Chapter 168

The way they ended up at the place where Erica was sitting resembled something akin to a game of tag. The first person to follow was Inna.

Next were Sora and Gain. They had planned to play today to make up for not playing yesterday, but upon seeing Inna suddenly heading somewhere, they shrugged and decided to follow her. Witnessing this, Kim Da-seul grabbed Kim Ha-neul’s hand and chased after them.

Of course, even while following along the way, they roughly figured out who was following whom before reaching their destination.

After all, the only person worth following Inna was Erica, and the only person her friends would follow was Inna.

Thus, the five of them gathered at a table in a café. When Erica noticed this, she joined with Seol Hee-na, bringing the group up to seven.

“Uh, uh?”

Seol Hee-na was at a loss for words at Kim Ha-neul’s unexpected appearance, and the newcomers were trying to figure out what to say in this situation.

Among them, a boy alternately glanced at Erica and Inna. Erica’s expression appeared slightly uncomfortable at being followed, but it was just to that extent.

It seemed that if someone had overheard their conversation, it wouldn’t be Erica but rather Seol Hee-na who would find it awkward.

‘Then why did Hee-na bring Erica of all people?’

Though Kim Ha-neul had overheard the conversation, he still didn’t know why Hee-na had called Erica.

Asking someone to invite people for the summer vacation’s training camp was a request that anyone could make, but it wasn’t something Seol Hee-na would likely ask Erica.

While Seol Hee-na may seem timid, her image is much better than Erica’s, who has an unfavorable reputation among others. Her obtaining the position of Art Club President wasn’t without reason.

She had overwhelming skill and had won the respect of her peers for it. Seol Hee-na was well aware of this fact.

So, why did Seol Hee-na ask Erica to invite others?

‘Probably one of two reasons.’

Either she wanted to invite people only Erica could reach out to, or she wanted to evaluate how seriously Erica would handle the request, thereby gauging how Erica felt about her.

Meanwhile, the boy silently observed the red-faced woman, the only male at the table full of women, believing that just because she was from a wealthy family didn’t mean she was purely innocent. He glanced sideways at Inna, stuck between Seol Hee-na and Erica.

“I was worried something strange might have happened when Erica told me she had an appointment, and it turns out I came at the right time. This is exactly something I can help with.”

Deciphering Inna’s words, the hidden meaning was as follows:

“I was worried you were hanging out with other women, but it turns out this other woman isn’t someone you trusted, but rather someone who found you. Lucky me, so I’ll help without a word.”

On the surface, she seemed like a worried friend. However, looking deeper, she was a woman clinging jealously while belittling Erica’s worth.

‘Although I thought it would be better for Erica to distance herself from her…’

Thus, Kim Ha-neul had tried hard to separate the two, noticing Inna’s numerous schemes, but for Erica’s sake, he didn’t push his thoughts further.

Forcing Erica to separate from her only friend, Inna, felt like once was enough. He didn’t know how Erica would react if he tried any further. One thing was certain: her reaction would likely be negative.

Though Erica, now lonely since parting ways with the student council president, still kept Inna by her side despite potential harm, one thing was clear: Erica had no intention of letting Inna go.

Ultimately, it was the incident that caused Erica to lose the student council president, but Kim Ha-neul couldn’t truly empathize with Erica while considering all this.

Erica needed care, but even if he cared for her, the limits of what he could do were predetermined.

In contrast to the youth’s serious thought, the other women, who had joined in the pursuit, felt somewhat awkward about overhearing Seol Hee-na’s story and were offering their help.

“Hmm, any decent reporter needs a good network! I’ll pull in the golden connections I know, so rest assured!”

The journalism aspirant, who had eagerly chased them to collect scoop-worthy stories, tore out the pages of her notebook while speaking.

After all, the private stories of others weren’t suitable for the kind of articles that would gain much public interest.

“Hey, there are some kids in sports that I can bring.”

“I might not be able to bring famously popular friends, but I can still bring acquaintances.”

This was said by Gain, Inna’s athletic friend, and Sora, who often offered soothing consultations.

“Then I’ll bring the ones the others can’t.”

“As for me, I’ll try to bring someone from the first year and the student council president.”

This was said by the woman who had been given the title of queen by Erica’s system, and the girl who, compared to the others, might not invite many people but could attract exceptional ones.

“…Ah, yes. Thank you…?”

The situation was spiraling out of her control, contrary to what she had anticipated.

Could she really feel truly grateful in this situation?

The purple-haired woman, confused by the awkward give-and-take, responded hesitantly, but no one contested her words. They all recognized how confusing the situation must have been, given how it started with eavesdropping.

*

They finally parted ways after setting up a separate chat room. They would need to inform the group who they had invited to avoid inviting the same person more than once.

And Seol Hee-na also mentioned reconsidering the number of people to invite to ensure that those who weren’t invited wouldn’t feel left out.

Now that Kim Ha-neul was aware of the situation, it wasn’t technically necessary to invite the so-called scapegoat friends, but one of Seol Hee-na’s good qualities was that she didn’t use others simply as scapegoats.

One of Seol Hee-na’s strengths was that when she invited people, she made sure that even those who weren’t invited wouldn’t feel excluded.

“When will you return home?”

In this somewhat warm conclusion to the meeting, Erica and Inna, despite having different destinations, walked a short while together.

“After everything is done.”

“Then shall I help you?”

Inna’s eyes sparkled. Her assistance would definitely speed up the resolution of the matter.

The ability to influence others, which inspired the protagonist to target her, was an immensely powerful supernatural ability that couldn’t be measured.

With her help, it wouldn’t take long to find Han Ye-seul’s stalker. Erica trusted Inna’s abilities, even if she was only a sub-heroine.

“It’s something I need to address personally, like the time I had to find the school queen.”

In visual novels, there is a system where selecting options changes the perpetrator accordingly.

In the case of the desk milk incident, selecting options had revealed Inna as the true culprit, but this time, there was no indication that failing to find the perpetrator would leave the target disappointed. Therefore, the situation was somewhat different.

“Alright, shall we meet tomorrow morning before school?”

“You know where I’m staying, don’t you.”

In a subtle attempt to reveal where she was staying, Inna spoke, but Erica quickened her pace as if ignoring her.

“At Han Ye-seul’s, right? If you didn’t want it to be found out, you shouldn’t have been so close.”

‘Already found out.’

But Erica glanced away under Inna’s firm and uncompromising tone. Perhaps the seat-switch was already Inna’s scheme.

Perhaps her goal all along was to confirm where she was spending the night, and she initiated the first request by strategically sitting next to the most likely candidate, Han Ye-seul.

It seemed Erica had fallen right into the trap.

Though she could deny it, Erica didn’t feel it necessary.

“I don’t see a point in hiding something you’ve already figured out.”

“Then, we’ll see each other tomorrow morning?”

Why does Inna desire to meet in the mornings so fervently? Erica still didn’t quite understand this, but she nodded anyway because she didn’t want to drag out this trivial conversation.

However, upon this simple action, Inna smiled happily and added another word.

“Will I help you with your request?”

Despite observing that their relationship with Han Ye-seul wasn’t very good last time, Inna volunteered her help, which made Erica wear a complex expression before nodding again.

With Inna’s help, it seemed the request could be resolved much more conveniently,

and frankly, it was necessary to create some kind of turning point to incorporate Inna into her sphere.

A turning point that could forgive whatever Inna might have done in the past or future.

On a day not long before the summer vacation, the two, with a subtle atmosphere that seemed both reconciled and not, returned to their respective homes.