Chapter 38: A Morning Run and an Unexpected Concern

Although they had agreed to meet at ten in the morning, Liya still woke up at six, following her own biological clock. In theory, she should be exercising in the dorm at this hour, but since she had told Alice yesterday that they would go for a morning run together, she had to tweak her plans a bit.

“Hoo, I get to go out and play today.”

Stepping out of the dorm, she breathed in the fresh air to her heart’s content, feeling a joy she hadn’t experienced in a hundred years of her previous life. It was different from the thrill of battle, yet equally exciting; different from the elation of slaughter, yet equally hard to suppress; different from the ecstasy of victory, yet equally addictive.

“So this is what they call enjoying life, huh…”

Leaving the dorm, Liya didn’t see the familiar figure she usually did. Had Alice not gotten up for her morning run today? What was going on?

Of course, with a century of experience from her past life, Liya quickly figured it out.

‘She must have been too shocked yesterday and ended up overexerted. That makes sense—after being captured by that lunatic Yagesi, having such awful memories would definitely drain her. Taking a day off is for the best.’

Thinking this, Liya started running around the academy on her own.

Morning exercise always lifted one’s spirits. It wasn’t just psychological; martial arts theory had an explanation too. The purple haze of dawn, when all things revived from the darkness of night, was the perfect time for the body to connect with heaven and earth. The saying “ascending to the sky in broad daylight” hinted at that.

But even a relaxing morning workout always came with its little annoyances…

‘Don’t these people ever get tired? Following me around like flies…’

Liya wasn’t the only one who enjoyed morning runs. In this vast academy, quite a few students shared the hobby—most of them boys. Seeing Liya, who had recently made a name for herself, they eagerly tried to catch up and strike up a conversation…

‘For crying out loud! I’ve lived for so many years, and I never knew so many people were into ten-year-old girls!’

Liya raised an eyebrow, straining to hold herself back from turning around and decking the boys slowly approaching her. But if they actually caught up, she could kiss her good mood goodbye.

Of course, that didn’t mean Liya disliked talking to boys. In fact, she really wanted to make some male friends—it would help her show off her manly side… But without even thinking, she knew that the boys coming over to talk to her now couldn’t possibly see her as a boy!

“…Hmph.”

With an almost imperceptible snort, Liya kept running. But soon, the boys trailing behind her realized that this seemingly short-armed, short-legged little loli… was way faster than average!

Though her pace wasn’t quick, with every step, she channeled mana into the sole of her foot and detonated it, creating an effect similar to a Flash Step. This was Liya’s special running technique. And so, most of the boys hoping to chat her up were left in the dust.

Of course, a few stubborn ones used mana to speed up. For them, Liya had a simple, direct method.

“Yo, Liya, you’re out for a morning run too—”

“Bugs should stay behind and eat my dust, or I’d be happy to help you along.”

…Yelling at them was the most straightforward.

And if there were any shameless, persistent types, well, Liya always passed by a small forest on her runs. She’d already dealt with plenty of perverts there. No need to hold back on those—just beat them within an inch of their lives. Not that they’d die.

‘Huh…’

‘Why is it that I, a red-blooded man, have ended up like this?’

As she ran, Liya started recalling her memories of reincarnation… which were completely blank.

She had no idea how she’d been reincarnated. It was as if she’d blinked, and suddenly she was a little girl in the Demon Empire, a adopted orphan. No other information… Of course, Liya didn’t believe reincarnation was just a coincidence.

In this world, the least reliable thing was coincidence—that was the catchphrase of a close friend, and Liya wholeheartedly agreed.

If reincarnation was a coincidence, what kind of situation would that be? The universe had churned for eons to produce such a fluke? Liya didn’t think she was that lucky.

That left only one possibility: it was orchestrated.

Deliberate reincarnation sounded hard to believe, but Liya leaned toward that explanation. Of course, without any clues, having a hypothesis didn’t help much.

‘If possible, after I return to the peak of my past life, I’ll go to the Human Kingdom and take a look.’

Sooner or later, she’d have to go back. And maybe then, she’d find some clues about her reincarnation.

More importantly—

‘I have to figure out! How did I end up reincarnated as a girl?! If they could make me a girl, they must be able to turn me back into a man! I will reclaim my male body!!!!’

The pleasant morning run ended quickly. Taking advantage of the empty dorm, Liya took a nice shower, then changed into casual clothes and walked out, drying her hair.

“Casual clothes” meant a T-shirt and denim shorts. Liya swore she would never wear a skirt in this life… Never!

“Yo, Cecilia, you’re up early too?”

Leaving her room, she saw Cecilia at the dorm entrance half an hour before they were supposed to meet.

Today, for some reason, Cecilia wasn’t dressed in her usual noble-like elegance. Instead, she looked rather plain, not even wearing much makeup… What was going on?

“Ah, Liya, you’re here!”

“Mm… Cecilia, what’s with you…?”

Liya pointed at Cecilia’s face. Cecilia paused, then quickly caught on.

“Ah~, I can’t dress too fancy today. What if I steal Alice’s thunder… hehehe!”

Cecilia suddenly giggled for no apparent reason.

“I’ve been ready for a while. Today, I’m definitely going to vet the guy for Alice. No way I’ll let that unknown character get off easy…”

“?????” Liya tilted her head, utterly confused. Vet someone for Alice?

“Ah, you don’t need to know about that, Liya. You’re still young… Mm, leave it all to big sis!”

“Mmm…”

As much as Liya wanted to shout, ‘I’m way older than you!’, she remembered that demon ages couldn’t be judged by appearance. Cecilia might actually be older… So she swallowed the words.

“…Well, anyway, it’s almost time. Instead of waiting here, you might as well go find Alice. She should be up by now…”

“Right! Good point. Plus I can give her some styling tips. If she always acts like a good little girl, she won’t win anyone over… hehehe!”

Cecilia ran off, carrying some emotion Liya didn’t understand.

“…????”

‘How strange. Why do I feel like I did something wrong…’

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