Chapter 19
Worried about my fainting spell from yesterday, the class president handed me a handful of chocolates right from the morning.
Could it be that the president thinks chocolate is a cure-all?
I mean, when a whole bunch comes pouring out of the bag, it felt like I was in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
While handing me the chocolates, the president wore a slightly annoyed expression and said:
“You should have told me if you were feeling sick.”
As if I could have known I’d get a blackout!
Not really knowing what to say, I just bowed my head in a gesture of repentance.
With a bit of a pout, the president closed his mouth and started cleaning.
I quietly joined in the cleaning effort.
That was the least I could do to atone for my actions.
Once we finished cleaning, I stuffed all the chocolates he gave me into my bag.
Recently, Yoon Si-woo hasn’t been coming near me, which is a relief.
If our eyes even met accidentally, I’d blush like a tomato and run away.
I was supposed to be the one avoiding him, but since he was keeping his distance, it left me more time to focus on Sylvia.
Today as well, noticing Sylvia’s ears perk up, I sprinted to the snack bar right after class to grab some macarons.
With my usual smile, I extended the macarons to Sylvia, but today, her reaction was slightly different.
“…Thank you.”
Usually, Sylvia would casually accept the macarons, but today she looked a bit shy.
That was a sign that my affection points were skyrocketing!
My emotions were swinging wildly, even more than yesterday.
Because of that, I had to diligently suppress the flames that were trying to burst forth.
Can’t let my clothes catch fire!
*
I was so busy suppressing the flames out of fear of burning my clothes that I suddenly realized school was over.
Since I had to head home quickly for a part-time job later, I rushed back.
I had some time before work, so I decided to take a shower.
For a demonstration, it seemed polite to show up looking clean.
When I opened the fridge to prepare dinner, I found there were nearly no bean sprouts left.
It was a rather delicate amount to share.
On a normal day, I would have divided that amount in half to make it last until tomorrow morning, but today, I was going to be rich!
I took out all the remaining bean sprouts and stir-fried them.
Thanks to that, the fridge was now completely empty.
My part-time job ended after 10 PM.
The discount mart was closing, but I could easily grab some breakfast supplies from a 24-hour convenience store.
With money, I could indulge in the luxury of buying food from a convenience store.
I could always check out the market tomorrow after school.
After dinner, I spent some time in a daze until it was almost time to go.
Wondering what to wear, I remembered there was something about student perks, so I decided to stick with my school uniform.
For a student, wearing a uniform is the equivalent of formal attire.
I arrived at the meeting place in the park.
Just as I was about to send a message that I had arrived, a rather portly man approached me.
“Are you Miss Scarlet Evande?”
The man didn’t look that old, yet his bald head was almost fully exposed.
It made my heart sink a little…
I sympathized with him, knowing he was experiencing one of the biggest fears of men, and I nodded.
“I didn’t expect to see such a cute young lady. Today is my lucky day.”
Being called “cute” made me feel a bit down.
Sure, on the surface, it seemed that way.
From the outside, a girl! But inside, just an ordinary guy!
It was a much more terrifying reality than that of a detective who gets younger…
He mentioned that the demonstration place would be a bit away from the park.
As we walked there, we adjusted the details.
He asked whether it would be okay to draw some blood.
“Actually, since I only mentioned it was a demonstration, you can refuse if you don’t want to, but I was wondering if there was any way around it?”
The mention of “drawing blood” brought back some old memories.
Once, I went to donate blood, but the nurse kept missing the vein, turning my arm into a mess.
The next day, my whole arm was covered in bruises, and at school, the kids called me “the demon of the left arm.”
Since then, I had developed a bit of an aversion to blood draws.
“I’d prefer not to have anything enter my body…”
“Hmmm, if you’re uncomfortable, I can’t force it. Then, would it be okay to touch your hand or take some pictures?”
I figured he meant regarding the demonstration.
Since I thought that was manageable, I nodded.
But the idea of someone wanting to touch my fire power felt a little scary.
Using level 1 flames instead of level 2 flames that might burn would be fine, though.
In happily following the man, we soon reached our destination.
It was a motel.
And it had a rather suggestive atmosphere.
Huh? Turning around, I saw the man scratching his head and smiling awkwardly.
“Ahahaha, it’s the closest place!”
No matter how I looked at it, a girl in a school uniform should NOT go in with a balding middle-aged man, but as a super-powered being, I thought it was impossible for me to be forced into doing anything weird by an ordinary person, so I just followed him inside.
I should be grateful it was a self-service counter.
Otherwise, we would have been reported immediately.
Taking the elevator with the man, I started to feel that maybe I had volunteered for a very suspicious part-time job.
