I'm... Not... Cheating!

I... Am in a dream... Why do I know it's a dream? Because I'm floating around without a body, that's why.

In my dream, I was flying at the highest point of the exosphere, able to gander at the wondrous sight of the blue planet below. However, the beautiful Earth wasn't the main character in this dream.

From one side of the earth to another, golden particles were swimming across the sky. I don't understand why I know, but those particles were the representation of the nanomachines in the entire world. Now, they were numbering more than the number of atoms in the entire world, approaching sexdecillion, and multiplying even faster as time passed.

What made me wonder was that they were all gathering at the same altitude as me, in the exosphere. It was too high to even have any life they could parasitize, so it makes me wonder what the nanomachines were doing at this location.

'Well, it's a dream anyway. Why bother with logical explanations?'

As I was watching the golden "river" flowing all around, I noticed that they were gathering at a certain spot. There, as they congregated into a large mass, they formed something like a globe and started spinning rapidly.

'Hmmm?'

As the large aggregate of nanomachines moved and spun around, something strange occurred in the space above them. A black "hole" appeared in space, and from it, a ray of white light fell. The nanomachines moved, trying to enter the small area where the light passed; however, it only lasted for an instant.

The light faded, and the hole closed. After that, as if nothing ever happened, the nanomachines dispersed, returning to their respective locations. For some reason, however, I can feel that "something" has changed. As if they now possess "intelligence" and could move like real living creatures, able to decide for themselves.

Just as I was about to observe them further, I suddenly felt danger. The golden particles stopped in midair, and I felt like their gazes were focused on me. Although I didn't have a body, I felt like cold sweat was running down my back.

"... ro..."

A soft whisper reached my ear, getting louder and louder.

"... hiro... Mahiro! Wake up, dude!"

"Eh, ah? Wha...?"

I lifted my head and looked around. The faces of my classmates were turned toward me; even Sir Andrew was the same, staring at me with a weird gaze.

"..."

I turned to the side, and the source of the voice that brought me back to my senses was Kyouya. With my eyes, I tried asking him about what was going on, but he just stayed quiet, staring at me. No... His gaze was slightly higher.

I followed his eyes as he stared me up, looked above my head, and frowned.

"Why is my status..." I didn't continue my words and just checked instead. However, it was still set to private. "... Weird? What's wrong with this?"

"Dude... Are you for real?" Kyouya asked, his lips turning upside down into a deep frown. "Your level. You were level 5 yesterday noon, and now you're level 8?!"

"Eh?"

Ah, right... I did level up after fighting the boss yesterday... How could I forget?

While others spent weeks to gain one level, I spent half a day to gain three. I guess everyone's gaze becoming like that is pretty reasonable.

"Mr. Giza..." Finally, as if snapping back to reality, Sir Andrew called my name. His face was a bit scary, as if he were headed for the frontlines. "To the guidance office. Now."

He walked to the door, opened it, and stood by its side while staring daggers at me. Wait, did I do something wrong? I'm innocent! Please, Sir Andrew, I didn't do anything, I promise! Just kidding.

Well, reasoning with someone who already has their own conclusion is basically as futile as trying to wash dirt away with muddy water. Now that he has his own "story" about what he believes I did, It'll be hard to change his mind without proper reasoning. Furthermore, there are a lot of eyes watching me now, so I better follow him.

Although still sleepy, I stood up from my seat and went to the doorway. As I walked down the center of the classroom, I could feel everyone's gazes piercing my back. Yep, it's definitely because of this damned status display. And why can't I turn it off? To add to that, it even had a golden-colored border compared to the blue one it usually had, making it stand out even more.

"I'll follow after you; go," Sir Andrew said, waving his arm as if to guide me onward.

Having no choice, I did as told and walked down the hallway. As it was pretty quiet, other than the other teachers talking before their classes, the sound of our footsteps reverberated loudly. In return, gazes turned to me from the doorways, and they quickly stared at the golden display above my head.

"What's that? Pffft! Is he so proud of being level 8 that he's displaying it for all to see?"

"Shi...! T-That's the lowest leveled guy, right? Why is his level higher than mine?!"

"Wow! So you can change the display color? I want pink!"

