Chapter 6: Inevitably, the Heroine

I Hate Attention (2)

Scorn, persecution, and hatred.

Having received these unwarranted, viscous emotions since childhood, my emotional state was far from normal. Outwardly smiling, inwardly not. I lived, submerged in pretense with such conflicting facades.

Born into an Ability Marriage solely for the creation of superior Abilities, my treatment was far from ideal. Regardless of the individuals involved, society and the media denigrated even the child, claiming the manner of their birth was wrong. The family blamed the mother, not the father.

Unable to endure the abuse, we separated and lived alone, yet my mother was always tormented. Before the marriage, she was an ordinary person, not a Hero. The sudden surge of attention was enough to distress anyone.

The first emotion I felt was doubt. Why did my mother and I have to endure such scorn? If my birth was a sin, then perhaps—

"...No."

...But I couldn't do that. If even I disappeared, my mother would truly be left alone. That was how I learned to endure in my childhood.

I endured, and endured. Hating my Ability, yet nurturing it.

That hatred was directed at my father. He had a child, yet never once visited. I hated him.

I hated him for being capable of controlling the society that scorned us, yet doing nothing.

Enrolling in the Academy was part of that hatred. What expression would he wear if the child he ignored became a respectable Hero and surpassed him?

Of course, enrolling there meant meeting his other children. Surpassing them was also one of my minor goals.

And so, I began preparing for enrollment.

#

"...Haa."

But standing before the school gates, I wondered if this was truly the right path. An Academy established to create Heroes.

A place to nurture Heroes who help others, sacrifice themselves for the citizens, and eliminate Villains who disrupt society—

Was it right for me to enroll solely for my own purposes?

A lingering conscience pricked at me. I should have considered this sooner, but self-reproach was futile.

The enrollment process was already complete, and all that remained was to spend three years in the Academy.

Now that I was finally beginning something akin to revenge against my father, something I had dreamed of since childhood... my chest felt constricted.

"How did I end up here..."

The faces of the people passing by were all filled with happiness.

Children chattering about becoming great Heroes, or those vowing to become the best Hero.

Compared to that, wasn't my purpose far too tainted?

Perhaps there was another way. Not exploiting such an institution, but a more honorable method.

Wasn't the reason I hadn't sought out my father directly after birth due to the fear of what he might say?

My head began to throb. It must be because I was entertaining useless, strange thoughts. Even if it was different in the past, harboring such thoughts now wouldn't help me in the slightest.

Shake it off, I thought, lifting my head, and I met a gaze.

Platinum blonde hair, reflecting the sunlight from one side, fluttered in the breeze. Perhaps it resembled the scattering flower petals.

It was only a moment, but the woman I made eye contact with was... beautiful. As if a perfect human specimen had been defined and sculpted accordingly.

That brief moment of eye contact felt like an eternity. I stared blankly at her. Even if it was an illusion, I wanted to remember that image forever.

How long had I been staring? Her expression slightly twisted as she glanced at my hair, and then she began to step back.

Was there something in my hair? No, what was wrong? I had never thought there was anything wrong with my appearance. Rather, wasn't I quite handsome?

"Hey...!"

I opened my mouth to stop her, but she had already disappeared. Feeling only emptiness, I slumped my shoulders. Then, I saw something on the ground.

A small plastic box, no—perhaps it was called a Smart Box. What era was this from? I remembered it being discontinued about five years ago.

But that wasn't the important thing. It was lying in the place where that woman had been.

Without realizing it, I was picking it up.

...I should return it, right?

#

I thought she would be at the entrance ceremony, but after looking around for a while, I couldn't find her. Was she a surprisingly delinquent student?

Actually, I could return it later after the entrance ceremony, but... somehow, I wanted to return it now.

It felt like an impulse that I had to do it now, or it wouldn't work. I couldn't resist—why was I getting so impatient?

I usually thought of myself as a calm person, but perhaps that wasn't entirely true.

After briefly leaving the auditorium and looking around, I quickly found her. Watching her back as she walked alone along a path where cherry blossoms fluttered.

For a moment, it felt like my breath was taken away. As if I were looking at a painted picture—the way she blended with the background was so natural.

How could someone be so pretty... no, now wasn't the time to be thinking about that.

Afraid that she might disappear like before, I cautiously spoke to her.

"Hey?"

No—what was "hey"? I could have spoken better. Regretting that, I quietly watched to see if she would react to my voice.

...She turned around.

I clenched my fist. It was already amazing that this kind of reaction was happening. Why was I so happy? But that question vanished like melting snow when our eyes met again.

"Ah, didn't we see each other earlier?"

Ah—damn it. Why was I stuttering? I had never stuttered when talking to women, or even when talking to Heroes or Villains.

I had to say something, but it felt like my mind was turning completely blank. What should I say next? How should I continue the conversation?

Faced with such an unfamiliar experience, I could only stare blankly at her.

"......"

For some reason, her face was filled with dissatisfaction as she looked at me. Was I disturbing her alone time?

I was confused. I had no idea how to react in this situation. I would have spoken casually normally, but strangely, I couldn't bring myself to do so.

So, I just smiled. That was the only talent I had. I had never received a bad reaction from smiling.

But even so, her face remained stiff. An ambiguous emotion that was neither friendly nor hostile.

I was very curious about what she was thinking as she looked at me. For a moment, I felt the urge to ask.

"Ah... I followed you because you were staring earlier. I thought you might have something to say. But aren't you going to the entrance ceremony?"

"...I wasn't staring?"

I trembled without realizing it as her soft voice reached my ears. It was slightly sharp, but it didn't seem like she was completely unwilling to talk, so I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

Still, she said she wasn't staring. I was usually sensitive to gazes, but—surely our eyes had met. Why was she hiding it? The more I talked to her, the more my questions grew.

...It felt like she was deliberately avoiding me.

But why?

I didn't even know this woman's name. We had just met after enrolling in the Academy, so there was no reason for her to avoid me...

Even when I handed her the Smart Box, she only expressed slight gratitude, and her attitude of trying to avoid me remained unchanged.

"Thanks for returning it."

Had I committed some kind of rudeness while staring earlier? Or was it because I was rambling? No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't figure it out.

...I wryly smiled at this situation where I should be happy that she at least dropped honorifics.

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