Became a Traitor in an Academy

The Entrance Ceremony

And not long after, I regretted not saying I would go to the academy separately even if it gave a slightly bad impression.

“Amazing…! I see! To figure out my weakness by observing in such a brief moment. Indeed, Heros Academy is on another level…?! N-not everyone there has observation skills like yours, right!?”

Yeonhwa was a fiery girl in many ways. Bright, gentle, and radiant, but too burdensome to get too close to.

“Hehe, that’s why I don’t like summer. When I sweat from the heat, my flames get weaker… Isn’t it funny that I handle flames but don’t like heat?”

She tried a bit too hard to get close. Like a puppy that keeps licking your face, you could say.

“Sorry. I’ll apologize on Jin-hyeon’s behalf. He’s just not very talkative. But it’s not that he dislikes you! He just kind of avoids people…”

They say a puppy does it out of goodwill, but if you let it keep licking, you end up pushing it away because it’s irritating. I wanted to push her away too.

“Ah. By the way, those police officers earlier said they might contact us later. Ugh, sorry, because of us… Wh-what if you get marked…” In the middle of this, she shuddered while talking about what had just happened.

“It’ll be fine since they didn’t die because of me. At most, they’ll just ask for a detailed explanation of the situation.”

Even if they analyze the cause of death of the villain gang, there won’t be any evidence that I did it.

The cause of death will be listed as internal bleeding due to illegal drug side effects.

I’ll escape the investigation by saying I just used my ability for self-defense and ‘very unfortunately’ it happened to overlap with when they were about to die.

This society was quite lenient about this kind of ability use. It was a society where even if a civilian killed a villain using their ability to survive, the maximum punishment would be just a fine.

It was a really tough world for villains. Among heroes, some even had licenses to kill and could execute heinous criminals on the spot.

“I-I see… That’s good then, but still, going to the police station is scary. I hope they don’t contact you, Blanca.”

Yeah, me too. More than that, couldn’t you show a little less interest?

It was funny coming from someone who staged this drama to get close, but I really wished she would show a little less interest.

I already wasn’t good at dealing with peers in equal relationships. And with her constantly approaching, the mental fatigue was no joke.

I couldn’t just dispose of her like other trash, and moreover, I couldn’t act coldly to the protagonist’s group, which made it even more burdensome.

I wish she would stop talking to me. Or at least keep some distance.

Her sticking close to me with sparkling eyes made me seriously consider whether it would be better to put Jin-hyeon between us to create some distance.

At times like this, I hated Jin-hyeon even more for keeping his mouth shut. Say something and divert her attention.

However, true to being a blockhead, Jin-hyeon seemed completely oblivious to my wishes. This guy was just blankly staring at the distant academy.

“Blanca. What’s your ability? Smoke spray? Anesthetic spray? Or both? What type is it? Transformation? Emission? Enhancement? Or…”

It’s strange that she’s only asking this now. I had been waiting, expecting her to ask as soon as we met. But she’s only asking now.

I was planning to tell them from the start anyway.

It’s not like I could hide it even if I wanted to, and we’d probably be in the same class for a year. Above all, because we need to get close.

“Special type. It doesn’t have a set name but… you could call it ‘Walking Chemical Factory’.”

“Walking Chemical Factory…? More importantly, Special type?! Same as Jin-hyeon?! What can you do?!” “I can create various compounds in my body. Most things, generally.” If I have enough materials and magical power in my body, and know the molecular structure of what I want to make, I can create almost anything inside my body.

Of course, I can’t make compounds that need elements not present in my body.

Meaning I can’t just pull out gold or silver.

And things with too large molecular mass were problematic. It’s not that I can’t make them, but the larger they get, the synthesis time increases exponentially, making the time-to-efficiency ratio drop drastically.

Hormones might be about the limit of what I can practically use in actual combat.

“Wow… what’s that. That’s amazing?! You could be active in the field right now! No, forget the field. You could aim for the rankings right away?!”

“That’s a bit…”

While the rankings might be too much… no. Could I maybe barely make 100th place? If I really tried. Of course, I have no intention of becoming a hero or anything like that.

After that, Yeonhwa kept pestering me.

Of course, she was doing it out of pure goodwill.

If it were hostility, I could handle it with a gentle smile. But this was starting to make me feel sick.

However, as if heaven hadn’t abandoned me, while dealing with her, we finally arrived at the academy entrance.

Both in the novel and game, there were descriptions about feeling pressure just from standing at the academy entrance due to its size.

It really wasn’t an exaggeration. I truly felt infinitely small. It felt like entering the entrance of an ancient grand temple.

