Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: I Don't Want to Be the Heroine (4)
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His white hair fluttered in the wind. And those blue eyes meeting hers—when their gazes locked, he gave a slight smile. No matter how she looked at it, the guy seemed like a total player. Of course, he probably had no idea himself, but from a girl's perspective, if a guy like that smiled at you on first sight, it'd be hard not to fall for it.
...With a face like that, maybe he's the star of some harem story.
No, wait—he wasn't even holding back in the first place? She felt absolutely nothing. Numb. So what if a guy smiled? She just wanted to smack him once, that's all. Not hard, just enough. Enough to make him think she was some crazy bitch and keep his distance?
But now that they were face-to-face, no harsh words came out. Was it because he was the protagonist? He seemed to radiate this aura that made it impossible not to like him around others. She'd planned to hurl some double curses if they ever bumped into each other, but the moment she saw his face, her mouth clamped shut. How could she say anything mean to a face like that...? She'd just end up looking like the bad guy.
Whether he could read her mind or not, he scratched his head and spoke up.
"Ah... You were staring at me earlier, so I thought you might have something to say and followed. But aren't you going to the entrance ceremony?"
"...I wasn't staring."
Was it okay to follow someone just because you thought they glanced at you?
"Really...? I'm a bit sensitive to gazes, so I don't think I mistook it."
"Your hair's white, so I just looked for a second. But did you follow me just to ask that?"
It was ridiculous. Follow her over a quick glance? He was supposed to be at the entrance ceremony right now—she had no idea why he was trailing her instead.
Maybe she was glaring without realizing it, because he let out an "Ahaha" and extended his hand. What, was she supposed to take it?
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"No, you dropped this."
In his open palm was a small plastic case. When had that fallen? No way... Had it dropped when she backed away from the school gate earlier?
"...Haa."
Nothing ever went her way. She'd thought she'd ditched the protagonist easily, but of course it couldn't be that simple.
Still, that didn't mean all hope was lost. If she could just get him to the entrance ceremony now?
"Thanks for giving it back, but... shouldn't you head to the entrance ceremony now?"
"Hm. Do I have to?"
As he said that, he looked right at her. What was she supposed to do with that? She had no clue how to handle his personality.
What was he thinking, giving an answer like that? He seemed free-spirited, but he'd always attended events like the entrance ceremony without fail.
His polite speech to her was annoying too. She'd used casual language on purpose to lower his affinity, so why was he being formal?
Her head was spinning. Even if he was the protagonist from the novel she'd read, facing off as the heroine against him was tough to deal with.
"Come to think of it, I don't know your name. I'm Zenon. What should I call you?"
Zenon—right, that was the protagonist's name. Seeing him here made it completely clear he was the one.
"...Aisha. Call me Aisha. But why've you been so formal since earlier?"
"I just tend to be polite with people I meet for the first time. Or should I switch to casual?"
Lies—he was casual with everyone else from the start. She'd read all 200 chapters about him. Others might not know, but she did.
A chill ran down her spine again. Why was he treating only her special? Hey, I'm a stranger too. Just treat me casually...! Please!
"Do whatever."
She wanted to draw a line. She didn't want to get close. Even just talking like this felt like his affinity was slowly building, and she wanted to get out of there fast.
Not that it'd go from -500 to -400 or anything. She just wanted to escape this gross feeling of affinity building with a guy.
There was nothing left to say anyway, and he'd returned the item, right?
With that thought, she brushed past the protagonist. If he went to the ceremony, she could just go too.
...Don't follow me. Please.
#
Stepping into the auditorium, the entrance ceremony was still underway. The person at the podium far ahead must be the principal. Rumor had it he was a pretty famous hero back in the day.
Sure enough, the students were all staring at him with sparkling eyes. Some were even taking notes, like they were finding lessons in his every move and word.
What was his name again...?
If the students were listening to his address this intently, he had to be pretty famous.
