NOVEL WEB Chapter 10
Two days have passed since that duel.
It’s become pretty clear that my classmates are sneaking around avoiding me.
Of course, it makes sense that the punks I stomped on and Ageha would be cautious, but even Lapiz next to me and Jinhyeon and Yeonhwa in front seemed hesitant, unsure of how to deal with me.
Minho still looked at me with suspicion, just like when he first latched onto me.
“Uh, h-hello, Blanca…!”
So yeah, I did all this with the intent to become someone they couldn’t ignore in class.
But maybe it was a bit too much, as Justitia said.
“Good morning, Lapiz. You too, Yeonhwa and Jinhyeon.”
“Oh, um?! Y-yeah, good morning, Blanca!”
I accepted Lapiz’s greeting, which she barely mustered up the courage to say.
I also greeted Jinhyeon and Yeonhwa while recalling that day’s consultation with Justitia.
Well, consultation might be a bit of a stretch—it was more like a lecture.
My actions during that duel were completely un-heroic no matter how hard I tried to spin it, and I got a stern talking-to for being over the top.
It’s not surprising since she had made it clear there would be no favoritism up until the day before entrance.
Still, it did sting a bit.
They started it, so couldn’t I at least get a nice word or two? I just grumbled that in my head, though.
On one hand, I had to admit her words were right. I was excessive.
If I wanted to firmly imprint my abilities, I should have just used some light sedation or something, but I went and created unnecessary fear with my emotional outburst.
I didn’t mind causing fear among the extras, though.
Whether they couldn’t approach due to feeling scared or sensing a wall, it made no difference to me.
If it caused problems with the main characters, though, that would be a different story.
If the main characters started to shun me, that would not only hurt my feelings but also mess up my plans.
I needed to stick close to the leads to monitor them or restrain their growth, but if they didn’t want me around, I was kind of helpless.
If I followed them around while they were avoiding me, it would just raise suspicion or resentment.
In other words, I had to somehow improve my image… but I had no clue how to go about it.
I knew how to scare someone, but calming them down? No idea.
It’s not like I could just start spraying calming agents in their faces.
What should I even do? I tapped my tail against the classroom wall, pondering deeply.
But by the time lunchtime rolled around, nothing had come to me.
Not even while sitting at the table with Yeonhwa, Jinhyeon, and Lapiz.
“Um, Blanca… did you hear any bad news from the teacher yesterday? Or maybe something else bad…?”
Yeonhwa suddenly asked if something bad had happened to me during our meal.
As I was about to brush it off as nothing, a thought suddenly struck me.
If anyone could help with people skills, it would probably be Yeonhwa!
“Yeah. There’s one thing that’s really on my mind. But how did you know?”
“Uh, well, your ears were flat against your head.”
…Huh?
Is this some sort of racial profiling?
Looking at Yeonhwa in disbelief, she quickly scrambled to explain, realizing her blunder.
“I mean! I have a cat at home, and when it’s upset, its ears go flat! Plus, you usually have that expression, so I thought—I dunno, just matching the ears and tail…
Seeing Yeonhwa so flustered, it seemed she wasn’t even aware of what she said.
“I see. Just be a little more careful from now on.”
It’s been over thirty years since non-humans officially gained human status, yet discrimination against non-humans still lingered in society.
Of course, there weren’t instances of stronger humans discriminating against weaker ones.
Most of that discrimination was directed towards the weaker folks.
That’s likely why most of the experiment subjects in the lab were non-humans.
Although this body has no personality or memories of its original form, I figured it must’ve faced a lot of discrimination too.
So maybe that explains my heightened sensitivity now?
Am I like Pavlov’s dog or something? Who knows. What does it matter?
Once Yeonhwa stepped on a landmine and barely made it back, she let out a sigh of relief and immediately fired off another question.
“So what’s this thing that’s bothering you?”
Her intention to divert the atmosphere was painfully obvious.
Seeing her like that made me chuckle, and I decided to go along with her.
“Well, I was just surprised by how suddenly I had to fight. I mean, I was trying to cut ties with my bad fate during the entrance exam…”
“The problem is, it was too extreme.”
Jinhyeon, who had been silent until now, suddenly chimed in, pointing out my mistake.
My mood plummeted sharply, but he wasn’t wrong, so I had nothing to say.
“Yeah. It seems like that’s why everyone’s avoiding me, so I’m trying to figure something out. Do you have any good ideas?”
“Why not just apologize?”
“Just apologize?” Seriously? Impossible.
I’d thought about it, of course.
Imagining myself sincerely saying sorry and having them respond with ‘It’s all good.’
