Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: A Month Has Passed
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A month had passed.
Right after the duel between Ivy Lane and Dana ended, someone came up to me immediately.
It was Han Ye-seo.
"Hey!"
"...Why?"
"Ja-an, you knew, didn't you?"
"......"
"Why didn't you say anything? About Ivy's magic power color."
"Sorry."
I had wanted it to be a truth known only to me.
That's why I hadn't said a word.
I didn't want to see someone else's secret become public knowledge.
I never imagined it would come out like this.
Those who've experienced the front lines know the meaning behind a magic power's color.
Probably within a few days, the fact that Ivy's magic power was blue would spread throughout the entire academy.
It would become common knowledge.
And I would become the liar.
Han Ye-seo whipped her head around as she watched Ivy Lane limp away.
"We'll talk later."
"......"
I followed right behind Han Ye-seo.
I ran up beside Ivy Lane and supported her to make it easier for her to walk.
Judging by how the school nurse hadn't shown up right away, the situation at the front lines must be getting worse.
The number of heroes who appear every year is limited, but the number of monsters keeps growing endlessly.
In the end, manpower dwindles day by day, and we can't oppose the higher-ups' reckless plans.
The front lines from my time and the ones now hadn't changed at all.
I hated how they were drafting child soldiers under the guise of front-line support.
It started because of money at first, but not anymore.
Because I'd realized other people's lives were worth more than money.
Ivy looked up at me with both eyes.
I had no choice but to look away.
I was scared to meet Han Ye-seo's gaze as she glared at me, biting her lip.
Was being honest the right answer?
Was it right to properly convey what the color of her magic power meant?
Should I have said it was the color of people who wanted to die, not just those at peace?
No answer came no matter how much I agonized.
It was a problem with no right answer.
I trusted my choice.
This was the best for Ivy Lane.
Whew.
I took a deep breath.
Ivy was thrusting and swinging her spear while also glancing at me.
Because I'd impulsively offered to check her form.
I barely knew anything about spear techniques, but I taught her what I'd picked up glancing over shoulders at the front lines and corrected her posture.
After a few hours like that, it was starting to look decent.
Not quite on the level of an active hero, but her speed alone could stand up to any Class A student.
'...Stamina and strength are the issues, huh.'
With all that magic power inside her, she had the talent to grow exponentially after killing just a few monsters at the front lines.
The students assigned to Class A were definitely hero material.
Ivy Lane's average was below even Class B, not Class A, but the academy must have seen something in her to rank her 9th.
I couldn't help but wonder what that something was.
I wanted to know.
***
Swinging the spear for so long left me completely exhausted.
Ja-an would watch my form for a while and toss out one piece of advice. That was it.
Otherwise, it was total freedom.
I sneaked a glance.
Han Ye-seo and Ja-an were still talking.
I wasn't even on their radar.
It kinda pissed me off.
'Actually, this is the normal picture, isn't it.'
A true loser stays a loser inside, no matter how much their appearance changes.
Ja-an flirting with the main heroine Han Ye-seo was just natural scenery.
I was supposed to be cheering them on.
I'd never planned to steal the main heroine spot with this girl's body anyway. Just keep a friendly rapport with Ja-an and use him as a shield. That was all.
'Yeah. That was all there was to it.'
So why was I mad?
Jealousy?
No way, obviously not.
No matter that my body was a girl's now, my mind was still firmly male. I wouldn't feel jealousy toward another woman.
'A sense of betrayal?'
Yeah, that had to be it.
He promised to check my form, but here he was chatting with another girl.
He promised!
Grit.
I clenched my molars.
Once again, I was the only one serious.
Who else was I supposed to learn spear arts from if not you? Go running to Dana? There's tons of master NPCs in back alleys and at the front lines.
You think I can't do it?
Ja-an turned awkwardly.
He must've felt my sharp glare; an awkward smile filled his face.
"Sorry."
"Huh? For what?"
"I said I'd check your form but didn't focus..."
Honestly, it was shameless of me.
He was doing it for free when he had nothing better to do. I wasn't in any position to complain about lack of focus.
You don't badmouth volunteers for half-assing it, right?
Whew.
