I Became the Academy's Pink Airhead

Chapter 44

We were heading back to school, having picked up a stray cat in a tattered school uniform. After much hesitation, she finally agreed to ride with us.

“...” “...” “...”

I glanced at Freya, who seemed timid and hunched over.

The dirty, smelly stray cat, true to her [Unique Ether] abilities, tried to gauge me as soon as she saw me. Unfortunately for her, my ether tank was completely empty this time, leaving nothing to hide.

“...!”

The empty ether inside me startled Freya. She sweated nervously, twitching her ears.

“Ugh... to think I’d encounter the pink, shameless brute... and in such an awkward situation...”

She turned her gaze away as if she had touched on an uncomfortable subject, sitting dejectedly in the corner of the vehicle. Despite her arrogance, she still had a timid nature.

I looked at Freya’s drooping purple cat ears.

“...” “How dare you, what are you looking at... you, you brute...”

Honestly, they were ugly cat ears. No matter how much I tried to think of them positively, I couldn’t.

Freya’s cat ears were not like the fluffy, folded ears of a Scottish Fold; instead, they were droopy and looked like they were missing fur, giving them a waterlogged appearance. While Freya herself was quite attractive, her cat ears were not.

‘Really not my type of cat ears.’

I looked at her creatively ugly cat ears with pity.

Memories of our first, arrogant, and aggressive encounter came to mind.

However, no matter how dirty, smelly, or likely she seemed to pee anywhere, even if she was one of the five strongest in the academy city, leaving someone asking for help stranded in the wilderness would have been wrong.

I nodded, reflecting on my sudden thought.

‘Freya... she’s passionate about magical studies, and has the ugliest cat ears among the cat beastkins. It’s like she’s Pang Tong.’

The meeting of the Sleeping Dragon and the Fledgling Phoenix. If this creatively ugly-eared cat beastkin was Pang Tong, does that make this pink Zhuge Liang?

Even with the instability of future knowledge, the stability of the academy city must be due to my intelligence and strategies.

‘Compared to my schemes, which have even thwarted 's sudden actions, magical studies are less practical. But Freya is one of the few practical magical ether users in the academy city.’

As a self-made genius in , which is dominated by nobles, Freya might be able to match my practical and clever mind.

This too is fate. I felt deeply moved by this sudden meeting of the Sleeping Dragon and the Fledgling Phoenix.

Anyway... We had picked up a stray cat.

“...” “...” “...”

The vehicle on the way back was filled with silence. Maya, as usual, didn’t care enough to ask. And honestly, I wasn’t that close to Freya either, so I kept quiet.

Rustle Rustle

Freya, seemingly uncomfortable with the silence, kept fidgeting and glancing around.

‘Ah... she must be uncomfortable around strangers.’

It was my fault for not considering her feelings. Being around strangers naturally made her uncomfortable. I needed to become friendly with Freya quickly to ease her discomfort. The best way to become friends was to get to know each other.

‘I won’t repeat the mistake of not talking with Hilde and regretting it.’

I spoke to the fidgeting stray cat in the back seat.

“Hey, hey―☆ Why was our peeing cat traveling alone in the wilderness? Were you wandering off from school? Wow, so romantic☆ It must be quite a distance from here to ♪ Were you planning to run away far? Oh, is it a secret? Anyway, tell me! We’re not strangers; we’re old friends who haven’t met in a while―☆”

“Don’t, don’t call me a peeing cat...! What is that even! And... it’s not... it’s not running away... And what’s with the friendly act... We’re not even... friends yet...”

“Okay, I’m sorry haha―☆ But ‘we’re not even... friends yet...!’ is funny♪ Are you the type who values relationships a lot? I see~ You’re quite the romantic type to run away alone~ You look like an INFP―♪ Am I right? Yes, I’m right―☆ Haha, anyway, I want to know why you left, so please tell me―♪”

“When, when did I... stutter... like that...”

Huff Huff

Freya’s face crumpled, and she suddenly began to tremble and breathe heavily. Her dirty face lost color rapidly.

“...!”

Freya’s eyes widened at Rota’s words. Her drooping, ugly cat ears perked up. Watching her ugly cat ears move was like watching a barren mountain in a drought.

Freya approached Rota and spoke.

“Perhaps... other than that... did you... understand more... newbie...”

“Uh? Well...”

Rota moved her short arms, explaining as if she were dancing. Although it should have been a scholarly and theoretical conversation, it was filled with emotions and fairy tale-like words.

Even as a complete outsider, I could tell it was a very different interpretation.

But Freya didn’t interrupt, listening quietly.

“...”

I watched proudly. Seeing this, Maya tilted her head and asked.

“Did you understand that? I took as a general course, but this is the first time I’ve heard such an in-depth conversation...”

“Nope, nope―☆”

“Then why do you look so proud?”

“Because our Rota is cute―♪”

“...”

Maya gave me a rude look.

I don’t know. She’s just cute, what am I supposed to do about it?

Creak

Then the student council room door opened. Alvit and Kara entered in their training outfits.

“We’re back――?!”

“We’re back... but why does the student council room smell like the barn from my childhood?”

Alvit pinched her nose, looking towards the source of the smell. Freya flinched and looked back with a start.

“Wh... what... so rude...”

“...”

Alvit approached me. Trying to be considerate, she whispered while still holding her nose.

“Senior...! Who is that person, and why do they look like that?! No, it smells like someone washed a toilet brush...”

“Stray cat―♪”

“I can’t argue with that. This is too much...”

Alvit turned to Freya and smiled.

“Um... you’re welcome to use our school’s washroom... if you’d like...”

“...”

As a [Unique Ether] user, Freya could hear all of Alvit’s whispers. She lowered her head, starting to tremble.

Then, an annoying sound came from the side.

Squeak―

We all turned to look. Rota, looking awkward, had opened the window and was glancing at us.

“Uh... well... I thought of airing out the room because it felt stuffy...”

Rota was trying not to make Freya feel uncomfortable.

“...Sniff.”

But it seemed that consideration hurt Freya. She started crying again.