I Realized It Was an Academy Game After 10 Years – Chapter 99

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“…Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be a major malfunction.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. As the creator, A/S, I mean, repairing malfunctions is only natural.”

“A/S…?”

“There’s something like that.”

“Is that so?”

Fortunately, Karina didn’t ask me about my slip of the tongue.

As expected of the Saint.

Her heart was so big, no, so broad and benevolent.

This was why people should believe in the Kalon religion-

“Um, Johann? You were talking…”

Ah, my mouth.

“…Pretend you didn’t hear that.”

“Did you finish fixing Patrasche?”

Karina mercifully pretended she didn’t hear me and changed the subject to Patrasche.

Ah, with such a benevolent person as the Saint of the Kalon religion, it was no wonder Kalon was the largest religion on the continent.

“Since I’m already working on it, I’m thinking of making some improvements.”

I was thinking of tweaking the wheels a bit, adjusting the handles and the center of gravity.

It was wobblier on slopes than I thought.

Of course, I wasn’t sure how useful it would be since the driver was Renny, who could even carry a carriage, but it was better than nothing.

I pulled some materials from a corner of the workshop and reinforced Patrasche.

I shaved down the bones a bit to adjust the center of gravity, improved the wheels to make them roll more smoothly, and added new brakes to prevent it from tipping over on slopes.

Lastly, I added a folding function to improve portability.

This was the best I could do at this point.

I wanted to add some self-defense features, but that would be difficult.

I thought about making a weapon storage space under the seat or putting a poison dart launcher inside the handles, but unfortunately, I couldn’t do that.

It would be troublesome if Karina got hurt due to a malfunction.

If there was a problem because of a hidden device I installed, it wouldn’t end with just a pay cut.

I might even get kicked out of the Academy.

Considering that I wanted to see the true ending no matter what, that would be the worst outcome.

Besides, with Renny around, I was not sure if those measures would even be that useful.

It would be much better to make her a self-defense weapon.

“This should be good enough.”

“Are you done?”

“Would you like to sit on it?”

I unfolded Patrasche and placed it in front of Karina.

Karina stared at the wheelchair for a moment, then carefully stood up, holding onto the desk.

But Karina’s body was still in poor condition.

I watched her nervously, worried that she might collapse.

“Ah…”

I quickly caught Karina as she was about to fall.

A soft sensation enveloped me.

Her chest pressed against mine in this hugging position, and it felt a bit awkward.

Renny might get mad if she saw this.

I hurriedly sat Karina on Patrasche.

“…Thank you.”

Her body, which I hadn’t touched in a while, smelled nice.

Did she wear perfume or did she always smell like this?

It wasn’t really important, but it bothered me for some reason.

…She’s the most mature one out of all of them.

“Johann?”

“Ah, sorry.”

“It’s okay. Come to think of it, it’s been a while since it was just the two of us.”

It was obvious that she was trying to change the subject, but I didn’t want to maintain this awkward atmosphere, so I agreed with her.

“I think it’s been since the deserted island.”

“The deserted island… It was such a strange place.”

Strange place?

When I looked at her face at those words, she had a nostalgic expression.

Uh… It was a nightmare for me in many ways, but was she treating it as a place of fond memories?

Well, considering Karina’s current situation, the deserted island might feel more comfortable to her.

She had fallen into a coma shortly after returning to the continent, and now she couldn’t even move properly because of the curse.

Just a moment ago, she almost collapsed after taking less than three steps.

I had also been seriously injured on the deserted island, so I understood how she felt.

But I didn’t want to go back there.

I had so many terrible memories that I still sometimes had nightmares about wandering around the island.

“Um… Johann? Could I ask you for a walk? I feel stuffy staying in the workshop all the time.”

“Golden Retriever…”

“Huh?”

“Nothing.”

If Milia was a small, hyperactive puppy clinging to me, was she a large dog with a gentle personality?

It was a bit inappropriate to compare the Saint to a dog breed, but it just popped into my head, and I accidentally said it out loud.

I put on my jacket and grabbed the handles of Patrasche.

