Iris Dillen. How could I ever forget this name?

“Hello… Miss Dillen.”

“Ahaha, what’s with the ‘Miss’? Just call me Iris.”

I had thought about it once. That the protagonist must be living somewhere. After all, this world was created for her, so it was natural. But I never expected such a sudden encounter. Why on earth was she at Angelus University? In my desire to deny reality, an absurd doubt bloomed. Could this really be the ‘Iris Dillen’ I knew?

While I stood frozen, unable to speak, Jin naturally continued the conversation.

“Then I’ll show you the library first.”

“Great. I’ve heard it’s such a large school, so I was really looking forward to it.”

Jin walked ahead with Iris, who bubbled with excitement similar to a child at an amusement park. But I couldn’t readily move my feet and only followed their retreating figures with my eyes. Seeing Iris actually alive and breathing filled me with fear rather than excitement.

This was because in the novel, Iris never enrolled at Angelus University. While the adventuring protagonist might seek Asrein’s advice, there was no content about her becoming a university student. Yet now she had properly transferred to the university on Professor Beinhart’s recommendation. Something was seriously wrong.

When I didn’t follow them, Jin, who had been walking ahead, felt the emptiness and looked back.

“…Tae-oh?”

“Ah, yes.”

I quickly pulled my lips into a smile, afraid Jin might notice my bewilderment. But the artificial smile seemed to highlight my pale complexion instead. Sensing something off, Jin quickly approached and whispered,

“What’s wrong? You look really unwell.”

“Well…”

At Jin’s reaction, even Iris stopped walking and looked at me. Over her shoulder, an indifferent gaze slowly traced from my feet to my head. Unlike the smile she had shown during our first greeting, a strange wariness clouded Iris’s eyes. She seemed to regard me with some displeasure.

But only briefly. Belatedly noticing my gaze, Iris quickly put on a gentle smile. Not knowing how to take her attitude that changed so suddenly, I averted my eyes first. Then I casually told Jin, who still showed full concern,

“I suddenly have a headache. Maybe because I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“I thought I’d be fine. I was perfectly okay until just now…”

“Go rest right away. This tour was my responsibility anyway.”

Jin showed such genuine concern for my health that I felt guilty about lying. Even Iris, who had drawn closer without my noticing, furrowed her brow and added,

“You should go rest if you’re tired. Jin is right, you don’t look well.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll definitely… come greet you properly next time.”

“Really?”

When she smiled brightly, her neat rows of teeth showed beautifully. If only she hadn’t scrutinized me like she was examining me, I would have thought she was a really nice person. As I turned to leave with an unsettling feeling in my chest, Iris offered her hand first. After hesitating, I shook her hand, and her eyes curved into crescents.

I couldn’t read any sincerity in her smiling face at all. As I awkwardly twitched my lips trying to let go, suddenly an unexpected strength gripped me. Then those unfocused gray eyes looked down at my sleeve-covered wrist.

“That’s a pretty bracelet.”

When I heard her voice whispering up close, goosebumps rose all over my body. Why was she suddenly interested in the Hyperion bracelet? I hastily pulled my trapped hand away while tugging down my sleeve.

“…Thanks.”

Afterward, I fled back to the dormitory without looking back. I collapsed wearily onto the bed and tightly clenched then released the hand that had touched hers.

That person was so different from the Iris I knew. Only her outer shell was the same; she seemed possessed by someone else entirely. So I picked up paper and pen. I needed to review what I knew about the Iris from the novel once more.

Born into a family of herbalists, she was utterly ordinary, unlike typical heroic protagonists. She spent a full ten months in the womb normally, was born at the average weight for that era, and didn’t possess any particularly striking looks. But Iris emerged into the world holding a power that no one else possessed.

That was the ability to communicate with magical creatures.

Who could criticize Iris Dillen for not being a hero when she set out on an adventure for coexistence, lamenting the gap between magical creatures and humans?

If she had been born in the wrong era, she might have been used as a tool for the mass slaughter of magical creatures under imperial control.

If she had harbored dangerous ambitions, she might have threatened the empire using magical creatures.

Therefore, the author designed the perfect environment and disposition for Iris Dillen to grow into a hero who would save the world.

“…Where did it go wrong…”

But the Iris I met today was completely different from what I imagined. Especially in the hand that gripped me, I felt clear hostility. I was just bewildered, not knowing why I had earned the dislike of someone who was supposedly meeting me for the first time. After staring intently at the complexly organized personal information, I crumpled the paper with one hand.

“I need to verify properly.”

When I go to meet her again, I’ll need to compare everything from start to finish with what I know about Iris.

***

Jin said Iris had transferred to the Department of Magical Creatures. Though she entered university with help from Professor Beinhart who taught herbology, she didn’t follow the professor’s specialty because of her own wishes. Apparently her strong determination to study magical creatures convinced even the stubborn Professor Beinhart.

Anyway, thanks to Jin, I could find out what classes Iris was taking. Because of that, I borrowed books that had helped me when starting magical creature studies and waited in front of the lecture hall.

