Chapter 2: What you see only to me

“What’s with the public display of affection on the very first day…?”

“Did they come to the academy just to flirt?”

‘…I knew this would happen.’

I slightly lowered my head, slipping through the whispering students to avoid their gaze.

Every time I felt the disdainful glances from my surroundings, my steps quickened.

‘Damn it.’

‘My reason for avoiding people’s eyes isn’t just embarrassment.’

‘Of course, it’s not that I don’t feel embarrassed, nor do I enjoy being looked at that way, but I don’t particularly care about what others think either.’

‘However, I didn’t want to stand out at the academy like this.’

‘And it’s the very first day…!’

‘It’s fortunate there are no classes today, but if I don’t want to face the sharp gazes of my classmates as soon as I enter the classroom tomorrow, it’s better to be careful.’

‘As for the professors… they aren’t the type to care about students’ romantic antics, but there’s no harm in being careful.’

‘The good thing is that I quickly escaped the scene.’

‘My face, and the Regressor’s, aren’t widely known yet, and I didn’t linger in one spot, so the chances of those who witnessed my and her public display of affection (?) remembering my face are very low.’

‘They’ll probably just remember it as, ‘There were some people hugging in front of the auditorium on the very first day of the entrance ceremony…’.’

‘Of course, that memory won’t last long either.’

‘People lose interest in trivial things quicker than one might think, so I suppose it’ll be fine.’

Anyway, the boring entrance ceremony was over, and I had confirmed the Regressor’s face, so I could return to the dormitory now.

But there were a few things I needed to check first.

First, the Regressor’s movements.

Since the Regressor is the one who influences my academy life the most, I couldn’t help but pay attention to her every action.

I sat in a cafe with a view of the main gate of the girls’ dormitory, checking each face to see who was entering and exiting.

‘The disciple of the Fist Saint… The daughter of the Southern Incarnation… Which country’s princess was that woman again…?’

These were influential figures who would take control of various parts of the continent after graduating from the academy.

Their surroundings were already overflowing with students eager to talk to them, but unfortunately, they were outside my realm of interest.

My only interest was the Regressor.

Since I still hadn’t seen her come out of the dormitory, it seemed she hadn’t returned there immediately after ambushing me earlier.

Or, she might have gone in before I arrived and then left again.

This was a behavioral pattern I sometimes observed when watching her.

The delinquent student route: disappearing somewhere right after the entrance ceremony, or being late for the first class the next day.

It was a perfect pattern to get on the professors’ bad side.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible that she was still in the dormitory, but it was hard to imagine the always-busy Regressor just lazing around on her dormitory bed.

She was probably running around frantically right now, claiming to save the world.

Thinking there was no need to worry about the Regressor, I dismissed my interest in her and left the cafe with my remaining drink.

A cool breeze swept a single fallen leaf past my eyes. It was a cold wind, ill-suited for the clear, cloudless weather.

I raised my head and looked at the sky.

There, countless [Pitch-Black Magic Circles] filled the academy’s blue sky.

A sky that could by no means be considered ordinary.

Despite it being a sight that made one shrink just by looking, the people on the streets laughed and chatted, passing the time as if nothing was amiss.

As if…

As if those magic circles weren’t visible to them at all.

That’s right.

Those were the ‘Harbingers of Disaster,’ visible to no one but me.

They weren’t complete yet, but if they were to activate right now, they could easily obliterate the academy.

If they were to be completed, they were a dangerous phenomenon that would bring immense death to the entire continent.

The Regressor called this phenomenon, which seemed like a divine disaster or a trial from a great being, by this name:

[Ruin].

****

Ignoring the magic circles that were gradually forming, I immediately returned to the dormitory.

Even if I could see the Harbingers of Disaster, there was nothing I could do.

The magic circles weren’t activating immediately, and there was plenty of time, so I could ignore them for now.

Besides, I couldn’t even take action; who would believe me if I claimed to be the only one who could see something that countless geniuses at the academy hadn’t discovered?

I’d be lucky not to be treated as insane.

The Regressor might believe me right away, but… I didn’t want to get that deeply involved with her.

If by any chance she found out I had some special ability, she might not just obsess over me, but want to completely possess me.

Considering her personality from what I’d seen so far, the possibility was very low, but since I never knew when she might suddenly change, I always had to be careful.

Pondering various concerns, I went to sleep, and the next morning dawned.

Just like the entrance ceremony, I had no intention of being late on the first day of classes, so I headed to my assigned class early in the morning.

I found a suitable seat in the back and looked around.

I had arrived early, but there were others who had come even earlier than me.

If I had arrived too late, my seat might have been taken, but those who come earlier than me are usually diligent and enthusiastic students, so they wouldn’t bother trying to sit in the back.

I looked at those gathered closely in the front.

The Hero and several other students who had arrived earlier were gathered around her, chatting.

