"It can't be helped in this situation."

Hiro drew her sword.

"I'll cut you down and join the protestors!"

I thought she wouldn’t surrender easily, but...

"Are you serious? There's no point in resisting here."

"…"

"Just choose the option where you get scolded less."

Hiro's hand trembled. She seemed to be debating inwardly about what to do. But she must have known that victory was impossible if support from the Student Council arrived.

In the end, she abandoned her unreasonable plan to establish the 'Harem Club.'

It was a rational decision.

The suppression of the protest progressed smoothly.

The Student Council gathered the available forces and simply overwhelmed them.

In the heat of the moment, the protestors almost rebelled.

-Bang!!!

"The protest is over! Disperse!"

After firing a shotgun into the air to grab their attention, I lifted Hiro by the back of her neck and crushed the protestors' morale.

First, Mano, who was the initial Head of the Alliance, was arrested. Then Hiro, who was the second Mastermind, was captured…

Now the protestors are left like Nakdong River Orphans with no one to lead them.

A group without a leader cannot hold out for long against an organized opponent.

Everyone gathered in the Square now wore expressions that longed to just go home.

The Head of the Manga Club, who had taken on the role of temporary Head of the Alliance, tried to resist no matter what...

"Hey!!! Let go of this!!! What do you think you're doing!!!"

"This person!!! It's this person who encouraged us!!!"

"We did nothing wrong!!!"

"They pushed us into this even though we said not to!!!"

The group, having lost the will to resist, was rounded up and handed over to the Disciplinary Committee.

Once again, a group without leadership cannot endure for long.

Like pebbles rolling downhill, the protest dispersed, and a few of the ringleaders were captured.

Their crime was ‘the offense of pressuring the Human Resources Department to establish an Indecent Club.’

For a while, Hiro wore a sign around her neck stating her crime.

"Hiro, why did you try to form a club like that?"

"Well... I just thought it might be nice to have something like that."

"What were you planning to do with so many women gathered?"

"..."

After the protest was suppressed, Hiro was being interrogated by Trinia.

Though Trinia seemed to be genuinely curious, the one being questioned found it troubling.

…Observing this from a third-person perspective is quite a change.

Hero Academy.

I used to experience this from a first-person perspective when playing the game.

It felt fresh to see it from the standpoint of a third party.

Hiro struggled to find her words.

"Just... I thought it would be fun? To hang out."

"Does that mean you find being with Trinia boring, Hiro?"

"…"

-Chew chew.

I said while munching on some grass.

"That's harsh. Were you planning to abandon Trinia because she's boring?"

"N-no!!!"

"…Is that really it?"

While I was in the middle of teasing Hiro.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

'I wonder how much she's developed by now.'

She hadn't even taken her mid-term evaluation yet.

Hiro's growth was faster than that of typical heroines.

Looking at Sirius and Antaterica, they seemed to be about 7-8% complete in their development.

That's probably the average growth for first years.

Then there was the exceptional case of Laurent, who seemed to be at about 15%.

Trinia felt around 20% complete in her development.

So, how much has Hiro progressed?

Since she's the protagonist, could she have reached around 30%?

"Hiro."

"What now..."

Hiro asked, on edge, wondering what I would say next.

“Do you have some time this afternoon?”

“This afternoon?”

Hiro seemed taken aback.

“A date? I don’t do that kind of thing with guys.”

Hiro made a ridiculous comment, but it didn’t surprise me. I had expected it.

I quickly continued.

“Let’s have a sparring match.”

Hiro and I headed to the training area.

Upon hearing about it, Trinia, Laurent, and even Saccharin came along to watch for some reason.

“Hey! Be careful with him—he's got a fragile body!”

Laurent shouted playfully. Hiro, her voice slicked with sarcasm, responded.

“If Laurent says so, I’ll listen to anything.”

“…”

Laurent was flabbergasted. It seemed she hadn’t expected such a reaction from another girl. It was much more shocking than if it had come from a guy.

‘Judging from that, Hiro's development isn’t complete yet.’

Hiro’s real strength comes in the mid to late stages of the story. After overcoming trials and leaving her childhood behind.

It is then that she grows both mentally and physically. It would be more accurate to say she transforms and transcends.

When she fought the Parasite Queen, her abilities seemed as if she had already completed her transformation.

'Well, we'll find out once we clash.'

