After that, nothing particularly unusual happened.
Except for the fact that Teacher Claire kept letting out deep sighs after arriving at the staff room, and occasionally glared at Yu Siwoo.
"S-Sorry…"
"Just knowing is enough."
Though her expression clearly said otherwise.
Yu Siwoo couldn’t help but think that class might be a little tougher for him than for the others from now on.
Not that he was particularly worried, though.
There was no way Yu Siwoo would struggle with something as trivial as a second-year curriculum.
He was Yu Siwoo, after all—someone who had survived the front lines, a place only the top students in the third year were allowed to go.
And he had done so in that hellish place, no less.
Even if the teacher pushed him a little harder, it wouldn’t be a problem.
He might draw some attention, but it wouldn’t be difficult.
"This is going to get noisy again for a while…"
Teacher Claire groaned, clutching her head as she let out another sigh.
"You should’ve at least used protection. Do you have any idea what kind of mess famous people like you get into when rumors like this spread?"
"…Huh? Famous?"
"You didn’t know?"
Arte and Yu Siwoo just blinked at each other, completely bewildered.
Famous? Us?
Seeing our reaction, Teacher Claire sighed even more deeply, as if she couldn’t believe we genuinely had no idea.
"Think about everything you’ve done in the past year."
"Everything we’ve done in the past year…?"
"Eliminating the villain who infiltrated the Academy, defeating the magical beasts that raided the Academy, taking down a Weaverman executive, being the key figures in resolving the front-line crisis… You’ve handled quite a few major incidents in just a year."
"H-How do you even—"
How did she know all that?
Of course, as a teacher, she’d be well-informed about incidents within the Academy…
But she also knew about what happened at the front lines and the Weaverman executive we took down?
Arte and Yu Siwoo just stared blankly at her.
"Don’t you two ever check the internet?"
"Not really, no…"
Before going to the front lines, we had been busy with the Author, so we were always occupied.
One crisis after another kept popping up, and we had to deal with them.
And after all that was over… well, we hadn’t had much reason to touch electronic devices.
There was no need to explain why.
We were in the staff room right now because of that very reason, after all.
"It’s already spread everywhere. Information spreads faster than you think."
Arte Isis and Yu Siwoo.
The screen Teacher Claire showed us had our names written on it.
"I always tell the other brats not to do ego-searching, but… I never expected there to actually be people who don’t check at all."
On the terminal displaying our names, countless posts had been uploaded.
Who we were, what we’d been up to recently, what our abilities were—all of it.
It wasn’t perfect, but with so many eyewitness accounts and speculation from people, a surprisingly credible amount of information had already spread.
"In this day and age, information is impossible to control, even if you want to. When something that big happens, of course people are going to be interested."
Arte and Yu Siwoo hastily searched our names to see what people were saying.
Should we be relieved?
It seemed like no one had figured out that I was Arachne.
As I let out a small sigh of relief, Teacher Claire showed us a site that had compiled all the information about Arte and Yu Siwoo.
There was already a post claiming that I was pregnant with Yu Siwoo’s child.
…How was it spreading this fast?
"The Academy raid incident and the abnormal magical beast phenomenon—both were unprecedented events. The experts are losing their minds over it."
"Ah, so that’s…"
"After scraping together the little information available and making several judgments, the consensus is that you all solved the incident. Of course, the Academy denies it, but…"
I get what the teacher wants to say.
No matter how much the Academy claims it’s not true, nobody believes them.
…Which is the truth, anyway.
In any case, it seems our reputation has skyrocketed because of those incidents.
"In short, you’re all far more famous than you think."
"…"
"And, since people have often seen you two sticking together, they’ve started to suspect your relationship…"
"And now that’s been confirmed?"
"Yes."
…So what’s the problem?
If the world knows that Siwoo is mine and I’m Siwoo’s, wouldn’t that be a good thing?
It’d keep those useless bitches from clinging to him, wouldn’t it?
No matter how I think about it, there’s no downside.
Did my thoughts show on my face?
Claire sighed and spoke to me.
"It’s not just citizens who’ll pester you—it’s the villains you have to worry about."
"…Villains?"
"Yes. Their numbers have decreased thanks to the organization Arachne, but there are still plenty out there."
"Why does that…?"
"Villains fall into two categories: those who can kill people with a clear mind, and those who can’t. I’m worried about the latter."
Claire looked at me with concern in her eyes.
