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“Just because it’s the second semester doesn’t mean everything’s suddenly different or anything.”

Sure, the kids have improved to an unbelievable extent, but the classes at the Academy were just the same as before.

Of course, it makes sense since they’re still first years. If we followed the original story, the Liberators and Evil Society would be just sitting quietly without much action at this time.

In a novel, these boring days, which would seem uneventful, would skip right to the moment something happens, dragging on for a whole month after school started.

However, even these supposedly dull days were quite significant for me.

There wasn’t much time left to gather people.

“That’s why I can’t stand them, those damn things… They use people like that and refuse to give even a little compensation!”

“Hahaha, right. Maybe it’s a bit much, but considering it’s Blanca, it makes sense…”

“A bit much?! You saw what they did to me! They treated me like some guinea pig! Oh, you didn’t see, did you? But you get the gist!”

While gossiping about Heros Company on the rooftop with my friends, I naturally created an atmosphere of disdain for them.

It was supposed to be a two-person show with Minho, but the others must have had their discontent with Heros Company too, because they just crept in eavesdropping silently.

As one by one joined in, before I knew it, all my friends were gathered around.

Minho took a stance against Heros Company, but he’d probably never side with the Liberators. Naturally, he’s the protagonist.

“Yeah, we gotta admit that Heros Company has done some serious stuff… Even trying to pin the blame on Blanca. And then they tried to silence her.”

Even the clueless Jinhyeon seemed to have realized by now that Heros Company isn’t the absolute good, though he didn’t completely agree with me; he still pointed out their darker side.

That guy might be dissing Heros Company, but he’s not about to join our side. He’d rather roll up his sleeves and fix Heros Company along with Yeonhwa.

“That’s true. But we could change things for the better, right?”

Even though I knew that was like trying to plug a burst dam with a single sand bucket.

“Well, Grandma does sometimes say this dreadful company is just… ugh, unbearable…”

Seolhwa didn’t share her view outright but mentioned what her grandmother often said, joining in reluctantly.

Should I take that as a good sign? I mean, it’s all about Heros Company, and despite her grandmother’s disdain, it means she’s in favor of improving things.

If I can pull her to our side, I’d definitely have to face a natural disaster alive!

And honestly, even we didn’t have a sharp solution for that.

It’s Lapiz—we don’t have a clue how to handle someone who’s all upgraded at every level. Honestly, I’m worried just thinking about a one-on-one with her right now.

“I don’t like it, but we don’t have better options. What are we supposed to do if we can’t change it ourselves?”

Seolhwa spoke plainly, stating the truth. She too… would find it hard to gather people. Being a fan of Minho, she’d probably stick with him unless he came along.

If there was any chance, it would be with Ageha or Lucia.

“But still, we can’t help it. The one holding up this society all alone is Heros Company. We can’t expect perfection. It’s just a problem that the cracks have shown up in front of us.”

Ageha seemed to defend the flaws but also criticized Heros Company for letting it slip.

And if you listen closely to her words, it sounds like she’d jump ship for a better alternative as soon as one appeared.

Even though she’s a heroine, she hasn’t had much interaction with Minho until now… so if I can gather her, it shouldn’t leave cut marks on Minho.

“Even if I don’t like it… I’ve heard transitioning to the United States isn’t easy either…”

Lucia felt similar to Ageha.

If I were to narrow down the likely candidates, it’d be Ageha and Lucia.

If we absolutely had to name more, maybe it’d be the B-Class no-names and those downgraded from A-Class to B-Class.

Even after sifting through the candidates, there was still one last problem left.

…Is it alright to mess with my friend’s future like this?

If they become heroes, then instead of just fixing the negative aspects of Heros Company, they could achieve the ending I knew as well. That’s how it was supposed to go.

But if I snatch even one of them away… Would they actually reach that happy ending I knew?

Is it really okay for me to drag everyone down into the pit of misery just because I don’t want to feel lonely?

