CHAPTER 227: CHERRYADE AND CHARM [3]

Nora smiled. Not one of her fake smile "But then you say things like this. And I wonder... are you really his friend?"

That caught me off guard. "...What do you mean?"

"I don’t know. You say you’re not that close to him despite the fact both of you become freind so easy, but you seem to understand him more than anyone else." Her gaze met mine, eyes strangely sharp now. "Or maybe you just see things from the outside better than I can from up close."

I swallowed a little. That was... closer to the truth than she realized.

"Anyway, I said what I wanted to say. There’s nothing for you to worry about."

Nora didn’t respond immediately.

Instead, she just sat there, her fingers now still, as if the weight of the conversation had finally caught up with her.

"...You’re not like the others," she said softly.

I raised an eyebrow. "Others?"

She gave me a look that wasn’t exactly a smile, but it wasn’t sad either. "The ones who hover around Ryen. They either want something from him or expect something of him. But you... you don’t seem to expect anything."

I wanted to say something snarky like, Of course not, I already know how this story ends, but I held back.

Instead, I just shrugged. "Expectations are heavy. I’ve got enough of my own."

"Hmm," she hummed quietly, then leaned back in her seat. "You know... you’re weird."

"I get that a lot."

I really do. But anyways, for now this love talk with Nora Hayes comes to the end.

I never even thought that I would have love talked with Pink hair Yander.

...I guess that’s just how unpredictable this world is.

One minute you’re a dead extra in the prologue, and the next, you’re giving emotional support to the former female lead with a well-documented descent into villainy.

Nora Hayes, the same girl who once set fire to an entire noble estate just because the lady of the house dared flirt with Ryen. The same Nora who later tried to poison Ryen’s new love interest in Volume 8—and almost succeeded.

But now?

She just looked... tired. Human. And so heartbreakingly normal.

No one would expect that she is supposed to be Yander....For now atleast.

Honestly, if I hadn’t read the novel, I would’ve never guessed what she’d become. There was no madness in her eyes, no obsessive energy leaking from her smile. Just a quiet kind of sadness. A soft longing that clung to her like fog.

"...Thanks, Rin," she said, her voice barely audible.

I blinked. "For what?"

"For talking to me. For being honest. For not treating me like I’m about to snap."

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. "I mean... that would be pretty hypocritical, considering how I look half the time."

She actually laughed at that. A small, genuine laugh. And for some reason, it made my chest tighten.

Just a bit.

Maybe this is what it means to live in a story instead of just reading it. To feel things for people you once saw as lines on a page.

"I should go," Nora said at last, standing up. "It’s getting late, and you probably have class or something."

And with that, she left.

I sat there in silence for a few seconds, staring at the spot where she’d been. Then I slumped forward, groaning into my hands.

"Ughhhh... I was supposed to avoid flags, not collect them!"

I could practically hear the author laughing at me from across dimensions. That smug bastard. He probably planned this. Probably wrote me into this moment just for his twisted amusement.

Whatever. I’ll deal with Nora later.

I still have something to do.

Which was rest....One day still not over after getting rid of Avi and I have yet to rest properly which was my plan.

But now I am going to do it.

...And no will stop me.

----

Now that I was finally done with that not-so-romantic heart-to-heart with Nora Hayes, there was something I needed to get off my chest.

Everyone must be thinking I’ve somehow become the protagonist of this novel.

After all, I killed Avi—a villain who shouldn’t have been defeated this early—and got my hands on a half-divine replica artifact, the [Soul-Bound Staff], which I named Lan. I pulled off something not even the actual

protagonists, Ryen or Leo, could manage until the second half of the story.

So, naturally, that raises a question:

Does that make me stronger than Ryen and Leo?

And the answer to that is a big, fat NO.

Even with all the trump cards I’ve managed to collect, I’m still nowhere near their level.

Then how did I pull off a victory against a villain who was supposed to be near unbeatable at this stage?

Simple.

Because I knew everything about him. His weakness. His core talent. The way he fought. The mistake he made trying to copy someone else’s talent. That arrogance? It cost him his life.

You see, his most powerful window was between 12:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. That’s when shadows are at their darkest, and the sun is at its peak—conditions that perfectly amplify his main ability: Shadow Fang.

But now? Shadow Fang is just a hollow name.

After detaching itself from that cursed dagger and merging with my body, it became something else entirely.

Black Shadow.

Anyway, we’re not talking about Black Shadow right now.

Let’s rewind.

The only reason I beat that psychopath was because I stacked the deck

in my favor.

First, I lured him into a fight indoors, where his relic—an artifact that manipulated wind—was basically nerfed. Indoors, it was about as effective as a paper fan in a hurricane.

I prepped. I planned. I weakened his gear in every way I could.

But above all, the real reason I won?

He was weak.

Outside of his relics and powers, the guy’s actual physical abilities were trash. Even among elves—who already had higher physical stats than humans—he ranked low.

He never trained. He thought power was something you inherit or steal.

He wrapped himself in layers of overpowered abilities but never worked on the core: his body.

It was like fighting a glass cannon hiding behind armor. All flash, no grit.

That’s why he couldn’t dodge even my sloppiest attacks—the ones even rookies would react to.

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more convinced I am: the guy had zero redeeming qualities. No charisma. No real ambition. Just a freak with power and no depth.

So yeah, I didn’t beat him because I’m some shonen hero. I beat him because I knew when and how to hit. I beat him because he never thought someone like me could.

But why was I even thinking about this again?

"Rin, if you grip the dagger like that, your wrist’s going to hate you tomorrow."

"That’s right," Ryen added, twirling his wooden sword with that effortless smugness of his. "Blocking a sword with a dagger? Yeah, no. That’s how you lose fingers. You either dodge or redirect. Never block."

Ah, right.

Because Ryen and Leona dragged me out for training when all I wanted was a nap.

Damn it!

My body was already sore, my mind was already fried, and now I was being lectured by two people who looked like they were born with perfect technique.

Leona narrowed her eyes and took a stance next to me. "C’mon, Rin. You’re the one who went into dungeon yesterday. Now keep up, hero boy."

I groaned and adjusted my grip on the dagger, muttering under my breath.

"Can’t I just go back to being a side character?"

But deep down, I knew.

That ship had already sailed.