NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3 - Is it me?
After leaving behind the fallen dead monster, I left the school as a school closure order had been issued.
I mixed in with the crowd of people leaving.
“Author, how are you going to deal with this situation?”
[Ah, you’re right? I hadn’t thought about that.]
“You ruined the entrance ceremony and have no thoughts on it at all…?”
What do I really do about this?
It will definitely be covered in the news and newspapers.
I thought the Author would have some thoughts, but they don’t seem to have any. Did they just act without considering the consequences?
[Well, other novels don’t seem to have descriptions like this… It should be okay if something like this happens at the academy, right?]
“Then how did those novels deal with it?”
[…They seem to have covered it all up.]
“You’re saying that’s possible?”
No, I’ve seen developments where attack incidents are covered up before
.
But in those cases, there was only about one class worth of witnesses at most.
Are you saying you can silence all the new students?
[Maybe…? Ah, I’ll try it for now!]
I’m really uneasy, though.
Can they really resolve this…?
A cold wind blew strongly as if trying to blow away my unease.
Brrr, it’s cold. Come to think of it, I need to go buy some stockings and gloves.
“Author, give me some money.”
[Ehh, again…?]
“Of course. I’m a student, you know? A student. Plus, you’re the one who gave me this ability.”
[Ugh, I feel kind of defeated. I don’t have much money, so why do you spend so freely, Reader?]
Well, who told them to give me this ability?
You know, the money that gets drained each time I use the ability is quite a lot.
When I asked if I could just carry around a ball of yarn instead, you refused, saying it was not stylish.
Is exposing myself when I unleash my full ability stylish? Jeez.
When I was little, I thought that if I got a superpower, I could use it freely.
But here I am saying, ‘An ability with a penalty is stylish!’
Penalties will be penalties, though.
We’ve discussed this issue many times, but the conclusion has always been the same.
The Author seemed to have no intention of giving me a different ability.
So, I had to live knowing using my full power would make me an exhibitionist.
Damn it.
“Ah, and I plan to buy some snacks and ice cream on the way home. Put in a little extra.”
[This is unreasonable…!]
The Author started whining about how unfair it is.
They asked why I didn’t gain weight no matter how much I ate.
Then, yelling at me and complaining about why I live in such a nice place, with a mansion with a pool in the yard.
“But Author, you’re the one who set it up like this for me.”
[But, but…! I can’t help but feel wronged!]
I mostly tuned out the Author’s usual whining.
Ah, I’m worried about tomorrow.
***
“Ah, there you are. Can you come to the teacher’s office for a bit?”
“Understood.”
Yesterday’s incident caused chaos, with students unable to properly greet each other in the disorderly classroom.
Having been called by the teacher, I quickly left the classroom.
[Reader, you’re not making any friends… What a pity.]
“…That’s because of you!”
“Sorry, what did you just say?”
“Nothing, teacher.”
Unable to hold back the surging emotion, my voice rose slightly.
But I did have an excuse this time.
I haven’t had a single conversation yet, so I don’t have any friends.
Speaking in a small voice, I poured out my grievances to the Author.
[But it’s true that you don’t have any friends, right?]
That’s because the students are avoiding me!
I can’t exactly call someone a friend if I haven’t even spoken to them once.
I need to have at least one conversation, but everyone subtly avoids me based on my appearance!
My surroundings were quiet until the teacher called me to leave because of this.
The atmosphere was so awkward that I was actually relieved when the teacher called me over.
Chewing over that thought, I soon arrived at the teacher’s office.
“Now, your name is…”
“Arte Iris.”
I still wasn’t used to my changed name.
When I asked why the main character has a Korean name but I have an English one, they said the main character names are often Korean in academy novels.
Thinking about it, I realized it made sense, so I accepted it, but now I regret it.
“Ah yes, Arte. Try not to be too tense just because you came to the office. I called you here for no other reason than…”
“Because of the monster incident?”
“…Well, I can’t deny it. Yes, that’s the reason.”
I wonder just how the Author resolved this.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand what they wanted to do.
Did they really silence all the new students?
The unease I had been suppressing welled up again.
“The academy will be awarding you a commendation.”
“…Huh?”
“We plan to award two students who helped resolve the monster attack incident.”
What, they didn’t silence the students?
[Heheh, how’s that? Not bad, right?]
As I was pondering what the Author could have possibly done, the teacher’s voice came.
“To be frank, the monster attack incident was clearly our negligence.”
“I see…”
But I don’t think it was your fault.
The Author’s snickering voice, as if fishing for praise, made me instinctively lower my head in embarrassment.
I’m the one who should apologize.
“We have no choice but to be grilled by parents and the media. It was our failure to provide proper security.”
The teacher’s voice sounded regretful, so I glanced slightly toward their eyes.
As expected, there were prominent dark circles.
They must have stayed up all night.
