Chapter 21: Juju, I Choose You

“I didn’t think they’d let us go so easily.”

Juju spoke playfully as they walked towards the dormitory, outside the gym.

“I thought they’d cause more trouble.”

“They probably held back because things could have gotten really serious if they pushed it any further.”

Hwi-seong, having regained consciousness, glared at them but let them go. Thanks to Juju offering to escort the exhausted Ruah, Ruah found herself walking through the darkened academy campus with Juju.

The tree-lined path wasn’t dark thanks to the streetlights. Ruah could clearly see Juju, who had rescued her today.

“Yoo Juju.”

“Huh?”

Ruah suddenly blurted out what she had been thinking.

“I choose you.”

“…For what?”

It was, of course, about the tank position.

She had decided to replace Lee Hwi-seong, her original choice for the tank in the final battle, with Juju.

It was much better to fight alongside Juju, even if her skills were slightly inferior, than to recruit Hwi-seong, who had a terrible personality and had caused today’s incident.

‘No, her skills aren’t inferior.’

Juju had defeated Hwi-seong in their sparring match. Even if there was an opening, the fact that she had brought down Hwi-seong, who had a significant advantage in basic physical abilities, called for a reassessment of Juju’s potential.

‘It’s different from the game.’

In the game, Yoo Juju missed the special class by one rank, losing to the protagonist. So she was always conscious of the protagonist and lacked confidence.

But the current Juju was different. She had access to the individual lessons and facilities provided to the special class, and she even had the experience of successfully clearing a Gate with confidence.

It was perhaps only natural that Juju would have better abilities than in the game.

‘Plus, she overcame the skill recoil with her physical abilities.’

She had flawlessly executed the consecutive skill activations in the sparring match, something she hadn’t been able to do smoothly during practice. This meant she still had room to grow.

Just like today, if Ruah gave her a few pointers, Juju, as a tank, would grow by leaps and bounds.

“I’m going to train you.”

“……!”

A breeze blew between Ruah, who had stopped, and Juju, who stood facing her. Cherry blossoms from the trees scattered around them.

“Train…me? You, teacher?”

“Yes. I’m going to make you the best tank.”

Ruah spoke honestly.

“As thanks for saving me today.”

“…….”

Juju was momentarily speechless, gazing at Ruah’s face. Ruah couldn’t tell what thoughts were going through her mind.

“Heheh.”

Then, Juju smiled.

“Okay! If you say so, teacher, I’ll believe you.”

“R-Really?”

It was a refreshingly straightforward answer that Ruah hadn’t expected.

“If you’re serious, teacher, there must be a reason, and I have nothing to lose by believing you.”

“Yeah….”

“And, I want to be by your side.”

“By my side?”

Juju nodded.

“It might sound weird, but you seem kind of… unsteady, teacher.”

“I’m not a child….”

“No, it’s not like that. I don’t know exactly, but it feels like you’re carrying something heavy all by yourself.”

“……!”

Ruah was slightly surprised. She hadn’t told anyone about the final battle, so had Juju figured it out just by observing her?

“Th-That’s just my feeling. I apologize if I overstepped.”

“…No, it’s okay.”

Ruah smiled.

“Thank you. For caring.”

“W-Well… I look forward to working with you.”

Juju scratched the back of her head, looking embarrassed.

Finding that unexpectedly cute, Ruah blurted out what she had been thinking for a while.

“Um, I was thinking of exercising a bit. Do you think you could help me?”

“…….”

“O-Of course, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t mind!”

Juju jumped up and down, delighted.

“That’s great! I didn’t know you were interested in exercise, teacher!”

“Y-Yeah.”

It was something she had been thinking about since the fitness test a few days ago. She needed to build up her own stamina as well as help the students so she could do her part as a healer.

“Then I’ll be your personal trainer, teacher!”

“Huh?”

“Yes! I’ll show you the joys of exercise! Squats, bench press, leg press…!”

Juju’s eyes sparkled as she grabbed Ruah’s hands and shook them. Ruah felt like she had poked the wrong button.

‘I was just thinking about going for walks….’

“It’s good to move around a lot during puberty.”

“…….”

“Then how about we start tomorrow morning? We’ll start with jogging!”

“Huh? I-Isn’t that a bit too soon…?”

Now that she was about to start, Ruah’s motivation plummeted.

“I have to clean my room… and do laundry… and the dishes… and lie in bed… and I have snacks left… and there’s a movie I was watching….”

“…There are some strange things mixed in there.”

—Tap, tap, tap!

Juju ran ahead and stopped in front of a sign that read ‘Faculty Dormitory’.

“Strike while the iron is hot.”

Juju made a fist.

“It’s good to act as soon as you decide. I’ll be waiting here at 6 a.m. tomorrow! We’ll start with jogging!”

