I Became a Veteran Heroine in a Harem Story

‘How could I have acted like that?’

The overwhelming enemy attack, the instant death of the reliable knight who had been protecting them, and the massacre that followed.

Isabel, who had frozen in that life-or-death moment, couldn’t understand, even to herself, how she had managed to move at that time.

In that moment, she acted as if she had just broken out of her shell and seen the light of the world for the first time. Someone who had even been afraid of training to her limits had unhesitatingly thrown herself to save her classmate just before they were about to be swept away by the enemy’s attack.

Although she lost consciousness from the strong impact right after, she miraculously survived.

It was thanks to someone who fought and won against that overwhelming enemy just before they were about to be killed.

“S-squad leader. Kiina fought against the minotaur…?”

“If it weren’t for that person, you all would have died.”

When she first heard the news after regaining consciousness, she couldn’t believe it. This was an inevitable reaction, the same as others’, but Isabel was a bit different.

She was strongly moved by the fact that Kiina had faced that terrible monster alone to save them, regardless of whether it was black magic or whatever.

‘Investigating her? What right do they have?!’

And after hearing the news about the investigation of Kiina, she was strongly angered.

Who was it that appeared and saved them when they were in danger?

It was an unknown knight and Kiina. Not those who were sleeping, unaware of anything, at the academy.

‘I, I have no power. I can’t help her.’

At the same time, that anger was directed at herself. Despite having her life saved, it was a great despair to not be able to provide even a single bit of strength.

Moreover, if she acknowledged her disability, left the academy, and returned to her hometown like this, it was clear she wouldn’t even have the opportunity.

“I can’t leave like this.”

She murmured blankly. Inside her heart, she felt a stirring of desire that she had never felt before in her relatively short life of just over a decade.

The words Kiina always said, that one must find a reason to fight. Isabel now understood what she had failed to comprehend before.

Beyond the stage of being conscripted by duty, forced, and compelled, she had determined ‘what to fight for.’

“I’ll fight for you. That’s my decision.”

So Isabel looked straight into the other’s eyes and spoke.

At this direct statement, without clumsy hiding or circumlocution, Kiina’s eyes, which had been looking down at her, twitched slightly.

“I was just fulfilling my duty, so there’s no need to feel indebted.”

“It’s not like that.”

“…”

A pure sincerity without a single waver. Kiina, thinking it meaningless to test her further, soon closed her mouth. The eyes Isabel was showing now were not mere youthful passion or immaturity.

‘Even knowing that the path ahead is a thorny one soaked in blood, I cannot break this child’s heart.’

A person had developed a strong will that would influence their life at a relatively young age. The catalyst for it was created at the cost of a life.

Kiina gave up on persuasion. There was no reason or need to deliberately break Isabel’s determination at the risk of not insignificant consequences.

It was just that she was a bit concerned that the fate of this person, Isabel, who had been unaware of her very existence, seemed to be changing too greatly because of her.

“Nothing changes. Since you’ve made up your mind, you just need to continue proving yourself. That’s the same for me too, so there’s nothing strange about it.”

Kiina, letting out a small sigh, turned her body. Staying here any longer would only make the atmosphere heavier. And she herself wasn’t particularly fond of such awkward atmospheres.

“Um, Isabel. Are you really planning to visit her starting tomorrow morning?”

“Kiina clearly said it. To come back when I became sincere. That moment is now, though I didn’t realize it then.”

Regardless, Isabel was planning to carry out the ‘custom’ she had been rejected for once before by visiting Kiina starting tomorrow.

Kiina had tried to send her away with some comfort, thinking such a moment would never come, but ironically, that moment had indeed arrived.

Looking at her burning with determination with clear eyes, the other classmates around couldn’t bring themselves to stop her.

* * *

‘…I did do some things that would be criticized here and there.’

When I left the ward, the time had already turned to complete night. Scratching my itchy ear, I headed toward the dormitory building. It was late, so there were hardly any people.

Only the sparsely placed luminous stone streetlights illuminated the way. If this wasn’t inside the academy, which was almost perfect in terms of public safety, it would have felt eerie.

