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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 16: You’re Surprisingly Reserved.
People’s preferences vary widely.
As long as it doesn’t cross into the realm of crime, it should be respected.
After all, that’s what “preference” means.
Hmm.
Likewise, finding beauty, cuteness, or handsomeness appealing is only natural.
Humans have always preferred sleek stones and gracefully shaped branches—it’s just in our nature.
So, when it comes to people, it’s no different.
In fact, human connections are all about those countless little preferences.
“Am I keeping you from something important?”
“No, not at all. I have plenty of time.”
And so, I plead not guilty.
‘Blond over silver hair, without a doubt.’
Flowing golden hair.
A beautiful face that lifts your spirits just by looking at it.
A slender yet glamorously proportioned figure without being too much—just perfect.
And now, that person was standing right before my eyes!
‘Could it be that my luck in love is finally turning around?’
The way she pulled off that black outfit with such style made me feel like destiny itself had finally sent me my fated partner.
[The goddess clicks her tongue with a scowl, displeased by the fickle nature of her hero.]
Somewhere, I heard the voice of the petulant silver-haired goddess, her jealousy seeping through.
But today, it barely registered.
She’s the one who was always nagging me to date someone.
Now that I was finally being proactive, she had the gall to be salty about it?
As if such a selfish goddess could actually exist.
“Oh, could you tell me which way the main office is?”
“It’s on my way, so I’ll walk you there.”
“My, how kind of you.”
Even her voice was exactly my type.
There were still ten minutes before the lecture started.
It seemed tight at first glance, but this was actually plenty of time.
The route didn’t deviate much from my original path, so I decided to accompany her all the way to the main office.
It was just past the Combat Arts Hall, two buildings over.
I hadn’t been there myself, but I knew the way well enough from the campus community forum.
Ever since I discovered the forum, I’d been skimming through the trending posts and announcements, memorizing a good chunk of the campus layout.
[Wow, I wanna lick that handsome guy’s neck.]
[Jeez, the number of people asking to get sued these days is unreal.]
[Red leaves already? Guess it’s fall.]
There were plenty of posts I could’ve done without, but at least I learned one thing:
I was definitely in demand around here.
It felt as if I could meet anyone I wanted whenever I pleased.
Honestly, it wasn’t much different from that fantasy continent I came from.
‘But here, I can actually have natural, spontaneous encounters!’
Back in that world, everyone already knew who I was.
Ugh, it was such a pain being a famous hero.
I could never just walk around freely.
[The goddess furrows her brow and unleashes a string of profanities…]
Anyway, the main office was where the academy handled most of its administrative affairs.
If you needed any paperwork or official processing done, this was the place.
According to some half-joking posts on the forum, all the school’s top brass gathered there, holding shady meetings before making major decisions—hence the “main office” name.
Some even claimed that the basement housed a button capable of blowing up the entire campus.
Or that some abyssal monster slumbered down there.
‘If they really did set up a campus-wide bomb, that might actually be a problem for me.’
Abyssal horrors or monsters?
Pfft, those were my specialty.
They didn’t scare me one bit.
Right now, pure physical force—something like a hydrogen bomb—was far more concerning.
After all, I wasn’t in a state where I could take a direct hit from something like that and come out unscathed.
Demons?
Dark magic?
Even if thousands of them swarmed me at once, they’d be my prey.
I’d spent half my life slaughtering those things, after all.
Huh?
Why did my mind suddenly wander in this direction?
Not sure, but…
“We’re here.”
Before I knew it, we’d arrived at the main office.
It seemed far at first, but it was a short walk, after all.
The stunning blonde flashed a faint, intrigued smile as she looked at me.
“You’re surprisingly reserved.”
“…Ah, I suppose I am.”
It wasn’t that I was normally quiet—it was just that I had a lot on my mind.
Though, I suppose she was partially the reason for my silence, so it wasn’t entirely inaccurate.
Honestly, the lack of conversations with women in recent years probably made me naturally more taciturn.
“Thank you. Let’s meet again sometime if we get the chance.”
“Yes, I’ll look forward to it.”
We shook hands coolly and exchanged farewells, parting ways right there.
[The goddess stares at her hero with a bewildered expression, as if she’s witnessed something bizarre.]
[(=_=)]
[She incredulously asks why you didn’t make a bolder move or at least get her number.]
Hmm, she had a point.
But I was the kind of guy who valued both appearance and inner qualities.