The plans of the Liberators were thorough, but frankly, I wasn’t sure if we could beat Heros Company.

Even if we aren’t completely trampled like dogs, it’s going to be a long and tough battle. I really didn’t want my friends to get dragged into that mess.

At the very least, I wanted them to be happy. Even though wanting their happiness while betraying them felt off, I still wished for that. I genuinely wished for it.

So, even when it seemed like I could work on gathering them, I couldn’t bring myself to suggest it. Not out of fear of getting caught, but out of fear I’d make them unhappy.

When my momentum from the gossip started to fizzle out, everyone else’s energy slumped too, and the conversation ended aimlessly without any real conclusions.

If I had to draw a conclusion, I guess it’d be we can’t help but deal with this huge company that plays the role of the state—so there’s that.

On the flip side, I felt relieved that we ended things here. If they were seriously dissatisfied, they might have steered off the path of becoming heroes.

“Yeah, if we’re annoyed, we gotta change it ourselves, right? Let’s head down. Time’s almost up and it’s getting hot…”

“I’ll turn on the cool breeze.”

Seolhwa blasted out cool air towards us even before I asked, blowing away my worries along with it.

This was a topic too early to ponder over, and since I hadn’t even come up with answers for myself just yet… I could safely push it to later.

Heading towards the changing room, I desperately tried to hold down the bubbling anxiety.

– – – –

Turns out, playing along with the gossip was the right answer. Seeing Blanca’s favorability shoot up after being stagnant made me think that.

If we hang out for just a few more days, I might even reach relationship level 4 smoothly.

More than getting extra stat points, I was a tad excited about actually figuring out what she was hiding.

Whether she’s with Heros Company or the Liberators, I felt I might just clarify it this time.

…But if not, then that’s unfortunate. But it’s not like I’d have a reason to be upset; I’d just be one step closer to capturing Blanca’s heart.

After all, good things are still good.

Thinking positively, I watched Ageha use various magic on Blanca.

From this angle, it seemed like Ageha was showing her interest in Blanca just as much as I did…

But for some odd reason, Ageha’s favorability wasn’t going up at all, and that, along with her steady actions, made it all the more questionable.

What if Ageha actually has some feelings for Blanca…? That’s a troublesome problem if true. It’s something I never imagined happening between the heroines.

At least one good thing is that Blanca doesn’t seem to care much for Ageha. Is that something to be relieved about?

Even if Blanca had no feelings for Ageha, I wouldn’t have anything I could ask Blanca for.

Well, I can’t ask her to block Ageha just because I need to woo her.

If she’s some reincarnation or something, I’d at least plead for her to let me make the heroines follow the original script, but…

At the moment, there was no way for me to tell if she was a reincarnator or not.

I could just shut my eyes and ask boldly, but the big issue would be if that caused all the favorability I built up to crash.

Of course, since I’ve built some rapport, she wouldn’t just forget me, right? But there was a chance she’d consider me a weirdo and create some distance.

…But even if she happens to be a similar being as me, that’s still problematic.

Since she hasn’t dropped hints about that so far, she at least doesn’t seem keen to reveal her hand.

If I force the issue, it could lead to her hate me instead. The best strategy is to create an unavoidable situation where she has to reveal herself to me.

The biggest issue is that I can’t think of any situation like that.

While I was deeply lost in thought, Alice quietly approached me, asking if I wasn’t training today.

“Huh? Oh, no, no. I just had some things on my mind. Alright, let’s get back to it. So, where did we leave off… Ah, right! You wanted to control your speed, right?”

“Yeah, and… after we’re done, I have something to talk about. Can you listen?”

“I can’t say no to that. But what’s the story?”

Alice hesitated a bit before carefully bringing it up.

“Um, it’s just… since last week, I’ve been feeling like someone might be following me…”

Being followed, huh.

There’s someone capable of trailing Alice…

…

There is.

Evil Society.

 

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