Whoooosh.
The sound of water flowing from the sink echoed through the air.
…Hmm, is this right?
I quietly asked the Author as I watched Amelia meticulously wash her hands.
"Hey, Author-nim."
[Yes?]
"Do girls usually go to the bathroom together like this with their friends?"
I had seen groups of girls going to the restroom together before.
And I think I’d heard somewhere online that women really do follow each other to the bathroom.
…But was that actually true?
I’d have to have lived as a woman for a long time to know.
I had no idea.
[I don’t know either.]
"You’re a woman, Author-nim, and you don’t even know that?"
[…I didn’t have friends.]
Ah.
The mood suddenly turned solemn.
I must’ve brought up something I shouldn’t have.
I shouldn’t have asked.
Fortunately, the awkward silence didn’t last long.
Amelia finished up and came over to me.
"Sorry, did I take too long?"
"No, it was perfect timing."
"…?"
I didn’t say anything more to Amelia, who looked confused.
Even if I did, she wouldn’t understand.
"Okay, let’s go back. The teacher’s probably waiting."
"Y-Yeah. Let’s go."
It had been a while since I’d played so much, and now I was hungry.
I should eat something good.
The Academy’s food was delicious, after all.
What should I have today? I was starting to get excited.
"…Something feels off."
"Huh? What is?"
"No, it’s just… my clothes feel a little disheveled."
My outfit was subtly out of place.
I was sure I’d straightened everything up, though?
It was slightly wrinkled, as if someone had touched it.
"W-Well, maybe someone mistook your locker for theirs? That kind of thing happens all the time."
"…Does it?"
"Yeah. Lockers don’t have locks, just names, so maybe someone careless touched it by accident?"
Hmm.
Amelia had a point.
It was a little unsettling, but whatever.
Maybe someone had grabbed the wrong locker, realized their mistake, and put everything back.
Just as I was about to let it go—
I noticed a hair stuck to my leotard.
A single, unusually short, black hair.
"…There’s a short black hair here."
"T-That’s probably yours… It’s black, isn’t it?"
"But my hair isn’t this short…"
"You don’t even know that? …Ow!"
"?!"
I was completely taken aback when Amelia suddenly yanked out one of her own hairs.
Had she accidentally pulled out far more than she intended? Amelia’s eyes welled up as she clutched five or six strands in her hand.
"L-Look. Isn’t this shorter than my hair?"
"…Yeah, I guess?"
I’d wondered why she suddenly yanked out her hair—turns out she wanted to show me.
True to her words, even though her hair was much longer than mine, the strands she’d pulled out were about the same length as my own.
"Sorry. I think I overreacted a little."
"Y-Yeah… Let’s just go back."
Still, something felt off.
…Ah, I’ve got an idea.
I’ll have to tell the author about this later.
"S-So? How’d it go?"
After class, Amelia rushed toward me, looking desperate.
…I didn’t even know what to say.
"Sorry."
"Right. So it was a failure. I figured that might happen."
"…Huh?"
She *knew* it would fail?
Then why did she send me in there?
I shot her a glare loaded with that exact question, but she just shrugged it off and replied nonchalantly,
"Well, they *could’ve* had a telepathy Ability."
"Then why bother with infiltration…?"
"If their Ability didn’t work long-range, we could’ve caught them right then and there. Too bad it didn’t work out."
"You threw me into a dangerous situation without even being sure?!"
No matter how I thought about it, this was wrong.
Couldn’t she have picked a safer approach?
I knew she had a reckless way of thinking, but this was going too far.
If I’d gotten caught, expulsion would’ve been the *least* of my problems.
Just as I was about to explode, Amelia cut me off.
"But in the end, you didn’t get caught, right?"
"That’s not the *point*…!"
"And don’t forget—I was the one who lured Arte out of the locker room while you were hiding in that locker."
"…So you *did* notice."
"Wasn’t it obvious? You never came back. Of course you had to be hiding somewhere in the changing room, and where else could you even fit besides a locker?"
G-Goddamn it…
I had plenty of counterarguments, but I couldn’t bring myself to say any of them.
It wasn’t that her logic had beaten me—it was the memories I *shouldn’t* be recalling.
The moment she said “locker,” the feel of that leotard, its scent… it all came rushing back.
N-No, stop. Don’t think about it.
I forced my flushed face to calm down.
"H-Here, take this."
"…What’s this?"
"You’ll see when you open it."
While I was still trying to cool my face, Amelia handed me a black bag.
Confused, I opened it.
…Inside was something straight out of a movie.
