Thank Clone Trooper for yet another chapter. Part 6

“…What is this?”

[Ah, not too late! That was a close call!]

Phew, what a relief.

That was really a close call.

 If I had been a bit slower, Siwoo would have been torn apart.

Was clearing those rocks really the fastest way?

No, but there was no other choice.

I wondered  if I should use more thread, so I agonized over it for a while.

“…You were alive?”

“Haha, it seems so. My apologies to Lyla.”

Lyla seemed to really dislike me.

It was a little sad.

..Though I did tease her a lot.

Was she angry because I pretended not to know and talked about talent?

When I think back to our conversations, that’s the only reason I can come up with.

No matter how I look at it, it was my fault, making me even sadder.

But there’s nothing I can do about it.

That was the easiest way to confirm.

“…How?”

“Hm?”

“You should have been crushed to death by those falling rocks…”

“Ah, you mean that? It would have hurt  if I really got hit.”

I hastily used my ability on some loose threads wrapped around my arm.

Beyond twisting and stretching threads, I tried making various shapes, such as triangles and squares. After recreating the Eiffel Tower, I even made a circle.

How’s that? This is thread crafting without using hands.

Pretty cool, right?

“Fortunately, my ability is like this. I can wrap it around my body pretty quickly.”

“…Tch.”

That’s going too far.

It was supposed to be my ultimate secret technique…

I practiced hard as soon as I got this ability because I wanted to show it to people someday!

Did I feel hurt earlier? Forget that.

I felt like dying now.

“Well, whatever. It was a bit unexpected that you survived, but nothing changes.”

“Is that so?”

“Hunting two weakened rabbits won’t be that difficult.”

Lyla grinned while scratching her head.

…Huh?

Did I see fangs?

[Ah, it has begun. The side effects.]

“…The side effects have started?”

Come to think of it, Lyla took a suspicious drug to gain power.

…Now? Suddenly?

“Th-there are ears on your head!”

“Nice try. Ears on my head? What kind of non…What is this!”

Ears sprouted around where Lyla was scratching her head.

[That’s like a pro and a con, you could say? Hehe, it’s a drug that injects animal traits into humans!]

Animal traits?

…Ah, so that’s why she’s past human. An Übermensch.

She has transcended humanity.

It has a double meaning.

Was Lyla scratching her head because it was a premonitory symptom before the ears sprouted?

[As time passes, the animal traits become stronger. They become incredibly powerful, but the animal characteristics manifest more and more. In the end, they become half-human, half-animal…]

Wait a minute.

I think I heard something strange.

“…Half-human, half-animal?”

[Yes. Like the minotaur.]

Are you kidding me?!

“Let’s change that.”

[…Huh? But the premise is that you get animal traits, so eventually, you’ll end up like that… And it’s hard to change it now.]

I was dizzy.

I underestimated the Author’s hipster tendencies.

Even  if she’s an enemy, a beast?

Are you insane?

Why would you ruin a pretty female spy character like that?

It’ll be a disaster  if you just randomly throw in such a divisive concept, even for a minor character.

The novel will explode!

The absolute limit for sub-humans is ears, tails, and eyes!

“Stop it. Put in the premise or change it. Now!”

[Wh-what…?! Ah, okay!]

I guess the Author didn’t expect me to get angry.

The flustered Author hurriedly changed the premise.

[Okay, I added a premise! Lyla is actually a descendant of a child born between a werewolf and a human hundreds of years ago! So, the traits won’t severely deform her body!]

“Phew…”

Usually, I would have wondered  if that premise could convince readers.

But I didn’t have the luxury to think about that.

I just wanted to get away from this place, leading my exhausted body.

I’ll scold them later.

Since I saved the footage for the Author to watch, I decided to scold them while they watched it.

“Is the security  camera premise done?”

[Yes, yes… According to what you said, a sudden power outage three hours ago caused a malfunction.]

Good.

I fiddled with the USB drive tucked inside my white hoodie.

Now I’ll take this and leisurely watch it with the Author, and that’s it.

There’s nothing left for me to do here.

How did I get the footage, you ask?

It wasn’t that difficult.

I added a premise for the security guards on duty.

[They occasionally play pool while smoking, at least for five hours.]

… If I add a premise like that, I wouldn’t even need to sneak in.

After taking all the footage saved on the computer in the empty security room onto the USB drive, I added that the CCTV malfunctioned three hours ago despite looking fine.

The creation of footage that shouldn’t exist in this world is complete.

Lastly, I just need to retrieve the thread wrapped around the USB.

Easy, right?

Even the academy can’t supervise everyone.

They’re too busy escorting all the other students, so which teacher would be free enough to check the CCTV?

They always outsource it to a reputable security company.

There’s always a shortage of high-quality manpower.

…And accidents tend to happen from that kind of complacency.

Oh, the guards left their post, and unluckily, there was a power outage.

