Chester finished his shower and leaned against the wall, waiting for Lopez.
He had told himself he didn't care, but the fact that she had fallen because he pushed her still left an unpleasant feeling in his chest.
Besides, he intended to warn her not to approach Bill carelessly and hurt him.
Anything that worried Medina wasn't something he could simply ignore.
She was already far too kind. He didn't want to give her even more things to worry about.
Just then, Lopez emerged from the shower area, muttering something under her breath as if she were cursing the world.
“Banana milk, banana milk!”
The moment she met Chester's eyes, she snapped her mouth shut.
Then she naturally turned around and acted as though he didn't exist.
Chester, who had been waiting to apologize, instantly felt irritated at being ignored.
Forgetting what he had originally planned to say, he coldly snapped at her.
“I don't know what you're plotting, but Bill and the rest of us—”
Or rather, he would have snapped at her.
If Lopez hadn't immediately bolted the moment he opened his mouth.
Left standing there alone, Chester stared blankly down the hallway.
Without looking back even once, Lopez disappeared around the corner.
My cheek prickled.
It felt like Chester's blazing glare alone was enough to burn a hole through my face.
But instead of paying attention to him, I focused on eating my cookie while seriously considering my future.
Where should I even start if I want to find a way back home?
I'd need money if I wanted the freedom to search properly.
The problem was that I had no idea where to begin.
Maybe I should visit a temple.
There had to be a reason I had transmigrated into this world.
And unlike many fantasy settings, gods actually existed here.
If I prayed sincerely enough, maybe one of them would give me an answer.
Or perhaps my transmigration itself was connected to a god.
Besides, a temple is the only place I can realistically go without money.
There was one not far from Sunflower Orphanage.
Honestly, I wanted to visit immediately.
Unfortunately, children here weren't allowed outside unless accompanied by a teacher.
Which meant I'd have to find a way to sneak out.
“H-Hic...”
The green-haired baby beside me started sniffling again, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Ah.
I'd unknowingly eaten three cookies.
I really wished someone would change my seatmate.
Handing him the cookie I was about to eat, I smiled as kindly as possible.
“What's your name?”
“WAAAAAH!”
...
Why does this baby keep crying?
Bill bit down on his lip to stop himself from laughing as he watched Lopez stare at him in bewilderment.
Lopez is hilarious! She's so funny!
Bill genuinely meant no harm.
Every time he looked at Lopez, she surprised him in a new way.
A few days passed, and I gradually adapted to life here.
“It's the mean Lopez!”
I no longer cared when children from other classes pointed fingers at me while passing by.
This orphanage was full of unusually mature kids, but at the end of the day, children were still children.
Their methods of bullying were...
Splash!
Throwing water at me while claiming they were helping me stay hydrated.
By the time I lifted my head, the culprit had already run away.
One of the teachers stepped into the hallway after hearing the commotion and frowned at me.
“You! Didn't I tell you not to play with water in the hallways?”
“It's so hot that I'm sweating.”
Despite my ridiculous answer, the teacher responded smoothly.
“No one in their right mind would mistake that amount of water for sweat, child.”
“Ah, it's hot. The sweat is just—”
“Nope! Not falling for it! Clean it all up with a mop!”
“Can I change clothes first? Otherwise it'll just keep dripping.”
“Fine. But don't run away!”
“Yes, Teacher.”
Honestly, it was just children's pranks.
It didn't bother me.
From my difficult childhood to the brief adult life I'd lived before transmigrating—
I'd experienced enough hardships that something like this barely registered.
Changing clothes was annoying, though.
Then again, Lopez's reputation wasn't exactly good to begin with. And after framing Medina, everyone hated her even more.
Most children simply avoided the original Lopez because of her nasty personality.
But just like in the novel, once she had been punished and humiliated, they started bullying her openly.
The children she had hurt were now getting their revenge.
After changing clothes as instructed, I grabbed a mop and headed back into the hallway.
Klein was already there.
Grinning.
Pouring more water onto the floor.
“Oops. Looks like I spilled even more.”
I was already soaked, so it wasn't exactly devastating.
Klein flashed me an infuriating smile with his angelic face.
Then Bill sniffled and called out to me.
“L-Lopez noona... t-there's water over here too... sniff.”
“Why is there water there?”
I hadn't even been standing in that spot.
“I-I spilled it...”
Bill sniffled and grabbed the hem of my skirt tightly.
Well...
Accidentally spilling it was definitely better than doing it on purpose.
I tried to gently remove his hand so I could start cleaning.