“…”

Soon I arrived at the dormitory, but I didn’t go straight to my room. Instead, I headed to the year council building, which I hadn’t been able to enter for days. There was no reason.

I just suddenly felt drawn to it. Although I had become extremely accustomed to controlling myself, I was originally a person with an impromptu tendency.

“I thought it might be you, having heard that you went to the infirmary.”

And there, I met him. Erich, who had been standing quietly inside the building as if he knew I would come.

He, with his characteristic golden eyes shimmering, showed a bright smile.

“I’ve heard the news too. In the midst of the chaos with various rumors circulating, such as that you had died or were in danger of execution for using black magic, you well comforted the anxious classmates by leading others.”

“I just did what someone wearing an armband should do. As you always say.”

When I brought up the topic first, he waved his hand as if it was nothing. Come to think of it, he had also made quite a significant contribution.

Fighting alongside classmates against an enemy at the warchief level, handling it smoothly, and saving citizens. It’s just that it was overshadowed because I had caused an even bigger incident.

“You’re the amazing one, walking out proudly even after being bitten by cunning adults.”

“It’s not something to draw a line as ‘adults’ matters.’ It just changes according to situations and circumstances, as it’s one of human nature’s aspects. Don’t forget that even we are dueling with seniors to eliminate a petty injustice.”

“That’s right. Such things that will probably never disappear… but we can’t just be unjustly oppressed.”

His voice and gaze changed slightly. He had removed the usual slick mask and revealed the serious aspect of a reincarnator inside him.

“We’ve already changed one thing. Through legitimate means. I acknowledge that you were the one who initiated it. But you eventually participated and changed the game. Isn’t your pursuit of strength also an attempt to change that wrong oppression and power?”

“You, so you’ve had such thoughts.”

I frowned at Erich’s words, who slightly revealed his inner thoughts. In fact, looking at his behavior in the story, one could tell what his tendencies were.

His playful appearance made him seem like an idler no matter how you looked at it, but when the moment called for it, he was also a typical protagonist who stood up against injustice.

Even this conversation with me now was a protagonist-style flirting. Asking if I would join him.

“I should correct one thing from your words, which might sound like plotting treason if not careful. I don’t pursue strength to ‘resist’ the oppression and power coming from above.”

‘How should I handle this?’

Unlike before, I thought a lot. Rather than acting as I pleased, I considered how to lead this situation in a way that would be more entertaining for those watching from Erich’s perspective.

Since the essence of my actions according to my will wouldn’t change anyway, how I packaged it was important.

“I pursue strength to not lose to them. You should understand the difference.”

“You mean you don’t intend to deny the system. If you could use it conversely, you would. After all, that’s also a regulation and law.”

“I confronted the seniors’ injustice simply because it violated the regulations. I don’t deny that authority. Regulations and laws are just justifications. And the stronger you get, the easier it becomes to use them.”

I maintained a slight difference while having a similar intention to his. A minor yet fatal difference.

While it might not be impossible to join forces from the same position, this difference could also divide us in truly important moments.

By doing this, Erich would probably continue to try to persuade and convince me to completely come over to his side.

“Are you disappointed? That contrary to my actions so far, I’m not a justice-filled person overflowing with chivalry, but rather someone who uses the system by swallowing when it’s sweet and spitting when it’s bitter for personal benefit.”

“No, that can’t be. Even if that were true, the fact that you saved your classmates and people doesn’t change.”

When I spoke with a slight smile, he shook his head instead.

“We’re in the same position, aren’t we? There are those who oppose us, both internally and externally. If we join together, we can counterattack. Someday, we’ll be able to reverse that relationship.”

Erich extended his hand to me. The meaning is simple enough that even Lunara could probably notice it.

‘Isn’t it a bit much to fall for just this level of effort?’

But I didn’t take his hand right away. It would be less interesting if I took his hand already.

“It seems too early. I agree that we’re in the same position, but the difference is too great for us to be looking at the same place.”

I passed by without taking his hand. How arrogant it must have seemed. If that’s how it’s viewed, then it’s as I intended.

This might lower my heroine points in Erich’s heart, making me drift away from him, but I didn’t care. Whatever penalty might occur, I’ll just break through it somehow.