Became a Villain Heroine in a Harem Story

“…He’s not coming out today either.”

: Yes. It’s a failure.

Since one of the teachers, Jisa with the [Paper] ability, died by my hand, the academy’s behavior has changed to be excessively cautious.

There hasn’t been a single opportunity to kill.

This Friday there’s a practical exam, and next Monday there’s even a mock battle.

It was about time to reduce my fatigue.

I’ve been chain-smoking with the mindset that I’ll eventually get an ability from the status window and make everything as if it never happened, but I need to adjust my short-term physical condition a bit.

Personally, I wanted to win in the mock battle.

Anyway, my face, name, and ability had already been shown to many students during the commotion at admission.

Knowing the opponent’s ability gives considerable advantage in battles between ability users. Therefore, in the mock battle, I was likely to be treated as easy prey.

Of course, they would notify us of our opponent’s ability in advance, but there are abilities that can’t be understood just by their names.

The students participating in the battle… those classified by the academy as combat-type ability users.

Considering that I can’t use regeneration or proficiency, it didn’t seem like it would be easy.

Though there were ways to use them without being detected.

“…Maybe I should prepare for the practical exam and battle.”

: This situation is likely to continue for a while. The security is extremely tight.

“Yeah.”

: Since you’ve already drawn attention, I’ll tell you this—at this point, overwhelm them.

“Why?”

: So thoroughly that they can’t even imagine defeating you in the future. That’s what I mean.

“Got it.”

For once, the status window said something I liked.

However, if you unwrap the sweet packaging, the meaning inside is revealed. The status window was saying, ‘Someday, you will fight against the academy students.’

A seemingly obvious statement… that I should show no mercy to opponents I’ll face later.

I actually knew it.

This precarious balance between everyday life and the extraordinary can’t continue forever. Eventually, a moment will come when I have to choose one of the two.

I never expected to be able to perfectly hide everything I’ve done until achieving the status window’s ultimate goal.

My job is to stab them in the back at the last moment.

After smoking on the rooftop for a while, I carelessly tossed the cigarette butt and went back to my room.

For some reason, I couldn’t fall asleep tonight.

The gray ceiling looked particularly dark today.

♦♦♦

Morning… I didn’t sleep properly. Not even once did I close my eyes.

I want to close my eyes again and just sleep. I don’t have to take the practical exam, right? It’ll just be postponed anyway.

: Wake up.

“…Just 3 more minutes.”

: Bia!

“Alright.”

I slowly, groggily raised my body. A broken watch was rolling around under the bed. I must have hit the watch while sleeping.

I’m sure I closed the window before sleeping, but for some reason, it was wide open.

Looking at the ashtray placed on the windowsill, memories began to surface. I must have gotten up in my sleep and wastefully depleted my cigarette reserves.

Should I go to the convenience store today? I don’t want to run into the protagonist.

No, if I go early in the morning, there’s a chance I won’t run into him. He works the dawn shift. Right.

I immediately opened the door and went outside.

It was to replenish my cigarette supply for the week.

.

.

.

“Ah.”

“Huh?”

We ran into each other.

With whom? The protagonist.

He definitely worked the dawn shift, and I had met him directly. So why am I now running into the protagonist who is diligently manning the counter in the morning?

Could it be that, just as I’m addicted to nicotine, the protagonist is addicted to caffeine and spends about 23 hours a day awake like some sort of zombie?

No, there’s no way that’s possible.

Perhaps because he encountered many strange troublemakers while working the dawn shift, he requested a time change from the manager?

Or maybe the morning shift worker suddenly quit, and he ended up temporarily covering both shifts.

The protagonist wasn’t the type of person who could refuse such requests, and he probably got taken advantage of unintentionally. From the manager’s perspective, he must be a diligent young man.

“…Welcome.”

“You don’t have to be so formal. We’re friends.”

“Uh… right?”

“I apologized properly. To… Hiyeon.”

“Ah, I heard about that directly.”

“Yeah.”

The conversation didn’t flow properly.

One side had almost no social skills, and the other wasn’t particularly extroverted either, so the answers ended in short responses each time.

If the conversation style of popular people involves giving room for dialogue to continue, our conversation was thoroughly that of outsiders.

The protagonist wasn’t the type to gain favor through conversation; rather, heroines fell for him when they saw him sacrificing himself to save others.

