Chapter 166

With exams over and vacation just around the corner, the entire school maintained a relaxed atmosphere. However, as it would be improper to disrupt another class studying, the teachers were preventing anyone from raising their voices loud enough to disturb neighboring classes, even if it meant stopping movies or similar activities.

That is, while they weren’t stopping conversations entirely, students were encouraged to keep their voices down, allowing quiet conversation. Unlike Erica, who openly spoke without even hiding her mouth movements, regular students had to significantly lower their tones.

“Are you watching the movie, Bora, or looking elsewhere?”

“For me, that person over there is the movie…”

“This is so pure love~.”

Giggles.

The student who had taken Erica’s seat was pushed out by Inna, her ‘best friend,’ so currently, Sora sat next to her. Unlike Gain, who excelled in physical activities, Sora didn’t have any obvious standout traits except for her large chest.

Having a very kind heart wasn’t an advantage that got her into the clique of the student called the queen either.

“So, you’re trying to reconcile? I noticed something strange today~.”

But though it wasn’t obvious, Sora possessed a clear advantage that no one else did. Just as Erica had once thought, Inna’s tone was mimicking someone else.

“It’s kind of ambiguous…”

Inna, who was fully aware her popularity came from imitating someone else, answered seriously to Sora’s insight without being shocked.

She had always turned to Sora for advice on matters of the heart rather than Gain, who was more about action first.

“Can we even call this a reconciliation? I have doubts…”

Both parties involved felt the relationship between Erica and Inna was subtle and complex.

What Erica had done yesterday was nuanced enough that it couldn’t be considered an outright reconciliation with Inna.

“Yeah, yeah~. Even though things veered off-topic, Erica has a talent for resolving situations, so there was no way to resist.”

Still, even though Inna herself found the situation hard to put into words, Sora seemed to understand it, and what she described was indeed similar to the real situation. Erica, regardless of the reasons for Inna’s distress, had strangely wrapped things up.

“This isn’t reconciliation; it feels more like we’ve just postponed a bomb trigger… So isn’t that what you wanted too?”

“This is a bit subtle…”

Delaying conflicts.

While this was something Inna had always done with Erica, she wore a subtle expression on her face.

If she hadn’t realized it before, now it was clear that the things she had done to Erica weren’t a good sign, especially since Erica had chosen to delay matters.

“The best way, as always, is something we can think about but not always act on.”

“Love always seems to find direct confrontation the most effective way~.”

Inna faintly smiled, recalling what Sora had once said.

If direct confrontation was an option, perhaps she would have opted for it, but against someone who had already stolen her heart—someone who, despite betrayal and lost memories, continued to captivate her—direct confrontation was out of the question. The only method left was coercion.

“Since that’s unlikely, maybe we should try an alternative approach?”

Sora, while not knowing everything about Erica and Inna’s interactions, knew enough to suggest a different tactic. The method Inna had used before involved mobilizing others to h*rass Erica, slowly and darkly isolating her mind.

However, the strategy Sora now proposed was entirely different from Inna’s previous tactics. It was a completely different approach than the one the system suggested for Erica’s character.

“Will this actually work…?”

“I don’t know~. But it’s definitely better than what you’ve been doing, right?”

While Inna listened to Sora’s romantic advice, she had never explicitly shared the specific methods she’d used against Erica. Yet, Sora seemed to have a good idea of what Inna had been up to, despite her being a regular human—a mere ‘extra’ in the grand scheme of Erica’s world. But even without powers or weight in the story, Sora had her advantages.

“…Hmm.”

Change was needed. A kind of change she couldn’t bring about herself.

Knowing this, much like she accepted Kim Ha-neul’s schemes despite suspicion, Inna decided to adopt Sora’s differing viewpoint.

She would do whatever it took to win Erica, her one true heroine.

*

People typically follow priorities when they have many tasks to do. And Erica had a great many things on her plate: unresolved matters with Inna, a still mysterious relationship with Kim Ha-neul, and Han Ye-seul’s stalker situation, which seemed non-existent to the n*ked eye. There were countless responsibilities Erica had in this world.

Thus, she had no choice but to act based on prioritization. For instance, when she decided to resolve her issues with Han Ye-seul first, who was currently inviting her over.

But prioritizing one task means relegating others to the back burner. Erica knew she was pushing some things to the side, but she was unaware of others.

“Hmm~.”

A case in point was the transfer student from China. Initially, Erica had shown interest, thinking the main story might involve her. But as time passed, she focused exclusively on issues directly tied to herself and gradually forgot about the transfer student.

Specifically, she assumed that despite appearances of significance, the transfer student was just a fake heroine, unrelated to the storyline.

Yet, whether Rao Ha was truly a fake heroine, no one knew.

Descendants of a self-proclaimed lineage of superhumans emerging just a few decades into a world where such beings existed. What mattered here was how they inherited their supernatural abilities.

Did their supernatural abilities pass through genetics, or were they artificially endowed through experimentation? None of these answers were yet widely known.

However, another method existed—one that propagated these abilities widely.

Some types of abilities were known as “erosive,” where the ability supposedly consumed and altered the user’s physical form. But if the ability itself desired survival, it wouldn’t stop at consuming its host; it would infect others, spreading its existence throughout the world. That’s why it’s called erosive.

Some erosive abilities might seem incapable of infecting others, but whether that is due to their incomplete development or whether their power has been borrowed from other people remains unclear.

In this sense, Rao Ha’s family could be considered particularly noteworthy for Erica.

There was another heroine whose importance Erica had overlooked amidst her priority management.

“Phew, if I have to arrange a meeting, it’s probably better to do it in person, right?”

What Erica thought was finished—after all, her assistance in romantic counseling to Kim Ha-neul had yet to wrap up—wasn’t really done. Eventually, the client found her way into Erica’s classroom during a break and noticed a complete stranger sitting in her seat.

Since the movie continued into the second period, Erica hadn’t moved during the break, a fact unknown to the visitor. Perplexed, the heroine looked around to see if Erica was anywhere in the classroom.

In the meantime, she caught the eye of a boy she liked, but after a brief nod, nothing further happened.

All she saw at Erica’s seat was a white-haired girl lying on her desk as if she had fallen asleep during the uninteresting movie.

“Huh, if she’s sleeping…”

It felt awkward to wake someone who was sleeping.

As she hesitated and was about to return to her own classroom, a nearby idol noticed her bewilderment and, shaking Erica awake, prevented her departure.

“…What?”

Awake now, Erica turned to whoever had woken her, but since the woman pointed to another direction, she twisted her head and saw the familiar figure with purple hair.

“Um, do you happen to be free after school?”

“No. Hmm…? Oh, I don’t need to worry about you? …Alright.”

Although Erica suddenly changed her answer mid-sentence, the woman, not someone ignorant of basic common sense, wasn’t curious but content that she had obtained permission, smiling in satisfaction.

“Alright, I’ll be here when school is over. Let’s meet then.”

The woman, more interested in Kim Ha-neul than Erica, returned to her class content with the arrangement. What she didn’t realize was that someone was watching the seemingly mundane scene unfold with shock. Nor did she guess that person was contemplating stalking her.

“…Inna.”

At her side, Sora sighed but Inna ignored her, because given Erica’s s*xual orientation, this meeting was absolutely necessary to follow.