Please Do Not Abandon the Adopted Heroine chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Mr. Hero of Another World!_2

The hero, whose head is heavily covered by dark hair, is named Kim Yuseong. Although it seems like some sort of otherworldly name, the pronunciation is quite difficult, so people tend to call him ‘Hero’.

Upon seeing Professor Freya, the Hero’s eyes widened in an instant. I believe he must have been captivated by the professor’s appearance.

Rebecca, noticing the hero’s apparent infatuation with the professor, seemed quite upset and managed to catch his attention with a sharply irritated tone.

“…Hero? What are you looking at? Didn’t you have something to tell Cecilia?”

“Ah. Yeah. That’s right, I forgot.”

“hehehe, Hero, you really can’t do anything without me~”

Rebecca nuzzled against the hero with a cloying voice. Realizing Rebecca’s closeness, Hero began to speak in a flustered tone while clearing his throat.

“Hmm, so it goes. Hmm. No, not that…. Hmm. Oh, this isn’t easy for me.”

The Hero has a habit of often mumbling to himself.

Could it be an old habit?

Leaning his thin chin, as if deliberating like a detective in a novel, he looked somewhat exaggerated. For those who were part of the same party, like me, it wasn’t surprising. However, it caught newcomers off guard.

Once again, it was no different. Professor Freya pursed her lips in displeasure and began to speak with a hardened expression.

From Noble mtl dot com

“I understand you both have something to say, but can it not be a little later? Cecilia seems tired today thanks to ‘someone’. I’d like her to rest.”

“What are you on about?! You’ve been rude since…!”

Rebecca, reacting explosively to the professor’s words, remembered the presence of the hero a little too late and awkwardly cut herself off.

“Ah, hah, hahahaha… Hero, Cecilia seems to be tired. She’s been quiet for some time.”

“Tired? Hmm. I see. I guess I haven’t been taking good care of her lately. Should I apologize?”

“Apologize…! Hero, why would you apologize for Cecilia’s wrongdoings?”

“No, it’s my fault… I haven’t been taking good care of her. After all, as the protagonist, I should take good care of my sub characters to reach the ending.”

‘Taking care’ is often a phrase that the Hero uses.

Concepts like ‘sub’ or ‘ending’ are brought up from time to time. Even if I dismiss trying to understand these otherworldly terms, it would be a comfort if he simply ignored things, rather than merely ‘taking care’. This is my honest sentiment.

The same holds true now. As Rebecca glared daggers, I hesitated even to open my mouth.

Perhaps Professor Freya noticed my state because she stopped Rebecca and the Hero with a flabbergasted expression.

“Regardless, you’re in the same party but what happened earlier cannot be forgiven. Please step aside.”

“The same thing as earlier? What happened? Hmm…there was trouble while I was away, apparently.”

“…They’re in the same party, right? They wouldn’t deny it. It’s been going on for more than a day or two.”

“What do you mean? Going on for a day or two?”

“I mean Rebecca, who is right there, has been bullying our student, Cecilia.”

“Rebecca bullying Cecilia? No, that can’t be true. It’s not like Rebecca.”

“……I hope you’re not trying to say all those beastly things she said were just jokes.”

“They’re just jokes among us. Rebecca’s a bit harsh because she’s shy, but she has a tender heart…Hmm, I think there’s been some misunderstanding. We’re all like family.”

“Goodness~ Even you, Hero! You should be ashamed…!”

“Cecilia, if you somehow felt hurt by Rebecca’s joke, please forgive her, for me.”

I turned away from them.

If I must tell the truth, I’d say I was feeling nothing. Even such a conversation now seemed dull to me, I had grown so accustomed to it.

I would be satisfied if just a nod could end the situation.

I wonder if Professor Freya gave up understanding the situation, she warned with a frozen face.

“…… Move aside. If you won’t, I’ll call Eugene, Cecilia’s academic advisor.”

“Did you call me?”

“Aah!”

Professor Freya’s cute scream broke the flow.

Anyone would be surprised if suddenly an upper body falls down from the sky.

A massive figure. It didn’t take long to realize it was a human.

First, a thud sound erupted.

Accompanied by an almost acrobatic tumble, the expression on Professor Nefrer, who fell headfirst, was perfectly calm.

