I… I came to look for you..-
Please..-..protect our world…-
– Reader…-
.
.
.
“Ugh…”
As I opened my heavy eyelids, the bright sunlight streamed in through the window.
Slowly raising my body, my messy hair tickled my face.
‘…..What is this?’
I felt like I had a dream, but I couldn’t remember it well.
Someone definitely seemed to have called me…
‘What a strange dream.’
Thinking little of it, I turned my head to the side.
Chirp-Chirp
As I breathed shallowly, the sight of Iris peacefully sleeping caught my eye.
Her pure white hair and youthful, adorable appearance made it seem like an angel was asleep.
I wanted to let her sleep a bit longer, but before I knew it, it was 9 o’clock.
Time to wake up.
“Iris, wake up.”
As I stroked Iris’s hair and spoke, she let out a soft Mmm groan, rubbing her eyes and slowly rising.
“Did you sleep well?”
Her cuteness made me smile as I greeted her.
Iris stared at me blankly for a moment, then came into my arms with slightly flushed cheeks.
“Lady Hera… I’m really happy… I wish it could be like this every day….”
Burying her face in my shoulder and nuzzling around, I patted her back a few times.
“I’ll see you again next weekend, so don’t be too sad.”
“Okay…. Huh?”
Seeming to sense something, Iris pulled back slightly, looking at me with a puzzled expression as she checked me out.
“What’s wrong?”
“Lady Hera… I feel an overwhelming presence of the Goddess…?”
Huh?
“The Goddess?”
“Yes… This warm aura is definitely the Goddess’s power…”
I felt flustered by Iris’s words.
What do you mean, all of a sudden, the Goddess’s presence?
“Are you mistaking it for my unique ability by any chance?”
I thought maybe she confused it, since my unique ability was a power inherited from the Goddess.
“Umm… I don’t think so…”
Iris tilted her head a few times, then shook her head, as if unsure.
“By the way, did you meet the Goddess yesterday?”
“Huh?”
“Weren’t you supposed to meet her in the inner world?”
Inner world..?
Is she talking about the place where I met my teacher?
But at least by my memory, I’ve never seen the Goddess.
“I don’t remember that happening…?”
“Yes…?”
“….?”
We exchanged glances filled with confusion like, ‘What on earth are you talking about?’
Just then, a voice echoed in my head.
Of course, you wouldn’t have met the Goddess. Your power was inherited from me.
“Oh.”
I instinctively let out a short sound at the sudden voice in my head.
Come to think of it, she was there.
I haven’t been gone for long.
‘By the way, what do you mean by just receiving it from my teacher?’
My unique ability is definitely a power inherited from the Goddess.
You are my descendant. You haven’t received anything from the Goddess.
‘….Huh?’
What?
So doesn’t that mean it’s not a unique ability?
I had always thought it was a unique ability, so it was shocking to hear that it wasn’t.
But perhaps, it clarifies one puzzling point I had from before.
Unique abilities are exceptional powers given only to a few special individuals.
Characters with unique abilities always had significant roles in novels.
Hero. Saintess. Crown Prince. And few others.
However, the character Hera never appeared in the novel even once.
If she didn’t have a unique ability, it makes sense, right?
At the same time, another question arose.
Unique abilities are powers inherited from the Goddess.
That’s why Iris was able to sense that I had abilities.
If this power came from my teacher, what the heck was the Goddess’s energy that Iris felt?
Looking at Iris, she was just tilting her head, seemingly in the dark.
‘….I don’t know.’
If Iris, who is blessed by the Goddess, didn’t know, it seemed unlikely that I would be able to figure it out by worrying.
I decided to ask my teacher when I was alone later and momentarily set my thoughts aside.
‘…It seems weird things have been happening lately.’
From Lily becoming the Hero until now.
It felt like something beyond my control was going on behind the scenes.
But could I really solve it just by worrying?
Probably not.
What I could do was somehow succeed in my plans and bring peace to everyone.
I let out a short sigh and then said with a smile on my face.
“Shall we have breakfast first?”
*
“…I’m back, Unnie.”
“Welcome back.”
As I opened the door to the house, my sister greeted me with a warm smile once again.
Although I stayed in the academy dormitory, I still came home like this on weekends.
As I walked inside, my sister, with a gentle smile, helped me take off my outerwear.
“Are you hungry? Let’s eat.”