I took a deep breath.
Once I'd calmed a bit, I handled Ja-an's words maturely.
"I get it."
"Huh?"
"If I were in your shoes, I'd have done the same."
"What? What're you talking about?"
"How could you focus with a pretty girl right in front of you?"
A popular-kid joke to lighten the mood.
For some reason, the atmosphere got even more stiff.
Han Ye-seo looked away.
Both of them were watching me.
Flinch.
A bad possibility crossed my mind.
"You two... don't tell me..."
Oh my god, I'd never noticed because we were always hanging out as a trio.
And Han Ye-seo, you even promised to help me! So I could hook up with Ja-an!
Were all those back-alley promises lies?
You even stepped aside so Ja-an and I could spend time alone!
Cheater's leisure, huh? That's the vibe?
Confidence that even starting late in the main-wife race, you could push a sub-heroine and still snag the wife spot easy?
I got weirdly mad.
Thinking I'm a fag? Fine, whatever.
But looking down on me? I can't tolerate that!
Han Ye-seo freaked out and waved her hands.
"It's not like that!"
"Hmm, 'like that'? I don't think I've said what 'that' is yet."
"We're just friends! You're misunderstanding!"
"Oh, right. Friends, huh? Yeah, sure. Could be."
Maybe 'cause I hadn't been sleeping well lately, venom was just pouring out.
I hadn't even gotten my period yet, but here I was spewing bitchiness at friends. Even I found it gross.
Felt like the filter in my brain was gone.
Everything irritated me.
Ja-an spoke up.
"We were talking about the front lines."
His expression was dead serious.
I shut my mouth.
Everyone lives carrying some trauma. It's just a matter of size and weight.
If family was my trauma, then for them, it was the front lines.
"Sorry."
"Nah, if anything, it's our fault for whispering in front of someone else."
"...I misunderstood."
"Misunderstood what?"
I clamped my mouth shut.
Puhaha.
Han Ye-seo burst out laughing.
"Ja-an. So what happened was..."
"Stop!"
I yelled before I knew it.
"Jeez, you scared me. My ears are gonna bleed."
"Embarrassing."
Han Ye-seo glanced at Ja-an, then came over to my side.
She whispered.
"I've got some shame, you know. It's been less than a week since I said I'd help you. You think I'd pull that?"
"...Sorry."
"I meant it when I said I'd help you. I'm not looking to date or get married anyway."
Suddenly, I got curious why.
Even in the original dating sim, Han Ye-seo resisted spending the night with the protagonist.
That's why all the other heroines' first-night events went by emptily for her, and her main-wife ranking and popularity poll dropped.
There were jokes going around that maybe she wasn't a virgin, but that's bullshit with high probability.
People who shove non-virgin heroines into stories are narcissistic writers with author syndrome or just insane.
Guys who think they're making art for people, not selling to them.
Even though they lack the skill for actual art.
Heroines are virgins.
This line is tautological and grammatically redundant.
The creator said it himself.
A creator who knows weebs and otakus that well wouldn't do something tasteless like a non-virgin heroine. Doesn't add up.
There had to be some backstory or foreshadowing we didn't know.
"Why?"
I asked.
Han Ye-seo answered with a slightly sad smile.
"My ability only applies to parts of my body. Hair's barely within range, but..."
"...No way."
"To love someone and have kids, I'd have to become powerless for 10 months, unable to use my ability."
No, wait.
I could use it, but using it would kill the baby in my womb.
Because the baby inside isn't considered part of my body.
"Sorry."
"No, it's nothing."
The girl who wanted to pass her family name to her child couldn't have one peacefully until the war ended.
My chest ached a little.
Were my worries pathetic?
Me, fooling others by borrowing Ivy Lane's body, having cut ties with my parents...
Han Ye-seo looked at me and smiled naturally.
I wanted to smile like that.
I smiled naturally too.
"Yeah, that's better. Let's go to a café with Ja-an!"
"...This time, I want something sweet too."
"Sounds good."
.
.
.
Ordinary days repeat like that.
Ordinary days with nothing happening repeat.
They say the night before a storm is unnaturally quiet.
An unnaturally quiet night had already lasted a whole month.