts.

"I just... stayed up all night. I couldn't sleep well..."

"Really? It's nothing serious, right?"

"Absolutely not. It's just that my body feels uncomfortable..."

As she said that, Lee Yeonju fidgeted with her thighs. She seemed to be holding something back.

Surely, she's not thinking about what happened yesterday, right? Lee Yeonju is a serious character, not a pervert.

While I was thinking about the setting of the Soul World, Lee Yeonju must have sensed the odd atmosphere and quickly changed the subject.

"By the way, what were you talking about? Grace also seems to be in pain..."

"Ah, yes. I've been suffering from muscle pain since I exercised with Mr. Sivar yesterday. So, we're looking for someone who can massage."

"A massage?"

"Leaving it to someone I don't know is..."

"Ah."

At Grace's explanation, Lee Yeonju sighed in something close to exasperation. She seemed to understand the situation.

Then, she cautiously glanced around and locked eyes with me.

"W-wait a moment, Ms. Grace!"

"Yes?"

"Y-you didn't ask Mr. Sivar for help, right?"

Then, looking startled, she urgently asked Grace. Her voice was so loud that it drew other people's attention.

Is this because of what happened yesterday? If she's making this much of a fuss over that, it's too much.

It's not like my hands are specialized for that kind of thing. The situation arose simply because we got caught up in the moment.

"No. Mr. Sivar said he doesn't know how to do it either... Why? Is it that surprising?"

"W-well..."

Instead, it was Lee Yeonju who became flustered. She had told me not to talk about it, but she ended up drawing suspicion herself.

How will she deal with this? I kept my mouth shut and quietly observed.

Eventually, after thinking of an excuse, Lee Yeonju began to explain, though it wasn't much of an explanation.

"I-I heard that massages require precise control of strength. Otherwise, it can just leave bruises and damage the knotted muscles. Being strong isn't everything."

"I see. Then natural recovery is the only option... Ms. Yeonju, you don't know how to massage, right?"

"Of course not."

Somehow, the crisis was averted. Lee Yeonju gave a silly smile, looking quite foolish.

Grace, too, seemed convinced by her usual demeanor and didn't question it further.

Right now, she's too preoccupied with muscle pain to think about anything else.

"If it gets too hard, you can ask Sivar for help. He's seen it done before, so he might not be completely hopeless at it."

Maybe Luna empathized with Grace's suffering, as she reluctantly suggested it.

At this, Grace, who had been groaning, looked at Luna with a puzzled expression.

"He's seen it? Where?"

"Me."

"... ..."

Here we go again with the mouth running off. I hastily added more context.

"I saw Rize doing it."

"The Saint? Oh, come to think of it, she said she trained you, didn't she?"

"Yes. Every time, the Saint would loosen our muscles. I suffered thanks to her every day."

"Hmm..."

Grace began massaging her shoulders, deep in thought. At the same time, Lee Yeonju, sitting beside her, looked worried.

She seemed concerned that Grace might agree. I don't know about the others, but I don't understand why she's so anxious.

"Well... It might not be a bad idea to try."

"Ah..."

At Grace's hesitant approval, Lee Yeonju sighed heavily.

"It might be tough for you..."

She muttered something odd. Regardless of that.

"If it works well, I'll ask for your help too. My muscles have been tight from rough training recently."

"Please help me, too."

More and more people were lining up. Of course, this was all under the assumption that it would actually work.

I thought about learning how to massage myself. It wouldn't hurt to know.

"... ..."

Lee Yeonju alone seemed to feel a sense of crisis.

She looked uneasy and fidgeted, her face filled with worry.

"This isn't good... At this rate, everything..."

"... ..."

"I have to do it first somehow..."

I grew a bit curious about what had happened to her overnight.