Chapter 43

“Will I not regret this?”

As soon as we stepped out of the office, Inna placed her hand on my shoulder and said this. Though phrased as a question, it was closer to a threat implying I would regret my decision.

This was because the answer I had given earlier inside was that I wouldn’t go with Inna. The blessings that currently protect me and would protect me in the future were bestowed by her. Moreover, Inna was the only person who would move with me whenever I wished. Crossing her could be dangerous, so choosing her seemed like the right decision. However, there was also a high probability of being dragged around by those who had seen more and planned thoroughly, people like Inna and Kim Ha-neul.

Looking at the scenario, although the relationship between Inna and Kim Ha-neul didn’t seem particularly good, if I kept moving according to their plans, I might spend a lifetime unable to meet the true heroine, struggling merely to escape their schemes.

Even if it detours a little, escaping their predictions will likely be the truly correct path.

“A student council officer will assist me, so there shouldn’t be any regrets.”

However, revealing this rebellious sentiment from the beginning could risk Inna reclaiming the blessings she granted me before the protection fully recovers. Hence, I pretended to be oblivious and said that I didn’t think she would retaliate against this choice.

As soon as I declared that I wouldn’t move with Inna, the vice president made a suggestion.

Since the requests themselves were originally meant to be handled by the student council, if I just selected my requests, an officer whose time or conditions matched would assist me.

In reality, it would likely end up with them assisting me, but that would still benefit me.

Even without protection, I couldn’t afford to sit idly because I might encounter a bad ending anytime. Though I could move without protection, I did feel uneasy doing so alone.

In my past life, I had moved around well without protection only because I had the confidence to escape attackers. In this world, there were many terrifying people with supernatural abilities that couldn’t be defeated just by punches, so I needed some means to protect myself.

Thus, the student council’s assistance was quite ideal.

Not only could I immediately take on requests without taking breaks, but also I wouldn’t owe Inna anything, and I would still be protected.

It was so perfectly timed that it made me wonder if someone had interfered.

Since the vice president is a fan of the student council president, if anyone had interfered, it might be from the student council president’s side, not Inna and Kim Ha-neul’s.

Strangely, the student council president seemed trustworthy, unlike Inna and Kim Ha-neul.

Could it be because this body and her were lovers?

“Hey! Now that the talk’s over, why don’t you tell me about it? I barely managed to come out after hearing your conversation. Anyway, since your discussion ultimately meant calling us, I’m not mad so don’t worry too much.”

While Inna and I were having a staring contest, someone appeared from beside and hugged me tightly.

Because she hugged me from behind, I couldn’t see her face, but knowing the soft sensation on my back and Inna’s friend who liked hugging me this way, it wasn’t hard to figure out who it was.

“So, what were you talking about?”

Though Sora seemed curious about our conversation, we exchanged glances and mutually decided not to delve into the details.

Inna, who had an abnormal obsession with me but hadn’t shown her sinister side yet due to my supposed ‘memory loss,’ seemed to have decided to refrain from speaking. Also, I didn’t want to mention to her friends that I chose to go with a student council officer without Inna.

I thought they wouldn’t take my side anyway. Experiencing that was more than enough with those from the ‘other side.’

Since we both had reasons not to talk, Sora wouldn’t get a proper answer. After waiting briefly for our responses, the woman tilted her head and smiled.

“If the discussion went well, then that’s good enough. Let’s go back to the classroom and chat while relaxing.”

Talking is considered relaxing? That was a new concept to me. Conversing with someone actually caused an immeasurable drain on one’s mental energy, right?

But if that was considered rest, mimicking a woman might be easier than I assumed. This was undoubtedly a ‘real’ woman’s comment.

This is the real deal, something I couldn’t mimic no matter how I tried.

“Yeah, I like chatting with you two.”

In contrast to my stunned silence, Inna gripped my arm and acted friendly.

“Did you know they installed a new bread vending machine on the second floor? Now maybe we won’t have to go all the way to the cafeteria to grab something to eat.”

Gain offered information that would practically help me.

If, as it happened today at lunch, we gathered like this and Inna didn’t bring a bento for me, I could just buy bread from the new vending machine and eat it with them.

While providing useful tips about school life from someone who was supposedly still upset with me, another surprising piece of news came from her.

“By the way, I heard that there will be a transfer student in our class tomorrow.”

“Transfer student?”