He’s that typical protagonist who fulfills the vicarious satisfaction of total loners.

You know the type, right?

Never even spoke a word to a woman, but just by clicking a few buttons and saving a few citizens, the number of women who like him increases. Life is so easy. That kind of feeling.

Like, “I just want to live quietly, and I didn’t intentionally trick women, but I can’t help it”—that sort of thing.

If there’s one difference… it’s that this protagonist doesn’t just click buttons.

He moves his body directly and saves others without a second thought.

Even if his body gets ragged and broken, he still carries goodwill in his heart.

It’s like starlight.

No matter how dark the surroundings, starlight never loses its faint glow, and it seems like it will always remain in the same place forever.

I found that more disgusting and hateful than anything else.

Yes. For reasons I don’t understand, I’ve developed the twisted thought that it would be fun to see the protagonist lose his goodwill.

“Should we exchange contact information?”

“Uh.”

I absentmindedly handed him my phone with its cracked screen.

Ryu Seong’s eyes wavered slightly, and he glanced at me for a moment.

Did he read some internet post warning about women with cracked phone screens? I just didn’t fix it because I didn’t have the money.

Oh, come to think of it, I stole a wallet from the pocket of the teacher who died by my hand. Maybe I should use that money to fix my screen this time.

Or maybe it would be fine to splurge it all on buying cigarettes, which have skyrocketed in price.

Cigarettes were not a luxury but a consumable, and now they had become not just a consumable but a necessity.

While Ryu Seong was entering his number into my phone, I stretched my shadow to place the cigarettes on the counter. He scanned the barcode with his other hand with practiced ease.

“Here.”

“…Your name is Ryu Seong.”

I looked at the name saved in the phone and started acting as if I was learning his name for the first time.

The innocent, kind protagonist fell for such awkward acting.

“Oh, haven’t I introduced myself yet?”

“That’s right. My name became a bit famous because of what I did at the entrance ceremony.”

“Pfft…”

The protagonist raised the corners of his mouth and laughed openly. It was a burst of laughter.

Maybe because his face looked somewhat gay, his laughing face was annoying in a way that made me want to hit him a little.

More than that, I didn’t know he was the type of person who could laugh so heartily. The protagonist.

When I controlled him as a player, I had no idea what kind of person he was, what kind of personality he had, or what he thought.

Simply because all the given choices were solely for the benefit of others.

I just arbitrarily thought of him as a kind superhuman.

The person standing before my eyes was by no means superhuman. He was simply a boy who had just become an adult. And, foolishly, I wanted to ruin that image.

Why?

Was it because when I was suffering, there was no one to save me?

Of course, I know. There are physical and temporal limitations. How could a boy, who is just the same age as ‘Bia,’ have possibly saved me in that situation?

But, if you were superhuman.

If you were the protagonist of this story.

…No, that’s not it.

Because you are the protagonist. Because you, of all people, are the protagonist.

That’s why I’ve become like this.

I needed a target for my resentment. Someone to shift the blame to.

I wish someone would tell me it wasn’t my fault. Anyone.

: It’s not your fault.

…No, it doesn’t comfort me at all when you say it.

Let’s just buy cigarettes quickly and go to the practical exam location early. It’s not good to arrive at the last minute like last time. I already have a bad first impression with the teachers.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault, right?”

“…What?”

“The principal was a bit excessive. Honestly, thanks to you, the entrance ceremony ended quickly.”

“…”

“Did I… say something wrong? Are you okay?”

“No, it’s nothing. More importantly, you know there’s a practical exam today, right? Is it okay for you to still be working?”

“…Ah!”

“I’ll go ahead, okay?”

I snatched the plastic bag.

I quickly bowed my head in greeting and moved my legs rapidly.

Ryu Seong was looking at my back with a puzzled expression. I could feel his gaze. It wasn’t just one person’s gaze. Several… many gazes were felt simultaneously.

No, this is all an illusion.

If I focused a little, I could easily realize it.

It’s all an illusion.

No one was watching me. Only I was looking at myself.

I went around to the back of the secluded academy building.

I hastily pulled out a cigarette from the plastic bag. I shoved it carelessly into the inner pocket of my coat.

I put my head into the plastic bag and retched.

It wasn’t just dry heaving with sound and smell; it was real vomit.

Blegh-

I headed to the practical exam site.

I tied the plastic bag loosely and discarded it carelessly.