But that’s just wishful thinking.
Is saying sorry really enough?
They might try to get something more from me.
Given their punkish natures, there was a decent chance of that happening.
Noticing the look on my face, Yeonhwa shook her head and advised me seriously.
“That could be true. But, Blanca, if you want something, you must also give something.”
If you want kindness, you must first offer kindness yourself.
Yeonhwa was laying down some casual wisdom.
No matter how I looked at it, that sounded like an invitation to be a pushover.
However, Yeonhwa must have read my thoughts, beaming with a bright smile.
“Oh come on! Just give it a shot! Doing something is better than doing nothing!”
“I… I think Yeonhwa’s right… If I do nothing, nothing will change…”
Even Lapiz, who usually fumbles around, was now timidly urging me to give it a shot.
“Okay… I understand. Thanks for the advice.”
Hah. Should I just close my eyes and go for it?
If the expert recommends it, it has to have some effect.
Strike while the iron’s hot, I thought as lunchtime was winding down and I headed over to the corner where the victims, aka the losers, gathered.
It felt like the first two days after the entrance ceremony were so full of energy.
Everyone debated how they’d punish me…
Now, though, the atmosphere was as gloomy as if someone had died.
If they weren’t going to talk, why were they even hanging out together?
“Why are you…?”
Ageha looked at me as if she had just encountered a rank A monster, trembling in terror, while the punk had a face like it was destiny.
I was here to apologize, but standing in front of them made it feel tougher than I expected.
I could tell them what’s not in my heart, but somehow, saying sorry was incredibly hard.
Looking down, I remembered the saying about how even worms struggle when stepped on, and Ageha shot me a glare as if she were about to blow up.
“What do you want?! Did you come to make fun of us?! Just say something!”
I couldn’t tell if she was on the verge of tears out of frustration or fear. It was impossible to discern.
But hey, I wasn’t here to mock them.
Forcing my mouth to move, I bowed my head towards the punk.
“I’m sorry. I hurt you too much back then. I was excessive.”
Even though I rehearsed this a hundred times in my head, when it finally came out, it was as awkward as ever.
Was this really an apology? If someone slapped a book across my head, I wouldn’t have any words to defend myself. It was a clumsy apology.
On top of that, when should I lift my head?
Not knowing, I looked around for hints, and the punk, who had been silent, finally spoke up.
“No, you don’t need to apologize. Just like you said that day, I was the one foolish and arrogant.”
“Yamaguchi-kun…?”
“I’m the one who should apologize. I had no right to be arrogant when I was weak. I envied your strength without putting in the effort to improve myself.”
No, not the punk—Fukukin was now lowering his posture, begging forgiveness like I was the one at fault.
Uh, what? Was he like this?
Why the sudden change?
Well, I knew he was results-oriented, but had he really felt that much pressure?
It seemed the kids from other classes were just as puzzled, murmuring as they watched the showdown between me and Fukukin.
“Wait, wait, Yamaguchi-kun! You still haven’t accepted his apology from the entrance exam—”
“If our abilities were high enough, we could have avoided it altogether. It’s our fault for being insufficient.”
Had he completely changed after losing to me? Fukukin’s old brashness was nowhere to be seen.
It was like he had been completely broken down and rebuilt after that battle.
…Did I manage to awaken him too early, or what?
Tough situation.
But hey, I wasn’t involved in the main story, and my role was just to appear as a hindrance when needed.
So, it probably didn’t matter all that much.
I just wanted to take a moment to apologize for the duel in front of everyone and regain some respect, but somehow, it turned into a “no, I’m the one at fault!” contest.
Well, I thought I might follow the flow of the atmosphere.
“No, I agree that I went a bit too far. I’m sorry. I apologize.”
Even as I said it, I was a bit surprised this was actually happening.
After all, these are kids who wanted to become heroes enough to get into A-class, and even if they’re somewhat immature, they’re not outright bad people.
Since the vibe was shifting, Ageha seemed to have run out of things to nitpick and mumbled a meek apology without the subject.
Turns out, being the first to apologize isn’t such a bad thing!
Watching the warm atmosphere unfold made me think that.
“I don’t know how this all happened, but I’m glad it worked out, Blanca. Right?”
When I returned to my seat, Yeonhwa remarked that it seemed to have gone well.
“Yeah.”
Even though the only one who actually changed was Fukukin, and the rest just got swept along.
But my image should have been restored.
“Please take your seats. Before we begin the ability training session, there will be a brief club introduction.”
This meant I could freely follow around the main characters now.
As I considered this, I caught Minho’s gaze and smiled.
I was excited.