Anyway, that wasn't important right now. Zenon didn't seem to have made it here yet. They'd start class assignments after this speech ended.
Clasping her hands tightly, she prayed to whatever god might be listening. Please shut the principal up.
Did her desperate prayer work? Soon the principal's speech wrapped up, and the device for class assignments rolled in.
It looked just like those lottery machines pulling out balls on TV. Was it really drawing randomly? She doubted it for a second.
Even in a novel world, deciding classes like that seemed off...
"...Hm?"
But looking closer, she realized it was different. Contrary to her expectation of tons of balls piled inside, there was only one.
That's when it all clicked—how class assignments worked. The device assessed each person's abilities, aptitudes, personalities, and more to assign classes.
More precisely, it was a magic tool.
Her tension deflated with a whoosh.
Then whether he was here or not didn't matter. It was predetermined—she'd end up in the same class as Zenon.
The lump in her chest that had loosened earlier hardened again, choking her breath. Her perfect plan crumbling like this—it was back to square one.
No, actually, it was worse. They'd had that encounter on the path earlier, even talked.
A flag might've been planted without her realizing...!
Suppressing the rising nausea, she steadied her spinning vision. When was it that Aisha and the protagonist fully got together in the story?
Right, about three months after enrollment. They were just flirting before that. Anyway, she had no intention of even flirting.
For now, avoiding the protagonist was top priority.
It wasn't impossible. From stories about other schools, even in the same class, there were kids who didn't know each other's names. What if she became that for him?
His interest would naturally fade, and flags would avoid her too.
'Nice.'
She clenched her fist inwardly. There were still plenty of chances to escape being the main wife. She could afford to relax a bit.
Students were checking their classes and finding friends. The line was shortening, and her turn was coming up.
Aisha was in Class A in the novel, so if the story followed, it'd be A.
...Sharing with Zenon was a hitch, but Class A might be better.
It was the class that showed up most in the story, and by the end, there were lots of friends she'd fight alongside.
What... approaching purely for 'friends' didn't sound bad.
Making a friend or two wouldn't hurt.
As long as it wasn't Zenon.
"Aisha, next."
Her name called, she stepped up to the familiar device. It looked exactly like a lottery machine. A magic tool? This was fantasy?
"Put your hand in and close your eyes—the assignment will be done."
The person with the blindfold over their eyes pointed at the device and spoke. Following instructions, she slipped her hand into the hole on top and felt a round ball.
Now close her eyes?
As she did, the school auditorium appeared again.
....Wait, why could she see with her eyes closed? Looking around, it was the same auditorium she'd just been in. The difference? She was the only one there.
Just her, dazedly surveying the surroundings, and the device with her hand inside.
"...So that's how it works?"
She had a vague idea. When protagonist Zenon got his assignment, he'd felt a sense of wrongness in the place for a moment.
That unease was probably from this weird space. Standing there blankly for a bit, a hologram popped up in front of her.
A roulette wheel rose up next—no, were they assigning classes by roulette? A took half the slots, B a fifth, and the rest split among other letters.
What did this roulette mean? 'You're in Class A' or something? Without her input, it started spinning.
Rrrroll—
She wasn't tense. She knew how big a 50% chance was. Plus, the original story was set.
As expected, no twists—the roulette landed on one letter.
Then why spin the roulette at all? Even that old phone game was like this—showing odds meant nothing when it always skipped what you wanted.
Zenon was probably A too. Time to resign herself. Letting go of any slim hope of a different class, she focused on how to keep her distance. That was enough.
Blinking, she returned to the crowded auditorium. The letter on the ball in her hand was indeed A.
Turning her gaze, she spotted someone far off holding a sign that read 'A'. Was that the Class A homeroom teacher? She remembered it being a woman.
Something felt off, but more pressing was what she saw in front of the A sign.
White hair, standing out starkly against everyone else's colors.
...When the hell did he get here?
Sighing at the protagonist's utterly unpredictable movements, she slowly headed that way.