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I’ve contacted Minho many times, but he rarely reaches out to me alone, so receiving a call from him was a real surprise.

Moreover, every time he called me out individually, my heart raced—like he was going to uncover my identity or something. I was tense about what this call was for.

“Uh, Minho. What’s up? Calling me and all.”

Still, I summoned all my courage to act casual. I didn’t want to let him see through me. But as soon as he spoke, that courage shrank down to nothing.

– “Uh. It’s nothing serious, but someone’s tailing Alice, and it seems… it’s Evil Society? I think it’s some kind of crime organization. Could you walk home with me, even for a bit?”

They’re planning to mess with Alice over at Evil Society. And Minho, in a roundabout way, was asking me to help stop it.

Yet, he feigned ignorance and was testing me, which was enough to wipe away any thought of us being just friends a few days ago.

That slippery guy, seriously. He looked so cool as the protagonist, but facing him was exhausting.

“Uh… Why are you telling me this? Can’t you just ask the teachers or other heroes?”

I was dumbfounded, and the conversation took a turn I hadn’t anticipated. Not to mention, I couldn’t figure out why he was involving me in this Evil Society mess.

My surprise and anxiety had unknowingly raised my voice.

Ah, great. If I act like this in front of Minho, I’ll definitely get caught.

Normally, anyone wouldn’t even know Evil Society existed.

Even Justitia probably wouldn’t know. Only the higher-ups in Heros Company’s intelligence room would be aware.

– “Of course, that’s not enough. And you can’t protect Alice 24/7 from someone stalking her, especially since we don’t know when heroes will show up.”

“But those people get paid to do such things! They should at least be capable of that…!”

I raised my voice to hide my excitement, but it was like trying to cover my face after showing all my cards.

…How on earth am I going to justify this?

But I really didn’t want to get entangled with Evil Society that much. They were the most relentless and malicious bunch.

I’m already a target, and now I’m supposed to attract more attention?

No way. This would really put me in danger. I had to refuse, even if it meant raising more of Minho’s suspicions.

I didn’t want to get involved with those guys who were planning to turn me into something worse than the experiments I had to face.

– “Okay… Then I guess there’s no choice. I’ll go with the others.”

“Wait, what? Who are the others? Please, tell me you’re not dragging friends into this…”

– “I just mentioned it. Changwon, Fukukin, and… that kid from Class B said he’d join too. The more hands, the better, right?”

Minho had definitely lost it. He was intent on shoving kids into their radar.

And he was ready to take the risk to get caught in that radar himself.

“Hah… If anything goes wrong, it’s all your fault, you know!”

– “So, you’re in?”

Cunning little thing. Using friends as bait. He must have planned to gather kids for this very reason. What on earth makes him think he’s the protagonist?

At this point, I had no choice but to join in, just to redirect their attention onto me.

Since they were already targeting me, if Alice and I were bait, they wouldn’t pounce right away… They’d probably wait until it felt right to strike.

Those guys were huge cowards, despite their size.

“I’m in! But if anything feels off, I’ll call for heroes right away, and you’ll be the one taking the blame. Got it?”

– “Thanks, Blanca. This really puts my mind at ease.”

“Yeah, right? It’s easy for you to say, considering you roped in Changwon too…”

Yet Minho casually played it off, saying he felt safer with more people involved.

“Hah… So what’s the plan? Let’s hear it.”

– “It’s pretty simple, but it might be a bit tough for you. Still, I hope you listen and then decide.”

– – – –

“Hey, say something.”

“I’m not sure what to say… There’s hardly anything for me to say to you. You know there’s little I can talk about with you.”

“Ugh, just do as you’re told. Why are you acting like you’re so above it all?”

“Well, that’s definitely my fault, but… did you know I’ve brought it up over ten times now?”

“Ugh, you’re counting everything so petty?”

“Come on, even if it was my fault, repeating it over ten times is starting to get annoying!”

“How about that? If you’re going to be a hero, you should at least be able to hold a conversation. So, tell me about your life in Class A. How were your old friends?”

Minho’s plan was to set our classmates up along our route home, leaving just the two of us to walk alone.

When I asked why it had to be us, he said he wanted us to get a bit friendlier, and having two girls walking home would probably put a potential kidnapper at ease.

If we got into specifics, my ability was widely known, making it easier for kidnappers to plan, while my Suit ability was a total mystery and could deliver a crushing blow…

There were plenty of reasons, to say the least.

In truth, he probably knew I was being targeted and was just trying to lure me out. Cunning guy.

“So, how has adapting to Class A been for you? Well… I’d say it’s not going too smoothly…”

“Of course, it wouldn’t. Given you picked a fight without even knowing the context, leading to a massive falling out.”

“You’re saying it now, but I’m trying to explain it, aren’t I?! Are you even trying to be friends?”

“You?”

Returning the question to her based on Taeguk’s teaching, Alice was surprisingly taken aback and stammered about it.

“I may have, you know… but you might think I’m being shameless… I suddenly got thrown into a new class and am apart from my close friends. I thought I was strong, but it turns out… not so much.”

When I suggested she just try saying something, she faltered with weak words she usually wouldn’t utter in front of others.

It seemed Alice wasn’t usually like this; maybe she was just trying to avoid showing off after I called her out.

“Hah… I miss my old friends, but I don’t want to go down and see them, and the chances of them visiting are slim. Academy life is hard. I sang about wanting to join Class A, but now that I’m actually here, it’s tough…”

Ah, I see.

As I replied without much thought, Alice sighed, seeming not to expect any sympathy at all.

“How could you empathize? I’ve been Class A since day one, and my friends are all doing fine. Still, you did get one thing right.”

“What did I get right?”

“At least you know how I’ll feel about you now. You went and did that, and somehow you still think you can act all nonchalant?”

“Well, that’s…”

Alice seemed to have run out of arguments as she bowed her head, speechless.

But I wondered if I might have stomped on her too hard, so I decided to lift her spirits a bit.

“Your wish? I can’t promise to cheer you on, but I won’t curse you either. Just try! You might just find one friend who understands you.”

With her social skills, she might totally bomb after three years of effort, but for the sake of injecting a bit of confidence into her, I wished her luck and said, “You’ve got potential!”

“D-Do you really think so…?”

“Why would you ask me that? I don’t even know.”

“You…”

Alice was about to say something, but then suddenly clammed up.

“But… is there really someone tailing us? I’m not sensing anything. All I’ve heard are our footsteps since earlier…”

“Yeah, there’s one. Someone’s slowly keeping their distance behind us. But… it doesn’t exist in this world.”

Doesn’t exist in this world? What, is it a ghost? Is she a medium? It’s true that ghosts exist in this universe, but there haven’t been any mediums among the heroines.

“How do you even know that?”

“It’s a strange… current, I guess. I feel it. Ever since my abilities got stronger, I’ve even seen ghosts… Anyway, I can sense it trailing us. Get ready.”

“Are you seriously asking us to deal with a ghost right now…?”

“No, it’s not a ghost! This is clearly…”

Just as she was about to say that someone was hiding in some weird way, we were suddenly surrounded by guys in coats and fedoras in the blink of an eye.

“Release the electricity!”

“Gah?!”

I grabbed Alice, who was about to retaliate, and jumped up to escape the clutches of those fedora-wearing thugs.

“D-Do you know something?!”

Do I know? I know.

I couldn’t see clearly due to the hat, but I recognized that face and that ability…

It could only belong to Wang Tai-lun.

 

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