Chapter 4

I had expected to get some kind of clue by going out, and indeed, I managed to find a lead: the extras’ faces were nowhere to be seen.

However, I never imagined I would encounter another heroine here.

The unexpected discovery left me somewhat bewildered.

I couldn’t take my gaze off the words hovering above her head.

??Heroine.

Though it seemed ambiguous to call her a perfect heroine.

A branching-type heroine without a predetermined role.

If the protagonist were to choose her, she might become an ordinary heroine, but if the protagonist overlooks her, she could transform into a villain.

I’m not sure what choice the protagonist of this world made, but for now, she was just an ordinary woman, not a heroine or a villain.

It seemed I was staring too intently because the hooded heroine pulled her hood even further down and said,

“…I’m sorry. I made a mistake since it’s been a while since I came outside.”

After saying this, she hastily covered her own mouth, causing me to harbor doubts.

Is this kind of voice her ability?

I had imagined a voice so powerful it could bewitch people, but it turned out to just be really good vocal quality.

Apparently, there’s no such thing as superpowers here. If this world weren’t so similar to a romantic visual novel, I might have outright denied the existence of superpowers altogether.

“…But do you feel something strange?”

“The strange feeling probably comes from my knees.”

It feels damp and cool, as if I’ve applied a balm.

It must be a torn knee.

The thing I collided with seems fine, but I’m the only one who sustained an injury in this one-sided encounter, which makes me a little frustrated and wronged. This so-called ‘strange feeling’ mostly arises from within my chest.

Since the moment I saw her ability, I expected an exhilarating sensation, but instead, I mostly feel a boiling heat inside.

When the woman realized I hadn’t given her the answer she expected, she paused briefly, then met my eyes. Her azure irises gave off a strikingly clear impression despite the hood partially covering her face.

Even though her appearance wasn’t fully visible due to the hood, I could tell — this woman wasn’t the same kind of beautiful as the “heroine” Inna that was marked on her forehead.

“Not that… Anyway, it’s nothing. Since I was the one who ran into you without looking, I feel responsible. Maybe I could cover your medical expenses? Could you give me your phone number? I don’t have any cash on me right now.”

Phone number…

I do own a phone, but I’ve only been in this world for less than a day.

There’s no way I would have memorized my new phone number here.

To be honest, I could let her go without demanding anything, but it’d be a shame to let the day’s results slip away like that.

Not knowing how many heroines there are, and considering that she holds feelings of regret toward me, letting this situation slip by might make me regret it in the future.

“I don’t have a phone. But if you want to pay for the hospital bill, give it to me at school.”

“…Don’t we just meet for the first time? How do you even know I go to school, let alone which school?”

It’s a guess. While it varies across romantic visual novels, school is often the main setting. She doesn’t appear to be a teacher’s age, so it’s natural that someone her age would attend the same school.

There’s a chance she might attend a rival school, but that’s fine. If that turns out to be the case, it’s not like I have to go through the trouble of finding her — she already crashed into me.

“Fine, then forget it.”

I want to seize this opportunity, but I’m not willing to pry about which school she attends just to exploit an opportunity that doesn’t really suit me.

“No, it’s fine. For a moment, I thought a stalker had recognized me since covering my face with a hood. Now that you’ve heard my voice, I can probably find you in the school by listening for it.”

How am I supposed to naturally recognize her when she’s wearing a hood? Secretly, I’m amazed by her confidence that assumes I can identify her effortlessly.

Living life should be about this kind of attitude. If you lack self-confidence, you cannot achieve anything. With self-confidence, you can accomplish more than you might expect. Anyway, it seems I misunderstood her latter statement — she must have meant recognizing me by my face.

“Well, I’ll go now. See you at school tomorrow.”

As an unfamiliar melody played through her earphones, she gradually disappeared down the alleyway.

I was about to head home until a sudden thought made me turn my head back.

That girl had never taken her earphones out of her ears.

And the music was continuously, albeit faintly, playing from them.

How, then, could we have a conversation?

Normally, the music would have drowned out our voices.

With a lingering question in my mind, I returned to what had now become my home.

*

Extraordinary abilities that people cannot achieve through ordinary effort are called supernatural abilities.

Surprisingly, the combat-form abilities of summoning fire or ice in the modern world are not widely celebrated, nor are they common. Perhaps this is because the power of their abilities is not overwhelming compared to expectations.

In a world where one gunshot can end a life, it’s clear that combat abilities weaker than a g*n cannot change society. Instead, with the passage of time, the number of people possessing non-combat-form supernatural abilities useful in daily life has gradually increased.

Among these non-combat-form abilities — a girl named Han Ye-seul had the ability of a “supernatural voice.” This ability let her hear other people’s voices even when ears were covered, and her voice could bewitch individuals.

Since her birth, her gift rendered the world extremely noisy for her.

She could hear every voice of people within a 1 km radius. Those who heard her voice expressed unyielding admiration and adoration. Moreover, she could hear the unspoken thoughts within others’ hearts, and through intense use of her power, she could even “force” people’s actions.

Over time, her abilities advanced rather than deteriorating, granting her the power to bewitch people through her voice over broadcasts.

In other words, at the age of a high school student, she effortlessly overpowered the efforts and talents of many, becoming a popular idol.

To her, the world quickly became somewhat mundane, and, in a way, dangerous.

For some, wielding a kn*fe or stabbing her was an expression of love.

Whenever she ran through alleys, she had to hide her identity by wearing a hood and minimizing her speech to avoid risking dangerous individuals falling under her spell.

Of course, using a treadmill would suffice if she merely wanted to exercise, but as a woman who was often confined to events, broadcasts, or her home, she preferred running disguised enough to hide her identity.

Unless ambushed, her supernatural voice could easily free her from danger, and her ability to hear people’s inner thoughts helped her avoid such attacks.

It was normal for her not to use her supernatural ability for killing, which is strictly prohibited by the law.

In that sense, the accident that just occurred should not have happened.

“I couldn’t hear anything from her heart…”

As she approached, the girl’s mind’s voice remained silent. And despite hearing her voice, the girl wasn’t bewitched at all.

As though protected by something unassailable,

As though blessed by divine affection, the girl had an extraordinary appearance.

Could she be someone who also possesses supernatural abilities? Or is she genuinely protected by someone? — Most likely, she would be another supernatural talent.

While the latter might involve an unknown supernatural ability, several self-protective abilities have already been discovered in the world.

Still, considering the concept of protection, there’s a high possibility she might not even realize she possesses supernatural powers.

However, if that were true, it would be astonishing. Unlike herself, who causes chaos in the world with her voice, this girl possessed an ability that didn’t affect the world at all but solely protected her.

While reminiscing about the girl who had just left, Han Ye-seul quietly smiled, finding her opposing supernatural ability fascinating.

Had she not accidentally injured the other during this meeting, she could have genuinely rejoiced.

With a slight sense of regret, and hoping to befriend her next time, she resumed running.

…Unaware that her statement was based on the assumption that the other attended the same school.

Expecting to meet tomorrow at the school where the protagonist of this world awaited, three heroines headed home.

Two among them would step out with the intention of meeting one unique heroine.