I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City-Chapter 98: Sleepy Ichinose Wants to Rest (1)

Just as Juyeon was observing the situation with her transcendent senses from the transport ship—

There were also instructors roaming directly within the island alongside the Paradise Order knights.

Orion Academy instructor Carrot was among them, silently keeping watch over the supply drop location like the others.

—"I-Ichinose-nim...!"

At the same time Ok Myungjin’s skill deactivated, his massive body shrank back to its original size.

Losing consciousness, he collapsed onto the ground with a heavy thud.

‘Oh my, oh my? Cadet Rohan's punches are pretty damn tough.’

Perched on a tree, Carrot observed the match, confirming its clean conclusion.

Her perky rabbit ears twitched as she pulled out a carrot-shaped pen and a thick grading sheet.

‘Ok Myungjin is hot-tempered, sure, but in terms of skill, he's definitely among the top of the first-years.’

The fact that the supply drop had landed in this area was already something the instructors were monitoring.

But Ok Myungjin’s murderous intent had been too blatant, too raw—forcing Carrot to keep a close eye on him.

If a cadet's life were to be put in danger mid-fight, she’d have to intervene immediately.

But in the end, there had been no such need.

What a beautifully clean conclusion.

Crossing her legs, Instructor Carrot hummed as she moved her pen across the paper.

"Hmm~"

Ok Myungjin had genuinely intended to kill another cadet, so he was marked with a zero for the evaluation.

His attempt to swap partners out of selfish motives also earned him additional penalty points.

She even marked him as requiring special remedial education.

After quickly jotting down the rest of the situation—

‘Juyeon’s going to love this.’

When Juyeon hears about this, it wouldn't be the fact that a Class 1 cadet won that she’d be pleased about.

Rather, she’d be proud that Rohan had followed the rules properly.

Even while keeping a straight face, her lips would probably twitch in satisfaction.

Carrot was looking forward to seeing that moment.

Tak!

She finished her notes and glanced back at Rohan.

‘He’s definitely an interesting cadet.’

Now she understood why Juyeon kept bringing up his name.

Something about his actions and presence naturally drew attention.

Even with the famous Ichinose Yui standing right beside him, all eyes were on Rohan.

‘He’s already showing up in the news and getting tangled in incidents.’

This cadet was definitely going to make waves.

Carrot pressed the tip of her pen against her lips, intrigued.

***

Rohan pulled his longsword from the ground and turned his gaze to Ok Myungjin’s partner.

He jerked his chin toward the unconscious cadet.

"Hey, take care of your friend. If you leave him like that, he’s turtle food."

"A-ah, yes...!"

Maybe Rohan’s words snapped him out of his daze.

The male cadet instinctively switched to formal speech and hurried down.

He dragged the unconscious Ok Myungjin away from the Iron Turtles, disappearing into the bushes.

"You worked hard."

Ichinose, now having calmed her previously shaken emotions, landed lightly beside Rohan.

Her expression had returned to its usual composed state, eyes once again hidden.

"I didn’t do anything special. Let’s just open the supply crate."

"...With how much noise we made, the boss turtle’s still sleeping?"

Just as Ichinose said, the massive Iron Turtle carrying the supply box remained motionless.

While the smaller ones sluggishly crawled around, letting out their "Gweek! Gweek!" cries—

The big one hadn’t even poked its head out.

‘Even if we hunt these things, they’re probably only worth one point each.’

Rohan decided to ignore the Iron Turtles.

Considering his current condition and time constraints, that was the smartest choice.

Going around stabbing them one by one would be a hassle, especially with Ichinose watching.

"Hop!"

Sliding his sword back into its sheath, Rohan used the turtles as stepping stones to reach the supply crate.

Seeing his childlike excitement, Ichinose smiled faintly and followed.

Finally, Rohan arrived at the supply drop.

If he listened closely, he could hear the deep, rumbling breaths of the massive turtle beneath him.

Like the sound of a giant motor running, it was genuinely asleep rather than lying in wait.

Without hesitation, Rohan grabbed the crate.

"Red flavor!"

A red box, spewing bright crimson smoke.

After lifting the blue cover on top, Rohan peeked inside.

"...The hell?"

The contents were individually packed in separate smaller boxes, filling the crate.

First, he tossed aside the red signal flare, which was still releasing smoke.

With that distraction gone, his eyes locked onto the most notable item inside.

A weapon was sitting neatly on top.

Rohan reached for it.

"A handgun?"

A pure white pistol with a fully loaded magazine beside it.

As Rohan examined the gun, flipping it over in his hands, Ichinose naturally began explaining.

"That’s the Kangsul-75. A mass-produced automatic pistol made in Tigrova."

"Ohhh, you know guns too?"

"I only know a few famous models."

Rohan loaded the magazine and flipped the pistol around—

Then casually held it out to Ichinose.

"Want it? I can’t infuse it with magic anyway."

"I can’t use guns either. I can only handle swords."

"Hmm..."

Rohan stared at the handgun in his hands.

He wanted to keep it, but it wasn’t exactly useful for him.

This was a true definition of dead weight—a burden with no clear purpose.

"They put it in here for a reason, so maybe we should keep it? You never know when it might come in handy."

"Yeah, maybe."

As if waiting for an excuse, Rohan nodded immediately and tucked the pistol away.

Ichinose smiled silently at his behavior.

Then, Rohan started opening the remaining boxes.

The first thing he found—

Two bottles of drinking water.

After opening one and sniffing it, he handed it to Ichinose.

Then—

Two packs of instant ramen, two cans of tuna, and two plastic forks.

Along with a mess tin, the type commonly used in the military.

Ichinose, seemingly unfamiliar with mess tins, examined it with mild curiosity.

