Conquering the Broken Heroine?

There’s no need to state it anew.
[The Falling Star Swordsman of the Academy] was a ruined story.

As a rule, the protagonist of a ruined story tends to make readers eat so many sweet potatoes that they feel sick to their stomachs, to the point of being called artificial.

Baek Da-eun was mild in comparison.
There was a little room for her to escape to be “washed” in the washing machine.

She opened the classroom door.

Splash.
Water poured over her head.

She sat in her seat.
There was a flower vase placed there.

She checked her bag.
The textbooks were torn to shreds.

Snicker.
Someone sneered.

“…Sigh.”

It was an extremely childish prank.

Black hair.
The bitch who flirts with foreigners.
The bitch who sucks up to successful people.
The bitch who’s been marked by Baek Da-eun.

Well, they probably attempted bullying with something like this in mind.

I want some soda.
For the past life’s him, this would have been an unforgivable sweet potato.

“…Kids will be kids, I guess.”

But Han Seoyeon, who had experienced life in the slums, was surprisingly calm.
She was so composed that even she herself couldn’t help but be amazed.

These pranks cross the line.
At the same time, they were ultimately just kids’ pranks.
It’s not like they were targeting her chastity or life, right?

The academy, like any other school, strictly regulates school violence.
That’s why they can only bully indirectly like this.

No matter how delinquent a student might be, they wouldn’t want to experience being expelled from the academy.

In the end, they’re just children.
Han Seoyeon, being an adult, didn’t respond to each of these pranks.

An everyday occurrence that was mentioned a few times in the original work.
The behavior of nameless extras.

The bullying would likely die down soon.
It was right not to give it attention.

“It’s not that cold.”

She’s level 70, after all.
She wouldn’t catch a cold or anything.

So she just attended class while wet.
She wore her outer clothes tightly.

“Well, it shouldn’t be too see-through…?”

The professor teaching today’s class wasn’t that skilled and passionate professor from before.
Kindly enough, he didn’t even bother to check on the well-being of a mere E-class Awakener.

As soon as class ended, she immediately went out to the hallway.
She was still a woman, after all.
She couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed in this state.

“…What’s this?”

She ran into Michaela.

“Ah, Senior—”
“Why are you in such a state?”

She was about to greet her happily, but for some reason,
There was deep anger underlying her voice.

Michaela Wittelsbach was, perhaps excessively, highly regarded by many people.
Not just by her new homeland, but even by the academy’s professors and some students.

“Thanks for helping again today, Wittelsbach.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m glad if I was of help.”

She often helped with student council work.
Exchanging a few words with the student council president in a businesslike manner.

Perhaps until meeting Han Seoyeon, this was the only time she engaged in what could be called conversation in her daily life.

“No matter how many times I see it, your work is excellent. If I could, I’d like to scout you for the student council.”

It was a troublesome topic.
Michaela didn’t have the charisma or sense of responsibility to lead a group.

She was nothing more than a mere scabbard.
She wasn’t used to taking the lead.

“By the way, there have been some strange rumors going around lately. Did you know?”

Michaela shook her head.
She was also insensitive to rumors.

“A rumor that you’ve been hanging out with an E-class powerless person. I believe her name was Han Seoyeon?”

It was true.
Although she had just learned that she was E-class and powerless.

Ability rankings usually start from alphabet A and go to D, with S being an exceptional rank.
But the E designation wasn’t common.

In today’s world, where everyone has awakened to mana, an unknown substance flowing from beyond the gates, and gained their own special abilities.

The E rank was no different from the obsolete old humans before awakening.
They were objects of contempt, unable to protect themselves.

South Korea is a powerful hunter nation incomparable to other countries.
As a result, there was discrimination of an intensity not found in other countries.

“As a foreigner, you get caught up in all sorts of rumors. You must have it tough.”

The weak are discriminated against.
The same goes for foreigners from weak countries.
When she was a first-year, there were often people who would pick fights with Michaela for no reason.

Thanks to her proven abilities and practical evaluations over the course of a year, such people had no choice but to hide in the shadows.

Should we say it’s fortunate?
The student council president was a pure meritocrat.

[How unexpected.]

After finishing all the student council work, Michaela walked down the hallway.

[To think that someone of that caliber would be evaluated as powerless.]

Michaela agreed with this as well.
They had only crossed swords properly once.
That alone was enough to gauge Han Seoyeon’s strength.

Michaela had let her guard down.
She had held back.
Yet she was undoubtedly completely defeated.

Even if they fought again, she couldn’t guarantee an easy victory.
If it had been a real battle, her head might have been long gone.

[It was a strength comparable to a hero. There wasn’t a single area lacking as a swordsman. In pure skill, she’s incomparable to the students here.]

Without a doubt, no student in the academy would be able to defeat her in a duel.

[Above all, that sword.]

And what stood out even more than her skill was—

[It was a famous sword no less than the ‘Sword of Winter’.]

Though worn in appearance, its power was no less than her own sword.

[There’s no way a swordsman who can freely wield such a sword is powerless. For a world with advanced science, their evaluation criteria are full of holes.]

That’s right.
Han Seoyeon is not powerless.

She’s strong.
She was a strong child.
This wasn’t just about her ability or sword skills.

She was confident.
She was lively.
Someone who would confess out of the blue, saying she fell in love at first sight with the person she liked.

“…What’s this?”

And yet.
Despite all that.

