The Gacha Addict of the Academy

The phrase “recovery from fatigue” wasn’t a lie—my body felt incredibly light.
The fresh, happy feeling was a bonus.

The infirmary bed… I wouldn’t mind using it more often.

But this “Flost” thing…
It was a name I’d heard somewhere before.
If I recognized it, that meant it had been mentioned in the story.

“…I don’t know.”
Maybe I’d think about it later.

Judging by how much time had passed while I was asleep in the infirmary, it was already lunchtime before I realized it.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten anything this morning. I was too sleepy and tired to bother.
Even someone like me, who doesn’t eat much, was starting to feel really hungry.

Skipping breakfast, sleeping all morning, and waking up around lunchtime left me feeling hungrier than ever.
I needed to eat something, at least.

“Should I go to the convenience store?”
I didn’t want to waste food by going to the cafeteria. Something simple, like a rice ball and chocolate milk from the convenience store, would be perfect.

If Hyeon-ah or Reina saw me, they’d probably nag me about how unbalanced my diet was and insist I eat a proper meal. Especially Reina.
She’d been fussing over me this morning, insisting on taking me to the infirmary after just one look at my face.

I was grateful for her kindness, but her affection sometimes felt a bit overwhelming.

Lost in thought, I found myself at the convenience store before I even realized it.
I hadn’t noticed since I was walking with my eyes fixed on the ground.

Being inside the academy, the store was naturally popular with students and bustling with people.
Would there even be any rice balls left?

“Rice balls…”
If I were to choose, it’d have to be tuna mayo—the alpha and omega of rice balls.

Well… it wasn’t just about taste. Eating something like that might help me put on a bit of weight.
My body was so small and light that I looked like I could blow away in the wind.

The cafeteria’s ordering system let you order through a machine without talking to anyone, then pick up your meal when called—but even buying side dishes last time had been exhausting.
Navigating a place packed with people like this was truly challenging.

“Oh…”
This is…

A larger tuna mayo rice ball. It’s a bit more expensive, but it’s bigger.

Normally, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick the smaller one, but in my current state of extreme hunger, I wondered if I could manage the larger one.

Caught in the dilemma of whether to get the small or large one, I figured most people would just say to eat whatever I felt like.
But to me, it was a serious, life-or-death decision.

If I got the large one and couldn’t finish it, I’d feel like I wasted my points.

What should I choose…

Thud.
“Oh…”

“Huh? What’s this?”

I followed the rice ball in someone else’s hand with my eyes and saw familiar blonde hair.
Just as I was about to charge forward, I was immediately held back.

With my weak body, there was no way I could break free.

“Aren’t you the one from earlier?”
“Ugh… please let me go…”

I wanted to yell, but it wasn’t in my nature to raise my voice.
All I could do was plead for them to release me.

But my pleas fell on deaf ears, as if their personality was twisted just for fun.

“Hey, shouldn’t you tell me your name if you want to know mine?”
“Ugh…”

They weren’t wrong, but…

At first glance, they had a divine aura, but as soon as they spoke, I realized they were someone I shouldn’t deal with.
That’s why I’d tried to make a cool escape back then—I never thought we’d meet again like this.

“So hurry up and tell me your name.”

Would telling them my name be enough?

But they could’ve just looked at the list to find out my name, so I didn’t understand why they were asking me directly.
Still, if I didn’t answer, I had a feeling they wouldn’t let me go, so I had no choice.

It really hit me how weak I was.

“I’m… Luna…”“Hey, you there, what are you doing?”
“…What’s it to you?”

Oh…
Reina?

I hadn’t expected to run into Reina here, so I stared at her blankly. Then I thought about my situation: me, trying to run away, and the blonde girl holding the back of my neck.

This looked exactly like a bullying scene, didn’t it?

“Let go of her. Now.”
“What? I was just trying to talk. Right, Luna?”

“Wait, that’s not something you should say…”

I tried to tell her she shouldn’t say things like that, but the words wouldn’t come out. All I could do was nod silently.
If it really seemed like nothing had happened…

“…Prepare yourself.”
“…What?”

Ah.
Damn it.
I’m screwed.

“Seriously… why did I have to get hit? Damn it…”

At least it didn’t escalate too far.
The blonde woman did get hit once, but she didn’t seem fazed at all as she… healed herself?

Wait, healed?

And she even cursed naturally while doing it.

“Flost”… That name…

Oh.
“Aha…”

I finally remembered who she was.

Come to think of it, in the story, she was mostly known for spending time in the infirmary because of her ability. Her power was healing—a simple yet overwhelmingly powerful ability. However, because of its trigger, people felt uneasy every time they were treated by her, leading to both good and bad rumors about her.

She was one of those peculiar heroines with mixed reputations. Some even referred to her with the bizarre title “Saint(ess) Queen.” For certain individuals, receiving her treatment was a blessing, while for others, it was a strange mix of gratitude for the healing and discomfort from the verbal abuse they endured during the process.

Her abilities were so effective that she eventually became the protagonist’s main healer.

Ah… maybe there was a reason that mission appeared.

“…This is so annoying. All I wanted was to ask her name—how did it turn out like this?”
“You were the one who messed with Luna first. She’s a delicate girl, so don’t be rough with her.”
“…What are you, her mom?”

“Wh-what? Mom?!”

Reina’s face turned red with anger and embarrassment as she stuttered.

Well, considering her age, being called someone’s mom would definitely make her mad. I managed to stop her from hitting Flost any further, but she’d already thrown one punch earlier because of her temper.

“Well, what’s done is done. Just apologize, and we’ll move on.”
“Apologize? Fine. I’m sorry for hitting you.”

She apologized, but her expression showed she wasn’t sorry at all.

It was clear she still didn’t like how Flost had grabbed me by the back of the neck earlier. Even though I’m not the most perceptive person, I could tell Reina genuinely cared about me. There was no other reason she’d be so hostile toward Flost.

In the original story, the two of them actually got along well. Reina had even counseled Flost about her guilt over the verbal abuse she had to dish out while healing others. According to the lore, her trigger was incredibly fickle, causing her to act in seemingly unrelated ways.

Honestly, this felt like one of those moments where the author’s cruelty shone through.

After all, her abilities worked more effectively—and faster—when she used harsher language. It even widened the range of her healing. For someone like Flost, who outwardly seemed indifferent but was kind at heart, it was naturally a source of inner conflict.

“…Okay, that’s enough. Hey, you.”
“…?”

I hadn’t expected her to suddenly call out to me in the middle of her conversation with Reina, so I was a bit startled.

I felt uneasy, thinking she might’ve gotten hit because of me.

Flost was actually popular among the few readers who followed the story. There had even been comments about how she was wasted on the wrong series, though they got deleted later.

I also liked her as a character—someone who cursed at others while healing them but suffered from guilt over it, revealing her kind nature. Knowing this made me feel even more guilty.

As I fidgeted nervously, she spoke to me.
“It’s fine. I didn’t get hit because of you. Just tell me your name.”

How does she know what I’m thinking?

Well, I couldn’t exactly refuse after asking her for her name earlier.
“It’s Luna… Crystal.”

“Got it. I’ll remember it. See you next time.”

She smiled faintly, waved at me, and walked away.

“Hmph…”

Reina still didn’t seem to like her.

…

I guess I’ll have to explain things. What choice do I have?
I sighed.