Chapter 4: Inevitably, the Heroine

I Hate the Heroine (4)

His white hair flutters in the wind. And then, our blue eyes meet. As our eyes meet, he smiles slightly, and no matter how I look at it, he's definitely a player. Of course, he doesn't seem to realize it himself, but from a woman's perspective, it's hard not to fall for a guy who looks like that and smiles at you on your first meeting.

...Is he filming a harem because of that face?

No, he's not even trying to hold back, is he? I didn't feel anything. Numbness. So what if a guy smiles? I just wanted to punch him for a moment. Not like, really hard, but just enough. Enough to make him think I'm crazy and stay away?

When I actually faced him, harsh words didn't come out. Is it because he's the protagonist? It was as if he was radiating an aura that made everyone around him like him. I was going to swear at him if I ever ran into him, but as soon as I saw his face, my mouth clamped shut. I can't say harsh things to that face... I feel like I'd just be the bad guy.

Knowing or not knowing what's inside me, he scratched his head and opened his mouth.

"Ah... I saw you staring earlier. I thought you might have something to say, so I followed you. But aren't you going to the entrance ceremony?"

"...I wasn't staring?"

Is it okay to follow someone just because they glanced at you for a moment?

"Is that so...? I'm a little sensitive to gazes, so I don't usually mistake things like that."

"I just looked because your hair is white. But, you followed me just to ask that?"

I was dumbfounded. You followed me just because I glanced at you? You should be at the entrance ceremony right now, why did you follow me?

Maybe I was glaring at him without realizing it, because he laughed and held out his hand. Is he telling me to take it?

"What's the meaning of this?"

"No, you dropped this."

In his open hand was a small plastic box. When did I drop this? Could it be... when I was backing away at the school gate earlier?

"...Haa."

Nothing goes as planned. I thought I had easily shaken off the protagonist, but as expected, it wasn't that easy.

But that doesn't mean the possibility is completely gone. What if I send the protagonist to the entrance ceremony right now?

"Thanks for giving it back, but... shouldn't you be going to the entrance ceremony soon?"

"Hmm. Do I really have to?"

Saying that, he looked at me. What does he want me to do? I don't know how to deal with his personality at all.

What was he thinking when he said that? He has a free-spirited personality, but he always attended events like the entrance ceremony.

I also don't like that he's using honorifics with me. I deliberately used informal speech to lower his favorability, but why is he using honorifics?

I'm getting dizzy. Even though he's the protagonist of the novel I was reading, it's really hard to deal with him when facing him as the heroine.

"Come to think of it, I don't even know your name. I'm Xenon. Um, what should I call you?"

Xenon, so the protagonist's name was Xenon. It seems completely certain that the guy in front of me is the protagonist.

"...Aisha. Call me Aisha. But why have you been using honorifics since earlier?"

"I just tend to use honorifics with people I meet for the first time. Or, should I speak comfortably?"

That's a lie, you used informal speech from the first meeting with other people. I've read 200 chapters of your story. I know, even if no one else does.

I got goosebumps again. Why are you giving me this special treatment? Hey, I'm also a stranger. Just treat me comfortably...! Please!

"Do whatever you want."

I wanted to draw a line. I didn't particularly want to get close. Just talking to him seemed to slowly build up favorability, so I wanted to get out of here quickly.

It's probably just going from -500 to -400 favorability, though. I wanted to quickly escape this unpleasant feeling of growing fondness for a man.

Anyway, I have nothing to say, and the errand of returning this to me is over, right?

When I thought that far, I passed by the protagonist as he was. If he came to the entrance ceremony, I'll just go to the entrance ceremony.

...Don't follow me. Please.

#

As I entered the auditorium, the entrance ceremony was still in progress. Is the person standing at the far end the principal? I heard that person used to be a pretty famous hero.

As if that were true, the students were all looking at the principal with sparkling eyes. Whether they were finding something to learn from every action and word, some were even taking notes in their notebooks.

That person's name is... what was it?

If the students are listening so intently to the principal's speech, it seems like he's more than just pretty famous.

Anyway, that's not important right now. Xenon doesn't seem to have come here yet. The class assignments will start after that speech ends.

I clasped my hands together and prayed to the god somewhere. Please shut the principal's mouth.

