Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
After regaining consciousness at some unknown point, Megumi could feel the rushing air current beside him, and…
His kidneys were hurting quite badly right now.
“Hiss…”
Megumi instinctively sucked in a breath of cold air, but his action seemed to startle the person behind him.
“Hang in there, we’ll reach a safe place soon!” The black-haired, gold-eyed woman comforted Megumi, though her tone sounded a bit urgent.
Opening his eyes, Megumi discovered he was currently sandwiched between two women on a motorcycle, likely to prevent him from accidentally falling off.
Yeah, the roar of this engine was unmistakable; this was the same vehicle that had just hit him.
However, that didn’t seem to be the most important thing right now.
Megumi could feel that something was currently hunting them down.
“As long as we pass through this tunnel opening, we’ll be safe!”
The blonde woman driving the motorcycle spoke as she skillfully used her driving techniques to dodge the numerous stone pillars and obstacles inside the cave.
“Roar!”
The sound of a giant creature’s roar echoed.
Although he didn’t know the specifics of the situation, shaking off whatever was behind them was definitely the top priority.
Thus, Megumi raised both hands and made the hand sign to summon Nue.
Even though his whole body was in excruciating pain, he knew that if he didn’t do something now, they would likely be caught by the massive entity behind them.
Moreover, while his body hurt, his Cursed Energy was still plentiful.
“Wait, your hands are injured, don’t move recklessly—”
“Nue.”
Just as the black-haired, gold-eyed woman behind him warned him, he had already completed the summoning.
“Skree!”
Whoosh!
Nue emerged from the shadows within the cave, wreathed in lightning as it lunged toward the Giant Blue Worm behind them.
Boom!
“Roar!”
After intercepting the massive creature for a moment, Megumi quickly retracted Nue.
Once a Shikigami from the Ten Shadows Technique was destroyed, it could never be restored.
He couldn’t bear to lose the transportation method he had worked so hard to obtain.
Vroom, vroom, vroom!
Finally, the three of them rode the motorcycle out of the cave, leaving the giant worm behind.
“Phew! That was a close call!”
Upon seeing the light again, the blonde woman on the motorcycle let out a long sigh of relief.
It was only then that Megumi realized their current seating arrangement was a bit strange.
Besides, it was way too cramped!
Megumi struggled, wanting to get off the bike, but he was held down by the shoulders by the black-haired, gold-eyed woman behind him.
“You’re injured right now; you shouldn’t move around.”
Reminded by her words, the blonde woman in front finally reacted.
She quickly turned around to look at Megumi, then gave an awkward, forced smile.
“Um… sorry about that. I was speeding too fast earlier and didn’t notice you, so I accidentally hit you. I’ll compensate you once we get to the academy!”
As she spoke, the blonde woman pressed her hands together in a prayer-like gesture, looking very sincere.
“Academy…”
Megumi murmured, then looked into the distance, seeing the bustling city he had spotted earlier.
But such a massive place was actually just an academy?
Regardless, there should be medical facilities there.
“Yeah, I don’t mind. By the way, can I know your names?”
Megumi felt he couldn’t just keep calling them “Black Cat” and “Goldie.”
In terms of temperament, one was like a cool black cat, while the other was like an enthusiastic golden retriever.
“Oh, oh! I’m Lynae, a student at Star-Torch Academy.”
The “Big Golden Retriever” seemed quite honest, just an ordinary, somewhat eccentric student.
“Rover. I’m a preparatory student about to enroll at Star-Torch Academy.”
The name “Rover” made Megumi pause.
That actually counted as a name?
Wasn’t it some kind of code name or title?
Whatever, he didn’t want to meddle in other people’s business.
“Megumi… I have amnesia.”
After thinking for a long while, Megumi squeezed out this explanation.
But he felt there wasn’t much wrong with saying that; after all, he truly knew nothing about this world.
“Amnesia? That’s fine. Dr. Lu at the academy can definitely cure you. Then the three of us will go to Star-Torch Academy together!”
As Lynae spoke, she twisted the motorcycle’s throttle and sped forward.
The series of actions was so fast that Megumi didn’t even have time to react.
Just how scatterbrained is this girl?!
There’s an injured person on the bike, and she’s still driving this fast?!
Fortunately, with Rover supporting Megumi from behind, the journey was relatively safe.
Step.
Feeling the long-awaited solid ground, Megumi was almost moved to tears.
“I swear I’m never riding your bike again…”
“Ahaha, sorry. I just love speeding too much, so I got a bit excited.” Lynae scratched her head awkwardly.
Her behavior and words made Megumi wonder if most people in this academy were “eccentrics” like her…
“Alright, Megumi is injured. Let’s take him to the infirmary first.”
Rover spoke up to get things back on track.
It was only then that Megumi noticed their outfits were very…
unique.
Lynae had a typical delinquent schoolgirl style; her jacket was draped over her shoulders rather than worn properly.
Besides having many small accessories, her clothes were covered in colorful graffiti.
As for Rover…
Good heavens, does this little bit of fabric even count as clothing?!
Megumi felt that his casual clothes were completely out of place compared to theirs.
But Megumi didn’t say anything.
Perhaps people in this world just dressed this provocatively?
Ring, ring, ring!
Just as Lynae was leading Megumi and Rover to the infirmary, the ringtone of the communication phone on Lynae’s person suddenly rang out, and then…
“Lynae! Where did you run off to?! I sent you several messages and you didn’t reply! Do you know what day it is today?!”
An angry voice came from the other side of the phone, causing Lynae’s face to instantly crumple.
“That… Rover, Megumi, I have some business to attend to. I really wanted to stay with you guys! But if I mess up this group project again, I’m toast!”
By the end, Lynae was even pouting with her big, sparkling eyes, acting cute towards Megumi and Rover.
“I don’t mind. Just point me in the right direction, and I can go to the infirmary myself.”
Megumi found Lynae’s reaction quite amusing.
Indeed, seeing other students worry about group projects was a beautiful sight.
“I’ll take care of Megumi in the meantime. Go ahead,” Rover said, waving to Lynae with a smile.
“Thank you so much! I’ll definitely rush back to the infirmary to join you as soon as I’m done!”
With that, Lynae gave a kick, and rollers appeared under her shoes, allowing her to move even faster.
Well, playing with things like that in the academy really fit the delinquent girl style…
“Let’s go together. I also need to go to the infirmary to check on some Frequency Loss issues.” Rover then smiled and walked side-by-side with Megumi toward the infirmary.
Well, it seemed she wasn’t as cold as he had imagined.