Chapter 52: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat,

Chapter 52

I woke up at dawn.

Half-asleep, I recalled that I had been dreaming.

In the dream, I was in a small room.

It was a strange room with walls on all sides, but only one of them was transparent.

There was no door to be seen, yet I didn't feel like I was trapped.

A frog in a well wouldn't know it's trapped inside the well.

To the frog, the narrow well would be the entire world.

Likewise, the narrow space was my entire world in the dream, so it couldn't be said that I was trapped.

But just as the frog can see the sky beyond the well, I could sense through the transparent wall that there was something beyond that narrow world.

On the other side of the transparent wall were two pairs of eyes watching me.

They were staring at me inside the wall with intensely emotionless eyes.

What was reflected in their pupils was a girl with red eyes and black hair.

That was how I looked in the dream.

Even in dreams, I was becoming a girl now.

Muttering this to myself, I fell back asleep.

*

Perhaps because I had woken up once at dawn and gone back to sleep, the sun was already high when I opened my eyes.

Well, it was Sunday, so it didn't really matter if I slept in.

Sighing, I took out the bean sprouts from the fridge to make a stir-fry for lunch.

It was because of what I realized yesterday while making dinner after returning from the market.

The oyster sauce and cooking oil were almost gone.

If I stir-fried the bean sprouts for lunch, there would be just enough left for one meal.

I had gone to the market on Friday to buy bean sprouts, and yesterday I went to buy a pastry bag.

I could have bought them then, but foolishly, I ended up having to go to the market again.

I've been missing little things like this because of a few things on my mind lately.

Going out meant preparing for this and that, which was quite bothersome.

I briefly considered going to the market on Monday after school, but the thought of having to eat boiled bean sprouts for two more meals made it unbearable not to go out.

Somehow, my body had become one that couldn't be satisfied without bean sprout stir-fry......

Since I was going to the market again, I decided to restock on the ingredients for macarons, which were also running low.

After having lunch with these thoughts in mind, I changed my clothes and left the house.

The streets were crowded on the weekend.

Today was the last Sunday of March.

It meant that almost a month had passed since I became Scarlet Evande, as my first day here was March 1st, the first Monday of the month.

Reflecting on the past time while arriving at the market, I got sentimental.

There was a time when I was grateful to eat even boiled bean sprouts with my daily living expense of 300 won......

Now, the fact that I could come to the market to buy cooking ingredients because I didn't like that made me feel immensely moved.

......Actually, if my guardian hadn't given me pocket money, I might still have to live that way.

But there was no need to be anxious.

A month had passed, so in a few days, I would soon have a hefty sum of 300,000 gold.

In other words, I was a prospective three hundred thousand-aire.

I was going to be a person about one-third as rich as a millionaire.

The unit seemed a bit different, but let's ignore that.

With the confident stride of someone awaiting payday, I entered the market.

And as soon as I entered, I quickly did a moonwalk at the sight of a familiar white-haired person.

"Hello, Scarlet. Are you here to shop?"

"......"

I naturally tried to walk out of the market, but because my moonwalk skill was lacking, I got caught.

Sighing inwardly, I nodded.

Yoon Si-woo, who greeted me, glanced at my left arm and spoke.

"......Need help?"

I could manage to shop alone.

Thinking that, I shook my head, and Yoon Si-woo gave a bitter smile as if he expected that.

Even though Yoon Si-woo had an indomitable holy sword that increased his recovery rate, he looked exhausted.

Seeing him, I trembled with anxiety.

I wondered if I had been mistaken at school, but seeing him up close, I was sure.

What on earth had happened to him to make him like this......

"Okay. Then, see you at school later."

"Wait a minute."

I had to take action, so I stopped Yoon Si-woo, who was about to leave after our farewell.

"Can we talk for a bit? Can you wait until I finish shopping?"

Yoon Si-woo, whose eyes widened in surprise, slowly nodded.