Was it because that earnest prayer worked? Soon, the principal's speech ended and the equipment for class assignments began to be brought in.

Equipment that looked like it was drawing balls in a lottery broadcast. I momentarily doubted if they were really drawing from there.

Even if it's a world in a novel, is it really right to determine class assignments like that...? That kind of doubt.

"...Hmm?"

But, upon closer inspection, I realized something was different. Unlike my expectation that there would be countless balls piled up, there was only one ball inside that equipment.

Only then was I able to recall how class assignments were made. An equipment that assigns classes by grasping each person's abilities, aptitudes, personality, and other things.

To be exact, it should be called a magic tool.

My strength drained away.

Then it doesn't matter if he's here or not. It was clear that I would be in the same class as Xenon as planned.

The lump in my chest that had been relieved earlier solidified again, and I felt suffocated. My perfect plan was shattered like this, it was like going back to square one.

No, the situation was even worse. An encounter that wasn't originally there, I ran into the protagonist on that road earlier and even had a conversation.

A flag might have been planted without me knowing...!

Barely suppressing the rising nausea, I straightened my spinning vision. When was Aisha and the protagonist completely together?

Right, it was probably about 3 months after entering school. Until then, they were just flirting. Anyway, I have no intention of flirting.

First of all, avoiding the protagonist was the top priority.

I don't think it's completely impossible. When I hear stories from other people who went to school, there was always one kid in the same class whose name they didn't even know. What if I become that kind of existence to the protagonist?

Naturally, his interest will fade, and if his interest fades, the flag will naturally be avoided.

'Good.'

I clenched my fist inside. There are still many opportunities to escape from being the main heroine. It might be good to think a little more comfortably.

The students seemed to be checking their classes and finding their friends. The line was getting shorter, and soon it was my turn.

I remember Aisha being in Class A in the novel, so if the story follows the same path, I'll probably be in Class A.

...It's a little concerning that I'm in the same class as Xenon, but it might be better to be in Class A.

Class A is the main focus of the story, and there were many kids who would fight together until the later part of the story if you became close to them.

Well... it might not be bad to approach them purely for the purpose of 'friends'.

It wouldn't be bad to make friends for once.

As long as it's not Xenon.

"Aisha, Irian."

As my name was called, I stood in front of that familiar equipment. It's definitely a lottery machine, but this is a magic tool? Is this fantasy?

"Put your hand in and close your eyes, and the class assignment will be completed."

A person with a blindfold pointed to the equipment and opened his mouth. As he said, I put my hand into the hole that was drilled above, and I felt a round ball.

Should I close my eyes now?

As I closed my eyes, I saw the school auditorium again.

...No, why can I see when I closed my eyes? Looking around, it was the same auditorium I had just been in. The only difference was that there was no one but me.

Only the equipment with my hand in it and me, blankly looking around, existed.

"...Is it like this?"

There were some parts I could guess. When the protagonist, Xenon, received his class assignment, he said that he felt a sense of discomfort in the place he was in.

That discomfort was probably due to this strange place. After standing there blankly for a while, a hologram appeared in front of me.

[Class Assignment]

Next, a roulette appeared, no - are they determining the class with a roulette? A took up half, B took up 20%, and the rest of the letters were dividing the remaining spaces.

What does this roulette imply? You're in Class A, or something like that. Regardless of my will, the roulette started spinning.

Whirr-

I wasn't particularly nervous. I know how big the probability of 50% is. There's also the already confirmed original work.

As I expected, the roulette showed one letter without any reversal.

[A]

Why are you spinning the roulette if you're going to do this? What's the point of showing the probability, like in the mobile games I used to play? In the end, it only takes out what I didn't want.

Xenon is probably in Class A too. It was time to give up. I gently let go of the possibility of the class being changed, and only thought about how to stay away. That was enough.

As I blinked, I returned to the auditorium with countless students. The letter floating on the ball I was holding was also A.

Turning my gaze, I saw a person holding a sign that said 'A' in the distance. Was that person the homeroom teacher of Class A? I remember it being a woman.

Something felt uneasy, but there was something more concerning than that.

White hair visible in front of the person holding the A sign. It stood out more because it was clearly different from the hair color of other people.

...When did he even come here?

Sighing at the protagonist's unpredictable actions, I slowly approached that side.

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