Morning light slipped through my window, creeping in slowly, forcing my eyes to open bit by bit.
I blinked, adjusting to my surroundings.
No tremors.
No explosions.
No screams.
I took a deep breath, letting the fresh air fill my lungs.
For the first time in a long while, I woke up to peace.
"Arghh…" I yawned, stretching my body, relief washing over my stiff muscles.
"This… this is the life I wanted."
I muttered to myself, letting the words settle in my mind.
A peaceful life.
A life with no distractions.
A life where I wasn't responsible for anyone.
I reached for the doorknob, twisting it lazily, but the second I pulled the door open—
"WOOOHHH!!! THANK YOU, NAO!!!"
I flinched.
My eyes widened as a crowd stood outside my room, their faces beaming with overflowing excitement.
They cheered, clapped, like I'd just won some kind of grand battle.
I stood there, frozen.
Thank you? For what?
My brain scrambled to process last night. The raging sea… the giant octopus…
"Thanks for getting rid of that monster!" Nadja's bright voice snapped me back.
Oh.
They knew.
Or rather, they thought they knew.
I swallowed hard.
This is bad.
If they saw me as some kind of hero, that meant—
I bit my lip, searching for an escape.
"Ahh… my stomach hurts! Sorry!"
SLAM.
I shut the door before they could say another word.
Leaning against it, I let out a deep sigh.
"This isn't what I wanted…"
A title? Recognition? I didn't want any of that.
The more people knew about me, the more I'd be tied down. No more freedom. No more quiet life.
I slumped onto the floor, thinking of a way out.
Maybe… they wouldn't believe it?
Maybe I could deny everything?
Taking a deep breath, I cracked the door open and peeked outside. They were still there.
I held back a groan.
"Uh, sorry, but… what's this about?" I asked, keeping my face blank.
One of them grinned. "We're celebrating! Here, take this cake!"
A woman held out a huge cake. I stared at it. No reaction.
I needed to end this. Fast.
"Sorry," I said slowly, "but… I didn't save you guys."
Their smiles wavered.
"But… we saw—"
"The one who saved you was Captain Élodie." I cut in smoothly, shifting all the credit onto her.
They blinked in confusion.
"So… we were wrong?"
They exchanged glances, trying to process my words.
Then—
"WAIT A DAMN SECOND!"
Nadja's voice cut through the silence.
I turned to her, staring her down.
She flinched.
She looked like she wanted to argue, but her mouth clamped shut.
Finally, she sighed.
"…Yeah, that's right. It was the captain," she said with a small laugh, clearly uneasy.
I raised an eyebrow. Good.
"I knew it," someone muttered. "There's no way a guy like him took that thing down."
"Yeah! I saw the captain fighting it alone!"
One by one, they started convincing themselves that Élodie was the real hero.
Satisfied, they nodded in agreement and ran off to celebrate with her instead.
But Nadja stayed behind.
I looked at her.
She had her head down, her expression unreadable.
I sighed. "What's your problem?"
Nadja bit her lip, her voice shaky.
"Can't you at least appreciate us trying to celebrate you?"
I exhaled, trying to explain, "I don't want trouble."
"Trouble? What kind of trouble?"
I held her gaze for a moment before replying, "If people know I'm strong, I'll make enemies."
She fell silent.
I continued, "People are rotten. When someone stronger appears, jealousy follows. Then, people try to bring you down."
Nadja looked up, her eyes slightly watery.
"You… do you only ever think the worst of people?"
I didn't answer.
"If you have enemies, then isn't it possible you'll also have allies?"
I shook my head.
I didn't want enemies.
I didn't want allies.
"I don't need that."
I ended the conversation by closing the door.
Click.
Once again, I leaned against it, my mind swirling with thoughts.
"There's a reason I do this…"
I closed my eyes.
"…I just want to be free."
Free from attention.
Free from responsibilities.
I didn't want to be in anyone's spotlight—especially not as a hero.
I sighed.
Like it or not, soon I'd be arriving at the academy.
And I knew…
Enemies or not, I wouldn't be able to avoid the chaos waiting for me there.
I could only hope… I wouldn't make any stupid decisions.
---
Meanwhile, with Élodie…
Élodie sat by the railing, lost in thought, replaying her conversation with Nao from last night.
"…And Élodie, don't tell anyone about me. From now on, let me use your name, okay?"
His words echoed in her mind.
What was his deal?
Was he running from someone?
Did he have family problems?
A trauma?
She let out a quiet sigh.
Nao was a mystery.
BOOM!
Her thoughts shattered as she snapped back to reality.
A group of people stormed in, carrying a cake.
"Thank you, Captain, for saving us last night!" someone cheered.
"Yeah! We almost got the wrong idea—some guy taking down that thing? No way!" another laughed.
Élodie stiffened for a moment.
She… wasn't expecting this.
At first, she wanted to correct them, to tell them Nao was the real one who—
Then, she remembered his words.
Élodie closed her eyes for a second.
Then, she smiled.
"Yeah," she said smoothly. "I took it down."
Cheers erupted.
They lifted her up, celebrating like she was some legendary warrior.
Élodie sighed internally.
Nao, I kept my promise.
But don't push your luck.
I won't cover for you forever.