Meanwhile—

Rohan looked dead serious.

'Is there nothing else? This feels way too empty.'

Rohan leaned into the supply crate, almost as if he were about to climb inside.

He rummaged through the bottom, peeling away the plastic coverings.

Underneath, he found bricks—placed there to maintain weight balance.

"This is it?"

"...Looks like it."

For the size of the box, the contents were pitifully lacking.

This meant that by tomorrow, they’d have to start searching for food again. And if cadets gathered in one place, conflicts would naturally break out.

‘Did they plan this on purpose?’

Since it wasn't something heavily emphasized in Abyss City, Rohan couldn’t be certain.

But considering the nature of the exam, it was more than possible.

—Guuuu...

Maybe because the smaller ones kept crying, but the massive Iron Turtle beneath them stirred.

Whether it was waking up or just shifting in its sleep—Rohan and Ichinose both knew what they had to do.

"Let’s head back."

"Alright."

Rohan grabbed the ramen and water bottles.

Seeing this, Ichinose stuffed the mess tin, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) forks, and canned food into it.

Then, the two quickly left the area.

***

They returned to the shelter they had stayed in overnight.

Rohan set their supplies aside and grabbed some large leaves, using them to sweep the ashes from their fire pit away from the site.

Ichinose helped clumsily, but curiosity flickered in her gaze.

There were many things she wanted to ask—about his skills, his combat style—

But right now, one question burned in her mind more than anything else.

"Rohan. How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That... Ok Myungjin, about me..."

"That he confessed?"

Ichinose gave a small nod.

Then, she shaped her doubt into words.

"I never told anyone about it, even after rejecting him. And Ok Myungjin isn’t the type to go around talking about being rejected either."

"It was just a hunch. The atmosphere felt like it."

"A hunch?"

"Before we even fought, he kept glancing at you. You also looked pretty uncomfortable around him."

"..."

Could someone really deduce all that from just a vague instinct?

Ichinose, not fully satisfied with the answer, pursed her lips slightly.

Meanwhile, Rohan removed his outerwear, arranging it into a sleeping spot and smoothly changing the subject.

"Ichinose. Are you really hungry? Should we eat now?"

"No. I drank water, so I can manage."

"Then let’s rest and keep watch. More supplies might drop, or something else might happen."

"Sounds good."

The two stepped out to gather firewood from the surroundings.

Most of the wood was damp from the rain, but there were a few dry pieces they could use.

"Rohan."

"Hm?"

"Shouldn’t we consider the possibility that we’ll have to move at night?"

"That’s... a fair point. There’s definitely a chance supplies could drop at night."

After dumping his collected firewood into a pile, Rohan dusted off his hands and clothes, nodding in agreement.

"If we’re saving our meal for later, maybe we should take turns sleeping now."

"But how do we keep track of shifts? We don’t have a watch."

"We can guess based on the number of logs we burn. Like, swap shifts when we’ve burned through about twenty pieces or so?"

"Aha..."

Understanding the logic, Ichinose gave a small nod.

Rohan then gestured to his outerwear, which he had spread out on the ground.

"Go ahead and sleep first. I said I’d make it up to you for acting on my own, didn’t I?"

"No. Did you even sleep at all yesterday? You should rest first."

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"I need to start the fire."

"The fire...!"

Ichinose’s lips clamped shut.

She had been about to offer to handle it, but hesitated.

If she failed to light it, she’d have to wake Rohan up again.

That scenario alone was horrifying.

"Fine. Just start the fire, then wake me up immediately."

"Isn’t that too short of a nap?"

"I got plenty of sleep yesterday, so I’m fine."

...That statement was almost pure bluff on Ichinose’s part.

In reality, thanks to the sticker’s effect, she was incredibly sleepy.

If she laid down without someone waking her up, she might end up sleeping all day.

"Alright. I’ll start the fire and wake you up, so hurry up and sleep."

"..."

Ichinose watched Rohan stack the kindling, then moved to the corner of their shelter.

Just like last night, she lay down on Rohan’s outerwear.

How long had she kept her eyes closed?

Something... unexpected was happening.

She couldn’t fall asleep.

'...Huh?'

Ichinose was genuinely surprised.

She had been so sure she’d pass out the moment she lay down—but sleep wouldn’t come.

It was like suffering from a severe case of insomnia.

She knew the reason.

The sleeping conditions were terrible.

Her body kept shifting, trying to find a comfortable position.

Sleeping on the bare ground made every little discomfort feel ten times worse.

That reality was hitting painfully hard.

'...'

Especially, her head.

Even after rolling up her outerwear as a makeshift pillow, it was far from enough.

Her neck already felt stiff. She never thought she’d miss her dorm pillow this much.

Naturally, a question arose.

Her mind was willing to accept outdoor conditions, but her body, raised as the heir of a major corporation, was not.

'How did I even sleep so well yesterday?'

She had somehow managed to get proper rest last night.

Was it just because she had been that exhausted?

'No way.'

Ichinose, being a smart girl, arrived at a strong hypothesis.

She cracked open her eyes slightly, looking toward Rohan, who was tending the fire.

Her gaze naturally fell upon his sturdy thighs.

...A shameful memory surfaced, heating up her face.

But at the same time—

She couldn’t deny that if she wanted proper rest, that was the best solution.

"Why aren’t you sleeping? Hungry?"

Rohan, sensing her staring, turned his head and grinned.

"..."

Ichinose’s mind raced with conflicting thoughts.

The desire for efficiency, clashing with the embarrassment of looking like a child in front of her classmate.

The shame of even considering such an option.

The worry that she was being a burden to her partner.

The regret that she ever discovered how comfortable that was.

So many deep internal debates.

Her lips subtly trembled with hesitation.