Chapter 17 Part 5: Adaptation.

“Ah, but Sia.”

“Yeah?”

“When you eat bread, you drink something because it’s hard to swallow, right?”

“That’s right.”

Siwoo and Sia started their conversation like that.

Even though they fight, they’re still close siblings, talking so nicely to each other.

It seemed like it would be fun, so I quietly listened to their conversation.

“Then, wouldn’t it be okay to drink water instead of milk?”

“What?”

“Well, it’s true. Usually, you drink something while eating bread because your throat gets dry.”

“…Are you crazy?”

“So, you could drink water instead of milk. Right?”

“No, hey. Wow…”

I just silently laughed.

For a while, the two of them started a banter about what to drink when eating bread.

The conclusion was surprisingly bland.

From now on, when you eat bread, Siwoo, you only drink water.

If you don’t drink it, then you have to pay.

It was roughly that kind of conclusion.

And while they were talking, they finished all the bread.

It wasn’t much different from the speed at which I eat bread.

Although I ate slowly, I was honestly surprised.

They devoured the bread like they had been starving for a long time.

“Yeah, you have to eat this much to have energy.”

Siwoo wiped his mouth, saying that.

Even then, it wasn’t enough, and he said he was still hungry.

I briefly estimated the amount of bread Siwoo had eaten, and then, dumbfounded, I laughed and said,

“I’m a little surprised that you’re still hungry after eating all that.”

“Huh, don’t you eat this much too?”

“…Hmm?”

I briefly looked at Sia’s expression, trying to interpret what she meant.

I almost never eat that much food in the first place.

Thanks to my uncles and aunts giving me the right amount of food for years, I rarely overeat.

I sometimes eat a lot, but that’s only when I need to use my strength.

So I didn’t know what Sia meant by that.

…For now, it didn’t seem like she was being sarcastic or anything.

If she had been, I would have definitely noticed.

Sia, thinking I misunderstood the question, slowly corrected her question.

“So, you’re a shapeshifter. Don’t you have to eat a lot because of the manifestation?”

“…Ah.”

Only then did I understand why Sia had asked that question.

A shapeshifter’s manifestation changes the body’s physical structure in a short period of time.

And it wasn’t something as simple as just building muscle.

Legs that were human until just a moment ago could become a fish’s tail.

Changing the structure of the pupils instantly was basic.

Because they could do something close to superpowers, it was natural that they consumed a lot of calories.

So I smiled and replied.

“I’m a snake, so I eat a lot when I need to, right?”

The two of them slowly nodded, as if they understood what I meant.

Then Siwoo started cleaning up his seat, and Sia started gathering the empty trash.

Then, Siwoo, as if curious about something, suddenly spoke to me.

“So, Yeji.”

“Yeah?”

“Snake shapeshifters can open their mouths wide, so do you eat everything in one bite?”

“…Hmm.”

“Oh… that looked really amazing.”

“But I have no intention of showing you.”

I said that and smiled.

Siwoo’s question wasn’t wrong.

Surprisingly, there are many excellent food fighters among snake shapeshifters.

There are other ability users who eat much better…

But it was hard to keep up with snake shapeshifters, who have a much larger stomach and digest food faster than others.

As Siwoo said, there were some who could eat all the food in one bite.

And there were some who could breathe while eating.

It wasn’t much different for me.

If I wanted to, I could eat a lot.

…But what I like to eat in one bite is something else.

But I’ve never talked about this before.

Even to my aunts or uncles, I’ve never spoken about this.

Even after decades, it was clear that I wouldn’t talk about it.

Snakes are cunning, so it’s strange to talk about my goal before I achieve it.

Thinking that, I left the snack bar with Siwoo and Sia to eat.

Fortunately, some time had passed, so the cafeteria was relatively quiet this time.

So I could take my time choosing a menu.

It would be more accurate to say that I was relatively relieved.

The reason was simple.

This academy’s cafeteria didn’t seem ordinary either.

I didn’t notice it when I just glanced at it from afar earlier…

This entire huge building was all a cafeteria.