“….Yeah.”
I calmed my complicated heart and ate with my sister.
Once again, her cooking was delicious and melted in my mouth.
I always felt gratitude towards her.
It has been three years since she left.
The reason I was able to endure without going insane was all thanks to my sister’s care.
She must have gone through tough times too. She always warmly consoled me to keep me from breaking down.
‘….Should I tell her?’
What I had been speculating about.
Even though she always had a kind smile on the outside, I knew, having been by her side for so long, how much she had mourned for Hera.
How many nights she had gazed at the night sky and yearned for her.
And she was probably still suppressing her sorrow, smiling bravely.
All for my sake.
‘….Not yet.’
But.
It wasn’t the time yet.
Our house had lost its warmth after Hera left.
I would do whatever it takes to reclaim the happiness of that time.
I would never… never let it slip away from me.
I pressed down my burning heart as I made that vow.
*
“I’m tired…”
Back in Sera’s persona, I flopped onto the bed with a thud, my energy drained.
After the date with Iris, I returned to the academy dormitory.
I hadn’t rested properly, but it was time to start getting ready for school tomorrow.
But first.
I had something I needed to discuss with her.
‘Teacher, are you there?’
As I imagined it in my mind, it wasn’t long before a reply came.
[Yes. I am here by your side.]
‘….So you continue to reside in my head?’
[Would I really? My true self is in another place. I only come here to check on you occasionally.]
…That’s a relief.
If she had been constantly by my side, it would have been quite bothersome.
‘Where is your true self?’
[In the Space of Benevolence.]
‘The Space of Benevolence?’
[You probably won’t understand if I explain it. Just think of it as a place in another dimension.]
…….Another dimension.
In fact, this was what I wanted to ask her.
She had previously told me she came from another dimension.
Right.
Just like me.
‘So, are you from another dimension?’
[You believe that so easily? Most would think it’s a lie.]
‘Yeah… well…’
I suppose it’s not entirely unreasonable to think so.
Traveling dimensions is still much more fantastical than possessing a character in a novel.
Before, I had just given up on it, but wondered if I could find a clue about possession from a teacher who had crossed dimensions.
That’s why I allowed her to accompany me.
[In any case, yes, I came from another dimension.]
……So it was true.
‘Which dimension are you talking about?’
[It’s a place filled with much more complex forces than here. There were no concepts of mana or wizards there. It was solely martial arts, and only martial artists existed.]
What the heck is that.
‘It sounds like a martial arts world.’
[What…?! How do you know about martial arts?]
…Huh.
Really?
‘Did you come from the martial arts world?’
[Technically, it’s the Martial Community, but you can call it martial arts too. But my student, how do you…]
‘……’
You came from the martial arts world.
Hearing a place I was familiar with brought a slight sense of relief.
And a thought crossed my mind.
Maybe it would be okay to tell her.
A secret I had never been able to share with anyone, something I had kept to myself.
That I was in possession of a character.
I had never been able to tell anyone.
Naturally, if I told people I was in a novel, they would just laugh at me.
But my teacher isn’t from this world.
She had never even appeared in the novel.
Since she had crossed dimensions like me, I thought maybe she would believe me.
I had accepted that this world was no longer just a novel for me, but still felt a bit lonely, like I was disconnected from everyone.
Of course, just a bit, though.
I wanted to confide in someone.
I hoped someone would know my secret and understand me.
But I hadn’t been able to share it until now.
However, with my teacher…
Since she came from another place like me…
….I felt it would be okay.
I hesitated for a moment but soon made a firm resolution.
I finally revealed my once-in-a-lifetime secret to my teacher.
‘Teacher.’
[Yes?]
‘Originally, I was a guy.’
I said it.
My secret that I could never confess to anyone.
A secret that I had to hide in the corner of my heart for my entire life.
Had I finally spilled it out?
Would my teacher be shocked? Or confused?
[Ha!]
But the response that returned to me was just her laughter.
[Hahaha!!! You’re so funny, my student. You’re good at jokes too. How cute.]
‘……’
…..My mood sank a bit.
How big of a resolution had I made, and my teacher just thought of it as a joke.
Feeling slightly disappointed, I pouted my lips and grumbled internally.
‘……I’m serious, you know?’
[Don’t lie to me.]
My teacher continued to giggle several times.
[How could an adorable and charming female like you be a guy?]
……Huh?
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.