Soon after, the bell rang from the clock tower. As class ended, tired students filed out through the back door. I stood slightly aside and called out familiarly as soon as I saw the purple hair.

“Iris?”

The young person walking out alone with books lifted her head sharply. The emotion that briefly crossed her slender face was bewilderment. But Iris was skilled at hiding expressions. She immediately showed a welcoming smile, appearing completely composed.

“I wondered who it was, but it’s Tae-oh. Are you feeling better?”

“Yes. So I came today hoping to recommend some books and maybe have a meal together.”

“I’d love to! I happen to have time until my next lecture.”

Iris nodded readily. Without much difficulty, I headed to the restaurant with her. Some students had already filled tables, having come for lunch. I casually asked her as she looked around curiously,

“I noticed they always have set menus here. Is there anything you can’t eat?”

In the novel, Iris boards a fisherman’s boat to meet magical creatures living in the sea. At that time, she ate shellfish offered kindly by the fisherman and ended up bedridden all day with swollen airways. Recalling the episode, I subtly tested her reaction. Unaware of this fact, Iris answered readily,

“Ah, I can’t eat shellfish. When I was young, I ate some without knowing better and almost died.”

While the condition was the same, the incident where she discovered her allergy was different, leaving me puzzled. After confirming today’s menu didn’t include shellfish, we sat at a corner window seat. When I placed the borrowed books on the table, Iris gestured at them and said,

“Are these the books you wanted to recommend?”

“Yes. I heard you’re in the Department of Magical Creatures. So I borrowed books that helped me.”

“How kind…”

Though her mouth smiled brightly, she must not have paid attention to her eyes. Her gray eyes, gloomy like storm-approaching skies, were utterly expressionless. Since pointing it out would surely make her hide her expressions more, I smiled back and asked what I was curious about.

“How did you end up in the Department of Magical Creatures?”

“My parents had a big influence.”

“They must have been very interested in magical creatures.”

“Both my mother and father were herbalists, so they often went to mountains and remote forests. Thanks to that, I naturally came to learn about magical creatures.”

Her parents’ occupation matches the novel too. But pretending not to know, I asked with an innocent expression,

“Are they still herbalists?”

“They’re no longer here due to an unfortunate accident.”

“Oh… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s fine~ It was a long time ago.”

Though I was asking about something I already knew, I furrowed my brows as if hearing sad news for the first time. This confirmed that both her parents’ occupation and current status matched completely. This could only lead to the conclusion that the protagonist Iris had strayed onto the wrong path.

While eating the soup that had just arrived, I brought up an everyday topic.

“How did you meet Professor Beinhart?”

“It was all thanks to Baron Klaus.”

“…Baron Klaus?”

“Yes. The Baron is my guardian.”

Wait. I thought I’d heard that name somewhere… Priest Karl definitely mentioned it when explaining about the day he saw the shadow. He said the devotee who came to the Reton Temple then was a young person Baron Klaus brought along.

“Thanks to his efforts, I met Professor Beinhart, and fortunately left a good impression.”

Of course, since Baron Klaus appears wealthy, he probably isn’t mentoring just one person. So I needed to confirm if they were definitely the same person. While stirring the soup with the short spoon, I exclaimed “Ah!” and said,

“I recently went to the Reton Temple and heard about you from Priest Karl.”

“…About me?”

“He praised you so much for coming to help at the temple often…”

The tip of her eyebrow, which had been lowered gently until now, quirked up slightly. There was definitely a reaction. I leaned forward on the table, crossing my arms casually as I continued,

“He said once when you broke a glass, you insisted on cleaning it up yourself because you were worried he might get hurt?”

“……”

“That was you… right?”

Instead of answering readily, Iris moistened her throat with cold water. A strange tension flowed through the restaurant where only the clinking of dishes could be heard. Cold sweat soaked my hands hidden in my crossed arms. Finally, she opened her mouth.

“The priest… He really told you everything.”

So it was you. The devotee who came that day.

Her lips quirked up awkwardly, showing bewilderment once again. I couldn’t help but laugh finding the person I’d given up looking for in such a peculiar way. Moreover, that she was Iris Dillen, the protagonist and hero. It was truly a fateful coincidence.

When I made my eyes sparkle brightly, Iris carefully managed her expression and asked,

“But why did you go there? Are you a devotee too?”

“No. I went to investigate for a different request. So there’s something I wanted to ask…”

I deliberately drew it out while tapping the table to see her expression change. But Iris seemed to catch my intention and maintained her voluntary smile.

“Did anything special happen on your way back after praying that day?”

Hearing the sudden question, Iris fell into thought. Whether she was recalling that day or crafting an appropriate excuse, I regrettably couldn’t tell. Eventually, her unwavering gray eyes looked straight at me.

“Not really… I didn’t see anything.”

Iris shook her head nonchalantly. Her attitude showing not even a hint of hesitation almost made me doubt my suspicions. But thankfully, she made a fatal mistake. Smiling at Iris who continued eating silently, I said,

“I asked if anything happened, not what you saw…”

Finally realizing her mistake, Iris froze stiffly in place. So I deliberately asked while casually eating my soup,

“Was there something to see?”