93) Chapter 15. ……It Was Warm (6)

Should I feel relieved?

Honestly, I’m not sure.

I want to feel relieved, but it isn’t easy.

Because nothing has actually been resolved. They just listened to me seriously and said they would assign more people.

They didn’t say anything about what’s really happening, so simply adding a few more adults might not be enough.

My childhood was like that.

A hero was assigned to protect me, but they still couldn’t completely stop the villain.

Still, it should be better than the original story. Maybe fewer people will get seriously hurt. Maybe no one will get hurt at all and they’ll stop everything efficiently. If they assign one teacher per few students, maybe it’ll work out.

……Should I have just said everything, even if they thought I was weird?

“Rua.”

“H‑huh?”

“What are you thinking about so hard?”

“Oh, nothing.”

I shook my head at Soi’s question.

If I had planned to tell Soi, I would’ve told her long ago. That I know the future, and that I roughly know who gets hurt in that future.

People usually talk to their friends before going to adults for advice.

The reason I didn’t tell her is simple.

I don’t want Soi to think I’m weird.

I didn’t want the teachers to think I’m weird either.

This is the first proper high school I’ve attended. A school where kids know my past and still don’t look at me strangely.

I didn’t want to be treated like that here too.

……Am I more afraid of being seen as strange than of someone getting hurt or dying?

“…….”

Soi looked a little frustrated.

Chae‑yi too.

But neither of them asked further.

Because they knew I wouldn’t answer even if they did.

It was a habit they learned after spending a long time with me.

A habit born from how long I spent not communicating.

The silence made my chest tighten, but I knew it was my own fault for keeping my mouth shut.

As always, the only one to blame is me.

*

Even though we called it hiking, the mountain wasn’t that tall.

If this were my previous life, where I barely exercised, maybe it would’ve been hard. But here, I’d been training my stamina regularly, so it wasn’t difficult.

And there were plenty of students in the academy who were stronger than me.

The subjects normal high schoolers would learn had already become quite advanced, but hero training was still in the basic stages.

Apparently the whole first year would be like this—just preliminary practice. Real training would begin in second and third year.

Of course, villains and monsters don’t wait for that.

“Huff… huff……”

Soi, Chae‑yi, Hyeonji, and I were breathing a little heavily, but not badly. Like I said, we’d all trained to some extent.

So the one breathing like she was dying was Nam Jinwoo.

“Haa… h‑huff… huu……”

……I think I understand why the girls in the early part of the story didn’t like Jinwoo very much.

She didn’t have good stamina, she wasn’t big, her face was decent but she couldn’t answer properly when spoken to.

And she was so introverted she never approached anyone first, so in class she was basically like a sack of barley dumped in the corner.

As an individual, she might be interesting in her own way, but if someone asked, “Do you want to be in the same group as him?” most kids would probably refuse.

And in reality, our group was falling behind. At this rate, we’d definitely arrive last.

This academy, like any academy in an academy‑genre story, gives points constantly. Even outside midterms and finals, you can earn points through small competitions.

It’s like a continuous performance evaluation, and since many students consider themselves from “prestigious families,” competition is fierce.

“……Is it really hard for you?”

“H‑huh, n‑no……”

Anyone could see she was struggling.

At this rate, if she kept climbing, she might collapse.

Of course, the academy didn’t just throw students into the mountain without preparation. Teachers were stationed everywhere, and the smartwatches we received tracked our location, heart rate, and temperature.

If anything dangerous happened, a teacher or instructor would pop out of the forest.

I wondered for a moment if it was fine to just keep walking, but then I shook my head and said:

“D‑do you want to rest a bit? I’m tired.”

I was a little tired, but not enough to need a break.

But Jinwoo wasn’t going to say she wanted to rest. She said she was fine.

“Okay.”

“Should we rest for ten minutes?”

“…….”