Voices echoed, and whispers wormed into my ears, making me feel both embarrassed and proud. However, the status screen above my head still bothers me. It feels the same as walking down a crowded pathway, waving at everyone, only to notice that your door is open. It's that annoying feeling.

However, no matter what I tried, the display remained above my head. Since I couldn't do anything about it, I just ignored it in the end.

As we were walking toward the guidance office, located on the third floor of the school building, we met with someone at the landing of the stairs leading to the second floor. Her wavy brown hair moved with the wind, spreading a sweet scent in the air. She was walking with a proud gait but stopped her steps as soon as we entered her peripheral vision.

"..."

The two of us stared at each other. It probably wasn't because I was suspicious, but rather because I was the same as her, having a gold status display above her head while getting led by a teacher to the guidance office.

The display mentioned her name, Himeji Alice, her class, Magic Swordswoman, and her level, 8. As expected, she must be the highest-level student in the entire school, reaching the second class change and approaching the third. It's envious, really.

"QUEEN?"

I muttered her nickname out of reflex, but she just turned to face forward, scaling the steps without so much as a greeting. It was a bit prickly, but I guess it's awkward to interact with someone she rejected once. I shrugged my shoulders and was about to follow her up the stairs, but suddenly stopped.

"Hmm? Mr. Giza, what's wrong?" Sir Andrew asked as I was blocking the way.

However, it was not time for me to go up yet. I'd rather choose to enjoy the view... After QUEEN vanished at the turn of the stairs, I started scaling it too, savoring the short memory of the paradise I saw. It was pink...

As I reached the landing before the bend, QUEEN was no longer in sight. It's a shame. Sir Andrew was pushing me on, so I was forced to climb the stairs again. This continued until we reached the third floor, before going straight for the guidance room.

After a brief knock, I opened the door and saw that QUEEN was really there too. She was sitting promptly, her legs crossed, with a hand on her chin supported by her other arm running under her plump mounds. Her eyes turned to glare at me as I entered, but just like before, she quickly turned away as if uninterested.

"Miss Himeji... That status screen..." As Sir Andrew saw QUEEN, he noticed that she had the same effect as mine, having gold borders around it and being unable to get hidden.

"Teacher Andrew! You're here too? And that boy is...?"

After hearing his little comment, the female teacher who was together with QUEEN quickly turned around, her long black ponytail waving like a whip, looking at us through her glasses with doubt. Her expression warped to surprise as she saw the same style of status display on top of my head. "That is..."

"Ah, the gold status display? I didn't think that deeply about it yet. We're here for a different matter." Sir Andrew waved his hand with an awkward smile.

"I see. Then please feel free to enter," she said with a smile, ushering us in.

I walked to the closest chair, about three meters away from the other, where QUEEN was sitting. As I sat, Sir Andrew moved in front of me, coughing lightly before turning on his angry/serious face once more.

"So, Mahiro. Can you tell me what happened? How did you gain three levels so suddenly?" His words were clear, but for some reason, I could hear his undertone. [You didn't do something illegal, right?]

Just as I was about to answer, I felt a sharp gaze on my side. Turning, I saw QUEEN glaring at me again. No, to be precise, she was staring at my level display. Right, me being level 5 yesterday was a piece of pretty widespread information; she must be weirded out by how I was already level 8 just a day later.

"... The same..." She muttered in a soft whisper that was audible in the almost silent room.

I wonder what she meant by that. Anyway, I slowly explained to Sir Andrew how, after I was sent to the hospital after a brief duel with Alfred, I went hunting in the field and gained one level. Then, before returning, I hunted a roaming boss monster, giving me two more levels.

Although doubt was still in his eyes, as I passed the calling card of the handsome gunslinger who had spoken to me before, his suspicion lightened. "So you were seen by Lancelot... That cheeky brat, why didn't he tell me a student of mine was hunting under the field he supervises?"

It seems they were acquainted anyway, so I guess this means I'm acquitted of the suspicion? Just as I was about to stand up and leave, Sir Andrew patted my shoulder, pushing me back down. "We're not done yet, Mahiro. That thing, your status screen, what's wrong with it?"

Hearing his additional question, I just scratched my head. "... I wonder what is wrong with it too."