I think this was the first time I had pushed Patrasche since I pushed Milia.

I carefully started pushing Patrasche, paying attention to Karina’s safety.

It would be a problem if it was too fast, and it would be a problem if it was too slow, so the key was to maintain a moderate speed.

I opened the workshop door and stepped onto the grass where the scorching sun was beating down.

Fortunately, the slightly improved Patrasche moved without any problems.

“A walk…”

It felt strange.

A walk alone with Karina, without Milia, Elisa, or Renny.

How long has it been since we took a walk like this, just the two of us?

“It’s been a while since we took a walk together.”

“Has it been since the deserted island?”

“Back then, I was so scared, and I just wanted to come back here… But humans are such fickle creatures. Now that I’m back, I even think about wanting to go back to the island.”

“It’s not strange. It’s common for people to romanticize the past.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

I heard her elegant laughter.

It was a shame that I couldn’t see her face because I was pushing Patrasche.

I slightly increased the speed of pushing Patrasche to hide my disappointment.

The sound of the wheels rolling could be heard.

It was an unavoidable sound since it was supporting the full weight of a person.

In the absence of other sounds, even this became background music, tickling my ears.

In between that, Karina’s voice mixed in.

“Renny worries a lot, so she didn’t like going out too far. So we’ve just been going around this garden…”

Karina let out a light sigh as if she was disappointed.

Well, it’s nice to look at the garden once or twice, but you can’t help but get tired of it if you’re always looking at the same place.

But it would be weird for me to take her outside.

I knew Renny would nag me to death if she found out.

“I’d like to go see the outside a bit, but would that be alright?”

When she turned her head, our eyes met.

Her heterochromatic eyes, full of moisture, looked at me with a playful smile.

Her face was so beautiful that it was almost overwhelming.

I avoided her gaze and replied,

“…It should be fine for a bit.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

How could a mere escort knight refuse the Saint’s earnest request?

If the Saint gives me a smile, I have no choice but to nod my head.

After justifying myself, I turned Patrasche towards the gate leading out of Yeomyeong-gwan-

“Hey, where are you going?”

“Karina earnestly requested it. We’ll just take a short walk around here-”

“Stop right there.”

I had to stop walking because of the pressure on my shoulder.

It was because Renny was holding onto my shoulder.

The height difference made for a slightly awkward position, but that wasn’t important.

Renny glared at me with a serious look in her eyes.

As expected of Renny.

When it came to anything related to Karina, she’d turn serious even if it was her friend.

“Didn’t I tell you that she’s not allowed to leave Yeomyeong-gwan?”

“The Saint wants to go, how can a mere escort knight like me stop her?”

I proudly used the Saint as my shield.

In the workplace, it was basic to at least pretend to follow your superiors’ unreasonable demands.

Renny sighed at my retort, snatched the handles from me, and said curtly,

“As if she couldn’t talk… Go on then. It’s your vacation starting today anyway.”

“That’s true, but-”

“It’s weird for someone on vacation to work overtime. Go out and have fun or do whatever you want in the workshop. Enjoy your vacation while you’re on vacation.”

As expected of a boss, she knew the importance of vacation.

Since she was pushing me this far, I should get going.

I had a lot to do too.

“Alright.”

“Yeah. Whatever you’re going to do, don’t cause any trouble. It’s a pain to clean up after you.”

“That won’t happen.”

Actually, it was very likely to happen.

The reason I took this vacation was to cause trouble.

It was unfortunate for Renny, but I would appreciate it if she wrote a few more apology letters for me.

Well, depending on how things go, there might be no trouble at all… but my life was never that easy.

I was the guy who got stranded on a deserted island on the first day of my transmigration.

I should just assume that whatever I did, I was going to get screwed over.

“Well then, I’ll see you in four days.”

“Have a safe trip!”

“Take care!”

Alright, let’s start the vacation.

Even though I was just going downstairs… I smiled bitterly at the thought of going on a vacation that wasn’t really a vacation.

Because the end of the first semester had arrived.

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