Chapter 69: Tears of the Ice Snow [5]
"I want to drink."
My gaze moved forward.
Riviera had reached out at some point and was about to drink the opened Tears of Frost with her mouth wide open.
But at that moment, I quickly snatched the Tears of Frost.
"Don't touch it, we need to split it!"
An angry Riviera. She looked like she was about to bite me any moment. But I don't like to lose out, no matter who the opponent is. I couldn't just let her drink it all with that eager look.
"Look, you have to set standards for anything. It's right to share according to contribution."
Riviera grumbled, but she quieted down, thinking there was no room for argument. I placed the fancy glass that Professor Karen had given me in front of me.
"I naturally take half."
I filled my glass with the Tears of Frost.
"Out of generosity, you get half too."
I filled Riviera's glass as well. Only then did her expression soften.
On the other hand.
"What about me?"
A bewildered Sunny.
"You get just this much."
I shook the remaining Tears of Frost into his glass.
It was only a few drops.
"No complaints, right?" I glared.
"Well… no…"
He seemed to have a bit of conscience, as he didn't make any more fuss and diligently licked his glass with his tongue.
"Wow. Killer taste."
Riviera, genuinely enjoying herself, gulped it down. No wonder she was so eager to solve the problem first. I chuckled and started drinking the Tears of Frost myself.
Gulp gulp.
"Wow."
The moment the Tears of Frost entered, my body cooled as if the air conditioning had been turned on. But it wasn't an uncomfortable coolness. A refreshing feeling as if being washed from the throat down to the inside. In addition, a refreshing sensation like carbonation burst up to my head.
'This taste is killer, isn't it?'
I received a message while sharing Riviera's sentiment.
[You have drunk the special liquor 'Tears of Frost' from the Mayfield family.]
[The impurities accumulated in your body begin to be rapidly purified.]
Exactly the effect I was expecting. Max's trashy body was being cleansed in real time.
'Good, at this rate, I'll reach the target faster than expected.'
As I thought this, the sight of Elaine's team caught my eye.
"Elaine, we have some shame too."
"Friend, don't make me feel guilty. Just have one drink."
Elaine, who can't drink at all, had her team members begging her to have at least one drink. They thought it was absurd to monopolize the prize among themselves, leaving out Elaine, who had practically earned a perfect score on her own.
But even so.
'She can't drink... Huh?'
I doubted my eyes.
It was Elaine who had held out her glass.
"Okay. Just one drink."
What's going on?
It was something I couldn't understand. An event I had never experienced even in a game. Because feeding her alcohol in the first place was an impossibility. She wasn't a character that could do that.
'...Something feels off?'
When someone does something they never do, it means there's been a big change in their heart.
Maybe she was more shocked by the results than I thought.
'It's all because of me, isn't it.'
She, who always took first place, had allowed a tie for first place for the first time. And it was with my team. Thinking about it, it made sense that she was greatly shocked.
'Well, whatever. She'll handle it.'
I sorted out my thoughts. After all, the distance between her and me was not something I could bridge right now.
***
"Let's end the group evaluation here. Regardless of the grades, you all worked hard. See you next time."
The group evaluation by Professor Karen, full of words and troubles, was finally over.
There were few survivors. A little in Royal, even less in Noble, and only our team in Common. The rest had failed the evaluation.
"Damn this rotten world."
"I worked hard. I really did…"
Given the mood, even the survivors couldn't rejoice freely. They solemnly and seriously left the place. I was among them. I wasn't bad enough to deliver a coup de grâce to those whose spirits were already broken.
"Me, I'll go too."
Sunny followed behind with a tense expression. And for good reason, the current environment was not a peaceful one where he could survive. It was like a time bomb with all sorts of negative emotions floating around. But it seemed Sunny had forgotten one thing. There was no place more dangerous than around me right now.
'Well, it doesn't matter since I would have forced him to come if he didn't follow anyway...'
I smirked and deliberately walked towards a less crowded area. It was the direction of the path leading from the back of the main building to the back mountain of the academy. It leads to the back gate, but it's a detour, not a shortcut. That's why there were few students who usually used this path. It was occasionally used as a walking path to clear one's head.
As we moved away from the others, Sunny let out a sigh of relief. He had no suspicion. It seemed he thought I had chosen this path to avoid those with bad feelings.
"You really worked hard today, leader."
Sunny, who had been walking quietly, cautiously started talking.
"I misunderstood you, leader. You're someone with responsibility and skill."
It seems he learned something from this event. But just feeling it is not enough. It's meaningless if you can't change.
"Stop with the lip service."
"Huh?"
"From now on, you're going to suffer a bit."
I laughed and threw the words out. As if waiting for those words, someone burst out.
"Hey, you bastard! You of all people got a perfect score? Does that make sense? Did you boil the professor with your stinking money? Or was it the teaching assistants? Ah, disgusting bastard."
Dennis the Double Faced.
It was him who had burst out. His eyes were bloodshot as he spewed curses. He seemed to have flipped out from the humiliation of being beaten unexpectedly and falling behind in grades.
But I didn't blink an eye. Instead, I scoffed. There was no need to react to someone so undignified and out of my league. Instead, I shouted.
"Sunny Benesse."
"Huh, huh?"
"Bite."