“S-Six a.m…!”

It was the middle of the night. The sun hadn’t even risen yet, and she wanted to go running?

‘I shouldn’t have said anything….’

But she couldn’t refuse after suggesting it herself.

“O-Okay. Six a.m….”

“That’s great!”

And so, Juju became Ruah’s trainer.

“Um, teacher, in return, I have a favor to ask—”

“Yes?”

Juju approached Ruah, hesitantly scratching her head, unlike her usual self.

“Would you mind going shopping with me this weekend?”

“Shopping? With me?”

“I… wanted to ask for some advice.”

Ruah tilted her head. What kind of advice could she possibly need for shopping?

Ruah preferred to stay in her room on weekends, but since she had asked Juju for a favor, she couldn’t refuse.

“Sure, okay.”

“Thank you!”

The moment their hands clasped—

“—That’s nice to see.”

“?!”

Startled by the sudden voice of a third party, Juju and Ruah turned their heads.

Standing under a streetlight, as if she had appeared out of nowhere, was Himari in her school uniform.

“Eek!”

“H-Himari? What are you doing here?”

“I was waiting for you, teacher.”

—Click, click.

The sound of Himari’s shoes tapping against the pavement sounded strangely heavy.

“You’ve worked hard, even at this late hour. As you instructed, I focused on my written studies today.”

Himari bowed.

“Y-Yeah, good job.”

“I apologize that I couldn’t be by your side, being an incompetent moon. Did anything happen?”

“…….”

Ruah exchanged glances with Juju. She thought it best not to mention what had happened earlier. It was over, and telling Himari would only worry her.

“No, it was an uneventful day.”

“That’s good.”

Himari’s gaze shifted to Juju.

“Oh, hi, Himari.”

“Hello. Thank you for escorting the teacher, Juju.”

It seemed the two weren’t on bad terms after clearing up their misunderstanding.

‘That’s good, they seem to have made up.’

“Teacher, you’re going to exercise?”

“Ah, yes, Juju is going to help me.”

Himari nodded.

“That’s a good idea. Then I’ll see you here at 6 a.m. as well.”

“W-Wait a minute.”

Juju interrupted.

“Are you planning to join us, Himari?”

“Of course. I am the teacher’s moon.”

Himari spoke calmly, as if asking what else she would do. Juju crossed her arms and said disapprovingly,

“This is the nurse’s personal training. I made a promise with her.”

“I have a duty to be by the teacher’s side.”

Himari didn’t back down either.

“I don’t think one more person will make much difference in exercising.”

“You don’t need to run in the morning, Himari. You have enough stamina already.”

“It’s not about my exercise, it’s about assisting the teacher.”

A subtly awkward air flowed between the two.

“Um, guys…?”

Ruah tried to intervene and mediate, but it was impossible.

“You asked me for help, teacher, not Himari.”

“The teacher prefers to run with me.”

It was a difficult situation to take sides. Ruah glanced at both of them, then took a step back.

If she stayed here any longer, she would definitely find herself in a difficult situation.

‘Run!’

“Teacher, if you would just say something—”

“Teacher, what are you going to—”

By the time Juju and Himari looked back to where Ruah had been, she was already scampering up the stairs.

“Pant, pant, huff.”

“It’s not ‘huff’, it’s ‘hoo’! Inhale twice, exhale once!”

“Pant, pant, haah.”

6:10 a.m.

The running track built on the edge of the artificial island.

Ruah, Juju, and Himari were running side by side. Ruah was already exhausted, but Juju’s morning training schedule was still far from over.

“Juju, the teacher is tired. Rest.”

“But it’s only been 10 minutes!”

Himari, of course, was relaxed.

“Teacher, if you want to stop, please say so.”

“…Well, it’s not good to overdo it on the first day.”

The students on either side of her encouraged her. But Ruah steeled her resolve.

‘I can’t just stand still either.’

Now that the damage dealer and tank positions had been decided, Ruah’s own stamina was just as important as their growth.

‘It would be so frustrating to lose because the healer was holding them back…!’

“Yahhh!”

Ruah let out a timid yell and ran forward.

“Oh! You can do it! That’s the spirit!”

“That’s wonderful, teacher!”

In the end, Ruah managed to complete the schedule Juju had set. It was quite a struggle, but it was a sense of accomplishment she hadn’t felt in a long time.

“You did great!”

Juju beamed and offered a water bottle.

“If you keep this up, the next fitness test will be no problem!”

“Pant, pant… really?”

“Yes!”

Ruah finally regained her composure and started walking towards the dormitory. Juju and Himari were with her. It was still quite a while before work started, and the academy and the entire artificial island were quiet.

“Teacher, the special class dormitory is close.”

“Huh?”

As they walked, Himari suddenly spoke.

“If you don’t mind, would you like to wash up in the shower room?”