Unsure if I’d be interested, their gazes briefly focused on me. Had ‘Erica’ been such an uninterested character…?

Because I briefly caught their attention with one comment about the transfer student, they shifted their focus from me and continued their conversation.

“Someone said they overheard a conversation between the homeroom teacher in the staff room. Probably someone from the newspaper club though. That Kim Ha-neul friend.”

In a romantic visual novel, the arrival of a transfer student is nothing less than an indication that another heroine will appear.

Appearing this early in the second grade rather than the first suggests that either it’s a fleeting character who’ll appear and vanish suddenly or a central figure of the story.

Even though the news came from someone who Kim Ha-neul seemed to know well, and the announcement of a new transfer student happening just after I’d entered this world—it gave me the feeling that the story is finally flowing properly.

“I wonder if it’s Dasul? She’s always nosing around in different places, so she gets into trouble a lot.”

Not knowing what role I play in this world, I couldn’t help but feel conflicted.

It’s not the true heroine. My goal set by the system is to complete the ending with the true heroine, so it can’t be fake.

On the other hand, the main heroine role is already taken by someone else, as the former girlfriend of this body.

Even though the body I inhabit is certainly the heroine, I suspect I might be a sub-heroine. However, since so many intense events have occurred since I transferred, I might be more than just a sub-heroine.

“Anyway, are you guys going out to play after school?”

“Hm, I’m free. But I doubt she will be, since she has plans with the student council members to resolve issues that students have brought to her.”

Even while I was deep in thought, they continued to chat happily. As Inna said, I had plans after school.

I had missions to complete that could increase the chances of finding the queen of the school, and I was quite looking forward to meeting the student council officer I’d arranged to meet after school.

Who exactly would this heroine turn out to be? I returned to the classroom, looking forward with great pleasure.

A heroine’s features don’t overlap with others. Since there’s already a heroine who’s excessively attached to me, the upcoming ones have to be normal.

That is, unless this romantic visual novel includes a series of crazy heroines leading to what is often termed as a “mental hospital” type VN. Given what Kim Ha-neul experienced, that seemed unlikely.

—Because these experiences Kim Ha-neul went through resembled the typical ones that a protagonist of a standard romantic visual novel undergoes.

*

In school settings within Korean romantic visual novels, there are moral guidance committees instead of wind and discipline boards — students who enforce rules and are closer to the teachers’ side.

However, in my past experience, those committees weren’t even on the teachers’ side.

“Hey, I’ll let you know when the teachers come. Don’t worry, right?”

“Of course. Have I ever failed to take care of you guys?”

Recalling that the guidance committee, who assisted students in committing offenses, I lamented while handing over a hidden recorder I had placed in a secluded area where I was bullied to the teachers – an action that resulted in the wholesome scene of the guidance committee being reprimanded.

Of course, shortly thereafter, retaliation came my way—I didn’t know how they found out.

The key point here is that romantic visual novels are different from real life.

A real life guidance committee would only cause mutual embarrassment, like now.

“Hey, did you wait long? Get on. We’ll go to the destination on this.”

—It might’ve been only me, though.

The woman in front of me had golden-dyed hair whose tips were black, carried a bl**d-stained wooden bat behind her back, wore mysterious black gear that might be a rider suit, and bore a yellow ribbon marked “Vice President of Guidance.”

The rough-looking woman on a motorcycle tapped her rear seat with her hand.

It seemed like she was speaking to me, but I didn’t reply. The 180-degree difference from the guidance vice president I had expected in the visual novel was so shocking.

Perhaps I should’ve just come with Inna. Was this what she meant by regret?

“Ah? Are you ignoring me?”

Inna was right. I’m regretting this now… She wasn’t threatening but was merely predicting the future and offering advice, and I didn’t believe her.

While internally crying, I had no choice but to board the motorcycle’s rear seat, as indicated by the guidance vice president, disguised as a delinquent.

[Vice President Riki]

[Role: Sub-Heroine]

[Ability: Combat.]

With an imposing presence, this woman’s capabilities already seemed formidable… The audacity to question her has long disappeared due to the loss of protection. If I still had protection, I could’ve at least asked, “Are you sure?”

My cowardice flared up PTSD-like symptoms upon seeing her, leaving me unable to speak. All I could do was obediently wear the helmet she handed me and follow her as she guided the motorcycle onward…