Chapter 109
Chapter 109: Getting Bullied?
***
After a brief silence.
"What's going on?!"
"20 minutes? But the ceremony doesn't start for over an hour!"
"We haven't even eaten yet!"
But no matter how much these girls with worried faces complained, there was no longer any response from outside the door. I heard Fat Granny running off to knock on the next room's door, and knew we probably wouldn't be getting breakfast today. The academy had notified everyone yesterday that the opening ceremony was at 9 o'clock sharp this morning, saying nothing else, yet now they were pulling this surprise attack... Those 20 laps were no joke. I figured if anyone really was late, they'd probably be made into an "example."
So I quickly said to them: "Run!"
"If we're late, we'll definitely be in big trouble!"
Sophia had clearly figured out the academy's intention too. Her pretty face looked anxious as her hands moved much faster, quickly tying her hair into a ponytail in a few swift motions before standing up, ready to open the door.
"Sophia, your badge! Don't forget your badge!"
"Wait, who saw my hair tie... I clearly put it in the dressing table drawer yesterday..."
"That's strange, where did I put my badge..."
"Hurry hurry—!"
"Found it!"
"Sarah, stop fussing with your hair, just leave it and let's go!"
This delay cost us nearly another 5 minutes. We rushed out the door and jogged down to the first floor. On the way, we saw many students like us, all looking flustered and confused. Some were still buttoning their school uniforms as they ran, their disheveled appearance looking exactly like cheating husbands jumping out of windows to escape.
Sarah started laughing so hard she could barely breathe when she saw them.
"Ahaha! Look at those, male students..."
"What are you laughing at, you're not, much better yourself!"
"It's because Sophia wouldn't, let me fix my hair!"
"Just shut up and run..."
After leaving the tower came the full sprint phase, the training grounds weren't particularly far from Ceylon Lakeside. If I went all out, 2-3 minutes would be more than enough, but the other three girls clearly couldn't manage that, so I had to slow down and follow behind them. Though the pace was slower, we shouldn't be late... might as well take it as a leisurely stroll.
With that thought, halfway through our run, Daisy stopped.
"Huff—, huff—, I, I really can't run anymore..."
She bent over with her hands on her knees, her normally rosy cheeks drained of color, even her breathing trembling. Seeing this, the three of us stopped in our tracks.
"Seriously, Daisy? Your Body Refinement is so poor, you must've been at the bottom during the test!" There was clear complaint in Sophia's words.
"Yeah... I've never been, huff—, good at this since childhood. You all... go ahead, don't worry about me..."
Sarah, who had been running at the front, turned around and walked up to Daisy, squatting down without a word: "At this rate, you won't make it through 20 laps. Get on."
"No need, to do this, Sarah, I..."
Daisy tried to wave her off, but Sarah interrupted her mid-sentence: "Hurry up! Don't dawdle, do you want all of us to run 20 laps!"
With those words, Daisy couldn't refuse anymore and obediently climbed onto Sarah's back.
"Hold on tight." Sarah stood up abruptly, adjusting Daisy on her back, and after getting into a good position, suddenly started laughing, "Oh—, so soft... hehe~"
That "hehe" laugh had a bit of a creepy uncle feel to it. Everyone understood what she was referring to, and Daisy's face flushed bright red.
"Sarah, I feel like your intentions aren't pure..." Sophia said, rolling her eyes.
"Sarah is a creepy uncle." I said.
"What's a creepy uncle?"
Hearing Sophia's question, I tilted my head and thought about it.
"It's someone who likes to molest innocent young girls, a sleazy old man."
Sarah looked disgusted: "Ugh! I'm not that, it sounds so gross. Peylo, where do you even hear these terms... And who's an old man! I'm an innocent young girl too!"
"Hehe." I just smiled, not wanting to explain further.
Sophia looked at the students constantly passing by us and got anxious, quickly urging: "Stop talking nonsense and let's go!"
The four of us continued running forward. Before long, we could see the training grounds' massive outline in the distance. Sarah, running beside me, licked her somewhat dry lips. I turned to look at her, seeing her gasping for breath and covered in sweat, clearly overexerting herself quite badly. I couldn't help but ask worriedly: "Sarah, can you manage? How about, I take over..."
"You? With your small body... Daisy's chest alone, would flatten you." Sarah adjusted her breathing rhythm slightly, ignoring Daisy's coy protest from her back, and gave me a gentle smile, "I'm fine. My father, trained me as a knight since childhood. I'm best at this. This distance, is nothing."
"...Sarah, I'm sorry." Daisy said glumly from her back, "Put me down, I think I can manage now."
Sarah shook her head with a smile: "I said it's fine. We're almost, there."
Just then, strange monkey-like squealing sounds suddenly came from behind and to the side, mixed with the sounds of flames and electricity.
"Yahoo—"
"Peter, faster!"
"Come on, come on! Hahaha!"
Instinctively looking back, I saw two male students about 18 or 19 years old with strong builds, one had electric arcs crackling around his body, his feet moving swiftly, while the other had flames spraying from his palms, using the propulsion to leap over 2 meters high. The two were moving much faster than ordinary students. Just as we looked over, their gazes also happened to turn our way.
"Oh, there are 4 young ladies ahead~"
"Their quality seems pretty good too!"
Their somewhat frivolous conversation reached us. Sarah frowned and turned her head, gesturing with her lips to us: "Let's move, over that way. Ignore them, and let them pass."
I nodded and moved to the side with her. Just then, I heard Sophia cry out from behind: "What are you doing! Ah!"
"Watch out—"
The "zzzzt" of electric current mixed with a breeze rang out clearly from behind. My heart jumped, and my right hand instinctively began glowing blue, but I suddenly remembered this was the academy and hesitated for a moment. That figure had already whooshed past me with a strange cry, my hair and skirt hem lifted slightly by the wind. I instinctively reached down to hold them down, then immediately followed by a "boom" as the flame-palmed boy leaped right over our heads.
"Ah—!"
Sophia shrunk back in fright. The flame boy laughed triumphantly, but when landing, his right foot accidentally hooked Daisy's head. Daisy immediately cried out in pain and clutched her head, while Sarah, already somewhat tired, was thrown off balance, her legs gave out and she fell to the ground.
With Sarah's fall, Daisy on her back was also thrown off. Sarah had been running quite fast, so the fall was rather hard. The two rolled on the ground several times before stopping.
"Ah..."
"Sarah! Daisy!"