There was a way to just order and wait, and it also felt like a buffet.

In addition, they offered a variety of foods, and the quantity was also unusual.

There were so many items that could be added that there were more side dishes than rice.

The price was also practically free.

If it wasn’t only for people related to the academy…

I was sure the cafeteria would go bankrupt in less than a month.

Still, I have to eat here for the next three years, so I slowly chose a suitable menu and waited.

And when the food came out, I took it and headed to where Siwoo and Sia were.

The two of them… were also eating a lot of food.

They added everything that could be added and were eating a lot.

So I watched them eat for a while, and then joked.

“Don’t you gain weight?”

“I can’t gain weight even if I want to. I’m always moving around.”

“Oppa is right. And we have gym today, right? We have to eat more.”

“…We had gym?”

I didn’t think there was gym on today’s schedule.

If there was a gym class, I would have known.

I was confident in memorizing things, and that included the timetable.

Sia looked at my expression for a moment and then slowly began to explain.

“Well, it won’t be written as gym. It’ll probably say basic training.”

“…Ah.”

I was dazed for a moment, then laughed.

I knew there was such a class.

I just didn’t know if it was a theory class or not, so I wasn’t sure.

…I brought gym clothes just in case, and sure enough.

It seemed like I did well to bring them.

“For your information, training here is famous for being tough, so it’s better to eat while you can.”

Siwoo said that and mechanically moved his spoon.

I slowly nodded and then finally looked closely at the people eating inside.

As he said, the class seemed to be quite difficult, and many people were eating combat-ready.

So I finished my meal by eating a little more than usual.

After eating like that, there was nothing to do.

The time was also ambiguous, and there was nothing more to do here.

So I talked with the two of them for a while and then went back to the classroom together.

The class… was honestly boring.

Everyone was still explaining the outline… and even if we went through the curriculum, it was all things I already knew.

Still, it didn’t seem polite to think about other things during class, so I tried my best to concentrate on the lesson.

When it was break time, I talked with other students.

Even if I say other students, I mostly talked with Gong Jinhu.

He was my partner, and it seemed like Gong Jinhu didn’t have anyone to talk to either.

Gong Jinhu grumbled that he found the class difficult.

The reason was quickly revealed.

Gong Jinhu was a student who was confident in subjects related to literature.

Naturally, the academy’s classes, which were mainly focused on mathematics and science, couldn’t be easy for him.

So I told him that I could help him if he was really worried, and we ended the conversation successfully.

As we continued to spend time like that, the basic training class that Sia had mentioned was approaching.

And this class seemed to be quite important.

Even the homeroom teacher came to us during break time to tell us to change into our gym clothes.

So I took out my gym clothes from my bag to change.

Then, I thought it would be a little awkward to go alone, so I tried to find someone to go with.

At that moment, the person who caught my eye was Sia.

She would have to change clothes too, so it seemed like it would be good to go together.

“Sia.”

“Yeah? Why?”

“…Sia?”

I stared blankly at Sia.

Sia was taking off her uniform skirt in front of everyone.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.

She was already wearing gym shorts under her uniform skirt.

But I didn’t know if it was okay to take it off so casually.

Sia looked at me for a moment as if asking what was wrong, and then took off her top as well.

And she took off all her clothes until only her T-shirt remained, threw them on the desk, and put on her gym top.

I 고민ed for a moment, and thinking I should say something, I asked her.

“Is it… really okay to change clothes like that?”

“Huh? Is there a problem? I was wearing gym shorts anyway. The skirt is just a decoration.”

“…Yeah, I guess so.”

Usually, it’s best to let it go if the person involved doesn’t feel awkward.

So I decided to just ignore it from now on and smiled.

But Siwoo, thinking I still had doubts, suddenly spoke to me.

“Anyway, who would like this kind of log-like body? Such a person is a criminal.”

I tried to hold back my laughter after hearing that.

Sia was quite meager.

And honestly, she looked like a boy.

But Sia didn’t think so, and immediately hit Siwoo’s head with a textbook.

I listened to the ensuing banter, wished Siwoo good luck, and ran away.