The next day, when I arrived at the dining hall, the oni-race boy who was formerly my roommate had an apologetic look on his face.
If he was going to make such a face, he should not have plotted from the beginning.
I narrowed my eyes to express quiet anger, then looked away.
He had done something like a sneak attack. If I don't show anger here, he'll become even more emboldened.
If he had properly consulted me beforehand... well, I would have refused anyway.
Later, I'll get back at him somehow.
***
What was once called "physical training" had somehow been renamed to "combat training."
And in sparring, they no longer required us to pull our punches.
"H-hey... you're angry, aren't you?"
"Of course I am."
The punch we threw simultaneously was deflected.
"Ugh."
The kick I launched while disguising it with a punch landed on his thigh, and as his head lowered, I placed a knife against his neck.
"Ouch... I give up."
"...Let's go again."
"Sigh, you're persistent, aren't you?"
In the end, I won all my matches against him.
That day, I was fortunate enough to receive an excellence coin.
***
"Hmm. It's strange."
The snake-race instructor mumbles while massaging my shoulders.
It seems a bit odd that I can do the opposite of qi release, [qi release], without being able to perform it.
During "qi control training," the instructor often comes behind me while I'm meditating and places his hands on my shoulders like this.
"If you believe in him, you should hardly stumble at this point, right?"
The hand that was massaging my shoulder stops and moves slightly toward my neck.
If I give a strange response here, I'll be killed. My instincts tell me so.
I believe in him. I believe in him. I believe in him. I believe in him. I believe in him. I believe in him. I believe in him. I believe in him. I believe in him. I believe in him. I believe in him. I believe in him.
"Is that so? Are there any other possible causes you can think of? I want to master [qi release] quickly."
"...Hmm? Well..."
The instructor looked at me with pitying eyes and lowered his gaze as if searching through memories.
It seems I managed to get through it.
And in the end, no useful advice came out.
***
"AAAAARRRRGHHH!!!"
She's energetic.
When I returned to the room after finishing dinner, I encountered the scene I had expected.
By the way, she is completely beaten up during morning training every day, so she's never participated in the "qi control training" or "endurance training" held in the afternoon.
Every morning, she's forcibly taken by the "physical training" instructor, beaten to a pulp in front of the children, then brought back to this room after receiving treatment.
However, the treatment isn't sufficient, and blood is seeping from her body.
Because of this, the futons piled in the room are stained red.
I see, that's why a room change was proposed.
I certainly don't want to sleep on a bloody futon.
"...What are you looking at?"
Oops.
"I borrowed a water bucket and towel. Want to use them?"
She sits up abruptly.
Painful wounds remained all over her body.
"Get out, snake impostor."
"Understood."
As usual, she speaks harshly in a childlike voice.
To avoid provoking her when she's about to explode, I obediently comply.
I place the bucket and towel there and close the door behind me.
"It's been a while since I heard your voice."
I had heard her angry screams and ear-piercing roars many times, but this was the first time I had heard proper language since I became "me."
I could easily imagine that the water would be bloody after she used it, so I decided to ask if I could use the neighboring room.
They were reluctant, but when I hinted, "I could set the enraged dragon-person on you," they kindly let me use it.
It wasn't a complete bluff—if I threw her belongings into the next room, they would be subjected to her roars up close along with me.
And I left the bucket cleanup to them as well.
I had to clean up my own room.
When I returned to my room, she had put her tunic back on.
Looking in the bucket, it was bright red as expected.
It's still too early to go to bed.
It seems that because of my snake-race characteristics, I don't feel sleepy at night.
Maybe I'm nocturnal.
Normally, I would have crawled into the futon and started meditating, but in this room's environment, my concentration would likely be diminished.
I decided to draw fresh water in the bucket to clean the room.
"Each room is allowed only one bucket of water for cleansing."
The Sister refused my request with those words.
In this community, there are designated adults who take care of children who received baptism around the same time.
And for our grade? we have three people in charge: the human-race male who is the "physical training" instructor, the snake-race male who handles both "qi control training" and "endurance training," and the Sister who oversees daily life.
By the way, when someone gets injured, the Sister attends to minor wounds. So she should know that the dragon-race girl is injured.
"My roommate... the dragon-race child's blood has dirtied the room, and I'd like to clean it, but..."
I appeal to the Sister, emphasizing childlike cuteness with upward-gazing eyes.
"Ah, that one. That's why I said it should be disposed of..."
She coldly spat out, not even glancing at me.
Perhaps I approached the wrong person. I thought she was the type to be soft on children.
"...Well, fine. But draw the water yourself. I'm going to bed now."
I return to the room carrying water drawn from the well.
Then, I saw a boy collapsed against the wall directly in front of my room.
It was the tiger-race boy from next door. He was covered in blood.
"Ah..."
For now, I asked the children in the neighboring room to collect him, and I returned to my own room.
The dragon girl looked at the water bucket in my hands with a puzzled expression.
Meanwhile, I frowned at the sight of even more bloodstains in the room.
I begin cleaning the room, trying not to pay attention to her presence.
"I" probably wasn't so fastidious, but it seems I don't mind cleaning much. It felt good to see the dirt disappear by my own hands.
Besides, I know, as knowledge, that hygiene is important for health. It seems this world is generous with treatment for external injuries, but it's questionable whether they can treat illnesses. If I think of it as self-defense to keep death at bay, it's not a burden.
I am afraid of death. Terribly afraid.
To avoid death, I can happily stake my entire life or throw my pride in the gutter. Cleaning a room that others have dirtied isn't even worth putting on the scales.
In the first place, I don't think she would be careful to do it herself.
She's the type of dragon-person who would die if she listened to others.
But she's not stupid.
So, I decided to leave a bucket filled with water in the room for the third time so that the injured girl wouldn't dirty the room.
This way, she wouldn't have to use the futon while covered in blood.
***
The next day, when I returned to the room, there was a water bucket stained with blood.
I nodded quietly.