Ch. 97 - The Fourth Roommate I Never Met

I soothed Guan Qiuling as I began helping her go through the enrollment procedures.

On the way, I also got to know her a little better.

For example, she had originally been headed for the Elf School, but that senior hijacked her halfway through. A real shame, honestly.

Which meant… she was another straight-A student, wasn’t she?

Well, yes. It made sense—there was no value in abducting someone who wasn’t. Which also meant that, among all the boys who ended up in the Witch School, I probably had the worst grades, right?

Because really, what normal guy would voluntarily apply to the Witch School?

I did have one advantage, though: I adapted fast. Faster than them, at least.

Anyway, that was how Guan Qiuling ended up in the Witch School. But that wasn’t even the worst part. She told me she had planned to arrive early on her own. Even after being kidnapped and dragged here, the schedule would’ve still been manageable.

So in reality, she had already spent several days inside the Witch School. As for where she had been staying—anyone could guess. In that senior’s villa, of course. And as for what kind of inhumane things she went through in there…

I didn’t dare ask. I was afraid of reopening the wound.

So I decided to get her enrollment finished as quickly as possible.

...

“Eh? You’re a freshman too, right? How did you even insert a mana core for her?”

“Someone else already did that part. I’m just helping freshmen finish their missing requirements. Our club’s doing that volunteer event… I got some perks, so here I am.” I forced an awkward smile as I explained.

Someone at the registration desk had asked me the exact same question earlier.

“Oh, I see. Poor you, that job is rough. Anyway, for the dorm card, let me enter the info.”

“Thank you, senior,” I replied politely—then suddenly remembered something and tested the waters. “Um, senpai… can her dorm be assigned manually?”

“Assigned? You want something nicer? That costs extra, you know.”

“No, no, not like that. I just want her to be in the same dorm as me. I’ve got a standard dorm,” I corrected quickly.

“That… is generally not allowed.”

“Come on, please? Look at her—tiny, soft-spoken, an easy target. If she’s paired with strangers, she’ll get eaten alive. It’d be much safer if she stayed with me. And it’d be easier for me to look after her.” Seeing the senior hesitate but not give in, I immediately switched to my soft voice and started acting cute.

If it worked, great. If not, whatever—it was just a random idea anyway.

Who didn’t want a dorm full of eccentric, story-filled roommates? That would be pretty cool, honestly.

“This… ugh, fine. Just this once! Tell me your dorm, I’ll arrange it.”

“Thank you, senior~ I’m in 62 of Street No. 2, Newbie District, House 62,” I said quickly.

“Oh, that one? It already has three residents. With her, that makes four. Based on this year’s quota, a dorm usually gets four or five max. After that, no more additions.”

“Yeah, yeah! Of course—wait, no, hold on. My dorm only had two people, including me! When did it become three?” I agreed immediately, then froze.

When had my dorm gained a third roommate?

Don’t tell me this is turning into a ghost story—hello?!

The senior checked her screen again. “It shows three cards already issued for that room. If it doesn’t match, did you maybe give me the wrong number?”

“No way. It’s the Newbie District—right here.” I held up my own key card for comparison.

“Yeah, that matches. Then someone must’ve picked up their card but never actually moved in. Happens all the time. Maybe you’ll find them in some senior’s villa. Sometimes the senior in charge of them gets a little… overenthusiastic and keeps them around.”

“…Ah.”

Why did that sound so familiar? 

Wasn’t that exactly what happened to Guan Qiuling?

If I hadn’t come here today, I wouldn’t even know my missing roommate was suffering who-knows-where.

Poor kid.

“Um… senior, is there any way to see her info? I’d like to look for her.”

“Mm… sorry, probably not. Technically, Earthvein’s database has all of that, but I don’t have the clearance. That’s private data—can’t just look it up.”

“Right…” Expected, but still disappointing.

Though speaking of clearance… didn’t I have some?

Earlier, that senior had temporarily opened a search permission for me. Whether my Academy System could use it here, I had no idea.

Key cards probably didn’t require the kind of registration I was familiar with—if they even registered anything at all.

“Uh, senior? If you hand out cards without checking ID, aren’t you afraid people might grab a bunch?”

“Not really. Earthvein records everything. Even if I can’t see it, anyone trying to farm extra cards won’t get past the system. No way a second card gets issued to the same person.”

“…I see.”

Earthvein again.

The more I learned about it, the scarier it seemed. It tracked everything—even my physical data.

“Um… Senior Yuehan, are we done?”

Qiuling tugged gently at the hem of my shirt, her voice soft as cotton candy.

“All done, all done!” Her calling me Senior Yuehan sent a shiver of bliss down my spine.

So this was what it felt like to be called “big sis” by a cute little loli with a syrupy voice.

Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

“Okay, senior, we’ll get going. See you around~”

I gave a hurried wave and pulled Qiuling away.

“This is your key card. Keep it safe. From now on, you’ll be staying in the same dorm as me.”

“Thank you… Senior... Yuehan,” Qiuling accepted it carefully, her voice even softer than before.

“Come on, don’t call me Senior. We’re both freshmen. Just say Yuehan.”

“Mm… um, Senior, c-could you promise me something?”

“…Tell me first. I’m a freshman too, you know. I might not be able to handle anything complicated.”

She completely ignored my correction, but if she wanted to call me that… well, it sounded nice, so whatever.

“I… I just don’t want anyone to know I used to be a boy… I… I…”

“Oh, that? Sure. But it’s not something you have to hide, really. My dorm already had someone who used to be a boy. She doesn’t mind at all.”

I thought back to Dongli Yiren—her personality, her attitude, her shameless boldness.

Anyone would question whether she used to be a guy.

And if I mentioned it to Qiuling, maybe they’d even get along.

“Eh? I… I see… but… I still want you to keep it a secret. Please…”

There was surprise in her eyes, but also stubbornness. She didn’t want to acknowledge Dongli Yiren at all, apparently.

Soft voice, soft personality… but not simple at all.

“Alright. Then it’ll be our little secret,” I smiled and held out my pinky.

Even in this world, a pinky promise meant something. She definitely knew that.

“…Mm. A secret,” She gave me a rare, genuine smile and hooked her finger with mine.

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