Chapter 18

Second school, second day.

I walked along, hoping to encounter the Student Council President again—someone who fits my ideal type—but by the time I finished the walk to school and entered my classroom, I hadn’t seen her.

Was it because the time we walked together last time was different, or was it due to Inna, who had linked arms with me?

With the crowd surging around Inna, I couldn’t even see the people passing beyond her. So even if we had walked together, I wouldn’t have noticed her.

This situation was different from yesterday, when she left me behind to greet her friends on the way to school. This time, she didn’t leave me behind.

Of course, even with Inna by my side, not a single person from the crowd around her spoke to me.

But this wasn’t unpleasant for me—it was actually a good thing. I didn’t see the extras’ faces, and greeting them wouldn’t have helped much, as I couldn’t remember names or faces for future reference. It was better for me if they just didn’t talk to me from the start.

Without meeting the Student Council President, and without anyone giving me a warm welcome, I entered the classroom. This time, there were no new doodles on my desk. The graffiti that appeared earlier was likely due to me being absent for three days, so I’d have to keep an eye on the situation.

To clear my character’s scenario, I needed to find the Queen. Therefore, the act of someone carving graffiti on my desk wasn’t all that bad. If this kept going, it would eventually lead to uncovering the Queen’s identity and a way to leave this world.

Honestly, having things like graffiti carved with a kn*fe or strange items appearing in my desk’s drawers — which is just mild bullying — wasn’t really affecting me because I had faced similar things in my original school and had become immune to them.

“What’re you staring at?”

“I’m thinking about when you’ll return to your seat.”

“Isn’t this your seat now?”

No matter how I thought about it, this girl seemed like the Queen. Watching Inna beam as she sat beside me, I thought this internally.

Judging by how she took over my seat and how she seemed to have an obsession with me, it seemed likely that Inna was the Queen.

While it’s true that I hadn’t been in this world for very long, the Queen’s role typically involves leadership over people, so I couldn’t rule Inna out as a candidate.

However, I was concerned about the consequences if the Queen the system had warned about wasn’t Inna.

I rested my forehead on the desk, the more I thought about the Queen, the more my head ached. The only thing that came to mind was how to find her.

Why was this romantic visual novel made so unnecessarily complex?

When people play these games, all they want is love, not a perfect masterpiece from a system perspective. Especially when there isn’t a m*rder mystery, why would any company make a detective VN like this?

The more answers I sought, the more I felt like I was trapped in a maze without an exit.

To avoid this, I needed more clues. My gaze shifted slightly to a girl standing afar—her ability labeled “False” floating above her head.

*

When break time came, I immediately grabbed the hand of a girl with an ordinary appearance and ran down the hallway, bypassing students, heading for the steps just before the rooftop entrance.

It was the only place where we could talk safely during break without being disturbed by students in the corridor. While there were other possible spots, either I didn’t know about them, or they were too far away.

Despite numerous heroines in this world, like the student council president, the girl preparing to become an idol, or the one who wakes up early to prepare meals, it seemed this girl didn’t resist my forceful dragging.

“So, why? Didn’t we decide to take it slow?”

Seo Yu-ri, who hadn’t agreed to go slow with me, revealed her slight irritation, showing that she’d overheard my conversation with Inna.

It was only fair that she felt upset since I hadn’t kept the agreement from last time where I would be the victim and she the aggressor. Clearly, dragging her here unilaterally was bothersome.

“Because we haven’t exchanged phone numbers, I had to come and ask directly. So, Queen, who exactly carved the marks on my desk?”

“And you don’t know already? Who could possibly do that to your desk? Not just one person, right?”

Her tone was laced with clear irritation. Even though such behavior might not usually warrant such strong reactions, I passed it off as a lack of experience talking to teenage girls in high school.

This girl was one of my few information sources at school, maybe even my only one.

“Phew, I’m saying this because I don’t know. Other than Inna, there’s no one else who could. A Queen who can make someone disappear with just a word.”

The girl sighed deeply, treating Inna as the obvious Queen already.

But I didn’t bring her here for that obvious answer. What I wanted were even loose but broad possibilities—enough to let me think and decide for myself.

“Actually, it’s not Inna. I know she’s not one for such childish tricks. So, it has to be someone who doesn’t know me. For the same reason, it’s not the Student Council President.”

While I hadn’t entirely ruled out the suspects, what I wanted to hear from her were other candidates, so I deliberately lied.

At my fib, reminiscent of those successful deceptions from my job, the girl sat on the stairs with a slightly serious expression.

As a signal that she wanted to talk more, I sat beside her, leaving enough distance for another person to fit between us.

“…Is that so? Then let’s think from another angle.”

From Inna’s reaction, it was clear this girl wasn’t close to the body I inhabited now. Strong Yu-ri didn’t easily fall for my words, judging by her knowledge of this body’s usual personality.