“The academy is an institution that trains heroes. We will humbly accept our mistake and take it as the price for discovering promising students.”
What?
That’s too rational, isn’t it?
Aren’t academies and hunter associations in web novels usually shady places?
“So, a commendation, is it?”
“Yes. Don’t worry. We also plan to provide sufficient compensation.”
[How’s that? Isn’t it tiring to have incompetent academies all the time? Isn’t it okay for them to be a little competent, too?]
“…Hmm.”
Normally, they just promise sufficient compensation for the victims, but why does the academy seem so competent now?
Well, it is what it is.
It doesn’t seem to negatively impact the story progression.
“Excuse me, may I come in?”
“Yes, please come in. …Ah, it’s student Yu Siwoo. Welcome.”
[Ah, it’s the main character!]
The Author’s delighted voice overlapped with the teacher explaining the situation.
By the way, why does he keep looking at me like that?
Staring at him with slight puzzlement, the main character hurriedly turned his head away.
…What’s that about?
[Oho, as expected, Reader! The main character is falling for the heroine!]
“…Pfft, yeah right.”
[I’m telling the truth!]
Tuning out the Author’s nonsensical claims, the teacher finished the explanation and approached me.
“Alright, I’ll need to register your name, so can you state it again, please?”
“Arte Iris.”
“Arte Iris… Huh?”
The teacher looked perplexed and started fiddling with the computer some more.
What’s wrong? Is there an issue?
“Student, can you write out the spelling on this paper?”
“Yes, sure.”
They must have entered it incorrectly.
I wrote down the name the Author gave me on the paper and handed it to the teacher.
What a hassle.
Boredly looking up at the ceiling, the teacher’s voice took on a serious tone.
“Student, your name isn’t on the new student roster…”
“Huh? That can’t be…”
It can’t be, right?
I’m clearly the new academy student, as declared by the Author.
If I’m not an academy student, then who is?
“…Author?”
[Ah, oops. I made a mistake…! Just a moment! I didn’t set that up!]
Ah.
I let out a small sigh.
I thought they wouldn’t create any issues, but they left out important details instead.
[Arte Iris, first-year academy student. …There, it’s done! Your name should show up on the roster now!]
“Umm, teacher. You may have entered it incorrectly, so may I try inputting it?”
“…Alright. Go ahead and try.”
The teacher, who had been sitting, moved away from the desk to give me space to enter.
Let’s see, Arte Iris… Okay, done.
“Here it is. There seems to have been a system error for a moment.”
“Oh, really. Thank you.”
“Hehe, no problem.”
After asking the main character for his name and inputting it, the teacher smiled brightly and said.
“Okay, you two. The monster attack must have been very difficult, but thank you for your time. Let’s see… You’re both in Class A. Head to Class A.”
“Thank you, teacher.”
“No, thank you…Fighting! I’ll be cheering you on.”
[Hehe, how’s that? I put you in the same class as the main character…You’re not mad, are you?]
They didn’t need to be so attentive.
Of course I’m mad.
“We’ll talk about this later.”
[Hieek…]
By the way, why does the main character keep glancing at me?
Has he really fallen for me?
***
‘Her name isn’t on the roster?’
Yu Siwoo overheard it.
When told her name wasn’t on the new student roster, he saw her slightly harden her expression and mutter something like “Author.”
Shortly after she inputted her name, her name naturally appeared on the roster.
The teacher explained that the monsters had accidentally escaped an illegal breeding facility.
But was that really the truth?
He clearly heard it. In the auditorium during the entrance ceremony, she knew the monsters would attack.
On top of that, her appearance of talking to someone.
Back in the auditorium, too, she had said “Author.”
If so…
‘You don’t care about the teachers, huh?’
“Excuse me.”
“Y-Yes?!”
“Pfft. Why are you so tense?”
The slender eyes radiating a reddish glow felt like they were piercing right through him.
His body, tense from anxiety, stiffened up as his heart started pounding heavily from the tension.
“You’re Yu Siwoo, right?”
“H-How did you…?!”
“I heard the teacher mention it earlier.”
‘A-Ah, right, that’s true.’
He had completely forgotten in his flustered state.
As she flashed a slight smile and extended her right hand, the relaxed muscles tensed up again.
‘Wh-What is she trying to do…?!’
“? What’s wrong?”
“Th-This is…?”
She tilted her head in puzzlement after extending her empty hand.
“Since we went through the same incident, why don’t we get friendly?”
He shook her hand, and she gave a slight smile back.
It was a mischievous smile as if she had achieved something she had aimed for.
“I’m Arte Iris. Call me Arte.”
‘She’s not interested in the teachers, but the students… On top of that, she’d been observing me since the auditorium…!’
As unbelievable as it sounds.
…It seems she has her sights set on me for some reason.
And not for a good purpose, at that.