Chapter 3: Inevitably, the Heroine

I Hate the Heroine (3)

Thud-

Opening the door and stepping outside, something fell onto my head with a thud.

Wondering what it was, I picked it up to see a pink petal. I looked up at the sky.

"...Ah."

It was unmistakably spring. Pink petals danced in the wind, adorning the sky.

Like a pouring rain, but gentle. I sneezed from the pollen tickling my nose.

I lifted my head to greet the full bloom of spring.

The season of entrance, the season of beginnings.

There were many names for it, but it was hard to deny that spring was a pleasant season. If I weren't in this situation, I would have indulged in the sentimentality.

But I couldn't. I had to avoid the flags.

Looking around, I saw people moving busily. People chased by time and work.

Aside from the colorful hair, it wasn't much different from the world I used to live in.

"Oh."

Thump-

Correction, to be precise, everything was similar except for the 'ability.' A person who looked to be about 6 meters tall passed by nearby.

Skin covered in rocks, barely wearing underwear, it was enough to steal my gaze, but I was the only one looking at the sight with wonder. In this world stained with 'ability,' was even that a normal occurrence?

Looking closely, there were many unusual things. For example, people flying in the distance, fighting. They were surrounding a masked person, shouting something.

A person floating in the air. A person pulling multiple hands out of the ground, aiming guns. And a person wearing a coat that didn't suit the season, holding a sword.

"Who are they?" I muttered, and then I heard a voice next to me.

"Heroes!"

Heroes, huh. Well, it was hard to see them as ordinary people. Then the masked person in the center must be the villain.

Even though buildings were collapsing and they were exuding an aura as if they were about to fight, there was no anxiety on people's faces.

They were just marveling, as if they couldn't see such a sight often, their faces full of anticipation for what would happen next.

"...Is this okay?"

What if those people called heroes made a slight mistake and the villain took someone hostage? What if an accident happened and someone got hurt or died? As if completely excluding such possibilities, people's attitudes were extremely carefree.

If many people thought this was normal, then that must be the case. Of course, I couldn't adapt to that normality in just one day, so I was feeling a great deal of awkwardness.

In the first place, it didn't feel real that people who wielded such abilities were walking around. It was like walking in a dream. A dream so vivid that I could even feel pain.

I squeezed through the crowd of people who were stuck together watching. Occasionally, some people would see my school uniform and ask, "Are you also a hero hopeful?" but I would just nod once and turn my gaze away.

I wish I could be so carefree, but I felt like I had too much to do.

I had to use my ability diligently in my own way to avoid expulsion, avoid the flags that would be planted on the protagonist, and build good relationships with the people around me.

...I was more comfortable alone, but I didn't want to be an outcast.

"Haa..."

After walking like that for a while, my gaze reached a building in the distance. A white building that soared among the low, dark buildings. People wearing the same uniform as me were walking towards it.

"Looks like I came to the right place."

I'm not good at finding my way, so I came here asking people. Fortunately, they didn't tell me about a strange place. After walking like that for a long time again, what I saw in front of me was. A huge school gate. Surely a person's height can't be more than 2m, so why is this school gate so big?

It was a school gate so big that you could believe it was a flagpole if you hung the Korean flag on it. After staring blankly at the school gate for a while, I heard a sigh from behind. Were they going to say something because I was standing there blankly? Feeling sorry for no reason, I turned my head to see a man with pure white hair sighing.

"...How did I end up here?"

He's muttering to himself when there's no one to talk to. The sight was so funny that I chuckled, but then a thought flashed through my mind.

White hair, and a way of muttering to himself like a moron. Could it be...a characteristic of the protagonist? Goosebumps ran down my arm.

The more I looked at him, the more I thought, that person is the protagonist. Handsome appearance, moderate height. And...the sword at his waist.

By the time that thought reached me, I was already backing away. No way, to meet him before the entrance ceremony even started. Is this how quickly contact is made because I'm the main heroine?

No, surely the first meeting was a little later. There's no reason to plant a flag first.

I worked hard to smooth over this situation on my own, and immediately entered the school. I ignored it even though it sounded like someone was calling me from behind. As expected, on the outside, it wasn't much different from the school I knew. Students walking around in uniforms, people who looked like teachers.

Occasionally, there were those who were far from being human, but everyone didn't feel awkward about such beings.

-Okay-! The entrance ceremony will start soon, so please look at the signs here and move to the auditorium!

"...Huh?"

No one was shouting around me, but somehow the sound came as if someone was shouting next to me. There was no speaker, and no one was holding a microphone.

It was only after a little time had passed that I realized this was one of the 'abilities.'

How convenient, a human speaker.

"Auditorium...auditorium..."

While following the signs to the auditorium, I suddenly had a thought. Why do I have to go to the auditorium? Of course, I was a typical person who said 'yes' when everyone else said 'yes.'

It wasn't just a rebellious spirit against having to follow someone's instructions...but I felt like if I went like this, I would really become a heroine.

If I go to the entrance ceremony like this, I'll follow what they tell me to do there. And after doing that, the class assignments will come out? I'll be in the same class as the protagonist.

"That's a bit..."

But, what if I don't go to the entrance ceremony? What if I'm not there when the class assignments start? The class assignments are assigned by the students drawing lots themselves. Objectively speaking, fairness is thrown to the dogs, but from the students' point of view, it's the fairest method.

In the original story, Aisha drew a lot herself and ended up in the same class as the protagonist, but what if I don't draw?

If our faces are far apart, our hearts will be far apart, so there won't be any chance of becoming a heroine, right?

Stop-

I stopped walking towards the auditorium. After all, the entrance ceremony is just an event - they don't check attendance. I wore the uniform neatly because I thought they might check it in front of the school gate.

There was no mention anywhere that they would check attendance at the entrance ceremony. In fact, among the students around me, I heard things like, "I'm just not going to the entrance ceremony."

So what I have to do from now on? It's completely legal.

The protagonist can just do the class assignment at the entrance ceremony. Ah, I feel like something that was stuck in my chest has been resolved.

Even if it's a woman's body, I was once a man. Me getting involved with the protagonist and, like, falling in love?

"No way."

I don't feel as much repulsion as I did when I was a man, but it's still a bit like that.

But with this body, isn't it a bit like that to fall in love with a woman? I guess I'm better off alone. Yeah.

When I came back outside, I could feel that it was a little quieter than before. That's probably because everyone went to the entrance ceremony.

But there were still some students here and there, so it wasn't too lonely. When I went further back from the building, I saw a path that seemed to have been made for students to walk on.

A path pierced through a row of cherry blossom trees.

I used to promise myself that I would walk on such a path when I got a girlfriend. Is it okay to walk in such a place as a woman?

Still, it was easier to think when I walked alone like this. What to do in the future...how to avoid the protagonist.

"But if you think about it, we're not in the same class, so isn't it already over?"

Aisha and the protagonist's flags were mostly made because they were in the same class. But if I get out of that situation?

...Isn't it already over?

Thinking that way, my steps became lighter and lighter. If I'm not a heroine, what does it matter if I'm a woman's body? I'm pretty, capable. My family is poor, but I'll make money later when I become a hero.

I wonder if it can end like this. I didn't think it would end so easily. If that's the case, I didn't have to worry so much earlier, did I?

"Excuse me?"

Then, I heard a voice from behind. For some reason, the fact that the voice sounded familiar made me stop.

"Didn't we see each other earlier?"

The fact that it was the voice I heard in front of the school gate earlier made me turn my head.

"........"

"...Uh, you were looking at me like that earlier too..."

The fact that that face was the protagonist I knew. My expression crumpled.

Why are you there?

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