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“So, a hero goes missing or dies, a villain gets caught, they list out all the evil deeds they did, and how that impacted everyone. Blah, blah, blah.”

Honestly, it wasn’t boring or nerve-wracking. I mean, those two forces would eventually clash on their own, no need for me to jump into the fray.

But saying I didn’t feel a twinge of regret would be a lie.

After all, that should’ve been my job.

But with everything getting out of whack, somehow things spiraled out of control.

Tomorrow was the finals day, but I wasn’t worried at all.

Blanca had already taught me nearly all the subjects, so cramming at the last minute wasn’t necessary.

So, I just did a quick review a couple of times and now I was lying around, letting my mind wander.

Yeah, Blanca. Whenever something popped up, she was usually at the center of it. I had my part here and there, and I could still create events without her, but…

Whenever I got entangled with Blanca, things always twisted or got messy, or just went out of control.

Maybe half of it was on purpose by her, but… the other half might’ve been stuff even she didn’t intend.

She seemed to have this knack for complicating matters just by being there, whether she wanted to or not.

If I had known it would turn out like this, I probably should have left her out at the start of the semester—thoughts like that crossed my mind briefly.

However, even if I did exclude her, I didn’t think anything would really change.

Maybe keeping her around is what kept things from getting worse. Well, it’s all pointless speculation anyway. Still, it’s kinda fun.

So, what faction is she in? Heros Company… I honestly have no clue. Probably not, right?

Knowing her past, I was sure there was no reason for her to join Heros Company.

The things she did, if you looked at the results, mostly worked against Heros Company too.

No, wait. That might mean she could be associated with Heros Company. If it’s her, she’d probably harbor a massive grudge against them.

Maybe she’s pretending to be an ally and is slowly chewing them up from the inside. Spilling secrets to their enemies or twisting things with her knowledge.

Okay, maybe I’ve gone too far… Yeah, I definitely went too far. No proof, and if that were true, Heros Company wouldn’t just twiddle their thumbs.

The idea that Heros Company is rotten suggests there’s a moral issue. They weren’t lacking in skills or abilities, that much was clear.

Plus, it’s not like they couldn’t keep their own teammates in line.

If that’s the case, then she probably belongs to a third faction like the Liberators. Especially the Liberators.

Considering how close she is with Justitia, it’s highly likely she’s one of them. But then, what’s she plotting?

Is she really trying to invade the Academy like I assume?

But she knows the source material, so there’s no way she’d do that.

The Evil Society needs to be of a certain size to face off against Heros Company; a small faction like the Liberators would get wiped out in a day.

Plus, the ideologies of the Liberators aren’t exactly sound, and above all… she was too, too close to us. If she was planning a betrayal, there wouldn’t have been any reason to be that close.

Of course, spies can build fake families, but that’s something only well-trained individuals can do.

Even then, it’s common for them to slip and confess after developing genuine feelings.

Blanca didn’t seem like someone who’d been that thoroughly trained. No, the aim of such training is to keep that fact hidden.

But if that were the case, she wouldn’t be so close, so familiar with us.

So, it felt awkward to suspect her. No, maybe I just didn’t want to doubt her.

That’s probably it. The truth is, I didn’t want to doubt her. She was more than just a heroine, more than just a friend.

She was the one person I could be completely open and honest with.

Sigh, this is all so complicated. Wouldn’t it be easier if I could just label her as an enemy and move on? Why am I overthinking things like this?

I guess I’ll have to ask her about it later. But for now, I was just putting things off, hoping for a better day.

– – – –

“Brr… it’s cold. Winter is really here. Should I put on a coat? Hey guys, how did the exams go?”

Yeonhwa tightened her outerwear, warming up the chilly atmosphere that had settled.

“Of course! Who taught us? Besides… it’s not that cold yet, is it? Unless you’re sensitive to the cold, then maybe a coat over the coat would be a good idea,” said Ageha, smoothly picking up on her words before eyeing Lapiz, who looked bundled up like she was wearing seven layers.

“Uh, it can’t be helped. I, I’m metal to the bone, so winter hits me right to the marrow…” Lapiz stuttered.

“That must be really uncomfortable. But in summer, it’s probably comfortable… Oh wait, maybe not, since you complained about the heat back then,” said Minho.

“Seolhwa, are you not cold?”

“Given my ability, I handle the cold just fine. You can tell just by looking at my skirt, right?” Seolhwa said, lifting the hem of her skirt slightly, inching closer to Minho. He looked a little awkward, as if that was a bit too much for him to handle.

“Abilities can affect your body and constitution too, so not that surprising, right? Oh, by the way, Jinhyeon. What about you?” Minho asked, curious about Jinhyeon’s response as they discussed abilities.

“I’m just cold. Regular cold,” Jinhyeon replied, as he delivered his predictably boring response.

Minho found it interesting that even though he could use multiple attributes, Jinhyeon wasn’t immune to the cold. But I wasn’t really curious about that side of things.

“…Why are you all looking at me like that? Just because my ability is Biogeneration doesn’t mean I’m safe if I stick a fork in an outlet! I know that from experience!”

As Alice saw everyone silently staring at her, she sensed a crisis and quickly defended her power, explaining how it works.

“So, does that mean a taser would work on you…?”

“Just because I stick a needle in my smartphone and run electricity through it doesn’t mean it’s charging?!”

“Ah, I see how it is.”

“What are you upset about?! I’m human, you know! What do you think I am?! By that logic, wouldn’t Blanca be the weirdest one here?!”

Alice pointed at me indignantly, claiming that the real mystery was standing right there.

“That’s… true, but… I’ve been at it so long, maybe I’m just used to it. Plus, it really is kinda amazing,” Ageha chimed in, agreeing while cautioning me not to take it too personally.

“I mean, it is kinda weird for someone who can drink detergent and get away with it.” I acknowledged that my body was unusual, so I replied without any offense. Excluding the Mimic who was replacing my body, it really was pretty strange. It’s not normal to eat wood and spit out acid.

“…Is that so?”

With no counter-arguments or even attempts to deny it, Alice awkwardly rolled her eyes and quietly slid to the back of the line. She blended in well with Lucia so they looked like they belonged together.

Since tomorrow was the practical exam, typical phrases about resting well and managing your condition were exchanged when a snowflake landed on my nose.

“…Is that snow?”

As soon as I said that, the other kids immediately felt the flakes and started asking each other if they had just seen snow.

“Well, it’s about time for the first snowfall, so it’s not too surprising. But first snow while we’re taking finals… Should I be happy or sad?”

“What’s there to be sad about? We should be happy! It’s the first snow! So… wait, what do people usually do for the first snow?”

“Don’t we just do nothing?”

“R-Really?”

“I think couples make up silly traditions when the first snow falls. But we’re not really that type… Oh. So nothing, right?”

I shrugged in response, and Ageha looked a bit disappointed, letting out a sigh.

“Even if there’s nothing special about it… we could just do something together. Want some hot chocolate?”

Most of the kids agreed with Minho’s suggestion, but I regrettably had to decline.

“I’ll take white chocolate, please. Due to my constitution.”

“Ah, right. Got it. So Blanca gets white, and the rest of us get the regular stuff.” Minho seemed to have almost forgotten that I couldn’t have caffeine, only to remember just then.

You might think that caffeine isn’t a big deal now, but it was still something I wanted to stick to.

“Thanks.”

The fact that the first snow fell on finals day felt a little unfortunate, but since it was still fun, I didn’t mind too much.

After all, once the snow piled up and finals were done, there would be plenty of time to hang out.

 

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