I took out my shotgun and shield, readying myself.

"It begins."

Hiro looked at the boy in front of her.

Gardner, the action leader of the Disciplinary Committee.

Black hair with black eyes.

A towering height, clad in tightly worn disciplinary attire.

Hiro's gaze went beyond the surface, delving deeper. There she discovered a solitary, glowing star within Gardner's deep imagination.

'A single, large, and bright star.'

Gardner's essence was encapsulated in a single star.

'It's grown bigger than what I saw before.'

The significance of that star was a mystery.

Trinia and Laurent each had five stars.

Everyone else had fewer.

At one point, Hiro thought of this as talent.

Hence, she made efforts to befriend those who seemed to have more stars.

Because when she looked in the mirror, only a single star hovered above her head. Knowing she lacked talent, she sought to surround herself with talented people to glean even a fragment of their brilliance.

The Harem Club she aimed to form was also to gather those with many stars above their heads.

…Not that there was no ulterior motive at all, though.-----

Anyway.

'I can't definitively say the number of stars is talent...'

She believed there must be something about those with many stars.

But it appeared to be a baseless thought.

The man standing before her.

Gardner.

As she watched his brightly shining star.

It felt as if it was declaring him as the main character.

Perhaps the number of stars doesn’t determine a person's worth.

She wished her star could shine like that.

That thought crossed her mind.

The duel began, and Hiro's eyes gleamed sharply.

She must have been examining me with her Observation Eye, one of her unique traits.

I leaped to evade Hiro's Observation Eye.

-Tat.

If she locked onto me with those eyes, any attack would be blocked or dodged.

I took out my shotgun, this time loading it with earth-element infused rounds.

-Chuk.

I raised the shotgun in Hiro's direction and pulled the trigger.

-Taang!!!

The buckshot exploded forward.

The bullets spread in a fan shape, making them difficult to avoid.

The spread was wide enough to fill her field of vision.

Hiro spotted the bullets, then pushed off the ground and dashed forward.

Though she moved quite swiftly, a few bullets embedded themselves in her.

-Crack…

The bullets that lodged in immediately hardened, gripping Hiro's legs. A vigorous movement would dislodge them.

Before that could happen, I launched myself with a leap.

Shield raised, I was about to strike at Hiro.

-Kwaak!

Hiro abandoned her escape, gripping her sword tightly with both hands.

Then, she struck the shield.

-Kaang!!!

The heavy impact shook my head. The shield wasn’t cut through, but the force transferred, pushing my body backward.

At this moment, Hiro's strength surpassed mine.

It seemed her stats had improved by at least 15%.

-Tap.

Before being pushed back further, I planted my foot on the ground.

And leaped again.

The ability to reset my leap count depended on whether my feet touched the ground or not.

My body pushed forward, ignoring Hiro's shock.

"Huh?"

Her balance crumbled. She attempted to leap to the side to escape, but I pressed her down with my shield.

-Bang!!!

"Get out of the way!"

Hiro tried to push me away, and I was indeed pushed back, having been overpowered.

However, that didn't pose an issue.

When she pushed me, the grenades hidden in my arms fell to the ground.

[Leap]

Then, I leaped backward to escape.

Just before the grenades above Hiro's head were about to explode.

Hiro's eyes flashed.

Her eyes moved precisely and swiftly, like a mechanical apparatus.

Her gaze captured all the grenades in view.

At that moment, her sword moved.

-Shaaak.

The blade swept through the grenades.

Afterward, the grenades didn't explode but instead evaporated and disappeared.

They only looked like grenades; they were essentially mana crystals.

Hiro cut through their essence, returning them to mana.

'...She hasn't matured mentally, but she has shed her shell.'

Using her eyes to track the objects pouring down, she possesses the ability to slice through them all.

This is clearly a description that emerges only after she rids her own naivety.

It's still too early for this.

What could have caused her to grow?

I pondered as I momentarily lost sight of her.

'The students, in general, are growing at a fast pace.'

Meeting with the Cultists.

Elki's development, the already completed Full Spectrum, and Laurent’s Taeguk.

And the Player, who has completed the shedding and begun transforming.

Hiro.

'If they maintain this growth rate...'

The latter episode and the first trigger of disaster.

[Collapse of the Frontline and the Student Council President's Choice]

There appeared a glimmer of hope that they might survive this calamity.

Please support the series on NovelUpdates