Chapter 13: Inevitably, the Heroine

I Hate Exams (4)

Suddenly, that thought occurred to me. Why should I feel ashamed? I simply smelled something. Even if it outwardly appeared to be a man and a woman, if we have no interest in each other right now, there's no need to feel ashamed.

Tapping my slightly flushed earlobe, I fell into contemplation.

...It wasn't as if I had contacted the protagonist more than necessary. The person currently beside Xenon was nonexistent, and stopping the fight—approaching him closely as if to wake him up—was ultimately part of what was done out of 'necessity.'

But apart from that, the thoughts that came to my mind were so different from what I had initially intended. No matter what I thought, it connected to Xenon. No matter what I did, whatever action I took, it ultimately touched Xenon. Regardless of my will.

I felt goosebumps all over my body for a moment. From the beginning—I realized that nothing was going according to my plan. The protagonist's fight, me stopping it and taking him to the infirmary, and even up until now. Looking back on my actions, who would think that I was trying to distance myself from Xenon?

If there was one thing that flashed through my mind, it was the original Aisha. The one who fell in love with Xenon at first sight in the original story, who guided Xenon's actions, who was no different from a delinquent, and who eventually became Xenon's lover. The original Aisha.

This world basically follows the original story. There are people with their own wills, but—even so, the events that are supposed to happen, happen. The villains who are supposed to appear, appear. What if—even me liking Xenon is such a 'necessity'?

"...Ha."

I couldn't let that happen. I didn't want to be a heroine.

What should I do? What's the way to distance myself from him? Hiding in a corner as I initially thought? It was impossible now. Now that there were more points of contact than I thought, suddenly distancing myself might give him a reason to approach me.

Poke, poke—

Stabbing the eraser lying on the desk, I came up with and dismissed countless methods. Without even knowing that someone had come next to me.

"Aisha."

The voice I least wanted to hear reached me. The same languid voice, still not fully awake, flowed into my ear. This was a hurdle from the start, no matter how much I tried to distance myself—for some reason, he approached me. The guy who was so indifferent in the original story, the guy who made me feel frustrated just watching him, why?

Turning my head slightly, I saw Xenon. The way he was looking at me with his chin propped up wasn't pleasing at all. I just wished he would be normal.

"...Why are you calling me?"

"Why else, we're in the same group."

"Same group...?"

The constantly spinning circuit of thought was cut off. The fiercely rotating brain stopped, and the stiff neck creaked as it turned forward.

[Aisha Irian, Xenon]

"Ah..."

"...Let's do well."

My vision blurred. Why—why, of all people? Why am I in the same group as Xenon? Faced with the unavoidable reality, I gritted my teeth.

#

"The practical exam groups have been roughly decided... so, please prepare well for the exam that will be held in three days. Being grouped with someone you don't know well, rather than someone you're close to, is similar to the case of temporarily teaming up with another hero in the field. I hope you realize this in this practice and can utilize it later."

As soon as the professor finished speaking and left the classroom, my head slammed onto the desk. I pressed my temples, throbbing with a headache. I cursed this unbelievable probability. Of all the 200 students, why this guy?

Mocking my determination, I cursed the heavens for giving me such a group and got up from my seat.

"Where are you going?"

"None of your business."

Ignoring Xenon who called out to me, I left the classroom. I needed to think about what to do in the future.

What was the content of the practical exam? I remembered that it hadn't been announced separately yet. It was said to be for fairness since the academy was where the children of many famous heroes enrolled.

Then what I had to recall was the memory of the original story. I briefly searched my memory, and soon I was able to recall what the exam was about.

Temporary dispatch. To learn the life of a hero for a day, instead of going to school, you are dispatched to another neighborhood to do hero activities. I wish it was something like virtual villain extermination. I sighed. Since it was a 2-person 1-team dispatch to another neighborhood, wouldn't we have to stick together that much?

Of course, I didn't think that a flag would be set just by being together, but still... there was a 'what if'. I didn't know how I would act, unlike what I thought and decided.

Frey's words came to mind. To others, it looked like I was interested in Xenon.

...Honestly, I couldn't deny it. Now that I think about it, I hadn't acted like that to anyone other than Xenon or Frey. I had to be careful now that I realized that.

My head hurt. Even if I pressed my temples, no matter how much I walked around. Then wouldn't it be better to clear my head? With that thought, I moved my feet. Let's go to the rooftop.

Bang—

I threw open the door to the rooftop and leaned against the railing, looking at the scenery below the academy. My hair fluttered in the strong wind, and the fresh scent of spring spread everywhere.

Good—

Spring, before summer had come, was full of color. White, pink, yellow, green. The world, soon to be dyed green, was still colorful. The head, which had been throbbing with complicated thoughts, got better, and the stuffy view cleared up. When I waved my hand, I touched the non-wetting waves. I felt... a little better.

The rooftop didn't only have good memories, but now I was Aisha. It was a little unsettling, but not bad. I used to come up here like this in the old days—just as I frowned slightly, recalling old memories. I could see someone other than me at one end.

Blue, that was all the first impression I had of that person. Perhaps it was because the long blue hair that covered her waist was fluttering. Or perhaps it was because of the water flowing behind that person. As if feeling the heart of someone who saw a fairy in the forest in a fairy tale—I blankly stared at the dreamy scenery.

Green eyes looked at me, drawing an arc. As if transferring the blue greenery as it was, the gaze swept over my body, and the water flowing beside her slowly began to wrap around me.

"Oh my, hello?"

"...Hello."

Whether my greeting was strange, she covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.

"Hello? Aren't you a freshman who just entered this time? Aisha... I think. You should use honorifics."

What honorifics between Seonbae and Hubae, I was a little dissatisfied, but. I slightly raised my tone as she wanted.

"Hello."

"Puh, you don't have to use honorifics. Anyway, nice to meet you."

"...Haa."

I can't figure it out. She told me to use honorifics, but then she said I didn't have to. I was going to glare at her slightly, but I just averted my gaze. There was no need to mix words.

"Um... are you ignoring me?"

"No. I can talk without looking at your eyes."

"You're too cold to your Seonbae. It wasn't like this in my time... haa, I'm so sad."

...I felt something subtle. To be exact, a sense of déjà vu. I had seen this way of speaking somewhere. This unpredictable behavior, the way she seemed to be lost in her own world.

"Ah, come to think of it, are you close to him?"

She was smiling, but the water that had been wrapping around me was coming closer as if trying to pressure me more and more. As if she would suffocate me if there was even a slight crack in her smiling face—I felt an unknown anxiety. Who is 'him'? The curiosity was easily resolved. There weren't that many people related to me.

"Xenon Carmen."

A name popped out of her mouth. And at the same time, my brow furrowed. Not with dissatisfaction, but with doubt. I shouldn't know the last name that comes after Xenon's name yet.

"...Carmen? I've heard of Edwin Carmen though."

"I guess you're not as close as I thought. Seeing as he didn't tell you his last name, then did I spoil it? I'm sorry."

She was smiling as she slightly bowed her head, but I didn't feel any goodwill. This was probably a disgusting animosity. It wasn't directed at me. And the target is... Xenon.

"Don't get too close. It becomes dangerous."

".......”

As if warning me, she threw those words. I didn't particularly want to get close even if she didn't say that. I sighed inwardly and slowly looked at her face. I think I'm starting to remember that name a little now.

Hera Carmen.

She was the mid-boss of Part 1.

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