“Hic... ugh...”
But seeing him gather tears as if preparing for a dramatic crying session, I gave up and started mopping.
Klein stepped directly into my path and asked,
“Hey. Aren't you angry?”
“Not really.”
The more you reacted, the more bullies wanted to tease you.
Children especially loved big reactions.
“That's annoying.”
He scowled.
“It annoys me that Medina worries about you.”
“I'll tell her not to.”
There.
Satisfied?
Now please leave.
I casually mopped around Klein's shoes.
“Hey! That's my shoe—dammit!”
Ignoring him completely, I continued cleaning.
“You just wait!”
Ah.
Another productive day.
Klein kept glancing back over his shoulder.
Lopez had already finished mopping and was now walking toward the storage shed hand in hand with Bill.
For some reason, seeing that made him uncomfortable.
“What kind of trick is she pulling?”
She used to follow him around everywhere.
“Then again... I guess anyone would lose interest eventually.”
Even after he'd treated her so badly, the only person who had stayed by his side was Medina.
That's why Medina was an angel.
The only person he needed was Medina.
“Oh? Klein.”
Right then, Medina emerged from the classroom and waved.
Klein's face immediately lit up.
“Medina!”
Medina really was the best!
Since I'd already become the awful Lopez, I decided to stop holding back.
I'd cut off my connection with Medina exactly the way Klein wanted.
“Medina.”
She looked surprisingly happy that I had spoken to her.
“You called?”
Her bright smile was dazzling.
For a moment, I simply stared at her.
She looked like sweet pink cotton candy brought to life.
Eventually I pulled myself together.
“Just know that I don't mean anything bad by this, okay?”
“Okay.”
After laying the groundwork, I glanced toward Klein.
Watch carefully.
“I'm fine now, so you don't need to worry about me anymore.”
“Uh...?”
“I was a bad friend to you. And once the next evaluation happens, I'll probably be demoted to Class 3. We won't see each other anymore, so you really don't need to concern yourself with me.”
Medina immediately panicked.
“Ah, I'm sor—”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I'm the one who should apologize. I'm really sorry for everything.”
Then I returned to my seat.
For some reason, Bill, whose eyes were full of tears, muttered,
“L-Lopez noona... did you become stupid...?”
Children really were more blunt than adults.
I wondered if this kid realized how deeply he'd wounded a grown woman's heart.
“Today we're having a treasure hunt!”
This was a special event exclusive to Class 1.
Treasure exchange tickets were hidden throughout the forest.
The first- and second-place winners received prizes.
Cookies, dolls, dresses, accessories—
Children could choose almost anything they wanted from the reward list.
As long as it wasn't too expensive, the orphanage would buy it.
It was basically a cheap way of manipulating children.
But regardless of the adults' intentions, the kids loved it.
“Yay!”
“This time I'll definitely get first place!”
“I don't care if it's second place! I just want a doll!”
Everyone was excited.
If the reward had been permission to leave the orphanage, I would've fought tooth and nail for first place so I could visit the temple.
Unfortunately, no matter what I did, there was no way they'd allow a child to go out alone.
More importantly—
Even if I tried my hardest, Medina would win anyway.
Because Chester and Klein secretly moved treasure tickets near her whenever these events happened.
Like many romance-fantasy heroines, Medina was hopelessly oblivious and genuinely believed she was just lucky.
“Medina, what are you going to ask for this time?”
“Um... a dress, maybe?”
Her cheeks turned pink as she answered shyly.
“Lopez noona.”
Bill suddenly spoke.
Honestly, this kid still made me slightly uncomfortable.
“What would you do if you got first place?”
“I would...”
“Hey!”
Klein interrupted.
“Like she'd ever get first place. She should stop dreaming.”
He seemed even more hostile than he had been in the original novel.
Still.
He was cute, so I'd let it slide.
“That's why I already gave up.”
I patted Bill's head.
“Good luck, Bill.”
“Y-You were cheering for me?”
If he hated that enough to cry, I could stop.
I tried to slip my hand free.
Bill refused to let go.
In the end, I wound up dragging him behind me toward the teacher.
Anna glanced at me before pointedly pretending I didn't exist.
“Teacher, I hear a dog barking in the forest on the left.”
“A dog barking?”
Anna frowned.
“Are you calling me a dog?”
“...?”
Even if she disliked me, was sarcasm really the only thing she was capable of?
Maybe she read my thoughts from my expression because her face twisted immediately.
“Where exactly are you hearing a dog barking?!”
At her shout, the surrounding children flinched and turned to look our way.
