As an Ordinary person (Why do I keep attracting Psychopaths?)

The Heart Class gathered at the academy gates, their combat team standing in a loosely formed group, checking their weapons—or at least, what barely passed as weapons.

A chipped sword. A rusting dagger. A spear with a wobbly tip that looked like it might fall off mid-swing.

One student, holding a wooden club, stared at it with the blank expression of someone questioning all their life choices.

"…I feel like we're the ones being sent to our deaths," he muttered.

"At least you have a weapon," another replied, holding what could only be described as a glorified kitchen knife.

"Shut up. We're lucky we even have these," Their supposed "tank" said, tightening the straps of his leather bracers. "We're not exactly rolling in wealth, remember?"

It was true. None of them had proper weapons yet. That was why the forging and intelligence teams were currently holed up in the library, scrambling to learn how to craft something useful. But for now, they had to make do.

The training hall of Evigheden academy does not even have a splinter of toothpick to use.

The damn poor haunted place!

Yuna had zero confidence in this expedition.

Honestly, she didn't even want to go hunting.

She wasn't a fighter. She didn't train in swordsmanship or hand-to-hand combat. She didn't have a warrior's instincts, nor did she particularly enjoy the idea of running headfirst into a fight.

But she had come up with this plan.

She had been the one to set everything in motion—the class divisions, the task distributions, the schedules. It would be irresponsible of her to just send them off while she sat back and relaxed. Even if she was unmotivated, this was something she refused to compromise on.

And, well…

Even if she couldn't fight, she did have one thing.

Her "Nami Fire."

A one-shot ability that could incinerate a person down to bone dust. She had spent hours refining it, ensuring that when the time came, she wouldn't die helplessly. After all, she is in a FANTASY world.

So even if she wasn't a warrior, she had at least one decisive move. That was enough.

"Bring back meat!"

The loud cheer from their classmates snapped Yuna out of her thoughts.

"Yeah! A big one! At least the size of a calf!"

"If it's too small, don't even bother coming back!"

"…I feel like we're the ones being hunted instead," One combat student muttered once again.

Not many students actually dare to venture the academy forest with its challenging topography and unknown danger.

It was only a few students who actually dare venture inside the forest.

The courtyard buzzed with more chaotic energy as the combat group made their final preparations. Students rushed about, securing their barely passable weapons, adjusting their armor—or in most cases, their regular academy uniforms since they had no real armor to speak of—and double-checking their potions.

Among them, the noble boy from the library, who had previously reacted with absolute horror at being made to clean, was still dusted with the remnants of his work. A fine layer of gray clung stubbornly to his uniform, and despite his best efforts to brush it off, it had settled into the fabric as if permanently claiming him as one of the library's own. Yet, strangely, he no longer seemed as offended by it. The initial shock of manual labor had faded, and though he still carried himself with dignity, the dust no longer made him scowl every five seconds.

He was carefully studying the map he and his small team mapped out for the combat group, making sure nothing is out of place.

Nearby, the alchemists and apothecary from the academy garden stood in a small cluster, sorting through a bundle of herbs they had managed to gather. Initially, the academy garden had seemed like a hopeless mess, overgrown with wild grass and home to sentient plant creatures with a mischievous streak. But through trial and error, they had managed to find patches of useful herbs hidden amidst the chaos—some for healing, others for alchemy, and a few they weren't entirely sure about yet but kept anyway.

"These ones can be used for minor stamina recovery," The bespectacled alchemists muttered, carefully separating a small pile. "And this… I think it's an ingredient for calming agitated emotion?"

The apothecary sniffed one of the leaves before pocketing it. "It's useful enough. Better than nothing."

A noble girl standing nearby scoffed, arms crossed. "You think? Shouldn't you be certain before we start drinking whatever you mix?"

The bespectacled alchemist pushed up his glasses. "I'm reasonably certain."

A commoner fighter snorted. "Great. So we're trusting our lives to 'reasonable certainty' now?"

"Given the state of our weapons, that's already what we're doing," Someone else quipped, tapping the blunt edge of their poorly forged sword.

A ripple of laughter spread through the group, easy and natural. Nobles and commoners alike exchanged banter, some still bickering over trivial things but without the sharp edge that had existed before. They still had their differences, of course, but somehow, between the exhausting cleaning, the chaotic academy garden, and the shared goal of survival, those differences felt less important.

Not that Yuna noticed.

She was too busy sulking.

Celeste sidled up to her, grinning far too cheerfully. "Regretting your decision yet?"

Yuna shot her a deadpan look. "I regret many things."

Celeste laughed. "You could've just let them go on their own, you know. But nooo, responsible class rep Yuna had to make sure her plan didn't fall apart."

Celeste patted her back with a dramatic sigh. "Good luck, Yuna. My dinner depends on you."

Yuna briefly entertained the thought of smacking her. Instead, she exhaled and turned to the combat group.

"My future happiness depends entirely on your ability to deliver a hot, delicious meal," Repeating, Celeste continued, voice filled with mock sorrow. "Don't let me down."

"…I'm going to hunt, not cook."

"But you'll bring back the ingredients for a warm meal, which is basically the same thing," Celeste countered, grinning.

Yuna lifted her hand as if she were about to slap her across the back of the head.

Celeste yelped and dodged, retreating behind another student. "I take it back! I take it back!"

Laughter rippled through the class.

It was strange.

They had been nothing more than a collection of abandoned, struggling students thrown into the 'worst' academy. Everyone had been listless, aimless, simply surviving day to day in Evigheden's haunted halls.

But now, there was a system. A structure. A goal.

They had roles.

They had purpose.

And even though Yuna had only set this up for the sake of her own future relaxation, the unintentional result was a group of students who finally had a reason to be motivated.

Of course, Yuna was completely unaware of this.

She just saw a bunch of children relying on her efforts for a hot meal.

"Let's go," She ordered, waving a hand dismissively. "Before I change my mind and make you all eat hard bread for another week."

The combat team immediately straightened, falling into line like obedient soldiers.

Celeste gave her a little salute. "Aye, aye, Captain!"

Yuna ignored her.

As they walked toward the forest, one of the combat students turned to Yuna hesitantly. "Hey, uh… what exactly is your specialty?"

"Elemental magic," She answered flatly.

"Yeah, we figured," Another said dryly. "What kind?"

Yuna glanced at them, her expression unreadable. "Fire."

There was a pause.

"…Oh! That's great!" One of them let out a relieved sigh. "I was worried you were some kind of non-combatant class rep who couldn't fight at all."

Yuna didn't bother correcting them.