NOVEL NEXT chapter 4
4 – 4. Golden sun in the front seat keeps talking
Time passes, and before I know it, the first day of going to the academy has arrived.
The place I am sitting in right now is a train filled with students going to the academy.
Campbell Academy is quite far from the territory we live in, so we have to ride the train for a full day to arrive.
No, it’s more appropriate to call it a high-speed train that carries only academy students.
“Whew..”
But now, after 8 years, with the academy right in front of me.
An undeniable sigh escaped my lips.
It’s not about the train. Campbell Academy is a prestigious, well-known school.
The atmosphere inside the train is also good, and the service provided is excellent.
The real reason my heart is twisting lies right in front of me, not far away.
“How can things turn out like this..”
There are numerous students on this train, and the seating arrangement is completely random.
Two students facing each other in the train’s structure.
Whether it was intended for camaraderie or something else, they designed it inconveniently.
“There are 300 students on this train.”
So, the chance of me sitting facing someone is one in 300.
If this is fate, it’s truly a cruel fate.
“Hey.. have you been well?”
“Don’t talk to me, it annoys me.”
“You’re so mean..”
After 8 years of being reincarnated into a romance fantasy, on the day I finally go to the academy.
I found myself having an eye battle with Lucia, who is sitting facing me on the train, throughout the journey.
“Moreover, it’s so burdensome..”
Since earlier, I wonder why everyone is staring at me.
I try my best to avoid eye contact, but my face feels like it’s full of holes because of the gazes.
Even though I try to look ahead, thinking that there’s no reason for me to avoid eye contact…
“hehehe.”
Whenever our eyes meet, she gives me a playful smile and a shallow grin, making it impossible for me to look ahead.
What’s with this girl, seriously?
“Pfft!”
Then, I hear a voice from the passing students that seems to mock me.
I wonder which immoral person would make fun of me in such a damn situation, so I looked beside me…
What the hell, our protagonist again? And why is Heidi next to us again?
“Ugh.. Sniff.. Sniff..”
The mocking direction is not towards me, but towards Lucia sitting in front of me.
The meaning behind that sarcastic laugh can roughly be interpreted as,
“To think that you ended up being with that loser who confessed throughout the entire academy trip, how ridiculous!”
But in any case, Lucia won’t be affected much.
Coincidences happen sometimes, and I also randomly ended up in front of her, but…
This seating arrangement cannot be seen as a mere coincidence.
“Even though it was somewhat ambiguous until before…”
I confirmed it when I saw Heidi sitting beside us.
Seeing Heidi unflinchingly sitting within eye contact, it’s clear that this seating arrangement was targeted towards Lucia.
“…What’s the intention behind this?”
As I see Lucia still smiling brightly in front of me, doubts arise.
What did she want to achieve by arranging the seats like this?
Judging from Heidi’s reaction, this seating arrangement doesn’t benefit Lucia at all.
“Is it really all just a coincidence?”
Lucia is really foolish, and she didn’t even touch the press or the train herself, so am I just having delusions?
By now, it’s confusing. Even now, as she forcefully stuffs the candy into her mouth, like a squirrel eating acorns, it seems she’s not very smart.
“Oh, our eyes met.”
I quickly avert my gaze, but Lucia, as if expecting it, smiles and takes something out of her pocket, reaching out towards me.
“What is this?”
Lucia, speaking abruptly, unfolded what she held in her hand to show me.
“Candy?”
It was candy, a tangy lemon-flavored candy, just like the one she had been stuffing into her mouth moments ago.
“I have a lot of these, want one?”
And Lucia offered it to me.
I was tempted to refuse, but…
“Um…”
An uncomfortable gaze, filled with curiosity and anticipation.
I felt a sudden sense that if I didn’t accept it now, it would become a lingering inconvenience.
If I rejected it, she might say something like, “You didn’t like it because the candy was too small!” and bring me a huge one, which would be troublesome.
An unspoken awkwardness.
“Well, I’ll just accept it and not eat it.”
I took the candy from her hand and immediately put it in my pocket. I’d throw it away later.
“hehehe… hehehehe…”
Lucia, who seemed pleased when I accepted the candy, smiled on her face, seemingly oblivious to my intentions.
I probably shouldn’t throw it away after all. She clearly put some meaning into it with that mischievous smile.
I decided to seize an opportunity and put this lemon candy back into her mouth.