“He… hehehe……”

Caught off guard, Professor Freya began to sob and sank to her knees, as if she had lost all strength in her legs.

Worried by the sound of her sniffles, I glanced at her face and saw real tears at the corners of her eyes.

“You almost caused a heart attack! Hey…you bad guy!”

“What happens if the one who summoned it has a trembling heart? By the way, it seems like the pendant reacted to Freya’s voice after all? Ah, Cecilia, I’m going to adjust the pendant’s conjuring mechanism for a bit. Let’s take this opportunity to fix it.”

As I silently hand him the pendant, Professor Nefertina begins to tinker with the enchantment.

Meanwhile, having composed her emotions, Professor Freya seriously asked in a slightly gruff voice.

“Why is it so crude? Is every gift like this?”

“That’s a harsh term, crude. Even so, it was painstakingly crafted to respond only to the voice of a gentle-hearted beauty. You wouldn’t know how difficult it is to craft an enchantment with such abstract and varied input conditions.”

The professor skillfully modified the pendant’s enchantment.

“There, I’ve modified it to only respond to Cecilia’s voice.”

“…Thank you.”

“Isn’t it a good feature? Make sure to use it.”

I couldn’t figure out how the hurriedly finished enchantment would work.

For Rebecca, who was virtually unmatched in such enchantments and imbued magic, it was quite unsightly.

“Geez! Look at her, lying as if it was obvious. Who would believe that he changed an enchanted spell so quickly? At best, he probably just changed the shape of the enchantment! Honestly, without knowing…!”

“…Hmm? What, you’re here too? You’re not tiring at all. So…Is this friend here the 6th Holy Sword Hero?”

“He’s called Kim Yoo-sung.”

“Right, right. I know of him.”

Although he nodded his head nonchalantly, the hero seemed to take it in a different way.

Murmuring as if talking to himself, the serious toned hum was unmistakable.

“Hmm… Did I become famous without knowing? Hmm…Maybe I should hide my powers a bit more. I need to ponder…what’s the best course of action for times like this?”

Professor Nefertina looked back and forth between me and Professor Freya, appearing surprised.

“Is he… hurt?”

“Who knows? That’s what I wanted to ask.”

“What a pity. A young boy is so worried already…”

Professor Freya squints as she asks.

“Why did you set such an ambiguous condition for the pendant?”

“Well, I didn’t know who my student would be. I made it quite some time ago.”

“You didn’t know but why does it need to be a gentle-hearted beauty?”

“That’s because whoever becomes my student, wouldn’t have a foul heart. I included the beauty keyword as a joke, but I didn’t expect an actual beauty to summon it…Look here, Professor Freya. Isn’t your disappointment a bit over the top?”

Professor Neferna’s demeanor, speaking with assertive humor, seemed to leave Professor Freya lost for words. Regardless, Professor Neferna mysteriously produced a few application forms from who knows where and with a flippant air, she handed them out to both individuals.

“Well, to all our lovely transfer students, I’m afraid I’ll have to head in early due to an urgent summons during class. And if you’re interested, do attend my Marginal Structure lecture by Professor Eugine Seo Neferna. Here, applications. One for the Hero of the Six Holy Swords too…the deadline is today! Please, please, apply!”

Rebecca’s flustered response is sharp as she plasters a red and blue expression on her face. “What! Why are you throwing around these useless things all of a sudden! Are you mocking the Hero?”

Professor Neferna began to stare in turn at Rebacca, the Hero, and me. “Hero and party members, hmm, it’s very romantic and nice. But this is a school. These premises are fundamentally different from the ‘Snowland’.”

Again with such nonsense…! You, I will tell my father about this. Don’t think you’re safe!”

“Whatever, you do as you like. What’s important is not to cross the line. As long as that is kept, everyone will surely have a beneficial time here at this school. Essentially, having a lot of perspectives does not seem like a bad choice. …Anyway, I’ll head off first. Take care~”

***

At the end of the dormitory corridor was a wooden door only reachable after an exhaustive journey. During sunset, the area around the doorway was particularly illuminated, as if under the assumption that the sun was always present. The creaking wooden door, with its top and bottom misaligned, required gentle nudging at the knee to turn the key.

