Academy's Drunk Fighter-Chapter 43: Hospital Visit (1)

“I... I’m alive.”

I reached up and rubbed my aching head, slowly taking in my surroundings.

“Ow.”

My fingers brushed along my neck—right where the old man had grabbed me. It stung. The skin felt raw.

I looked around.

A hospital room. One I recognized from the Academy.

Looks like things turned out better than I expected.

If they hadn’t... I definitely wouldn’t be here right now.

If Esha hadn’t shown up and kicked that guy through the air—my neck would’ve...

Would’ve snapped.

“You’re awake.”

“...?”

I turned my head and saw a man lying in the next bed.

Of course. This was a shared recovery ward. It wasn’t like I had the whole place to myself.

“The doctors said you’d wake up soon, so I didn’t bother you. But you took longer than they thought. Had me worried.”

“You’re the guard from before...”

“Yep. Sadly enough, I survived.”

“Don’t say it like that! Being alive is a good thing!”

“Maybe. Depends who you ask.”

He gave a bitter smile and looked at me properly for the first time.

That’s when I noticed something was off.

“Your arm...”

“Don’t worry about it, kid. This was my choice. My responsibility.”

His right arm—still attached—showed faint scars under the patient gown. But his left arm...

“The professors said they couldn’t save it, didn’t they?”

“Those spikes tore through it pretty bad. Plus... the dark energy, too... Ah, don’t worry about that part.”

Dark energy?

I’d read about that in old texts. Supposedly, it decayed flesh at rapid speed, poisoned everything it touched.

But it had vanished from the world ages ago—so long, in fact, that infection by dark energy was considered impossible now.

If it had returned... then that masked bastard must’ve done something.

“You’ve got that look like you’re connecting dots. Don’t bother. Trust me, you’re better off not knowing.”

“Why?”

“There are things in life that only hurt more the more you think about them. That’s a lesson from someone who’s lived long enough to regret a lot.”

“...Alright.”

His voice was too serious to ignore. I nodded, accepting his advice.

Or maybe... it was the least I could do to honor someone who nearly died protecting me.

“Anyway. You remember what we talked about?”

“What part?”

“The part where you tell the Principal I deserve a raise. I did some digging—you’re the second-year Student Council President, right? Just say I fought hard, gave it my all. That’s enough. The Principal’s got a mean personality, but she recognizes results.”

“Of course! I’ll do that. But why do you care about money so much...?”

I immediately regretted the question. Dumbest thing I could’ve asked.

When someone doesn’t have money, it ruins their life.

Why would I even—

“The cat food at home’s gotten really expensive.”

“Wait, I thought you said you had a dog—”

“The cat’s name is ‘Dog.’ She’s a cat.”

“Oh... I see.”

Weird name.

“Why’d you name her that?”

“Because I wanted both a dog and a cat, but I couldn’t afford both. So I figured... why not just name the cat ‘Dog’? Then I can pretend I have both.”

“That’s... actually kind of brilliant.”

A logic I never would’ve come up with.

He was answering more of my questions than I expected, and since I had nothing but time while stuck in bed, I figured... why not talk a little more?

Normally, I wouldn’t have bothered. I didn’t have the time, the mental energy, or the interest. But with my body like this... work wasn’t happening anytime soon.

“Do you know the Principal well?”

“Yeah. And let me tell you—she’s got a nasty temper.”

“The Principal?”

The world’s most respected hero. The head of the world’s greatest Academy.

That Principal?

He was saying she had a bad personality?

I needed to know what made him say that.

“You’ve heard of the Terminus War, right?”

“Wait, you were in that?!”

“Yeah.”

That explained everything.

Decades ago, there was a secret war against a fourth dimension—not the Spirit Realm, not the Divine Realm, not the Beast Realm. Something else entirely.

The danger level was off the charts. So they sealed the connection permanently and erased the records.

Too many died in silence. History never wrote their names.

Even I only learned of it through a near-lost volume hidden deep in my family’s archive.

“But... how do you know I know about that?”

“Your hair.”

“...Huh?”

“That unique shade of blue? I saw it during the war. It was a defining trait of the Arkha family.”

“There were people from my family... in that war?”

“Yep. Someone very well-known, actually. The head of the Arkha family.”

“...!”

That meant—my father.

“He... participated in the Terminus War...?”

It didn’t compute. The man I knew never did anything that didn’t benefit the family.

If he really joined that war... then it must’ve been for strategic gain.

He probably risked death only because there was profit in it.

“The Principal was a commanding officer back then. If people think she’s a hard-ass now, well... she hasn’t changed.”

“And my father?”

“Wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine either.”

“So, both of them were...”

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

Click.

“...”

And just like that, the conversation ended.