As he nodded, both of his pupils were white.

This was what had been bothering me the most recently.

*

After finishing my shopping and stepping out of the market, Yoon Si-woo was waiting for me.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It's okay, I didn't wait long," Yoon Si-woo said, shaking his head.

Feeling it was awkward to talk while standing, we decided to head towards a park we occasionally visited.

After finding a bench and sitting down, I placed my shopping bag beside me. Naturally, Yoon Si-woo sat slightly apart from me, with the bag between us.

......An awkward atmosphere hung in the air.

This was the first time I had initiated a conversation with Yoon Si-woo like this, so it couldn't be helped.

Until now, I had been maintaining my distance from Yoon Si-woo to avoid potentially dangerous situations.

But after deciding that I wanted to save people, I realized I needed to improve my relationship with Yoon Si-woo, who would be at the center of these events.

I knew it, but......

Just looking at his face reminded me of the time he tearfully begged me not to worry about him!

Aargh!

Even when I visited him in the hospital, it was awkward to face him.......

But the situation couldn't be ignored just because of that, so I asked Yoon Si-woo.

"Why are your eyes like that? One of them used to be black, right?"

"Oh, this... uh, it's because of an ability or something... haha, it just happened..."

Yoon Si-woo stammered, making it clear that it was difficult to talk about.

It seemed it would be hard to press him for the reason behind it.

The change in Yoon Si-woo's eye color was proof that he had contracted with Lucia, the Sword of Humility, to draw out the true power of the holy swords.

To explain, it was a kind of power-up event.

If it were just about getting stronger, it would be good news, but such events usually occur after the protagonist endures significant trials.

The death of a heroine, nightmares every night.

These events happen when the protagonist's mental state is pushed to the limit.

The fact that this happened just a few days after my hospital visit was entirely unexpected.

Even now, faint dark circles were visible on his face, and he looked exhausted, indicating he had been through something tough.

In the original story, Yoon Si-woo also showed signs of struggle after this event, so if he was already this worn out, he might break down mentally later on.

If the protagonist Yoon Si-woo broke down, it would be the end, literally.

Just thinking about it made me tremble.

But Sylvia seemed to have fallen out with Yoon Si-woo for some reason, and the students who would normally join our class due to others' deaths were still in different classes.

So, the only person who could take on the role of supporting Yoon Si-woo's mental state was me.

It's funny, considering he told me not to worry about him......

Sighing inwardly, I spoke to Yoon Si-woo.

"You look really tired these days. Is something bothering you?"

Yoon Si-woo flinched as if I had hit the mark.

"That, it's nothing. Just been training hard, that's all..."

Yoon Si-woo said awkwardly.

Knowing that ordinary training wouldn't tire him out, I could only assume he was forcing himself through something tough.

Yoon Si-woo was not the type to show his struggles to others.

He was the type to carry his burdens alone, trying to solve his problems by himself.

If such a person couldn't resolve their issues, they might not realize they were festering inside until they finally broke down.

Worried about Yoon Si-woo breaking down, I murmured softly.

"......I'm worried about you, even if you say that."

I looked Yoon Si-woo straight in the eyes.

"Believe it or not, I care about you a lot."

I cared so much that I hadn't even noticed I was running out of cooking oil and oyster sauce.

Anyway, Yoon Si-woo had to be okay.

If enduring awkward feelings was necessary for that, I could bear it.

Pouring all those feelings into my gaze, I told Yoon Si-woo.

"If you have any struggles or worries, talk to me. I'll listen."

At my words, Yoon Si-woo seemed burdened and avoided my gaze.

Turning his head to the opposite side to hide his face, he said in a small voice.

"......Next time, I'll tell you next time."

Saying that, Yoon Si-woo stood up and ran off somewhere.

......He said next time, so maybe he'll tell me when things get tougher.

Looks like I'm going to end up playing the role of a counselor.

Picking up my shopping bag, I headed home, lamenting my sad situation.

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