The next time I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the face of an old man that looked as if he had one foot on the grave already. His face had so many wrinkles that it was hard to see any defining features of his appearance when he was younger.

His nametag helped me remember who he even was once again.

Doctor Aki was the first face I had seen after coming to this world. That was a special kind of face to wake up to. It made a patient think they had died and were now traveling with ghosts to the afterlife. “How many of my classmates survived?”

“Well, that’s a first. You’re not going to ask how long you’ve been out for?” He scratched his bald head. There was a worried look on his face as if he was about to give me some bad news.

“The last meal I ate was before setting off for the training camp. I’m not that hungry, so it couldn’t have been more than a day since I last ate. Maybe two days at best. I don’t feel that weak, and my throat isn’t parched enough to tell me that I was in a long coma." I got up and leaned back on the bed rest.

Comparing myself with the geniuses of this world would be arrogant. But I wasn’t stupid either. Others had superior brains, and I had superior common sense.

“You’re less fun than your friends. Should have seen their faces when I said they were in a coma for a couple of years,” the doctor chuckled. He had a twisted sense of humor.

“So, how many are still alive?” Some part of me didn’t want to know the answer. Afraid that I had messed up somewhere.

Did any of the core characters get crippled? Or lose an arm? Did any of them die?

A thousand thoughts of what could have gone wrong went through my head.

“Out of thirty that went out, twenty-two students returned. They had light injuries. Amongst the teachers, two died while in direct confrontation with demons. Another died of poisoning after the battle. Chain survived, but his ability to fight against demons has waned. He’s an old man now.” The doctor looked at me with worry.

Did he think I would be sad? Well, I wasn’t ecstatic either because eleven people died. But in the manga, every teacher and twenty-one students had died.

This event was what made most fans settle for reading this manga. It was one of my favorite arcs. In this world, it was my most terrifying experience. I was so scared that I felt like I was going crazy. But with that situation behind me, relief and calmness washed over me.

At least due to my presence, I had saved some people and even been able to live past what would have been my death scene.

The next big event would be in around two months.

Getting up from the bed, I clenched and unclenched my hand. Nothing felt wrong; my ribs were healed too. Probably the doctor's healing ability. “Am I allowed to leave?”

“Of course,” the doctor nodded, looking at me with an unreadable gaze. “We have prepared a hip new pair of clothes too.”

What he considered hip was a straw hat, a pair of jeans, and a long-sleeved black shirt. Still, it was better than a hospital gown so I put them on and was about to walk out of the medical room when the doctor called out.

“By the way. The headmaster wanted to see you. Go meet him at your leisure.”

I nodded and walked out. There were other injured students behind those curtains. Probably lying on the bed, still unconscious.

Worrying about what could have been was useless. But I couldn’t help but think about how this would have turned out if I had been a little stronger.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

In the hallways, while walking back to my room, I stumbled on a silver-haired girl I didn't want to meet. My priority was going to my room, resting, and thinking about the future.

But as soon as I thought of dodging her. Anika, as if she had a sixth sense, turned toward me, and her lip tilted upward.

I wouldn't call that a smile, as her eyes were kinda cold.

She walked toward me, and by then, it was too late to run away. Because if I started running, she might chase me. Which might create some kind of cliche misunderstanding among the other students.

"I see that you're well," she said. Kind of weird to say that instead of asking if I felt okay. But I expect everyone in this school to have the common social ability of a nail.

"Yes, thank you for asking," I nodded and was about to take this chance to walk away.

"Can we talk somewhere private? I want to tell you something," her words made everyone within earshot turn their heads.

Fuck! Cliche misunderstanding! Now they might think we're dating or something! Then some guy who likes Anika will try and challenge me or some stupid shit. I don't have time for that!

"I'm sure we will be able to talk privately in class tomorrow." I tried dodging cliches like Neo from the matrix dodges bullets.

"Tomorrow is Sunday," she said. Anika narrowed her eyes as if asking; why are you trying to avoid me?

"Well, I'm sure whatever you have to say can wait until Monday,” come on girl read between the lines.

"You're going to your dorm room, right? We can get some privacy there."

As soon as those words came out of her mouth, people looked away from us.

Did they think I couldn't see them walking slower than normal, trying to listen in on our conversation?

Also, what's wrong with all these people? You're in an exorcist school! Don't you have something better to do than listen in on people's conversations?!

If I don't clear this up now, rumors will spread all over the school by the end of the day. Then even if the truth came out, sometimes people take what sounds more exciting as the truth.

It was like some people (me too) took as the truth that Einstein had bad grades in school, which was bullshit. But the lie sounded more interesting than the truth, so most people believed that.

In the end, I had to use my last resort: common sense. "I understand what you mean. But people might misunderstand you if you come to my room. After all, a boy and a girl staying in the same room-"

"I don't care what others say," she interrupted me. Her gaze was like steel, representing her feelings on the matter. She didn't care.

If I refuse her now, even more salacious rumors might spread. Like me not being into women or something along those lines. "Sure… you can come…"

…

My room was messy, with blank talisman papers and stacks of books on my desk on making certain talismans. I hadn't really had the time to fix it up.

"Never took you for an untidy person," was Anika's first comment when she saw my room.

"I also never took you for the kind of girl who would go to a guy's room after only knowing them for a week." I bit back. If I rile her up, she will leave with an annoyed face. Then I could spin the rumors to my favor, so I wouldn’t have to fight some Side Character #1 that liked her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She tilted her head in genuine confusion. Shattering all my plans without even meaning to.

Right, this world didn't have the internet. Anika also grew up in an exorcist family that's strict about traditions.

"Nothing," I waved her question off. I wasn't ready to explain to a teen girl the birds and the bees. "Anyways, what did you need to talk to me about privately?"

She looked around to confirm that no one was listening and then turned toward me. "Thankfully, the others were too out of it to hear what you talked about with the Demonic Exorcist. But I know you have an ability that can control humans."

"By humans, obviously it's only me,” I clarified. The last thing I wanted was for people to misunderstand this part of my ability.

"Yeah, but the laws on that are strict. After all, a King was controlled that started a war that killed tens of thousands of people. Maybe even over a hundred thousand people died during that war." She explained.

I knew how strict exorcists were with abilities that could control humans. But what choice did I have? I knew that defeating the Demonic Exorcist would have been impossible. The best I could do was to peak interest in him enough to want to leave me alive.

What did Anika want to do with this information? Was she blackmailing me?