Beyond the window was a quiet and cozy single room rich with foliage spread out. This vast space was allotted to me as my room.

I open the wardrobe door right beside the clean window and fluffy bed. The well-worn desk, having passed through the hands of countless students over time, bore several shiny patches that felt extraordinarily soft.

Besides its adequate space for a single occupant, this room could be classified as ordinary if not for various lavish furnitures caught my sight. A vanity bedecked with jewels, and a tea set with a table placed near the window for tea time – these were surely high-end items that weren’t available in other rooms.

The reason for granting such a comfortable single room to a nobody like me – neither of noble standing like Rebecca, nor possessing unique abilities like the Hero – is evident.

Other students certainly wouldn’t prefer to share with me, a fox tribe member. Moreover, the Empire wouldn’t be stingy over dormitory issues particularly when it comes to Magic Academy, touted among the top 3 institutions. It’s easy for the school to allocate an extra room to me to avoid needless controversies.

There also existed a plausible pretext of providing courtesy for the party of the 6th Holy Sword Hero.

“…Sigh.”

Upon entering my room, I flung myself onto the bed so hard it felt as if I collapsed. The fact that I was alone with nobody around me was very comforting.

I buried my face in the comforter and blocked my sight. I didn’t want to move at all.

How much time had passed? The sunset receded quickly and before I realized, the room was immersed in darkness.

Not to mention lighting a lamp, I realize that I don’t even have any clothes to change into. My thoughts become complex and in sudden thirst, I reach for water. But there was nothing to eat or drink in the room, so I reluctantly got up from the bed wondering what to do. Light was filtering in from the edge of the corridor. Apparently, someone had forgotten to lock the door. I stopped in my tracks at the sound of the uttered voices.

I had no intention of eavesdropping, but I had a good reason. It was unmistakably Rebecca’s hysterical voice. “It annoys me! How dare they make a fool of me?” “Hold back, Lady Rebecca. As much as anyone else, you shouldn’t mess with Professor Freya, at least inside the campus.” “Yes, you’re right, yes. Remember how someone badmouthed Freya just the other day ended up hung upside down from the auditorium roof!”

“A few months ago there was a male student floating in the lake, unconscious. Apparently, he confessed to Professor Freya and became a target. It gave me goosebumps when I thought he was a corpse!” “Rather, you should watch out for that fox tribe.” “Right! Aren’t the fox people just like the monster or blood tribes of the ‘Frozen Wastes’? Why on earth does our hero take such a beast around?” “‘Ha! That’s what I’m saying! Our hero, he just came over from another world, is a bit naive. He can’t comprehend why a beast is called a beast. It’s bad enough that he treats it like a loyal pet, but showing affection towards it? You know how that makes me see red? Until now, I’ve been keeping an eye on it and fending it off, but now it seems I’m reaching my limits.”

“Poor Lady Rebecca. You always try so hard for the hero…!” “The hero is oblivious of Lady Rebecca’s heart! How can he be so callous? I feel so sorry for Lady Rebecca….” “Isn’t there a way…? A way to get rid of that fox lady. She has always bothered me since our first meeting at the party. It’s even said the hero’s gaze lately has been quite unusual. I want to take this opportunity to take care of it.” “Well, how about tomorrow? We have a practical training to hunt monsters in the ‘Frozen Wastes’.” “……Practical training? What to do in training… Yes, that’s great! There’s bound to be some mishap during an outdoor training in the Frozen Wastes. They won’t make a fuss if a student has a mishap! I shall inform father immediately. How did I not think of it before?”

Standing in the corridor, I became stiff unable to do anything. I’d forgotten why I’d come out of my room in the first place and hurried back, burying myself in the quilt. Whether it was fear, sadness, or a sense of resignation as what was feared most had finally arrived, I didn’t know. All I could do was curl up as tightly as possible and slowly let out my breath.

I already knew that my tears had dried up, but it didn’t seem like it. I stayed up all night with swollen eyes. I couldn’t fall asleep no matter what. The midnight hour passed by so quickly that it felt resentful, and as time went by, the morning sun adorned the windowsill in a cruel and colorful way. When it got brighter, I headed to the “Snowfield” with a resigned mindset.