Having been single for so long, my standards were bound to be higher.
My romantic ideal was based on perfect characters from anime and manga, after all!
…Though if I said that out loud, the goddess would definitely swear at me again.
I turned my head slightly, catching a glimpse of the blonde woman already vanishing into the main office.
And I muttered to myself.
“No way… the rumors were actually true.”
The world here was strangely accepting, even of black magic.
For a moment, I considered it, but…
In the end, I was still into my fellow humans.
* * *
Beneath the Main Office.
Golden and jewel-encrusted patterns formed an intricate magical array on the floor.
Strolling along the gilded path of wealth and glory, the blonde woman let her golden hair cascade down, cracking her knuckles with a sly grin.
“Hmm, what an amusing fellow.”
Pretending to be friendly while keeping his distance—how did he figure it out?
She had tried to peer into his inner self, yet she couldn’t see a thing.
Just what kind of monster was he?
It’s been decades since she last encountered such a creature casually walking the streets.
“The barrier hasn’t been broken… No, could it be that some minor deity or demon sneaked in?”
That would be troublesome.
After all, this is her domain.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Crack—
The woman’s exterior twisted and began to reshape.
As she removed her pitch-black robe and hung it on the rack, she set her jewelry on the desk.
Even as she did, her transformation continued.
Crunch—Crack—
Her sleek figure shrank slightly, becoming more compact, but the mana within her grew increasingly feral and powerful.
At the same time, she began to radiate a divine light.
Once the transformation was complete, the golden-haired woman exhaled softly and gazed at the others in the room.
With a bored expression, she faced the great mages who decided the fate of this world.
Among them was Archmage Arhen Gustav, who also held the position of the academy’s chairman.
He lazily waved his hand and spoke.
“I’m not one for dragging things out, so I’ll get straight to the point. Not long ago, a massive causality intervened in the world.”
That was roughly a hundred days ago.
Coinciding with the return of the hero.
* * *
“Over there! Go that way!”
“No, not there! You idiot!”
There are moments when you realize that the wisdom of the ancients was indeed correct.
Many hands make light work.
Even simple tasks become much easier when people cooperate.
At the same time, there’s also the saying, Too many cooks spoil the broth.
‘This is totally the latter case.’
Right now, it felt like everyone was just throwing things at the wall, hoping something would stick.
Resting my chin on my hand, I watched the students running frantically through the forest.
“Ah, that team’s doomed.”
“The forest is too dense—they can’t even find the target.”
“They should’ve found it by now, though.”
The students were carrying out a special mission assigned by the professor—a group project.
Each team was tasked with finding a specific item hidden in the forest.
But the forest was far larger than a simple nature trail, making it difficult to locate anything.
‘Come to think of it, it’s kind of weird that the school even has a place like this.’
That’s the benefit of being rich, I suppose.
Being a school with its own special autonomous district, it had all sorts of extravagant facilities.
“Next up, Team 13.”
Like the other students running around, it was finally time for me to get moving.
The team-based class was arranged in pairs, and I was assigned a partner.
I’ll never understand why professors are so fond of teamwork and group projects.
“……”
At least the good news was that I was paired with someone familiar.
Sephine Alavad.
A genius summoner and, coincidentally, the same golden goblin who ran away from me not long ago.
“……Hmm.”
“……”
But for some reason, she kept avoiding my gaze.
* * *
Sephine Alavad had been thinking for days.
‘Today, I’ll tell him.’
Even if it was embarrassing, confessing one’s feelings first was the trend these days.
She had finally accepted it.
Yes, she was a hopeless romantic and a face-con, and somehow, she had fallen for her fellow classmate.
But having spent her life indifferent to love, she had no idea how to proceed now that she’d awakened to it.
She wanted to be smooth, but she wasn’t confident she could pull it off.
‘…What should I do?’
She had subtly asked the family’s butler for advice, and he said that ice-breaking—setting the mood—was important.
As luck would have it, they ended up in the same team for this class.
This was her chance to shine, to make up for the embarrassing moment when she had awkwardly fled last time.
She was determined to score some points this time by making a good impression during the mission.
‘I know forests pretty well.’
As a child, she often ran around the woods near her family’s estate and even went hunting with the family elders.
Being an elite, she was also well-versed in herbology.
Now was the time to put her brain to work and win with her knowledge.
……
“Oh, wow. It’s a blue star-forget-me-not.”
“……”
Ah.
For some reason, he knew more about it than she did.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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