Chapter 19: Hero – 8

It seemed like forever. 

No, it must have been forever. 

I was trapped in an endless battle with the Demon Lord. In a sordid dimension where the concept of time no longer made any sense, our weapons and magic clashed against each other faster than the speed of light. Even though I knew these were simply memories, everything felt so visceral, so intense—

—then I was back in the mysterious forest. 

The sheer silence was so jarring, my chest constricted to the brink of suffocation as I tried to fight the overwhelming disorientation. 

“I apologise, that is all I can do for you at the moment,” the lady said, appearing before me from behind. “Are you alright?” 

“...y-yeah,” I breathed, nodding my head weakly. 

“Take it slow, thereʼs no need to rush.” She gave me a worried look. “This is why I didnʼt want to accept you into this realm, but to think that Anthia forced you here…I should give that crass Goddess a piece of my mind.”

“Anthia…” I tilted my head to the side. “Is that Angelicaʼs real name?”

She shrugged. “Yes, but please donʼt tell her I told you that. Promise?” 

“Okay, I promise,” I said with a chuckle, then averted my gaze. “Then…what will happen to me when I wake up?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“L-like, will I still be myself…or will I become Stefania?” 

The lady paused, seemingly lost in thought, before smiling enigmatically. “Youʼll have to talk it out with her, Avery, since sheʼll be sharing your body from here on…” 

When my eyes finally snapped open, a pair of vermillion eyes were staring directly at me intensely. 

“...w-what?” I quickly sat up on the bed and rubbed my eyes before taking a look at my surroundings. “Wait, why am I in my bedroom…no, why are YOU in my bedroom?!” 

“What do you mean?” Angelica feigned ignorance as she sat on her knees in front of me. “Isnʼt it normal in this world for your girlfriend to wake you up for school?” 

“G-girl-girlfriend?” I sputtered. “Oi, stop joking around—” 

“Avery, are you awake?” Motherʼs voice resounded down from the kitchen. “I just made breakfast for you and Angelica, come and eat!” 

“Wash up and get ready, ʼkay?” Blowing me an air kiss, she jumped to her feet and turned towards the door. 

I called out after her hastily, “h-hang on, how long have I been sleeping? How did I get home all of a sudden?” 

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“Hmm?” She cocked her head to the side and said in a casual tone, “you were out cold after I smacked your head for about…five days? I took the liberty to care for you, as your new loving girlfriend. Todayʼs Monday, by the way.”

“Wha—f-f-five days?!” I grabbed my phone and checked the date. “HOLY SHIT, I HAVENʼT STUDIED FOR TODAYʼS MATH TEST!!” 

Angelica smiled wryly. “Thatʼs what youʼre concerned about…?” 

Ignoring her snarky remark, I shoved my textbooks and files of notes into my bag and quickly changed into my school uniform in the toilet. 

“Avery, whatʼs taking you so long?” Mother called out again. “Breakfastʼs turning cold!” 

“Coming!” I rushed to the kitchen and stuffed the butter toast Mother made into my mouth before running out of the front door. “Iʼm leaving!”

“W-woi, be a gentleman and wait for your girlfriend!!” Angelica cried as she caught up to me at the lift lobby, combing her hair frantically while munching on a half-eaten butter toast. “Whatʼs the damn hurry? Is the Demon Lord going to attack us soon?” 

I forcibly swallowed the bread and washed it down with water. “Lukterasia wonʼt be doing that here.” 

“Oh?” Angelica looked at me curiously. “So, you remember her name now?” 

“Now that you mention it,” I pursed my lips in thought. “I remember everything from my past life, but those memories feel foreign…as if Iʼm viewing them from a third personʼs perspective rather than—” 

“So, so, can you use your powers now?” she asked anxiously. “The faster we find Lukterasia and stop her, the faster I can ditch this crappy world and go back to Heaven!” 

“My powers?” I blinked. “I thought you said I wasnʼt supposed to be able to have powers?” 

Angelica sighed and nodded her head. “I forgot…thatʼs right, youʼre useless in your current state. What an annoyance.” 

“...” I sighed and pulled the math textbook out from my bag. “Instead of this magic stuff, how about you worry about the test later?” 

“Eughh?” She recoiled in horror and shooed the textbook away instinctively. “Iʼll just peek at the answer key and copy it down on my paper—ouch!” 

Somehow, the thud that the heavy textbook made when it came into contact with her head sounded super satisfying. “You out of all people shouldnʼt resort to cheating,” I chastised the scowling Goddess. 

“Hmph, Iʼll just fail it then.”

“If you fail too many tests, youʼll be expelled by the school. Wonʼt that be too shameful for someone proclaiming to be the reincarnated legendary Heroʼs close aide?” 

“Eek!” Angelica gulped and hastily snatched the textbook from me. “W-what are the topics covered in the test??”

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