*
Entering a room with a big bed.
Without thinking much, I drank from the cup he offered.
Before long, for some reason, I began to feel drowsy, my vision slightly blurred, and the man started setting up a tripod with a camera.
He’ll probably film me as I’m in a daze!
– “Shall we start with introductions?”
“That’s the room,” he said.
His words shook me awake, pulling me out of my imagination. Up until that point, I had been imagining things, and the door in front of me looked like the entrance to hell.
If something happened, I needed to shoot a fire punch and escape.
Swallowing hard, I followed the man as he opened the door and went in.
“Oh, is that the girl? She’s so cute!”
“Wow, today is going to be fun!”
“That uniform! She’s really a student from Aegis Academy!”
Inside the room, five men were drinking and partying.
Not one, but several?
Panicking, I slowly turned my creaky head to look at the man who had brought me.
After letting me in, he stood by the door and was already smiling at me.
The man locked the door with a click.
Clack—
A few of them started excitedly touching my body.
The others were watching the scene with enthusiastic gazes.
It was quite an unreal sight.
I merely stared blankly as they did whatever they wanted with me.
“What’s this fire that doesn’t burn, what’s the principle behind it?”
“The flame changes according to your emotional state, this is a power I’ve never seen before!”
“Take photos! Such a fascinating ability should be captured!”
As if they weren’t scared at all, they reached out to touch the flames emanating from my body, trying to figure out exactly where they came from while kneading my hands, feeling the differences from other parts. I couldn’t comprehend their actions.
I thought maybe something severe was happening, so to use it as a deterrent, I let out some flames—I felt like that moment was strange.
What’s happening here?
In that bewildered state, I turned to the bald man who had brought me.
“Um, excuse me, what do you guys do?”
Curious about their identities who performed actions incomprehensible by ordinary emotions, I was puzzled.
If this was the average behavior of people in this world, I’d have no confidence about living a normal life…
“We? We used to work at a superpower research facility. Now, we’re just unemployed.”
“The research facility caught fire, so we’re forced to enjoy an extended vacation until it’s rebuilt.”
“They all turn crazy about superpowers, but since we can’t go to the facility, there’s no chance to see the abilities. We’re relieving our pent-up desires by inviting superpowered individuals to see their powers. Academy students typically have stronger abilities than others, so we’ve always wanted to see. But since most of these guys have plenty of money, we rarely get anyone to come, so we’re really glad you’re here today.”
The guys laughed along with him, thanking me in sync.
When they asked if I could show flames that didn’t burn, I told them to stand back and released some level 2 flames from my hand.
It became easier for me to regulate the intensity after I got used to it.
At first, the sprinklers would have gone off as soon as I let flames out.
Although small in size, the heat they felt made everyone’s eyes brighten.
Someone was taking pictures, and others were taking out paper to write something.
When one asked if he could touch, I retorted if he had gone mad, and everyone started to laugh and poke fun at him.
A hint of redness crept onto their faces from the alcohol.
But it felt like it wasn’t just the drink; they were intoxicated by the atmosphere.
As everyone enjoyed the moment, I found myself feeling joyous too, my lips curling into a smile like I was sharing drinks with friends.
And gentle flames began to dance around me.
Huh? I tried to regulate it, but for some reason, the flames wouldn’t go out.
While they were similar to level 1 flames that didn’t burn anything, the sensation was different from the anger-driven flames I could control.
It felt a bit like the flames that had flared up during my first meeting with Sylvia, but now they were emerging purely from positive emotions.
Maybe for the first time since coming to this world, I was truly feeling happy.
“What’s going on, Miss? Is there something that’s bothering you?”
Perhaps from what I said earlier about the flames reacting to anger, the men looked at me in surprise.
With a smile, I shook my head.
I shouted, “These are flames that appear when I feel good!”
The men were taken aback for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.
“Hey guys, the lady is feeling great!”
“Hahaha, that’s an honor!”
“Since you’re happy, I’ll throw in a special discount offer!”
As I shouted that, intoxicated by the mood, I struck various poses in front of the men.
The demonstration had suddenly transformed into a delightful show.
Wrapping myself in flames, the spectacle seemed pretty convincing, and everyone cheered.
The intrusive thoughts that had filled my head seemed to fade away a bit.
*
After playing around for a while, I was soaked in sweat from head to toe.
The “uncles” (as they insisted I call them) decided to keep having fun, so after receiving the promised money, I left the room.
Outside, the cool night air chilled my sweaty body, causing me to shiver.
Stretching out my arms, I reveled in the refreshing breeze when I spotted someone standing in front of the building.
A clearly noticeable man with white hair.
Yoon Si-woo was gazing at me with cold eyes.
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