I quietly listened to their conversation.

“I’m curious about your main weapon.”

“Ah, my specialty is magic, so I mainly use a staff… Does Lady Hestia always practice swordsmanship with a holy sword?”

“That is correct.”

“……”

“……”

“Uh… well, do you perhaps have any preferred cosmetics?”

“I haven’t really used makeup before, so I wouldn’t know.”

“Oh, is that so…?”

Hestia was none other than the Hero’s name.

By the way…

As expected, it was so awkward it was stifling just listening to them.

Why were they speaking so formally to a classmate in the first place?

Was the Hero quite intimidating from the students’ perspective?

Well, the weight of the name ‘Hero’ isn’t light, so I understood.

If the Hero were to speak informally first, the atmosphere would be a bit more relaxed, but… it was obvious she would have said she preferred to speak formally.

The other students, uncomfortable with the Hero speaking formally to them, were likely just following her lead and speaking formally themselves.

Later on, some would naturally start speaking informally, but for now, at the beginning of the semester, their mutual discomfort was unavoidable.

Just by looking at the expressions of the students around the Hero now, one could tell how intimidated they were by her.

Everyone’s mouths were smiling, but their eyes showed that they didn’t know how to treat her.

As for the Hero…

Her expression was blank, so it was hard to tell.

The reason the students around her felt intimidated by the Hero yet couldn’t easily end the conversation was also because they couldn’t tell if she was satisfied or not.

Well, it was the fate of those who wanted to forge a connection with the Hero without much thought.

Turning away from the Hero’s surprisingly poor social skills, I turned my head to look out the window.

In the distance, students were coming in droves from the dormitory area. The time they arrived at the classroom was the perfect time to go to school, so from now on, I planned to arrive at that time too.

If I didn’t come early, there might be times I’d have to give up a less conspicuous back seat, but surprisingly, students are enthusiastic, so unless there’s a special reason, they don’t particularly try to sit in the back.

This was a fact I had learned by analyzing previous timelines, so it was certainly correct.

‘Except for those who sit next to me ‘very occasionally’.’

‘Most people forget I was even there unless I do something to stand out…’

‘But sometimes, a few who sit next to me definitely [perceive] me and approach.’

‘It’s a bit scary, but they’re special, so even if someone sits next to me and shows interest, I just need to act normally.’

‘Then they won’t feel anything particularly strange.’

Lost in idle thoughts, I once again listened to the conversation between the Hero and the students gathered around her.

“Lady Hestia, are you perhaps… interested in romance?”

“Romance… you say? I haven’t thought about it, so I wouldn’t know.”

“I-Is that so…?”

Everyone was still working hard, it seemed.

I glanced at the Hero, and for a brief moment, our eyes seemed to meet, but I feigned tiredness and closed my eyes.

Even then, everyone tried to somehow continue the conversation with the Hero.

But their attempts were repeatedly cut short by her terse replies.

Their awkward conversation finally stopped only after the professor entered.

****

The first day mostly consisted of simple introductions and an orientation about the material to be learned.

As I said before, I had heard this content countless times, so it was impossible not to feel bored.

Just like the entrance ceremony, I spent the orientation letting the information go in one ear and out the other, and before I knew it, the first day’s schedule ended without any special incidents.

Oh, right.

And the Regressor didn’t show up until the orientation was over.

I checked her classroom during breaks, but she was nowhere to be seen.

When she wasn’t there in the morning, I just assumed she had overslept.

But since she still wasn’t visible by the time the afternoon orientation ended, it seemed she had deliberately skipped.

That was a bit unexpected.

As far as I could remember, across all previous timelines, this was the first time she had been absent on the first day, even if she had been late before.

I was curious about the reason, but then again… how could I know what the Regressor was thinking?

Another notable point was that some guys who were desperate to stand out got into an argument on the very first day.

They started a war of nerves, mentioning things like death matches outside the academy, until a professor had to intervene.

There were minor incidents, but since these had also happened in previous timelines, I wasn’t particularly moved.

On the other hand, the professors were probably tearing their hair out over the flood of incidents on the first day.

Anyway, back in my dormitory, I carefully took out an item I had hidden in the closet.

A dark-colored robe.

It was similar to the attire typically worn by mages, but I wasn’t a traditional mage.

This attire was merely a disguise to conceal my identity.

Not immediately, but in the future, I would need to wear this black robe and move around the academy while concealing my identity.

I merely checked the robe’s condition and put it back in the closet.

Looking out the window, the sun was already beginning to set.

I hadn’t realized because I was half-listening to the professors, but the orientation seemed to have been longer than I thought.

Still, classes would return to normal tomorrow, so I would have more free time than today.

I flopped down onto the somewhat stiff bed.

‘In this timeline too, I should avoid standing out and just live moderately.’

With that thought, I slowly closed my eyes.