All the buildings within the campus grounds, which seemed large enough to fit two small cities, reminded me of ancient Greek architecture, which made the feeling even stronger.

“So this is… Heros Academy.”

Even Jin-hyeon, who had kept quiet all this time, opened his mouth as if overwhelmed by Heros Academy’s view.

“Yes! We’re finally standing at the starting point…!”

I didn’t newly open my mouth or strengthen my resolve. But one thing was right.

I finally stood at the starting point. No more quietly walking in the darkness.

…It wouldn’t be long until we could make the Liberators known to the whole world.

Such a solemn atmosphere was broken when Yeonhwa saw the clock tower and started flailing like a cat seeing a snake. Because the hour hand was already pointing to 8 o’clock.

“Ah, we’ll be late! Wh-where’s the main auditorium?! Is it this way?!”

“Not that way, it’s over there, Yeonhwa.”

“Oh, I see!”

When I pointed the right direction to Yeonhwa, who was frantically trying to go the wrong way, she immediately thanked me and headed in the correct direction.

In the game, the original protagonist sits next to them during the entrance ceremony, so I didn’t need to go anywhere else to meet the original protagonist.

And naturally, I planned to get close to the original protagonist too.

While it was necessary for the plan, pure admiration and fan sentiment played a bigger part.

Looking around after arriving at the main auditorium and sitting down, I could quickly find the original protagonist. Yong Min-ho.

Before Jin-hyeon or Yeonhwa could sit down, I quickly sat right next to him. Though those two sat next to me, that didn’t matter.

My favorite character was sitting right next to me.

Yes. This is how a protagonist should look. Not like that dispiriting guy who always grins stupidly on my right. Should be sharp, powerful, and solitary. That kind of appearance.

Of course, by normal standards, they’re both handsome.

Jin-hyeon has a friendly impression like a puppy, while Min-ho is sharp and well-built like a wolf, you could say.

Min-ho had a face that suggested he still thought this world was exactly like the novel he had read.

…However. Unfortunately for him, this world wasn’t the one he knew.

Because besides the game’s protagonist, I was here too.

While lost in thought staring at him, Yeonhwa spoke to me.

“…Are you interested in that guy?”

“A little.”

Yeonhwa squealed as if misunderstanding on her own, but I had no intention of opening my heart to anyone.

Because they were men. That was the biggest reason.

However, the second biggest reason varied by person.

For Min-ho, it was because I didn’t want to give him wounds deep enough to break his spirit, and for Jin-hyeon, it was just pure hatred.

“Ah, Blanca. Come to think of it, which department did you apply for? Hunter Department? Hero Department? We’re in the Hero Department! It would be great if we could be in the same class!”

“I’m in the Hero Department too. What a coincidence. Wonder if we’ll even be in the same class? Looking at your skills earlier, it might be possible.”

I didn’t really come here to become a real hero.

Well, the story is complicated, but. My goal in coming to the academy was to destroy it.

The ultimate goal was to flip Heros Academy upside down completely and make the Liberators known to the whole world. While also dealing a big blow to Heros Corporation’s prestige.

While my goal is to completely break Jin-hyeon and turn him into a wreck, it wasn’t something that should take priority over the organization’s goal. Like a sub-quest, I suppose.

Hiding these inner thoughts, I calmly answered Yeonhwa’s question.

“That would be great! It’s nice to have someone you know in your class!”

Yeonhwa shone brightly even here, seemingly not anxious at all. She looked absolutely confident that she would get into Class A.

While they let you know about admission right after grading the entrance test, they didn’t tell you about class placement. The setting was that class assignments would be sent by text message all at once after the entrance ceremony.

So even applicants who got in couldn’t really relax yet.

Even if you got in, you could end up in Class E.

Some might think Class E is fine enough, but someone talented enough to pass Heros Academy’s entrance exam wouldn’t be satisfied with just getting in.

But I was certain I would get into Class A of the first year. Because I was overwhelmingly first place.

The performance I put on during the entrance exam would help too. I copied what the game’s protagonist did.

During the entrance ceremony, he caused trouble by charging straight through a gimmick that was meant to be avoided.

So I also caused one big incident.

Of course, since I had no intention of following the story from before entering the academy, I took the exam on a different day than them.

Heros Academy was a terribly ability-supremacist organization. Such a place wouldn’t pass up talent like me. Even if I did something like that.

“I hope so too. Ah, it’s starting!”

Right as Yeonhwa said that, the lights in the auditorium went out and the entrance ceremony began.

Immediately, I prepared to spray deadly poison from my fingertips at any moment. Of course, Min-ho was also ready to jump out at any time while gathering magical power.

After all, it was common sense that problems would naturally occur during the academy’s entrance ceremony.