Chapter 19: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 19
Concerned about my collapse yesterday, the class president handed me a handful of chocolates first thing in the morning.
Perhaps she thinks chocolate is a cure-all.
As she pulled out a pile from his bag, it felt like being in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
With a slightly angry expression, she said to me while giving the chocolates.
“You should have told me if you were feeling sick.”
How could I have known I'd black out?
Not knowing what to say, I just bowed my head in silence to show my remorse.
The class president, with a slightly pouty face, closed his mouth and started cleaning.
I quietly joined her in cleaning.
It was the least I could do to atone.
After finishing the cleaning, I put all the chocolates he gave me into my bag.
Recently, Yoon Si-woo hasn't been coming close, which is a relief.
If our eyes met accidentally, his face would turn bright red, and he'd run away.
Originally, I had to avoid him deliberately, but now he kept his distance, so I could focus on Sylvia.
Today, noticing Sylvia's ears perk up, I ran to the convenience store right after class and bought some macarons.
I handed the macarons to Sylvia with a smile, as usual, but her reaction was different today.
“...Thank you.”
Normally, Sylvia would accept the macarons with a playful attitude, but today she seemed a bit shy.
A favorable sign!
It suggested that Sylvia's affection towards me was on the rise.
My emotions surged even more intensely than yesterday.
I had to suppress the flames trying to burst out.
Don't burn your clothes!
*
Suppressing the flames to avoid burning my clothes, the school day ended before I knew it.
I needed to rush home because I had a part-time job in the evening.
With some time left before work, I decided to take a shower.
For a demonstration job, using my powers in front of people, it felt only polite to show up clean.
When I opened the fridge to prepare dinner, I found we were almost out of bean sprouts.
It wasn't enough to share.
Usually, I'd split such a small amount to last until breakfast, but today I would become rich!
I took out all the remaining bean sprouts and stir-fried them.
Thanks to that, the fridge was now empty.
My shift ended after 10 PM.
The discount stores would be closed, but I could pick up some breakfast items from a 24-hour convenience store.
With money, I could afford the luxury of buying food from a convenience store.
Grocery shopping could wait until after school tomorrow.
After dinner, I idly passed the time until it was time to leave.
Deciding what to wear was a dilemma, but I remembered the academy’s student preference policy and decided to wear my school uniform.
For a student, the uniform is like formal attire.
I arrived at the meeting place in the park.
As I was about to text my arrival, a stout man approached me.
“Are you Miss Scarlet Evande, who sent the email?”
The man wasn't very old, but his bald spot was already noticeable.
It made me feel a bit solemn...
Sympathizing with someone who had faced one of the greatest fears of men, I nodded.
“I didn’t expect you to be such a cute young lady. Today’s my lucky day.”
Being called a cute young lady made me a bit sad.
Yes, on the outside, that's how I appear.
Outwardly, a girl! But inside, just an ordinary guy!
A reality far more dreadful than the detective who only got younger...
The demonstration was to take place a bit away from the park.
We walked together, adjusting the details.
He asked if it would be okay to draw some blood.
“Of course, you can refuse since I only mentioned a demonstration, but can you consider it?”
The mention of drawing blood brought back old memories.
Once, I went to donate blood, but the nurse kept missing the vein, turning my arm into a mess.
The next day, my arm was so bruised that my classmates called me ‘the demon of the left arm.’
Since then, I've been averse to drawing blood.
“I’m not comfortable with anything invasive...”
“Hmm, if you’re uncomfortable, we’ll skip it. Is it okay if I touch your hand or take photos?”
It must be about the demonstration.
Since it was for the demonstration, I agreed, thinking it was manageable.
However, the thought of touching my fire ability was a bit scary.
Using a level 1 flame instead of a level 2 flame that could burn should be fine.
Following the happy man, we arrived at the destination.
A motel.
One with a somewhat suggestive atmosphere.
Huh? As I turned to look at him, he scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
“Ahaha, this is the closest place.”
A place where a schoolgirl in a uniform and a balding man should definitely not go together.
But as a superhuman, I thought there was no way I could be forced into something weird by an ordinary person, so I followed him inside.
Thankfully, it was an unmanned counter.
Otherwise, we would have been reported immediately.
We took the elevator up, and I began to wonder if I had signed up for a highly suspicious part-time job.
We entered a room with a large bed.
Without much thought, I drank the beverage he offered in a cup.
Before long, I began to feel drowsy for some reason, my vision slightly blurred, and the man set up a tripod with a camera on it. He might even start filming me while I was groggy.
"Let's start with an introduction?"
“This is the room.”
His voice jolted me back to reality, breaking my imagination. Until now, I had been daydreaming, and the door in front of me looked like the entrance to hell.
If something happens, I should punch him with a fire fist and run away.
Swallowing hard, I followed the man as he opened the door and walked in.
“Oh, is this the girl? She’s so cute!”
“Wow, we’re in for a treat today!”
“That school uniform, she’s really from Aegis Academy!”
Inside the room, five men were drinking.
Not one, but several men?
Panicked, I slowly turned my creaking head to look at the man who brought me here.