“Traitor.”
Suddenly, Heidi, who was sitting next to us, mumbled with annoyance.
She had been uncomfortable about the rumors of Lucia and me dating even at the train station.
I wish she would stop being so nosy. If you show interest in me, I’ll be less popular with the guys you like.
“You gave up on our friendship and fell for that wicked woman…”
What nonsense is she talking about? I never fell for her in the first place.
Just because Heidi sat down and faced us, it made the situation awkward.
“We’re not like that, so mind your own business.”
When I told her as if she was bothering me, Heidi acted hurt and covered her mouth as if to hide her feelings.
“How can you say something like that to your childhood friend…!”
To be honest, this guy isn’t normal either.
Maybe it’s like attracts like; the people who get involved with the protagonist are all a bit quirky.
As I held onto my aching head, the sound of the announcement echoed inside the train.
“Our train is the D-7 train bound for Campbell Academy. The train will depart soon, so please make sure to check your tickets.”
An announcement that the operation is starting again. That means… we probably have about 5 minutes left.
“Jack, do you have any concerns?”
Lucia asked, resting her chin on the table between us as I calculated the time.
What’s with her being so friendly? I’m sure I told her not to act like she knows me only the last time I saw her.
She either has no sense or she doesn’t care, as she spoke to me with a glint in her eyes.
“Since we’re both going to the academy, it’s nice to get along with people we know, even a little.”
To be honest, whether she says that or not, there’s no time for me to be sold on Lucia.
Not only do I find Lucia herself unlikable, but also…
“Soon, the start of the first episode of our record-breaking adventure.”
A captivating iNT*Roduction and a compelling heroine that appears right from the beginning.
No, since it’s a guy, I guess he’s not a heroine.
Anyway, the beginning of everything is here. It starts from this train bound for the academy.
“Hey, are you listening?”
Ah, it’s so noisy. Thanks to that, my thoughts were interrupted.
Seeing Lucia constantly nagging in front of me like a parrot, I wanted to curse at her for no reason, but I held back and tried to simplify the words as much as possible.
“I have a headache and I want to go quietly, but can we talk later?”
Yes, I’m an intellectual, so I have to resolve things with proper and polite words.
With that, I calmed down the noisy gold sun with a single phrase and stood up, brushing off my seat.
“Huh?”
Lucia made a surprised sound, but it’s not because of her that I got up, so I ignored her.
“I’ll go to the restroom for a bit.”
With a vague excuse to Lucia, I left my seat.
There are things I need to do to prepare for the episode, so I can’t just sit here.
“Let’s see…”
As I reached into my pocket and possessed this place, I took out a notebook that had been untouched for 8 years, where I had written the story of the game.
Just in case I forget, I wrote down the entire story.
“But I don’t really need it right now.”
If something happens now and a train appears in a fantasy work, it’s definitely a cliché that it’s the seventh train.
Yeah, it’s a train heist.
“And, that’s not different even for a heavily guarded Campbell Academy-bound train.”
The novel I possessed. ＜Something Strange About the Reverse Heroine＞ begins with a train heist.
A derailing train with an urgent announcement, where the protagonist confronts the villain.
It progresses in a way that can be considered the epitome of a train heist.
“But what I need to pay attention to is not the train heist itself…”
That the villain who is attacking the train is one of the men obsessed with Heidi, that is important.
And, of course, the one leading this heist is currently on this train.
From now on, the person I will meet is that man.
“It was up ahead..”
The train has already departed, and as I continue to feel the slight vibrations approaching my body, I keep walking forward.
Now, I have to be careful because one wrong word could cost me my life.
As I gather myself and slowly move towards the front of the train, I catch sight of an empty seat among the tightly packed seats.
The person sitting across from the empty seat is wearing a suit.
A man who gives off an aura of “I’m suspicious” to anyone who looks at him.
I can’t not recognize this, can I?
“Hello?”
As I greet him and take the empty seat, the man wrinkles his brows with a clearly displeased expression.
After I respond with a smile to his openly unpleasant expression, I clear my throat.
What I am about to say will greatly concern him and the reason he became obsessed with Heidi.
Keeping in mind the fact that I could die if I’m not careful, I open my mouth with a still smiling face.
“Your wife is unfortunate. Neil.”
Literally, it’s the strategy of ‘Your wife went to America’.