Self-Harming Heroine - Chapter 7

It may be obvious, but the academy isn’t just one place.

Of course, it wouldn’t be. After all, every minor with supernatural abilities was required to attend an academy, so a single academy couldn’t possibly house them all, right? While supernatural abilities are rare, they aren’t that rare.

North, West, East, South.

There are a total of four academies, and the one Lucia attends is the Southern Academy.

It’s not a particularly unique setting.

In “The Dawn of the Sword”, the most important academy was the Southern Academy, which the protagonist attended, and the other academies were simply mentioned in passing. I’m only bringing up the other academies because a comparison is necessary.

The academy has such a long history that its buildings naturally showed signs of age. However, all the facilities at the Southern Academy were as good as new, without a trace of wear. It’s because the remodeling just finished last year.

The academy is the kind of place that spends money without a second thought, and the other academies likely have similar facilities, but the recently redesigned Southern Academy’s facilities are particularly impressive. A simple example? Just look at the library here.

The library attached to the academy is an 11-story building packed with books on every floor. The variety of books is staggering: novels, essays, poetry, biographies, workbooks, encyclopedias, magazines, comic books, philosophy books, children’s stories, newspapers, academic journals—basically, finding something missing is harder than finding what you need.

All of this is for the students’ convenience. It’s part of the adults’ efforts to ensure students can attend the academy comfortably. 

It might be excessive, but who am I to complain? I’m just grateful to be a beneficiary of this convenience. Actually, come to think of it, maybe it’s not overboard. The academy’s students are essentially child soldiers, ready to be dragged to the battlefield in emergencies. If they’re going to demand sacrifices, they should at least provide some perks.

After class, I stopped by the library to check something.

I have a lot of information about this world, but it’s all knowledge I gained from reading “The Dawn of the Sword”. Since it’s information from a novel, I should cross-check it to see how much of “The Dawn of the Sword” aligns with this world. If it’s only similar, but ultimately different, my knowledge will be worthless. I’d hate to get blindsided because I trusted only the novel’s setting.

“Hmm, nothing too different.”

After over two hours of weaving between bookshelves and skimming through books, I came to that conclusion.

First, history.

The invasion of monsters from the Otherworld began about 300 years ago.

It was around then that monsters started pouring out of the sudden ‘gaps in time and space.’

That period was chaotic.

There was no systematic response like there is now, so countless nations perished in that chaos.

As people died and died again, to the point that death became a daily occurrence, humanity finally managed to fight back.

Led by a religious order, those with supernatural abilities gathered to resist the monsters from the Otherworld.

Humanity’s first counterattack, after being mercilessly pushed back, ended successfully, marking the beginning of a grueling war between humans and monsters.

Next, the monsters from the Otherworld.

They’re the same as described in the ‘original’.

As the term ‘Otherworld’ suggests, they’re unwelcomed foreigners from another dimension. Whenever a gap in time and space appears, they swarm out. Their abilities and appearances vary, but they all share one common trait: a blind hatred towards humanity. They kill humans as if that’s their sole purpose.

But if that was their only characteristic, they wouldn’t have caused such widespread devastation. Humans are a race that can’t stop killing each other. Even in that era, they had armies and honed combat skills, so why were they so helpless against these monsters?

It was due to a deadly trait of the monsters.

Humans can’t bear to look directly at them. Just seeing a monster from the Otherworld causes people to convulse and foam at the mouth. Prolonged exposure would drive anyone insane.

Mental corruption. The monsters from the Otherworld could ruin a person’s mind just by being seen. This was the fundamental reason humanity was massacred so one-sidedly by them in the past. And it’s also why people with supernatural abilities became humanity’s only hope.

Those with supernatural abilities are resistant to mental corruption. They suffer no harm from looking at the monsters from the Otherworld. Furthermore, they have the strength to fight these monsters, which naturally elevates their importance to the point where they’re now seen as the heroes who will save the world.

Next, those with supernatural abilities and the religious order.

Those with supernatural abilities, referred to as supernaturals, possess unique powers.

One ability per person, usually with few exceptions.

The religious order is an organization that worships and believes in the gods of the four seasons.

Nowadays, anti-religious sentiment has weakened its influence, but there was a time when it wielded enormous power.

