Chapter 241: Chapter 241:A Wonderland [1]
As the two of us entered the forest, I caught up to Ruby, walking side-by-side with her while admiring the scenery of nature around us.
The leaves, previously a lush and vibrant green, were now dry... with some trees actually devoid of any leaves.
Winter was starting...
Looking up at the sky, which now had multiple grey clouds, indicating a change in weather, I sighed, manifesting a corrupted sweatshirt.
Turning to Ruby, I said.
"It might know while we eat all the way out here, you know?"
Raising her hand to the sky, Ruby hesitated before replying.
"I've never.... actually seen snow before."
"..?"
Was winter and snowing a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence in this world, or was Ruby just different?
Not wanting to drag the mood down by questioning as to why, I simply replied.
"Well, today might be your lucky day!"
Pausing for a moment, Ruby smiled before slowing down and waiting for me to pass by her.
Then, without even telling me anything, Ruby tapped my back before saying.
"Do you remember this?"
Nodding my head, I immediately responded.
"I already told you, didn't I? I don't forget any place."
Sympathetically patting her on the shoulder, I added.
"This is where we ate the candy basket after coming back from the training camp and cruise ship."
Shaking her head, Ruby resumed walking and sarcastically responded.
"It's because of the candy, isn't it?"
As the two of us finally arrived atop the hill where we had come months earlier to share the basket of candy we had gotten from protecting the museum from djinns; I set down my tray.
Realizing that the ground was well, I stopped Ruby from sitting down and manifested a makeshift blanket using corruption.
After laying the big blanket of corruption down over the cold and hard floor, I sat down before grabbing my tray.
Hesitating for a moment, Ruby poked at the corruption before finally sitting down.
Picking up her fork, Ruby continued touching the corruption before curiously asking.
"Can you make anything with whatever this is?"
Nodding my head, I replied.
"Yeah, basically i-"
Stopping me mid-sentence, Ruby pointed outward at the lake surrounding the academy.
"OH, LOOK, IT'S FROZEN!"
Following Ruby's finger, I spotted the body of water surrounding of the academy, noticing that the lake's surface was almost completely frozen.
Shaking my head, I half-sarcastically and half-not sarcastically muttered.
"Where am I going to go swimming now!?"
" *PFFT* "
As the two of us while discussing various topics ranging from our recent plan in the battle royal to our exam grades, the food quickly disappeared from our plates.
Staring at my empty tray with a shocked expression, I said.
"Wow... I think this is the first time I've eaten a full school lunch from the cafeteria."
Ruby, who was accustomed to Lily's cooking by now, was also surprised by the fact that she was able to eat a whole tray of the cafeteria's notoriously bad food.
Leaving the forest after a whole hour of talking and relaxing after the battle royale, Ruby and I went our separate ways.
Ruby went to some post-event meetings for the main cast, where they would discuss what happened and strategies for the Winder Wonderland event.
On the other hand...I simply went back to my dorm room.
Well, it wasn't like I was unshamed or happy... rather confused.
At first, I thought that revealing my powers would be detrimental and cause me to be targeted by djinns every second of the day.
But now that I had just come out and showed off my powers, I felt the same.
Sure, some djinns probably knew of my name by now... but who cares?
If they were scared and hiding in the shadows, I could probably beat them already.
It felt kind of liberating... not having to act like some weak idiot anymore.
Passing by students on my way to the dorm building, I was also happy to see that I was receiving no stares.
Perhaps it was because the second-years and above hadn't heard of what happened yet, but I was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
Heading up the stairs, I wasn't even surprised to see a familiar figure with blonde hair standing outside my dorm room.
Walking past her and inserting the key to unlock my room, I asked.
"Is there something you need, Charlotte?"
Pushing past me and entering my dorm room, Charlotte immediately sat down on the couch, prompting me to follow.
As the door slammed shut, Charlotte immediately started speaking.
"First... I must thank you for overshadowing my brother. After your fight with Liam and Kevin... and the statue, I doubt anyone will remember Bertus and Liam."
Nodding my head, I simply shrugged my shoulders, as it wasn't like I had intentionally done it to stop Bertus from gaining attention.
Pausing for a moment, Charlotte stared around the room before saying.
"You know, I knew you were strong and special... but not to the extent where you could take on the top-ranking first-years."
"Well, you know now."
Getting off the couch, I began cooking a steak for my cat while Charlotte began asking various questions.
"I'm guessing Liam and you have a bad relationship."
"Yep."
"The thing you did was boost your height and wingspan... how tall can you be?"
"No idea, it was my first time. I kind of just came up with the idea on the spot."
As I sliced the steak and put it into my cat's bowl, Charlotte hesitated for a moment before finally asking.
"Those boys... Han and Jin. Are they worth recruiting?"
Making a thumbs-up symbol, I tried to reply in the most unbiased way possible.
"I mean, you saw them go toe-to-toe with Alya, Lily, and Kevin. In my opinion, they would definitely be a good pickup for the knight order!"
Clearly realizing I was biased, Charlotte smiled before getting off the couch and heading towards the door.
"I'll let you rest."
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Nodding my head, I asked from the kitchen.
"Let me know who you plan to recruit!"