A cold presence filled the room.

“You can stop now.”

“...Father.”

A tall man with the same blue hair as mine stood in the doorway.

His gaze was glacial, his posture commanding—someone who could make anyone shut up and sit down with just a look.

The last person I ever expected to visit me in the hospital.

And for good reason.

He wasn’t here out of concern for my health. I knew that.

And unfortunately, I was right.

“I hear you were one of ten students injured in the incident.”

“I... I was, but—”

“You idiot.”

That one word crushed everything inside me.

All the light-hearted conversation I’d had with the guard evaporated in an instant.

“...”

“You finally become Student Council President and get tangled up in this? I thought you might be useful to the family. Clearly, I was wrong.”

“I... I tried...”

“If you want to be useful, act like it. Learn from your sister.”

His eyes were devoid of warmth.

And just like that—I had nothing left to say.

All those years of chasing his approval. Every effort I’d ever made.

Crushed. In one blow.

She wanted someone to blame. Anyone.

But Noah wasn’t the kind of person who could hate an innocent soul just to ease her pain.

So she sat there in silence, her chest hollowing out as every cruel word from the one person she respected—the person she’d always wanted to be acknowledged by—was burned into memory.

“Tch. If you had even half your sister’s abilities, this never would’ve happened.”

There were other people in the room—patients, hospital staff, the wounded.

But her father didn’t care.

He made no effort to lower his voice. He wanted everyone to hear it.

Wanted everyone to remember it.

“Curse your mother.”

“How can you—Father... she was your wife, at least...”

“Wife?” he scoffed. “You think I married her out of love? She was just a political pawn. A tool handed over to strengthen the family’s influence. Don’t be so naive.”

That sneer. That expression. Noah had no more strength left to argue.

But deep down... she’d already known.

Her mother had been the wrapping paper on a political bargain—a decorative gift meant to be displayed until the real purpose was fulfilled. And then discarded.

Noah had always known.

That’s why she’d tried so hard. Why she’d worked herself raw.

She didn’t want to end up like that.

But now, the weight of having to start from zero crushed her. Devoured her.

“So you—”

“Hey,” a voice cut in sharply, “there are other people here, you know. Maybe save the abuse for later?”

Her father ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) turned, visibly irritated.

“What, you’re still here?”

“I don’t make a habit of ignoring people in the same room.”

The guard met the Arkha patriarch’s gaze without flinching.

For a second, Noah thought her father would explode.

But what came next was... unexpected.

“Take your family feud elsewhere. You’re just embarrassing yourself.”

“You think you’ve got the right to speak? You’re a cripple with one arm.”

“Yeah, well. I lost it protecting someone. I don’t regret it.”

“You keep going like this, and you’ll lose everything. Your honor. Your strength. Your status. Your power.”

“Still the same bitter bastard as ever, huh?”

It was shocking.

The head of the Arkha family clearly saw himself as above the man—but he didn’t shut him down.

They were arguing. Actually arguing.

“This is still Academy property, by the way. You might want to watch the tantrum. Otherwise...”

“Otherwise?”

“Otherwise I might have to fight you. Y’know, professionally.”

“With no sword and one arm? After nearly dying to a mid-grade Gate beast?”

“Wasn’t planning on winning.”

“...Hmph.”

That shut him up.

He looked at Noah one last time, then turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

SLAM.

“I’m sorry, miss. Had no idea you were... related to that guy...”

“It’s fine.”

“Learned long ago never to get involved in family business. That’s... why I spoke up.”

“Still, thank you. Really.”

The guard let out a deep sigh, sinking into his pillow again.

“Just... don’t let it drag you under. The world you know? It’s probably not the whole story.”

“...What do you mean?”

“Sometimes, life throws you off the path you started on. Happens all the time.

And sometimes... someone shows up to help you find a new one.”

“I don’t—”

“If someone out there hates you that much...

Then someone out there must like you just as much.”

Someone like that exists?

Someone who could like someone like me? Someone so pathetic and miserable?

“Senpai!”

The thought vanished the moment the door burst open.

A cheerful girl came bounding in.

“Ta-dah! Hospital fruit basket, incoming!”

“...Huh?”

The basket she held wasn’t filled with fruit at all—but snacks and drinks with fruit pictures on them.

“I mean, have you seen fruit prices lately? So instead, I brought stuff with fruit flavors! We live in a world where 1% juice counts as ‘fruit drink,’ so this totally qualifies!”

“Oh...”

“Oh, right! On the way here, I saw this scary-looking guy leave your room. Everything okay?”

Noah looked at the girl. Then smiled.

“It’s nothing. Really.”

She glanced toward the other bed.

At some point, the guard had pulled the blanket up over his face and gone back to sleep.