Chapter 75: The Hero’s Hollow Heart
The classroom door creaked as I pushed it open.
"May I come in?"
Professor Elvira’s sharp gaze snapped toward me, her eyebrows rising. "Why are you late, Student Luthaire?"
I bowed slightly, my voice carefully measured. "I apologize Miss, I overslept. It won’t happen again."
She stared at me—really stared—her eyes tracing the dark circles under mine, the sluggish way I held myself. After a tense pause, she sighed. "Alright. Take your seat."
"Thank you."
I trudged to the back of the room, sliding into my usual spot at the end of the third row beneath the window. To avoid further suspicion, I forced my attention onto the lecture, even managing to answer a question when called upon.
But the truth?
I hadn’t slept at all.
Or rather, I hadn’t slept enough.
After finalizing the deal with Gavi last night—which involved promising him "first dibs" on all new menu items for a month—I’d been abducted by Virion. My so-called master had dragged me back to the training grounds, where the turtle brothers proceeded to beat me senseless for another six hours. By the time I stumbled back to my room, midnight was creeping through the windows.
I’d collapsed onto my bed, only to jerk awake three hours later from a nightmare—those damned weapon-wielding stars again—and spent the remaining time scrambling to finish today’s assignments. A measly hour or two of sleep later, I’d hauled myself to town to deliver Gavi’s instructions to the twins, choked down the "light breakfast" they’d prepared and then—
I’d passed out on the way back to the academy.
Which explained why I was fifteen minutes late.
I really need a life... I thought, my eyelids drooping. My time management was a disaster. If I didn’t organize things soon, I’d be the only one suffering for it.
Finally, the class ended. Just as my head began lolling forward, a voice cut through the fog.
"Amaniel?"
I turned sluggishly. Emilia stood beside my desk, her silver brows furrowed.
"Morning," I mumbled. "Need something?"
"Are you... okay?" Her voice was uncharacteristically soft. "You look like you might collapse. Should I take you to the infirmary?"
I waved her off. "No, just need sleep. Thanks, though."
She hesitated, fingers twisting the hem of her sleeve. "So, um... did you... maybe see Aeron?"
I blinked. "Huh? No, I haven’t. Why?" My gaze flicked to the empty seat beside hers. "Oh. He’s not here?"
Emilia shook her head. "No. He didn’t come today." She looked away, cheeks faintly pink. "Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you—"
"It’s fine," I said automatically, but my drowsiness was already fading.
Because now I was curious.
Emilia looked a bit uneasy, so something was definitely wrong. And the fact that Aeron was missing today...
Damn it. Curiosity kills the sleep.
I could roughly guess the situation—and that was exactly why my interest was piqued.
But well, what I can do?
I shook my head slightly, forcing myself to push the matter aside.
Whatever was going on with Aeron wasn’t my business. I had enough problems of my own to deal with—like staying awake through the next class.
The break ended all too soon, and the next professor strode in. I sat up straighter, pinching my thigh under the desk to keep my eyes open. The lecture on business theory droned on, the professor’s voice becoming dangerously soothing. My eyelids grew heavier, my head dipping forward—
Bang!
The classroom door flew open with enough force to rattle the windows(in my mind). I jerked upright, heart pounding, as all heads turned toward the entrance.
There stood Aeron, our resident romcom protagonist, looking just as disheveled as I had earlier—dark circles under his eyes, uniform slightly askew, and that same sluggish posture.
A collective sense of déjà vu settled over the classroom. Murmurs broke out among the students:
"Wait, didn’t this just happen?"
"Are late arrivals trending now?"
"At least Luthaire looks slightly better..."
I stared at Aeron, my sleep-addled brain supplying: Are you copying me?
Aeron offered the professor the same bow I had. "Sorry I’m late. Overslept."
The professor—an elderly man with far less patience than Professor Elvira—sighed deeply. "Take your seat. And try to keep up with the lecture."
As Aeron shuffled to his desk beside Emilia, I noticed how she immediately turned toward him, her lips parting to whisper what was probably a greeting or concern. But Aeron deliberately angled his body away, opening his textbook with pointed focus.
Emilia’s shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly before she faced forward again. Though she still kept stealing worried glances at him.
My eyebrows rose. It’s that serious, huh?
The classroom buzzed with unspoken questions, but Aeron kept his gaze firmly on the board, his jaw set.
And despite my earlier resolution to stay out of it, I couldn’t help but wonder...
What could make our usually cheerful, easygoing a bit not dense-as-a-brick romcom protagonist ignore the heroine?
Just as I was about to return to my battle against sleep deprivation, a familiar chime echoed in my skull.
Ding.
━━━◇◆◇━━━
[New Scenario Triggered - "The Hero’s Hollow Heart"]
"A blade reforged in guilt will only cut its wielder. The protagonist drowns in silence, pushing away those who care most—lest his curse drags them down with him."
"Will you pull him back from the edge, or let him fall alone?"
Objectives:
- Uncover Aeron’s hidden turmoil (Hint: The cursed sword’s aftermath lingers.)
- Break his self-imposed isolation (Warning: Force may backfire.)
Hidden Objective: ???
Failure Penalty:
- Aeron’s mental instability worsens.
- Key relationships may fracture permanently.
Rewards:
- [Sword: "Echo of Remorse"] (A blade that hums with the resolve of its wielder.)
- Increased Favorability (Aeron, Emilia, Livia)
- ??? (For completing the hidden objective)
━━━◇◆◇━━━
I blinked slowly, absorbing the information.
So that’s why he’s acting like this.
Aeron wasn’t just tired—he was terrified. The nightmare from last time, the cursed sword’s lingering influence and etc... He was pushing everyone away because he thought he’d hurt them.
Classic tragic hero complex.
I exhaled through my nose, weighing my options.
On one hand, I really didn’t want to get involved. I had my own problems—like the fact that my ribs still ached from last night’s training, and that I was running on less sleep than a corpse.
But on the other hand...
If I ignore this, things could get worse.