Lowering her head, the girl thought. If she came up with something good, it’d undoubtedly be useful for me, though the chances were slim. So, I interrupted her pondering with a question.

“If you don’t know, I’ll ask something else. What supernatural ability do you have?”

“Why ask about my ability? Usually, people don’t share this unless they’re very close, and asking directly is considered rude, you know?”

If people only knew about abilities when they were very close, then the Student Council President and Inna, who had some knowledge of my abilities, must have been very close—or at least had been in the past.

I hadn’t been in this world long enough, and unlike those initial tutorial narrations in a VN, I hadn’t received such world information.

The system window did provide some information, but compared to the differences between my world and this one, it was minimal.

In such a situation, it’s better to absorb information from others here without questioning.

“Hmph, since we’ve formed some sort of alliance, I’ll tell you. My ability is magic—basically the perfect ability for pranks.”

Upon confirming my keen eyes waiting for her response, Yu-ri finally revealed what I had asked.

…Though I wasn’t sure if she had told the truth.

Was it that her ability was concealed as “fake,” but she actually had magical powers? Or was she lying about her true ability being “fake”? Or could it be that she just misunderstood her own ability?

There were too many possibilities to figure it out. And now, in the situation where she had said she’d tell me, I couldn’t press her to clarify.

If she had honestly told me, questioning her further would make me seem strange. If she lied, she would doubt if I realized it’s a lie.

In conclusion, are all the heroines here abnormal? Between the strange personality of the Student Council President, my ex-girlfriend, and today’s absent idol, I might be the only normal one. Though, naturally, in a world where two-eyed people are considered disabled, I’d still be seen as abnormal here!

While I was lost in thought, a few cards appeared before my eyes. The girl, who had summoned the cards somehow, blocked my view.

“How’s this? Feels more like real magic now?”

“Hard to tell because I never saw the start.”

“Try again. This time, a disappearing trick.”

The Queen of Hearts and four other numbered cards disappeared from view.

While it might look magical to others, as someone who knows that card tricks are optical illusions created by the fingertips, I couldn’t help but smile slightly at her somewhat clumsy movements.

I thought: Why don’t you cheat better if you’re going to do it?

“Alright, that’s enough. It’s better not to ask other people for their abilities though. While people who don’t have abilities are rare, it’s still better this way. By the way, how did you find out I have an ability? Was it Inna…?”

“What does it mean when someone tells their ability without being asked?”

The inquiry to uncover my information source was interrupted halfway. My source was the system itself—something incomprehensible even if explained. Cutting it short for both our benefits, I decided it was for the best.

Though my considerate gesture didn’t land, the dissatisfaction on her face grew a bit from before.

“Close friends or lifelong family, something like that, right?”

“Then, anyone talking about someone else’s ability must be their direct opposite. Even whether they have it or not.”

The girl with brown hair had clearly understood my roundabout denial of betrayal. Her expression hardened, almost as if she was facing an enemy.

“Hey, didn’t we form an alliance?”

“Our alliance means I’ll only tell if they have it or not. If we hadn’t allied, you’d have been straight-up rejected.”

“…Now I understand why you get ostracized by others. People in the same group help each other; that’s how you avoid being bullied…”

Suddenly, this nagging started. I quickly plugged both ears with my index fingers.

Blocking my ears didn’t stop the sound from reaching me. I knew it would still be heard. But this was an action with the effect of stopping the girl from continuing—she couldn’t look this angry anymore.

“…For some reason, it seems like I’ve become irrelevant to you today. That hurry to cut your losses is quite obvious.”

“No, that’s not it. It’s more about the suspicion. As you know, I’ve faced bullying a lot, so I notice a few odd things.”

Considering various fragments, Inna was the Queen of the school.

However, their form was too perfect, making everyone else immediately point to Inna as the culprit, which only fueled my suspicion.

“Things that smell bad in your desk also harm others in the vicinity, so even kids who like Inna wouldn’t approve. On the other hand, stepping in with clumsy sympathy to help someone escape from the powerful person’s gaze? That’s either the powerful person themselves stepping in or someone explicitly ordered to do so.”

“Huh.”

“Hahahaha!”

Despite having more to say, the girl instead laughed openly, seemingly admitting her wrongdoing.

“Wow, didn’t expect you to figure it out like that. Well, I guess I also gave you a warning from [him]. I was planning to fool you a little longer before revealing it, but you’re pretty sharp with your intuition.”

The face of the seemingly ordinary girl crumbled.

The text hovering above her head changed.

[Kang Yu-ri]

[Role: Villain]

[Ability: False Progression.]

[Favorability: -20]

[The Queen Discovery Quest has been cleared. You have successfully completed the scenario. Two participants. Rewards have been granted.]

And there it stood—the Queen herself.

Even without being called a Villain, it was clear:

A figure full of malevolence toward me.