Chapter 155

Erica had never once underestimated the Student Council President’s [wisdom].

In her current state, Erica, who already struggles to manage the abilities of the sub-heroine, could never underestimate the power of the main heroine, who leads this world.

However, even with the greatness of the main heroine’s abilities, Erica hadn’t anticipated that meeting her alone for an hour or two would reveal the existence of the System.

This was less about underestimating the Student Council President’s abilities and more because Erica had regarded the System as an untouchable domain invisible to everyone here.

After all, it’s almost common sense that people in this world cannot perceive the System or the background involving spirit possession.

Similarly, it’s almost a rule that a possessor either avoids mental domination or, if subjected to it, cannot speak of “Earth,” making it a certainty.

Thus, Erica had no choice but to divulge something crucial in response to a line of attack she had never considered.

Since she thought “I’ve been had…” her expression leaked in that fleeting moment.

“I don’t intend to interrogate you for this. From the start, I haven’t been accusing you of hiding that fact; rather, I’ve been pointing out that you remain the same person as before you lost your memory.”

Speculation and certainty are different matters. Though the expression Erica displayed turned the Student Council President’s suspicion into certainty, she chose not to exploit it.

It was simply “A equals B,” meaning there was no need for Erica to feel guilty about A. The Student Council President wasn’t using this knowledge to threaten or intimidate Erica but instead wanted her to understand that she remains unchanged.

But Erica’s body had stiffened since hearing that statement, so instead of continuing, the Student Council President placed the can in her handbag and gently massaged Erica’s shoulders with her now-free hands.

“…What are you doing?”

“I thought you seemed tense, so I’m trying to help you relax.”

Erica thought there was no way such an action could loosen her tension, but gradually, her body began to relax.

As when someone exhausted from a trip feels their body naturally relax upon entering their home, Erica felt the Student Council President’s touch ease her body, signaling to her subconscious that there was no longer a need to remain tense.

‘This body is weaker than I imagined, especially in front of the Student Council President.’

Even if Erica’s supernatural ability had activated and placed the Student Council President in an adversarial position, her body wouldn’t have remained tense.

Since protection is a power that activates when threatened, it was obvious it would naturally dissolve in front of an old lover like the Student Council President.

The System had warned against exposing her intelligence to the Student Council President, yet in Erica’s opinion, the reason the Student Council President seemed threatening wasn’t due to her wisdom but rather something else.

When facing someone she has feelings for, her protective abilities become useless, and her already fragile body relaxes even further in front of the Student Council President.

If she used the power from the “list,” the situation could be different, but there’s no reason to create a “possibility” of lethal harm using the uncontrollable power of the list on someone who lost a loved one due to possession.

Ultimately, at the moment the Student Council President harbors ill will toward Erica, even without using her supernatural abilities, Erica’s resistance would prove meaningless.

[The Student Council President is approaching Erica’s secret, so be cautious…]

“Are you flashing some kind of notification again?”

‘System, I messed up, so just don’t flash anything right now.’

Because there were times when the System delayed messages, Erica had been dissatisfied with its timing. However, upon hearing the Student Council President’s words, her dissatisfaction vanished instantly.

If others were aware that her eyes occasionally looked elsewhere,

and if the System intentionally delayed important messages to make her eye movements imperceptible…

It wasn’t that the System hadn’t been on her side—it just hadn’t disclosed the meanings behind its actions.

In a world where only those who side with the “body” would remain by her side, the System was the only one that recognized and sided with “herself.”

On the surface, it was the perfect ally, but Erica couldn’t regard the System as an ally even if that were true.

After all, whose fault was it that she was brought into this world? Madness—it’d be absurd to consider the System an ally.

The System might have some modicum of conscience or subjective judgment, refraining from revealing its feelings toward her through messages, but Erica thought this distance was just right.

This distance—between victim and perpetrator—was appropriate for the System that forcibly brought her into this world.

“First, you tell me how much you’ve figured out.”

“Aren’t you going to say I’m mistaken?”