The bag was stuffed with cash.
"?!"
"Don’t think I’m just tossing this at you and washing my hands of it. Here, this should be enough for hazard pay, right? Don’t worry. It’s all real."
As if I’d be swayed by this much money.
My life almost ended, for god’s sake.
Yu Siwoo wanted to snap back at her, but in the end, his mouth stayed shut.
It was too much to refuse.
"Use it to get some good gear. You never know what kind of danger might come up."
"…Got it."
"And… sorry."
Amelia’s face flushed slightly as she rapid-fired her words, unable to meet Yu Siwoo’s bewildered gaze.
"I’ll be more careful next time. I’ve realized just how dangerous things can get."
If only she’d realized that *before* yesterday.
A sigh escaped Yu Siwoo’s lips.
"…Yesterday, someone broke into the school."
And the next morning—
Ms. Claire’s voice rang out across the classroom.
…An intruder?
"The motive is unclear. But given that they rummaged through girls’ underwear, it’s likely a superhuman sex criminal. …Honestly. Using their Ability for *that*?"
Yu Siwoo’s mind went blank.
A sex criminal who stole girls’ underwear?
His gaze snapped to Arte Isis.
She was grinning, looking far too pleased with herself.
Did she notice my stare? She turned her head and waved at me with a smile.
N-No way. It can’t be… right?
"Everyone, stay alert—especially the girls. Watch yourselves. If you see anything suspicious, report it immediately. Understood?"
"Yes!"
"Honestly, what *are* the police even doing…"
This time, he looked at Amelia.
Police?
If it was her, maybe she knew something…!
But Yu Siwoo’s hope was short-lived.
She looked just as confused, as if she had no idea what was going on.
Yu Siwoo’s face twisted in despair.
[As expected of you, Reader-nim! Turning even minor events into material… I admire you!]
"I’m more impressed that the author forgot the setting."
[Uu, uuuk…]
Yeah.
I came up with a new scenario based on yesterday’s events.
I spent a long time reciting it, thinking the author would be pleased, but their response was something else.
"A *secret room*? What even is that? Haah…"
[Uu, ueek… S-Sorry! People forget things sometimes!]
"There are better things to forget."
We *definitely* talked about using this for the Academy’s main scenario last time.
How many events had passed since then that they’d already forgotten? All I could do was sigh.
…No, well. Yeah.
I need to understand the author.
From Yu Siwoo’s shocking escape to the USB disappearance incident.
There were plenty of events that could have shattered the author’s mental state.
It’s not strange that they’d forget things… No, it’s not…
"Ah, by the way, how was the reaction to that spy arc?"
[Hmm, fortunately, it was decent. There were a few comments saying the protagonist’s performance felt too bland, though.]
"Phew, that’s a relief…"
The author was writing a novel based on this world.
But since the author couldn’t perfectly control every minute action of the characters, they’d been patching up the occasional variables with their imagination.
But the last incident wasn’t just one or two problems.
The author couldn’t see the one-on-one battle between Laila and the Minotaur.
The protagonist’s battle with the Minotaur was also lost due to USB corruption.
What about Yu Siwoo and Laila’s coming-out scene?
Are you crazy? Who’d write a novel where the protagonist abandons a girl and runs away?
If they did, the readers would all flee instead.
In the end, the author had no choice but to fill in most of the plot with imagination, and the only information they had was that Laila had died.
And even that was false. She’s alive.
Amid that total disaster, the author somehow managed to salvage things, and it seemed they’d succeeded.
…Does the author actually write well?
The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it.
Based on their usual behavior, it didn’t seem likely.
[Last time I couldn’t see it properly, so this time I’ll definitely watch…! The start of the main story!]
"…The main story the author forgot?"
[H-Hey! I told you not to say that!]
The service scene was over, and while I was agonizing over how to connect to the next main story, this was perfect.
I’d gotten inspiration from a classmate who’d accidentally touched some clothes.
"Yu Siwoo, how will you handle the Weaver Mench infiltration… Heh, this time I’ll watch properly."
[A villain dispatched by Weaver Mench to find the secret room…! And the heroine and protagonist uniting to find the villain! Kyaa, this is a hit!]
The thought that came to mind when I saw the disheveled clothes was simple.
To find the secret room, someone would inevitably have to search the school.
…So wouldn’t a villain organization dispatch someone to search the school?
That simple idea led to the villain’s introduction.
Facing this new threat, how would Yu Siwoo overcome this adversity?
In the dungeon, he’d moved in a way no one expected.
This time, how would he act?
Even I was starting to look forward to it.