CHAPTER 807: CHAPTER 124 - IRENE AND GABRIELLE (3)

The joint training here at camp had been rolling on pretty smoothly—or at least that’s what the professors kept saying.

Every day, they’d drill into us what we were supposed to do during the joint training—like group activities, special drills, and a bunch of exhausting stuff like that. And honestly... we’d been at it so long that the excitement all of us first-year cadets had back when we first got here had pretty much vanished. Instead of that initial thrill, we were left with a mess of frustration, exhaustion, and a bunch of other feelings I didn’t even know how to name.

The worst part was that there was barely any structure to anything here. There was no proper schedule to take a bath and there was no real bathrooms.

It was just the endless stretch of woods for whenever nature called.

According to the professors, all of this was "necessary," because someday, when we became real magic knights, we’d face stuff like this on missions. So, they figured they’d toughen us up now rather than later.

But me... well, I felt like I was slowly losing my damn mind in this state.

There wasn’t even proper food... just bland rations that barely filled you up. There was no real way to wash off the sweat and grime sticking to your skin day after day. And to top it all off, I had to share a bed with someone I wasn’t even friends with.

I swear, it felt like my entire sense of privacy had been ripped away.

"Ugh... This is seriously the pits..." I grumbled under my breath, sitting up on the stiff, narrow bed that felt like it was made of stone.

My eyes drifted to the person sleeping right next to me. It was another Gold Class student. She was out cold, snoring loud enough to rattle the walls.

How the hell was anyone supposed to sleep through that?

I let out a sigh that felt like it carried days of pent-up frustration, then quietly slipped off the bed and tiptoed out of the cramped, musty cabin.

Outside, the night air felt cold against my sticky skin, and I took a deep breath, trying to shake off the claustrophobic feeling gnawing at me. Sleeping packed in like that, especially for someone like me who wasn’t exactly the social type, was like torture. I just needed a moment to breathe as well as to let off some steam before I lost it completely.

But the second I stepped out, I realized I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep.

Just a short distance away, under the pale, silver glow of the moon, was Gabrielle.

She was doing jumping jacks with her silhouette moving rhythmically in the dim light. Sweat glistened on her skin even at this hour.

A part of me couldn’t help but admire how insanely dedicated she was...

But in the dead of night? That was something past dedication—it was borderline obsession.

She must’ve noticed me standing there because she turned her head and stared right at me, the moonlight flashing against her glasses.

Feeling weirdly embarrassed for some reason, I lifted a hand, gave a small, awkward wave, and whispered, "Hi."

Even as the word slipped out, I wondered what the hell made me say anything at all.

"Hey you," she called out, her voice oddly steady.

Crap. Now I’d really done it. My mouth had worked faster than my brain again, and now I was stuck.

"W-What is it?" I stammered, trying to play it off.

"Spar with me," she said without missing a beat.

"H-Huh?"

"You woke up at this hour because you wanted to train too, right? So why don’t we do it together? It’s better to spar than train alone."

"Huh? No," I said quickly, shaking my head. "I didn’t wake up because I wanted to train."

"Huh? Then why’d you wake up?"

Seriously, what was with this girl? Did she ever think about anything other than training and grades?

"What do you think people wake up in the middle of the night for? To get some fresh air... or maybe take a potty break in the woods or something."

"I see..." she murmured, her glasses catching the moonlight again. "Then... can I come with you? My bladder’s about to explode too. And honestly, I don’t really feel like going into the woods alone at night."

Great. There went the tiny hope I had of getting some real alone time.

Still, I guessed it was better than being dragged into a sparring session in the middle of the night.

So, the two of us ended up walking side by side toward the edge of the forest.

The air felt colder under the trees, and every crunch of leaves underfoot echoed in the quiet night, making the silence between us feel even heavier.

I kept stealing glances at Gabrielle, still a bit weirded out by how I’d ended up doing this with her of all people.

After a bit, we reached the shadowy entrance of the forest.

"Y-You go first," I muttered, looking away. No way in hell was I dropping my pants while someone else was doing the same nearby.

Gabrielle just gave a small shrug and stepped further into the trees.

A few seconds later, I heard it... It was the unmistakable hiss of her pissing.

The sound felt embarrassingly loud in the stillness of the forest, echoing off the trunks. It kept going... and going... until it finally stopped.

Then I heard the faint rustle of her pulling her pants back up.

I let out a small breath. Okay, she was done.

But before I could even think about stepping forward, she suddenly grabbed my arm and yanked me deeper into the woods.

"H-Hey, w-what...?" I whispered, startled.

"Shh."

"W-What?"

She pressed a finger gently against my lips, her eyes narrowing as if telling me to shut up and listen.

At first, I didn’t get it—until I heard it.

"Ah, ah... Y-Yes... you’re going so deep..."

Both of us froze, eyes widening, then turned our heads toward where the moans were coming from.

"Shh, you’re gonna wake the cadets... s-slow down, hnghhh~!"

"You don’t have to worry. The camp’s far enough away, and no one’s gonna wake up at this hour—unless they’re out here doing the same thing we’re doing."

"Oh, you... you’re really naughty~..."

"Well, I can’t help it. You’re freaking sexy."

Hearing those words, my whole face burned up.

I’d never in my life heard anything like that, but it didn’t take a genius to know what was happening.

They were having sex.

"G-Gabrielle, we should get out of here before they notice us," I whispered, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Doing something like this is very inappropriate as per academy rules, right?" she murmured back, her glasses glinting coldly. "So I think it’s only right that we see who they are and report them."

"P-Please, just calm down for a sec," I pleaded softly.

Sex wasn’t exactly forbidden for cadets, technically speaking. Loads of people did it. The real problem was only if you got caught by academy staff.

But the look on Gabrielle’s face told me she was dead serious. She was really going to catch them and report it.

And honestly? That scared me even more than getting caught ourselves.