The order refers to supernatural abilities as miracles granted by the gods. Believers accepted this without question, while others saw it as mere propaganda to bolster the order’s authority. 

But here’s the funny part: the order’s claims were actually true.

The God of Spring and Creation.

The God of Summer and Willpower.

The God of Autumn and Healing.

The God of Winter and Justice.

These four gods protect this world and fend off the invasions of the Otherworld. 

Huh? If they’re blocking the invasion, why are the monsters still coming through?

Well, let’s cut them some slack. Those four are busy grappling with the gods of the Otherworld. Though the ‘original’ didn’t detail the gods of the Otherworld, what it did reveal shows that they’re far from benevolent. Described as ancient beings or former rulers, their mere existence can drive humans insane. Even supernaturals weren’t immune to this.

A surprisingly grim world, right?

But don’t worry. This world is still filled with the spirit of hopeful, love-overcoming stories.

The gods granted humans the power to defend themselves, and that power is supernatural ability.

Supernatural ability is the power to become closer to godhood.

The more one masters it, the closer one becomes to a god-like being, shedding their humanity.

“Hmm…roughly matches up.”

I closed the book and stretched widely. My eyes hurt from staring at tiny prints for so long. But it didn’t feel unpleasant, so I chuckled to myself. Reading—it’s a great hobby. I should read more often.

Since I’ve checked the important details, I guess I’ll head back for today. Maybe I’ll borrow a few books while I’m here.

Now that I think about it—

“Where would I find an anatomy book?”

As someone with regenerative abilities, I think it’s essential to understand the human body. After all, regenerative abilities come with their own issues. What if I regenerate with impurities inside my body? Or if the organs or bones are out of place when I heal?

Of course, Lucia’s super regeneration heals her completely without any of those concerns, but you never know. 

It’s true! It’s not about anything else. I didn’t think about where the vital points are, where the blood vessels are, or where to stab to cause more pain or bleeding. Nope, not at all.

Thud!

“Huh?”

I stopped instinctively.

I heard something strange.

Curious, I moved toward the source of the sound.

It wasn’t far. After passing a few bookshelves, I saw a girl holding her nose with a distressed expression, surrounded by books scattered all over the floor.

“…?”

Oh, what’s going on?

What’s the situation…? Ah, I think I understand.

She must have tried to carry all those books by herself and took a tumble. Judging by her uniform, she’s an academy student. There’s no way a supernatural would drop books simply because they’re heavy, so she must have tripped. Or maybe she bumped into a bookshelf. 

Either way, don’t overdo it just because you’re strong!

If I hadn’t seen her, I could have ignored it, but since I did, it’s only right to help.

I carefully picked up the books to avoid bending the pages and spoke to the girl.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, ah, ah—yes, yes, yesss! I’m, I’m fine! Ah—”

She quickly lifted her head to respond, then trailed off as she realized she’d spoken too loudly. That’s right; we’re in a library. Staying quiet is polite.

Wait, I know this girl…

No, I see her every day. She’s in my class.

Hair like the deep, dark ocean.

Round, heterochromatic eyes.

A sharp nose and small, dainty red lips.

Cheeks that make you want to pinch them and a naïve expression.

“Oh… Alice?”

“Huh? Ah, yes! Y-yes, Alice here!”

Alice responded enthusiastically, then quickly clammed up again. Realizing her voice was too loud, she blushed and started hurriedly picking up the books on the floor. I helped Alice by gathering the books quickly. But aren’t there too many books? Did she carry all of this on her own? No wonder she fell. I would have, too. Is she a member of the library club? Though, I don’t think the academy has one.

“T-th-thank you… um, Lucia, right? Same class…?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Just call me Lucia. But what are all these books? Were you moving them somewhere? Did the librarian ask you to—?”

“Eh? Oh, no, I was going to borrow them….”

“…All of them?”

“Yes… is, is there a problem?”

There must be over twenty books, and she’s borrowing all of them?

…Well, since it’s Alice, it should be okay. After all, she was known as an avid reader in the original work.

Although Alice may look weak on the outside, she is still a member of the golden generation alongside Eugene, Leo, and other heroines. I did say earlier there was a girl who wiped out five golems with a terrifying beam during the ability evaluation, didn’t I?

That’s Alice, and in terms of sheer firepower, she’s the best in the academy.

She was also the main heroine of “The Dawn of the Sword”.