The man, now standing by the closed door, smiled slyly at me.
He locked the door with the latch.
Clack-
A few men excitedly started to touch me.
The others watched the scene with eager eyes.
It was a surreal scene.
I stared at them with empty eyes as they toyed with me.
“A fire that doesn’t burn, what’s the principle behind this?”
“The state of the flames changes based on emotions. It's an ability I've never seen before.”
“Take pictures! We need to capture this amazing ability!”
Not scared at all, they touched the flames coming from my body, trying to figure out exactly where they were coming from, groping my hands to feel the differences from other parts. Their actions were incomprehensible to me.
I thought they might do something worse, so I unleashed a burst of flames to threaten them, and that’s when it started to feel like this.
What the heck is this?
Still in a daze, I asked the balding man who brought me here.
“Excuse me, but who are you people?”
Their actions were incomprehensible to an ordinary person’s sensibilities, so I was curious about their identities.
If this was average behavior in this world, I couldn’t imagine living a normal life...
“Us? We originally worked at a superpower research lab. Now we’re just unemployed.”
“The lab caught fire, so we’re on a forced extended vacation until it’s rebuilt.”
“They’re all crazy about superpowers, but with no lab, we don’t get to see abilities. We relieve our pent-up desires by inviting superhumans and observing their abilities. Aegis Academy students have stronger powers than most, so we wanted to see them once. Since we have plenty of money, we rarely get anyone to come, but we’re glad you did today.”
The man asked others if they agreed, and they laughed and thanked me in chorus.
When they asked if I could show regular flames that wouldn’t burn, I told them to step back and unleashed a level 2 flame from my hand.
With practice, I felt I could control the intensity.
In the beginning, the sprinkler system would have gone off as soon as I released the flames.
The small size but noticeable heat made everyone’s eyes sparkle.
Some took photos, others took notes.
When one asked if he could touch it, I retorted if he was crazy, and everyone laughed and teased him.
Their faces were slightly red from the alcohol.
But it wasn’t just from drinking; they seemed intoxicated by the atmosphere.
Their enjoyment was infectious, and I found myself smiling naturally as if I were enjoying drinks with friends.
Flames gently flickered from my body.
Huh? I tried to control them, but for some reason, the flames wouldn’t go out.
They resembled level 1 flames in that they didn’t burn anything, but unlike flames ignited by anger, they couldn’t be suppressed.
They were more like the flames that flickered when I first met Sylvia, only these were purely driven by positive emotions.
For the first time since coming to this world, I felt genuine joy.
“What’s wrong? Are you angry about something?”
Seeing the flames, the men who heard that they appeared when I was angry looked at me in surprise.
I shook my head with a smile and shouted.
“These are flames that appear when I’m happy!”
The men were initially startled but then burst into laughter.
“Hey, the lady is in a good mood!”
“Ha ha ha, that’s an honor.”
“Since I’m happy, I’ll give you a big service!”
Caught up in the mood, I struck various poses in front of the men.
The demonstration turned into a little performance.
They cheered as I displayed fire tricks wrapped in flames.
The intrusive thoughts clouding my mind seemed to dissipate a bit.
*
After playing around for a long time, I was drenched in sweat.
The uncles (they told me to call them that) said they would stay and play more, so I left the room after receiving the promised payment.
The cool night air chilled my sweat-drenched body as I stepped outside.
Stretching, I enjoyed the refreshing air when I noticed someone standing outside the building.
A man with striking white hair stood out immediately.
Yoon Si-woo was looking at me with cold eyes.
They had us in the first half not gonna lie... though that misunderstanding is understandable from Yoon Si-woo lol
ReplyDeleteImagine your crush going into a motel with a balding man (hell nah)
Also, is the class president male or female ? Their pronouns changed from chapter 17 or something (someone clarify please)
Thanks for the chapter !
Class President is Female.
DeleteWtf did i just read?
ReplyDeleteNarrative gold is what you just read. Where the author played the audience with the setup laying down tension, subverted the setup, and then used the original setup with male mc.
DeleteIt's genuinely clever and makes sense.
This might be peak misunderstanding
DeleteI hope the misunderstanding won't go on forever lmao
ReplyDeleteAuthor's trolling sure was something xD
ReplyDeleteMC was lucky though, it could've happened.
I wonder what was what MC drank, maybe some low alcohol beverage? Or something from the lab.
Now, this little guy is starting to get very creepy.
Stalking is not ok dude.
And sure, he's misunderstanding but that wouldn't exist if he wasn't stalking MC in the first place...
Besides, it's not like MC owes him an explanation either, they aren't even friends after all.
hmm, the lab burnt?
ReplyDeleteis there a connection with mc?
Haha
ReplyDeletethis makes me wonder how much researcher make in this world?
ReplyDeletemaybe significantly more than earth because of magic?
So she has a different set of flames huh.
ReplyDeleteWell that's a set up if I've ever seen one.
WTF AUTHOR ðŸ˜
ReplyDeleteI ALMOST SCREAMED WHILE READING THE FIRST HALF ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
Had me in the first half, MC is lucky.
ReplyDelete