If the tone had been slightly heavier, it might have sounded accusatory, but the warmth in the Student Council President’s voice towards Erica made it sound more like a playful tease.

“If I already had the conviction to say it, why would I back down? Besides, my expression slipped when I heard what you said.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. Since I care… about you, if you said I was mistaken, I’d accept it.”

The voice trembled slightly halfway through, suggesting the intention to say “I like you,” but Erica understood what the Student Council President was trying to convey.

“If you’re trying to hide something, I’ll continue pretending ignorance. However, the consideration is that you’re still the same person as before you lost your memory, so don’t be sad.”

“If I accept that consideration, I’ll never get to ask you what and how much you know, or why you think I’m the same person.”

“Then, are you rejecting it?”

As Erica tried to lean forward slightly, the Student Council President effortlessly relaxed her grip, showing no intention of suppressing her.

Having placed a few steps of distance between them, Erica finally turned around and inspected the Student Council President’s expression—a mix of guilt and affection, just as always.

“Since I don’t want to run away too much.”

“…If I answer how much I know, it’ll be a lot. But now I understand what you’re asking. First, I know you have a limited but extraordinarily deep, almost wisdom-like ability. Something like the ability to figure out someone’s name and power by just looking at their face.”

Crazy.

Erica muttered a silent curse.

“And I know that, unless you specifically look at someone’s head, you can’t distinguish people well. That’s why you often glance at people’s heads. There’s nothing up there, but for people you’re close to—or special—I’m not quite sure which—you don’t need to look because you can tell anyway, like the girl from earlier.”

It would make sense if she had been around the Student Council President for a long time.

But after possession, they only had limited time together, apart from instances with other people involved, and yet she had figured this much out…

“Though I’m not sure why the distinction is made. If I used my abilities, I might be able to tell, but I don’t want to use them on you.”

From the slightly embarrassed expression on the Student Council President’s face, Erica couldn’t help but realize—The Main Heroine, the one who influences the flow of this world.

Even without using supernatural abilities, her observational skills were nearly at the level of a superpower.

In a world where extrasensory phenomena like brainwashing or possession exist, the fact that someone with such insight trusted her…

“Is this a story from before or after?”

“Both are the same, so there’s not much difference.”

The System depended on what the two of them knew.

Erica had thought the Student Council President liked her so much that she might fabricate stories, but hearing this doubt changed her perspective.

‘Maybe my possession happened after I met the Student Council President.’

She had felt something was off from the start.

If the original owner of the body truly felt betrayed by Inna,

If the original truly loved the Student Council President,

Then she would have tried to intervene in her actions toward them, at least to some degree. Yet Erica had only reacted and given advice regarding “Sister.”

‘Also, the original didn’t seem to know much about the System. It wasn’t presented as a supernatural ability in the System’s messages.’

Furthermore, if her earlier actions were not because she harbored complex feelings toward them but because the true owner of the body was not the original person but someone who lost their memory, thus having nothing to say…

Under this possibility, certain things became clear.

The possession began only around the end of the second-year first-semester final exams.

Thinking it happened late didn’t make sense, but if it had been delayed because of memory loss, it all clicked.

And there was only one entity that could manipulate her perception this way.

When she originally entered this world, only one kind of message greeted her—something that could be mistaken for the current possession.

“…Thank you. I realized something because of you.”

If this possibility were true…

Erica’s eyes glinted coldly.

System…

This thing was really impossible.

“…Is your newfound realization something that erases your guilt?”

Ultimately, if she did indeed suffer from memory loss, there was no reason to feel guilty towards the Student Council President. Yet, she remained guilty toward the owner of this body, and possibly even toward Inna, with whom she presumably had a previous relationship.

For someone who doesn’t even know if she truly lost her memory…

“Still, I feel a little better. Maybe we’ll stop here for today?”

Exhausted by the recent events while trying to understand how much the Student Council President knows and uncovering the truth,

Erica decided it was time to end their meeting at the bus stop where they had arrived without realizing it.