’Fuck! It feels like my eyes are being ground into lava!’
The pain hit hard.
It was far worse than the whip strike from Buttcheeks earlier.
Way worse.
Today, I learned something new.
Thanks to the slight recovery boost from [The Oath of the Saint], I was already feeling a bit better, but—
Enhancement was way more taxing than I expected.
Enhancing just my eyesight would’ve been easier on my body, sure. But with how bad my base vision was, sharpening it wouldn’t have been enough to dodge all those whip attacks earlier.
So, I had no choice but to enhance my entire eye structure.
It wasn’t smart.
It wasn’t efficient.
But I didn’t have a choice.
The goal was to completely shatter Buttcheeks’ confidence—to make her feel fear. To break her. And for that, I had to endure the pain.
Pain was the price.
The only small blessing was that, thanks to the training grounds’ safety tech and the dulled training weapons, the spot where Buttcheeks’ whip had landed didn’t leave a permanent scar.
Not that it would’ve mattered too much, but still. Small mercies.
All things considered, the sparring match had turned out pretty well for me.
"...Rin."
Great. Here we go.
It would’ve been perfect if it weren’t for the sound of Professor Lena’s voice cutting through the haze of pain.
And judging by the sharp edge in her tone, she wasn’t calling me over for a casual chat.
I sighed internally.
How the hell did she even find out?
"I heard what happened during the spar earlier."
What now? What did I do wrong? I didn’t think I’d crossed any lines...
But of course, I kept those thoughts to myself for the moment.
"I know there are rumors about you going around, and they’re all lies, but even if you wanted to handle things yourself, you shouldn’t have resorted to that method."
Ah, so this was about the whole dagger thing. It must have looked bad—me stabbing her in the neck. I mean, who could blame her? That definitely wasn’t the most tactful way to make my point.
"You used your talent, didn’t you?"
"Ah, yes."
Ah, so that’s the problem.
"Rin, I’ll be honest with you. I know about the penalty of your talent."
Of course she does.
We’d been through enough for her to know. And since we both had our secrets, it wasn’t like I could hide it from her.
"You just barely recovered, and you went and used it again for this? You should’ve asked me to mediate instead. I’m your homeroom teacher, after all."
That was the issue.
If I had come to her first, maybe I could’ve avoided the whole mess. The bullying would’ve stopped. But it wouldn’t have been my way. And who knew if she’d even have believed me?
Would she really think it was about justice when she knew the truth about my talent’s penalty?
Maybe she’d think it was all just a play for attention.
I didn’t trust anyone enough to let them handle this for me. But what other choice did I have?
None. There was no other option.
It had to be done, and, of course, I did it—my way.
Professor Lena let out a long, drawn-out sigh, her gaze fixed on me. It was the kind of look that said she didn’t quite know what to make of me yet.
Then, her expression shifted. Her eyes gleamed with excitement, and I couldn’t help but wonder why.
What now?
"Rin," she said, her voice soft but firm. "Let’s make a promise."
I blinked. "A promise?"
Her smile grew, warmer this time. "Yes. It’s important."
She leaned forward slightly, her hands clasped in front of her.
"I want you to promise me something. No matter how small or big your troubles get, you’ll come to me. If something’s bothering you—don’t keep it in. Just tell me. No matter what, I’ll drop everything to come and help. And if things go really out of control, try not to use your talents unless it’s a life-or-death situation."
I frowned, confused for a moment. "You really want me to promise that?"
"Yes," she nodded, her eyes full of sincerity. "I know you’re strong, Rin, but no one can carry everything alone. Promise me you’ll reach out when things get tough. I’ll always be there for you."
For a brief moment, I just stood there, processing her words. It was... unexpected, to say the least.
But coming from is something that would you expect since her character is just like that.
"I’ll save you!"
She held out her pinky finger, the gesture almost childlike, as if making a promise to a little kid.
That pinky...
It felt strangely familiar, like a memory trying to surface from the corners of my mind.
A promise, made so long ago...
The memory hit me before I could stop it, a wave of nostalgia and embarrassment flooding through me. Someone else had once done the same thing, a long time ago, and I had linked my finger with theirs, unaware of how foolish it might seem.
I sighed, realizing what I’d just done.
Why did I always fall into these traps?
I didn’t even want to.
Ah, damn it.
Still, there I was, my pinky finger locked with hers. I could have refused. I should have refused. But instead, I’d gone and done it anyway.
Her smile was warm, so innocent in its simplicity.
"Thank you for making the promise," she said, her voice full of sincerity.
And for a moment, I thought maybe I should be happy that someone trusted me enough to make a promise like this. But... the truth was, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep it.
I had too many things on my plate. Too many goals and plans still left unfinished. I hadn’t even started half of what I needed to do, and here she was, asking me to promise something I wasn’t sure I could deliver.
But despite all that, I couldn’t just shrug it off.
Something inside me urged me to try—to at least make an attempt. Maybe for her. Maybe because it felt like the right thing to do, even if I was nowhere near ready for it.
I forced a small, tight smile, trying to hide the confusion I felt inside.
"Yeah, I’ll try my best," I muttered, my voice lower than usual.
’Of course I’ll just try and nothing else more.’