Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 228

After narrowly escaping the city with the children’s help, I kept moving without stopping, driven by the single thought of fleeing to safety.

Only when the sunlight finally seeped through the dark, murky clouds and illuminated the ground beneath me did I realize how far I had walked without rest.

Was it a day? Perhaps several days had passed in the meantime.

Looking back, I could see the barrier of the frontline looming far away through the hazy air.

It seemed I had walked quite a distance in my absent-minded daze.

With that thought in mind, I took a few more steps before halting and plopping down on the ground.

Having come this far, I wondered if I was finally safe.

“Safe... is it?”

Immediately, I realized how ridiculous that thought was and forced a wry laugh.

What did safety mean in a place filled with magic?

In gaming terms, this was a danger zone where monsters would spring out at any moment.

The safe area was that city over there.

Unfortunately, that was no longer a safe area for me.

Suddenly, I recalled a fantasy novel I had read before.

In the game portrayed in that novel, if players committed acts like killing other players in forbidden areas, their usernames would turn red, indicating they had become evil players.

Once that happened, they became public enemies to all other users, getting attacked by everyone they encountered, making it impossible to set foot in town.

Thinking back, my current situation felt quite similar.

If this were a game world, I might appear as a player who had completely lost their concept.

My hair and eyes were already lacking, and now my username would be stained red too.

In truth, I had never cursed at anyone while playing games.

But if you asked me if I felt wronged because of that, I couldn’t honestly say yes.

I couldn’t deny that I had done wrong.

“...I wonder if Yoon Si-woo is okay.”

Muttering to myself, I recalled what Jessie had said.

He was in a state of unconsciousness, uncertain if he could wake up...

The image of Yoon Si-woo, battered and broken while trying to save me, kept swirling in my mind.

I felt that if something happened to him, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself; it was only natural for those who depended on him mentally to hate me.

The understanding that I deserved their hatred became a denial of myself.@@@@

I didn’t intend for it, but ultimately, the reason Yoon Si-woo ended up like that was because of me, and that guilt gnawed at my heart.

Just a little... no, it was much more than a little.

My heart ached, and I hung my head low, muttering as if to vomit out the pain.

“...It’s tough.”

It’s tough.

Being hated by people, I could somehow endure.

Unlike my foolish childhood, I now knew that even if I extended kindness to the world, the world wouldn’t necessarily return it.

I realized that sometimes, rather than returning favors, people could hate me.

So, being hated by others was something that could happen.

Sadly, it was something I could endure.

Until now, I could at least affirm myself, regardless of how others viewed me.

But not now.

Despite the somewhat embarrassing state of my body’s outline being revealed, I should be grateful that my skin wasn’t showing.

There was no way to find clothes, so at least I wasn’t wandering around naked and being a pervert.

In any case, the clothing problem was resolved with this.

So now the remaining issue was shelter.

A place to stay.

I forced a laugh and looked around.

In front of me, in the direction of the city, a vast plain stretched out.

Behind me lay a forest densely packed with blackened trees.

Of course, both areas were filled with magic.

Even building a house would be strange if at any moment a demonic beast popped out.

Considering I only had access to burnt trees as building materials, constructing a proper house was nearly impossible.

Honestly, if the house I made ended up getting destroyed by a demonic beast, I would prefer to just light a fire on the ground and camp it out.

Let’s live as a homeless person.

Given that I wouldn’t need to sleep, it might be okay not to have a place to stay after all... maybe.

Anyway, the concerns about necessities had been generally resolved with this.

Wow! Since I don’t need to eat, wear clothes, or sleep, my worries are all cleared up!

Since I can’t satisfy the basic necessities of life, I have to give up on living like a human, but still.

After cracking a wry smile, I fell back into deep thought.

Having figured out how to survive, it was time to think about what I should do while waiting.

While wondering what I should do, the answer came to mind immediately without further thought.

I decided to hunt demonic beasts.

That’s about all I could do outside the city to help the people.

So from today onward, I’d become a monster hunter.

Even if I killed them, their bodies would turn into magic, so I wouldn’t be able to use their remains to craft equipment, but still.

However, it was only after I resolved to hunt demonic beasts that I noticed something.

“...There are no demonic beasts.”

Looking around, there were no signs of demonic beasts at all.

An unusually eerie silence.

Thinking back, I hadn’t encountered a single demonic beast on my way here.

In fact, until now, I hadn’t wanted to run into demonic beasts to avoid fighting.

But still, not encountering a single one was quite unusual—

“—Huh?!”

At that moment, I realized something was approaching from a distance.

With a gigantic form, a familiar presence rapidly drew nearer.

I knew the owner of that presence.

This energy was...

“Long time no see!”

The girl with violet hair who suddenly appeared in front of me,

“Eve.”

She smiled at me.