Soi, Chae‑yi, and Hyeonji agreed in their own ways and sat or leaned against something. We happened to be in a small clearing, so it was a good place to rest.

Groups weren’t assigned by teachers—we were told to form them ourselves. Mountains are dangerous, after all. If kids who hated each other were forced together and got into a fight, the academy would be in trouble.

And the reason we ended up with Jinwoo was… well.

She didn’t ask anyone to group with her. She wasn’t the type to read the room or speak first.

Soi, Chae‑yi, Hyeonji, and I exchanged glances without needing to talk, and the rest of the class quickly formed groups of five.

Except Jinwoo, sitting alone in the opposite corner of the classroom.

Naturally, the five of us became a group.

Even if she hadn’t been left out, we probably would’ve ended up grouped with her anyway, but… Jinwoo seemed to think we were forced to take her.

“……Hey.”

Thinking that far made something boil inside me, and I called out to her.

“H‑huh?”

“If you’re tired, say you’re tired.”

Sure, I’d just pretended I needed a break to help her, but still.

Did she think we’d praise her if she collapsed from stubbornness?

“O‑okay……”

Seeing her shrink her shoulders and answer timidly made me even more irritated.

Why was I so annoyed?

Was it because I hated hiking? It wasn’t that bad. The survival kit was a little heavy, and the May sun was warm, and the dry weather was starting to get humid…

But more than that, it was Jinwoo’s attitude.

Before, it didn’t bother me. Why now?

“Ah.”

I realized what this rising irritation was.

It felt like looking at myself.

Someone who couldn’t say anything honestly, who hid everything even from people who worried about her, making them worry even more.

And it’s not like she could solve everything alone by enduring it.

“…….”

And I was in that exact situation right now.

I went to talk, couldn’t say anything properly, and now I was worrying about whether things would go well.

“……Want some?”

Soi rummaged through her bag, pulled out a chocolate, and handed it to Jinwoo.

My eyebrow twitched.

I knew Soi didn’t have any feelings for Jinwoo. Even in the original story, she only fell for her much later, after she became strong.

And even that was because the original Rua was a terrible person.

So in this world, things might go differently, but…

“Ah, I—”

“You can’t walk if you don’t have energy.”

Soi didn’t seem to notice my eyebrow twitch. She simply dropped the chocolate into Jinwoo’s hand.

“…….”

It wasn’t anything special, just a small piece of chocolate, but Jinwoo stared at it for a long moment before speaking.

“Um… am I… getting in the way?”

At that, Soi, Chae‑yi, Hyeonji, and I exchanged glances.

Was she getting in the way?

Maybe.

If we were aiming for first place, she would be. Because we had to stop for her, and someone else might pass us.

But here…

“Why? It’s not like we need to rush.”

Soi answered.

“Yeah. No need. We’ll just get tired for nothing.”

Chae‑yi waved her hand.

“…….”

Hyeonji sat with her usual blank expression, but it wasn’t a cold or hidden‑emotion blankness—just a bored, spaced‑out one.

Right. None of us cared much about rankings. I didn’t even finish middle school.

Hyeonji might care a little since she’s a disciplinary committee member, but in the original story she never nagged others because of it.

She only nitpicked about skirt length and stuff… but she’s been strangely quiet here.

Maybe she built tolerance from sharing a room with me, Soi, and Chae‑yi?

…….

No, tolerance? What am I thinking?

While I was lost in thought and spiraling into weird conclusions, Jinwoo finally opened her mouth again.

“Th‑thank—”

She was about to say something unnecessary like “thank you,” when—

“Kyaa!?”

A loud scream echoed from far away.

I flinched before I realized it.

Soi and Chae‑yi jumped to their feet, and Jinwoo scrambled up in shock, looking around.

Has it started?

My heart pounded so hard I could hear it in my ears.

Please let it just be someone slipping.

Please let it just be someone startled by a small animal.

Thinking that, I stood up as well.

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Pub: 01 May 2026 09:55 UTC

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