“Ah, Senior—”
“Why are you in such a state?”

She was soaking wet.
Water was dripping from her hair.
Her white skin was visible in places through her wet shirt.

Her bag was open, as if she had rushed out in a hurry.
The contents were visible.
Textbooks torn to shreds caught her eye.

“…Oh. It’s nothing.”

That’s a lie.
Even the insensitive Michaela could tell.
Those were traces of bullying.

“The kids just played a prank. It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

That’s nonsense.
It’s spring, and the cold hasn’t fully gone away.
It’s not even midsummer, there’s no way they’d play with water.

[In some sense, it’s to be expected.]

Before she could even think of the question “why”,

[The power of an individual and the power of a group have different meanings. You know this child’s skill. You’ve even crossed swords with her directly.]

The will residing in the sword answered.

[But the rest who don’t know her are not like that. It’s simple prejudice. Because she’s been labeled as powerless, they think it’s okay to bully her.]

Then all she needs to do is show her skill.
With Han Seoyeon’s personality, she surely would have done more than enough.

[Stereotypes are harder to break than you think.]

Even so, what’s the reason for lying?
What’s the reason for being able to stay calm with a smiling face?

[Well, it’s probably because she’s in front of the person she likes.]

It became even more incomprehensible.

[She doesn’t want it to be known. To the person she likes. Her own shortcomings.]

Shouldn’t one be more honest with the person they like?

[Maybe because she might be hated for it. It’s a smile that seems familiar. This probably isn’t the first or second time she’s experienced this.]

It was heavy.
Certainly not a topic that could be discussed lightly.

“…Senior?”

Looking at the brightly smiling girl, Michaela couldn’t respond.

“Do you have any plans after school?”
“Oh. Not really. Why?”
“I’ll accompany you for a while. To your dormitory.”

She needed to confirm.

[If this level of bullying is familiar to her, it means she’s probably experienced something even worse.]

She needed to confirm clearly before making a judgment.

“I-Is this perhaps! An after-school date…!”

Michaela walked for a long time with Han Seoyeon after leaving the building.
She chattered noisily.
Not a single word entered her ears.
Eventually, the dormitory came into view.

“We’re here!”
“—”

There was no dormitory there that Michaela knew of.
There was only a dilapidated, nearly collapsed building.

“This is… the dormitory?”
“Since there’s never been an E-class Awakener admitted before, this seems to be the only dormitory they could assign.”

It was sophistry.
This isn’t a world at war.
Isn’t this supposed to be the most advanced country in the world?

“It might not look great, but it’s surprisingly livable!”

How could it be acceptable to make a student live in this trash heap that wouldn’t be strange to demolish at any time?

“Thanks for walking me back, Senior.”
“May I intrude for a moment?”
“Y-You want to come in? Here…?”

As if there was something that shouldn’t be shown.
Han Seoyeon seemed flustered by the active approach.

“Excuse me.”
“Ah, wait—”

She opened the door.
It was full of garbage.
Trash that no one had managed, emitting a foul odor, was strewn about.

The room was dark, without even a window.
It was a cool and cramped space.

“…Are you really okay with this?”
“With what?”
“Living in a place like this.”
“This is more than enough to be grateful for. I don’t have any other money anyway.”

A smile with sincere meaning.
Come to think of it, Han Seoyeon would often bring stir-fried bean sprouts from the student cafeteria to eat.

There were no special orders.
She thought it was just personal food preference.

If that wasn’t the case.
If it was just because she had no money and was sating her hunger with cheap food.

[Let me advise you in advance.]

If only money, if only money were given.
At least she could escape from this environment…

[If you’re thinking of directly handing over cash, it’s better not to.]

Why give such advice?

[Pity is an act of selling one’s pride. That child hasn’t asked you for help even once.]

Why?

[She wants to protect it in front of you. Her pride.]

At least the issue of living environment could be solved—

[And then to receive pity and financial support without any compensation from someone she’s one-sidedly in love with?]

The one who receives grace and the one who bestows it.
That’s a hierarchical relationship, not an equal one.

[In some ways, it might be a pain worse than death.]

Are you saying I should leave it be even though I know?
Is that really the best course of action?

‘No…!’

That couldn’t be right.
Michaela doesn’t understand people’s hearts well.
She didn’t have a normal childhood after all.

But she’s taken on the role of a friend.
It wasn’t right to leave a friend in pain when she knew about it.
It couldn’t be called the right thing to do.

“I have one proposal.”
“What is it?”
“Why don’t you live with me?”

She wanted to help.
Somehow.

“What—!”

Han Seoyeon stammered.

“L-Living together! Isn’t that moving too fast, even so…!”

Michaela isn’t used to speaking indirectly.
She doesn’t know how to tell blatant lies at all.

“To get to know each other as friends, wouldn’t it be better if we were physically closer?”
“W-Well, that’s true, but…”
“Move to my private dormitory room. I’ll speak to the academy separately about it.”

She put gray words in her mouth, mixing truth and lies.
After all, wanting to get closer as friends was also true, if it was true.

“Your answer?”
“…I’ll be in your care.”

Her face turned bright red.
With spinning eyes, Han Seoyeon couldn’t give any answer other than affirmative.

Regarding the matter of coming to the room with the senior after school, thinking I was doomed for showing the state of the uncleaned house I forgot to tidy, only to hear that the newlywed home is already prepared so I should just come as I am?!