The Gacha Addict of the Academy

“Yawn…”

Another day has come to an end.

For some reason, today felt unusually long. Even though I practically slept through the morning and only started my day around lunchtime, it still felt like it dragged on forever. Then again, meeting Flost and getting on the gym teacher’s bad side—being run into the ground in the process—would make any day feel longer than it was.

Just thinking about it still makes me shudder.

I can’t believe I actually survived that.

“Ahhh… another day done,” Hyeon-ah said as she approached me cheerfully. Reina was right beside her. Normally, Kang Ji hyuk would be with them too, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“What about Ji hyuk?” I asked.

“Oh, him? He had something to do and left early. Lucky, isn’t it?”

“…Really lucky, huh?”

“Why? You don’t want to?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to…”

Hmm… so he left because he had plans.

That means it’s just the three of us—me and two girls. Tonight is shaping up to be… interesting.

Living day by day like this makes it feel like this academy isn’t much different from the school I used to attend.

For a place that’s supposedly the world’s best academy, I can’t say the curriculum feels that special. I thought coming here would mean being dragged into life-threatening incidents every other day, but so far, it’s been eerily normal—just like any other school.

Of course, the professors have warned us that this is just the beginning. Starting next week, things are supposed to pick up, and we’ll be diving into more activities. But for now, my first week here has been pretty uneventful.

Honestly, I don’t get why this place is hyped as the world’s best academy.

It’s a bit puzzling, but what can I do?

In the novel, the academy rarely focused on the classes themselves. The story was all about the chaos—major incidents erupting left and right. Whenever something happened, the timeline would skip ahead by weeks, sometimes even months, glossing over any downtime.

So, I guess that means there were plenty of uneventful stretches between the chaos.

Still, it’s only been a week. Maybe it’s too early to judge. After all, even in the novel, incidents didn’t always happen right away. And when they did, they really happened.

Frankly, I like this peace.

If an incident were to occur, I’d be the one most upset about it.

I’ve made it my goal to live a peaceful, quiet life here. Getting caught up in one of those events would be the opposite of that. On my very first day, I got tangled up in something, and from any angle, it was nothing short of a tragedy.

If someone finds my misfortune funny, they’re definitely the villain. I’m tempted to punch them in the gut just thinking about it.

“Luna?”

“Huh? Yeah?”

I was so lost in my thoughts that Hyeon-ah startled me.

“When did you start calling me? I didn’t hear you.”

“Geez, so? Are you coming or not?”

“…?”

Wait, coming where?

I was so distracted by my pointless thoughts that I completely missed the conversation.

Am I an idiot?

“What… were we talking about?” I asked, embarrassed.

“We’re planning to spend the night chatting at Reina’s dorm. Wanna join us?”

T-that…

Am I even allowed to go?

This doesn’t feel like the kind of party I’d be invited to…

Suddenly, I was struck by how amazing Hyeon-ah was. It’s only been two days since we started school, and she’s already close enough with Reina to spend the night at her place. Her social skills are honestly mind-blowing.

“C-can I really go?”

“Of course! Reina even said she’d really like it if you came.”

“W-what?!”

Ooh, look at her getting embarrassed…

It’s rare to see Reina flustered like this. Maybe this is life’s way of rewarding me after such a grueling day. Whatever the reason, I’ll take it as a small victory for enduring today’s horrors.

Wait… did they say we’re heading to the dorms?

“The dorms…?”

“Yeah, we checked, and it’s fine.”

Apparently, while it’s technically a dormitory, it functions more like an apartment complex with pretty loose rules. Inviting friends over for the night is perfectly acceptable.

Honestly, dorms like this didn’t exist back in my world. But hey, this is probably just a case of narrative convenience.

Or maybe it’s just because we’re within the academy grounds.

Anyway, that’s not the issue here. The real question is whether I should go or not.

If I’m being honest, I don’t think I can handle this mentally.

Someone like me—who’s never had any luck with girls—spending the night chatting with two beautiful women? That’s way out of my league.

“People like me aren’t built for this kind of stuff.”

Save me, Luna!

“So, are we going or not?”

“…Yeah, sure,” I replied reluctantly.

Reina seemed like she wasn’t entirely thrilled but wasn’t completely against it either. It looked like she didn’t mind the idea too much.

Well, what could go wrong? As long as I kept quiet and stayed out of the way, I’d probably get through the night without any trouble. Since I had no intention of causing any drama, nothing unexpected should happen.

“…I keep feeling like someone’s watching us,” Hyeon-ah said suddenly.

“…You’re feeling it too, right?”

Watching us?

What were they talking about?

Confused, I glanced around.

It wasn’t until then that I noticed someone’s gaze fixed on us.

And I instantly figured out who it was.

They probably thought they were hiding well, but their blonde hair was sticking out like a sore thumb. Flost—usually trying to act all cool—had a knack for doing unintentionally silly things.

Her personality had never stood out before since she didn’t interact much with others, but in the novel, her quirks started showing once she got close to the protagonist.

So why is it happening this early?

“….”

Everyone else seemed to have noticed too, wearing a mix of puzzled and uncomfortable expressions.

Flost, on the other hand, looked like she realized she’d been caught but was too embarrassed to come out. What was I supposed to do now?

I briefly considered asking Reina or Hyeon-ah to approach her, but that idea didn’t seem likely to work. Reina wasn’t exactly Flost’s biggest fan, and I doubted she’d agree to talk to her.

“What should we do?”

“Maybe we should try talking to her,” Hyeon-ah suggested cautiously.

Reina and Hyeon-ah exchanged uncertain glances, looking like they weren’t sure how to handle the situation. Even though they’d clearly recognized it was Flost, her intentions were a complete mystery to them. Reina, in particular, was visibly annoyed, her expression tightening in a way that was unusual for her.

She really doesn’t like her, huh?

Should I go instead?

After talking to Flost earlier, I felt a bit more confident. Plus, she felt like a kindred spirit—an outsider, just like me.

In the novel, it was mentioned that Flost had been a loner until she met the protagonist. That familiarity made it easier for someone like me to approach her.

Taking a deep breath, I gathered my courage. I’d never been this brave in my life.

“Hoo… Okay,” I exhaled, steeling myself.

With a determined expression, I walked toward where Flost was hiding.

When she noticed me coming, she retreated further into her hiding spot. But her efforts were pointless; her blonde hair was still sticking out. Suppressing a laugh, I carefully called out to her.

“Flost, do you… want to join us?”

I managed to get the words out, though it wasn’t easy.

“Luna?!” Hyeon-ah and Reina called out in unison, their voices full of surprise.

They clearly hadn’t expected me to say something like that. Truthfully, neither had I. For someone like me, this was way out of character. But knowing Flost had been struggling made me want to take that step forward.

Flost’s eyes widened as she looked at me.

We stared at each other for what felt like a long time before she cautiously asked, her voice barely audible:

“…Can I really… come too?”

“Well… I think it’d be fine…?” I said hesitantly, glancing at Reina for approval.

After all, it was her dorm room we’d be gathering in. Without her permission, there was no way Flost could join us.

Even Hyeon-ah gave Reina a pleading look, as if silently asking her to agree.

Reina let out a deep sigh, clearly uncomfortable, before giving a reluctant nod.

She was allowing it.

Thank goodness.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I thought, At least that’s settled.