After reviewing my escape map of the school multiple times, I felt satisfied with the plan. The only thing left to do for the escape routes to be viable is to become familiar with the locations of the classes I’m soon to attend.

  Damn it.

  I still dreaded the idea of going to school again, but with everything that’s happened so far, I don’t really have a choice. All I can really hope for is that I can adjust well enough to what’s to come.

  What do I do in the meantime?

  I wasn’t comfortable with entering the school again, not wanting to confront another magic-empowered crazy person. I’ve had my fill of that in the short time I’ve been here, and I don’t plan on eating another plate.

  Maybe I could explore the dorms?

  It was another building I wasn’t at all familiar with, but it was where I’d be staying in the days to come, and I didn’t see myself staying in another person’s room for the rest of the day when I had little clue about the inner workings of the school. Also, it might just be me, but either I have a heightened sense of smell or something that water’s mage’s water gave me a terrible stench.

  Sniff.

  “Ough!”

  I coughed.

  That settles it. I need a shower.

  I patted my pocket for my dorm key, then left the room, locking the door behind me.

  If I remember correctly, the closet should be here.

  Something I was curious about was those mysterious packages in the closet that my summoner got the beddings from. They were small and thin, nearly the size of disposable chopstick packages. I wasn’t sure what they were, but considering there were a lot of them, and since they were easily accessible, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to take one.

  I shook an end of the package between my finger and thumb, and noticed the packaging was flimsy. In fact, it was a tearable paper wrapping. Feeling around, there was something light and thin, and something small and dense.

  Curious, I opened it, tearing off an end.

  Inside was a toothbrush and a weird bar. The bar reminded me of the Stardust candy, but I was skeptical of its purpose, recalling stories of people mistaking soap for candy.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  I took a sniff.

  It smelled nice. A bit more intense than the soap bars themselves, if not mint-like.

  Is it toothpaste? It has to be!

  The connection between the bar and toothbrush’s relationship felt obvious. Same package, the width of the bar was about the same as the width of the toothbrush, and, reexamining the package, the inside of the wrapping was lined with some smooth- wax-like material, possibly to prevent the wrapping from damaging the bar.

  I’ll ask about it later.

  I carefully put both the bar and toothbrush back into the packaging before sealing it with a strip of clear tape I created, making sure to fold the open end down before taping it. Then I conjured a cloth and wrapped it around the sealed toothbrush and bar before putting it in my pocket. The cloth was to ensure the bar wouldn’t break while I moved around.

  I scanned the rest of the closet, hoping to find some shower toiletries. If the school paid extra attention to providing toothpaste, surely they’d also provide shampoo and body soap.

  All I found was more blankets and pillows. It seems I’ll have to move my search elsewhere.

  …

  I checked another nearby closet, but only found more blankets, pillows, and toothbrush packages. So I decided to head to the shower to see if they had any shampoo there.

  Looking inside the cabinets in the bathroom only revealed more soap and toilet paper.

  I’ll have to ask my summoner where I can find it, if they have any.

  I heard my stomach growl.

  Guess I’ll grab a bite after.

  I took a bar of soap from the cabinet, before making a towel I’d used to dry myself off. Then I undressed and started using the shower, conjuring a body scrubber partway through. There wasn’t any temperature control, so I had to make do with lukewarm water.

  …

  After drying myself off, conjuring and dressing myself in new underwear and clothes, then dissipating my previous outfit, I headed to the cafeteria. I may be capable of a lot of things, but living without eating isn’t one of them. Also, I was tempted by a lot of their other options when Ms. Grey introduced me to their buffet.

  When I stepped out of the dorm building, I took notice of the sky.

  Then, I quietly walked into the school building, looking forward to my next meal.

  …

  There wasn’t a buffet selection like last time, but the cooks I saw from before were stationed in the kitchen.

  As I walked up to the counter to order, I stopped, realizing something.

  How am I gonna convey that I want a meal?

  I can’t speak their language, nor understand anything they say.

  As I pondered my next course of action, one of the cooks noticed and called out to me.

  Not wanting to be rude, I wordlessly walked up to him.

  The cook, a man with a shaved beard, started talking.

  I nervously listened to him, even though I couldn’t make sense of what he was saying. I tried guessing what he was saying by gauging his expressions and gestures, but they were only guesses.

  From the looks of things, they don’t have a menu. It’s likely that they have a queue of what people eat here, and I’ll just have to eat from that.

  His dialogue ended with him shooing me away, as if telling me to come back later.

  Damn, I guess I’ll have to wait until then.

  What do I do? If I can’t get a meal here, then…

  I remembered the town I saw when my summoner brought me to the school.

  I’m not sure where I could find Mr. Blonde or Ms. Grey, so he’s my best option if I want to get a meal on demand. And since this is a school, there’s no guarantee I could eat whenever I want just by walking into the cafeteria.

  I decided to wait until lunchtime to get a meal, then get my summoner to show me around town.