Even though I’d soon no longer be her student, she didn’t seem to care about that.
"Every now and then, some idiot wants to make a name for themselves. And to them, you’d be the perfect target."
It was only when she glanced down at my stomach that I finally understood what she was getting at.
She was worried someone might come after me while I’m weakened by pregnancy.
"Don’t worry, Teacher. I’ll be fine."
"No one can guarantee that…"
"No."
I turned to Siwoo and smiled brightly.
I was grateful for her concern, of course…
But I had Siwoo.
"Siwoo will always protect me."
"…Sigh. Fine. Just make sure I only hear good news from you."
"Don’t worry."
I smiled warmly at Claire.
She really was a good person.
…I wouldn’t see her often from now on, but if I ever got married, I’d make sure to send her an invitation.
After submitting my withdrawal form to the Academy, I returned home.
Not to Siwoo’s place, but to the original Arachne base I’d been using.
Claire’s words had made sense, after all.
Of course, I believed Siwoo would always protect me…
But that didn’t mean I shouldn’t take precautions.
While Siwoo continued his life at the Academy, I’d decided to stay with my Arachne comrades.
"Wow, this is so amazing…"
"What are you doing?"
"You have to see this too, Lira. It’s incredible. Ohhh… So the baby’s in here…"
Rub rub.
I could feel Spira’s hands constantly poking and prodding my stomach.
She really found it fascinating.
Or at least, she didn’t notice how Lira’s expression had turned murderous.
"…If you don’t take your hands off right now, I’ll cut that tail of yours."
"Hiiii—! I’m not a lizard! It won’t grow back if you cut it! Fine, I’ll stop!"
"Haa..."
Laira’s had it rough.
Even though she used to be a high-ranking member of the Weaver Menace, the way she handled her frivolous comrades felt oddly familiar.
Had she done this many times before?
"You’ve been through a lot."
"Thanks for noticing... Are you okay?"
"I appreciate the concern, but I’m not that fragile."
Hmm.
Laira seemed to think she was hiding it well, but...
She was clearly fascinated.
Her gaze kept drifting toward my stomach, where Spira had been touching me earlier.
"Want to feel it?"
"...Is that allowed?"
"Of course it is."
I wouldn’t let just anyone do it, but...
These two were different.
They’d never harm me.
When I lightly patted my stomach, signaling it was fine, Laira hesitated before shuffling closer.
She was pretending not to care, but she was obviously curious.
...Honestly, I’m still amazed myself.
I never once imagined there’d be a child inside me.
"It’s... bulging a little."
"Because there’s a baby in there."
"Boy or girl?"
"Probably a girl. They said we’ll know for sure next month."
"Huh..."
Laira gently rubbed my slightly swollen stomach, then pressed her ear against it.
"...Sorry, but I don’t think you’ll hear anything yet."
"A-Ah, r-right... S-sorry."
Her flustered apology was so adorable that I couldn’t help but laugh.
She’d softened so much from the sharp, ruthless person she used to be.
"What? Why are you laughing...!"
"No reason."
It was just... a strange feeling.
Did the Author want Laira dead?
But I didn’t kill her. Even though I had no idea how the Author would react.
Was that just a whim? Or was it the last shred of conscience I had left?
Looking back now...
Maybe it was one of the best decisions I’d ever made.
"Are you feeling alright, Arte-nim?"
"Ah, Hayul. Is class already over?"
"It just ended."
Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was already past the Academy’s dismissal time.
Even at top speed, it would take at least ten minutes to get there from here.
"You’re really fast..."
"Even if my Ability seems useless outside of combat, it has its perks."
"Haha..."
I see.
She must have turned into mist to get here.
...Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen her driving a car, despite her status.
She really knows how to use her Ability efficiently in everyday life.
"Spira. Stop goofing around and get ready."
"...Ah, is it already time to work?"
"Yeah. Hayul’s here. Today it’s you and her."
"Ueek..."
Spira let out an obvious groan of displeasure, and Hayul shot her a sharp glance.
...Yeah, that’s definitely Spira’s fault.
Hayul probably didn’t mean anything by it.
"Then, I’ll leave Arte-nim in your care."
"Don’t worry. I’m pretty strong now."
"...Understood. Then, Arte-nim—congratulations on your pregnancy."
"Ah, thanks."
With that, Spira and Hayul left the house.
Another day of villain hunting was about to begin.
Just another ordinary day, passing by as always.