Chapter 7

I read the list once more.

181st, Lucy Saint (Number 36)

I wasn’t wrong. I hadn’t misread it.

“I passed—!”

I screamed without realizing it. Fortunately, the area was full of people just like me, so my shout was quickly drowned out.

More importantly, I really passed.

Lucy Saint! Against a 1% ranged accuracy!

“And not even last place—181st!”

I couldn’t control my shamelessly gaping mouth and grinned like an idiot. I barely managed to close it and looked around.

Some people had cleared out by then, and I could see Sophia’s thin wheat-colored hair. Without thinking, I ran toward her—then stopped.

“Haa…”

Sophia let out a deep sigh with a dark face. Looking closely, her eyes were damp too. She hung her head and stood there without moving.

‘She failed.’

I quietly turned around.

She probably needed some time alone. She’d come back to the dormitory once she’d collected herself. I decided to save my consolation for then.

Along with the joy of passing, a pang of sorrow for the failed candidates washed over me. My steps as I left the area felt heavy.

* * *

Sophia declared, clenching her small fist firmly.

“I’m going to try again next year!”

Sophia, who returned to the dormitory late at night, was full of determination unlike earlier. She wasn’t the type to crumble from a single failure.

I smiled softly and cheered on her challenge.

It occurred to me that it would be nice if Sophia really passed next year and attended the academy together. That’s how much affection I’d grown for her in such a short time.

“Yeah, I’ll look forward to it.”

At my words, Sophia grinned and offered her congratulations to me as well.

“More importantly, congratulations on passing, unnie!”

“I just got lucky.”

“Come on, I knew you’d definitely pass!”

Sophia nodded as she said that, staring into space.

The way she seemed to be recalling those ‘fainting incidents’ related to me… was that just my imagination?

Anyway, Sophia was back to her normal self, and we decided to chat late into the night. Tomorrow, we’d have to vacate the dormitory room.

“I’m planning to leave early tomorrow morning.”

“But is it okay to stay up this late today?”

“Of course! I can’t waste the last day here!”

“You really are young…”

“Hey, you’re only seventeen too, unnie.”

That’s true, but that’s only true for my ‘body.’

Perhaps because my soul was already a twenty-three-year-old adult, staying up all night was truly hard. In fact, I hadn’t had the stamina to pull all-nighters since I was twenty.

That’s why Lucy’s strength-based body felt so unfamiliar. Even though her stamina stat was rock bottom, even that was better than my original stamina. Was it because of the awakened buff?

Regardless, thinking that awakened individuals were great, I just laughed off Sophia’s words. Sophia didn’t continue the same topic and quickly brought up something new.

“But unnie, are you really not going home?”

“Yeah. It’s far, and I have things to do here.”

As Sophia said, I decided to stay at the academy.

The academy entrance ceremony was still over a month away, so I had plenty of time to visit home and come back. But I chose not to. The reason was obvious.

!Sudden Quest!

: Stay at the academy with Theodore Wither until the entrance ceremony! (D-34)

Success Reward: Skill Draw Ticket / On failure, Affection –10

I had run into Theodore on my way back after checking the passing results earlier.

The moment we met, the quest appeared as if it had been waiting. At this point, I was starting to suspect that quests only appeared when I met the main characters of the novel.

‘Um… hello?’

‘Ah… hello to you too.’

‘Are you on your way to check the results?’

‘Yeah. You?’

‘I already checked.’

When I added that I’d passed, Theodore awkwardly offered his congratulations. I think I awkwardly replied that he’d probably get good results too.

Anyway, after we parted and I checked the quest again, the success reward was different from last time.

‘A skill draw ticket?’

Two days ago it gave stat points, and today it gives a skill draw ticket?

The system must definitely be hearing my resentment-filled curses. That’s why the rewards suddenly got better.

Anyway, the moment I confirmed the quest reward, I decided to stay at the academy. Not going home bothered me a little, but…

‘I’m not the real Lucy anyway.’

Honestly, rewards aside, I wasn’t ready to meet Lucy’s family yet.

I wasn’t even imitating the original Lucy’s personality, and I knew nothing about her since she was just an extra. It would be a problem if they sensed their daughter was strange.

I hoped the system had handled this with some plausible justification. Who knows.

Anyway, using this as an excuse, I planned to stay at the academy.

The academy allowed successful candidates to use the dormitory until the entrance ceremony, which made it possible.

I planned to send a letter to her family saying I’d be staying here to prepare for academy admission.

“Then, unnie…”

“Yeah?”

“Would it be okay if I gave you my address?”

“Your address?”

“I want to… write letters…”

Sophia asked, blushing, perhaps embarrassed. She looked so much like a child that I burst out laughing.

“Of course! I’ll be at the academy, so we can exchange letters here.”

At my agreement, Sophia beamed with her red cheeks. Looking at her, I really felt like she was my little sister.

‘A little sister…’

Of course, I was an only child originally, and that fact had been quite comfortable. But it occurred to me that a little sister like Sophia might be nice.

“I’ll definitely write to you, unnie!”

She really is cute.

Maybe I’m weaker to cute things than I thought.

* * *

Some time later, a letter arrived. It was from the Saint family.

I calmly began reading the long letter.

[To my dear Lucy Saint.

I received your letter safely. Regardless of the results, I am so proud that my daughter has taken a step forward into a new world.

……(Omitted)……

I will respect your choice. However, Ronny is making a fuss saying he wants to see Krangbuiyer Academy. In the end, we’ve decided to send Ronny there for a while. It may be difficult, but please take good care of your one and only little brother.]

Lucy, you had a little brother?

I reread that part with a sour expression.

A little brother named Ronny. Please, don’t just throw in things that never appeared in the original!

“I deliberately tried to avoid going home using the academy as an excuse.”

Now he’s coming to where I am. This is insane.

Let me at least be grateful that not the whole family was coming. If they were, it would have been truly chaotic.

That aside, this ‘Ronny’ was definitely a person to watch out for.

‘It’s usually siblings who are sharper than parents.’

He might notice that I’m different from the original Lucy. But it’s not like I can imitate a Lucy I barely know.

“Ah, whatever.”

The system must have handled that much.

Having overcome the big hurdle of academy admission, I now had a bit of a “whatever happens, happens” mindset.

I decided to set aside my worries about my suddenly-appearing little brother and finished reading the end of the letter.

[Actually, we’re a little jealous of Ronny. It’s a shame we can’t come see you right away because of all the work in the household. Will you write to us often, dear? We’ll be waiting for your reply.

—From your mother and father, who miss our daughter especially today.]

This time, the handwriting was uneven, as if they’d taken turns writing. They must have a good relationship. I was about to fold the letter after reading it, then read it once more.

‘My original family wasn’t like this.’

My family was quite distant. Perhaps because my parents didn’t get along well, our home was always cold.

Still, they weren’t neglectful materially, so I think I grew up reasonably well. Except for that time in high school when I shut myself in my room for a while, I didn’t really have a rebellious phase.

‘Still, well…’

A warm family really does seem better.

I basked in the warmth of the letter for a while, then carefully folded it and stored it in my desk drawer.

Somehow, I felt like I was gradually growing attached to this family I’d never seen, existing only in print.

And a few days later, I was called by an academy guard. It was a sudden summons, so I threw on a coat and immediately left the dormitory.

When I arrived at the main gate, a cute boy with the same blonde hair and green eyes as Lucy was standing there.

The boy spotted me and smiled adorably as he spoke.

“Wow, it’s real? I can’t believe you actually got into Krangbuiyer Academy, sis. Well, I guess it pays to live long. Right?”

“……?”

What kind of rude little brat is this?