And in those three hours, a traitor appeared? What an incredible coincidence.

“What is this…!”

“I’m sorry for the confusion, Lyla.”

I clung to the white hoodie for no reason. Even though I knew no one was watching me, I hesitated unnecessarily.

I was more conscious of their gaze.

Didn’t they notice?

Since I used most of the threads in my leotard to help Siwoo escape, this was the only thing I had left.

I could’ve used it  if it were just a bit loose, but I used most of it to block the falling rocks and clear the rubble.

I smiled like it was no big deal, but I could feel my face flushing red.

How embarrassing.

“Please die?”

***

It was a surprise attack.

Flustered by the sudden situation, Lyla failed to react to Arte’s attack from a distance.

And that was the end.

“Is she dead…?!”

“Yes, she died.”

The thread tied to the daggers rushed forward, and Lyla was distracted by her transformation.

She didn’t notice the daggers flying towards her back.

…And that was the end.

After easily dispatching the minotaur, that was the end of Lyla, who had threatened Siwoo’s life.

It was a pathetic death.

“Then, I’ll be going.”

“…Are you not going to kill me?”

He had witnessed Arte’s face flushed as she killed someone.

“…? I have no reason to kill you, Siwoo.”

Siwoo was relieved when it seemed like Arte would not kill him.

Then he felt embarrassed.

He had entered the academy to become a hero, yet someone died before his eyes.

Lyla had been targeting his life.

He was well aware of that. It would be strange  if he didn’t know.

But…

The hero Siwoo aimed to become was not one obsessed with such things.

Saying villains must unconditionally die is not heroic.

The hero in Siwoo’s mind is one who confronts and overcomes any hardship.

Even  if hated by the world, they uphold the justice they believe is right.

While aiming for such a heroic ideal, to feel relieved that he survived while someone else died…

It was simply laughable.

“Siwoo, Arte! Answer if you’re there! Are you alive?!”

“Oh, the teacher has arrived.”

“Would you like to head back first? You seem tired.”

Siwoo simply stared at Arte.

“Wh, what is it…?”

“I am currently weak. Mentally immature, and nearly died unable to handle a single traitorous villain…”

“Huh?”

“…Someday, I will become stronger than you.”

Siwoo got up and started walking towards the direction of the teacher’s voice.

For now, he is immature.

For someone who couldn’t even handle the traitorous Lyla alone to claim he’ll become stronger is probably no different than a chick’s peeping to Arte.

But she is being careless.

For whatever reason, she has some interest in me.

Amelia was right. For some unknown reason, she won’t kill me.

That reaction she showed me in a situation where it wouldn’t be strange to kill me.

At least for the time being, I won’t die.

I am immature.

…But being immature means there’s room to grow.

Isn’t that why I came to the academy?

Keep being careless.

Someday, I will become stronger than you.

***

“Uwahh… That was a scare. I-I thought he noticed. Brrr, it’s c-cold…”

Maybe it was because I was so tense that I sweat a lot.

The chilly breeze instantly stole away my body heat from the cold sweat, and I rapidly started feeling cold.

I tried covering up by pulling up the hoodie but couldn’t block out the chilly wind.

Winter has already passed, so why is it still so cold?

Plus, I don’t have my uniform anymore, either.

“Still, it’s a relief though, Author. You almost got disappointed in the protagonist. Is he the growth type?”

[…Don’t bring that up. Of course, the protagonist can only be Siwoo! The protagonist can be a little weak early on, you know!]

“There you go again. ‘The protagonist abandoned the heroine…! Uwaaah!’ You were crying like that.”

[Kyaaaaah! Kyaaaah! Kyaaaaaaaaah!]

But I’m not even the heroine.

…Well, whatever.

Anyone standing behind the protagonist facing off against a villain in that time, place, and situation would be seen as the heroine.

“So, what now?”

[W-well, I did say to kill her! Kill the ex-heroine!]

“Aw, but that’s too mean. And what heroine? I already lied and said she died?”

Even  if she’s not human, I still feel bad about it.

It’s human nature to feel bad  if you destroy a wild animal’s home and they’re freezing to death.

After going this far, it would feel uneasy to just kill her.

“A tail even sprouted.”

Fascinating.

…Should I touch it?

I’ve always wanted to touch a sub-human’s tail.

Translator’s Corner

Just in case the double-meaning line went over your head, let me explain it to you. Übermensch translates to ‘overman’ or’ above man. ‘ In the line ‘she’s past human,’ it means she has surpassed the abilities of a normal human(above man) but lost a part of her humanity (sub-human.)

On a less complicated topic, the author of the story has some weird notes. She believed readers would think Lyla didn’t wash her hair, that’s why she kept scratching it. T̶h̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶t̶t̶y̶ ̶f̶u̶n̶n̶y̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶p̶u̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶r̶y̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶i̶t̶,̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶I̶’̶m̶ ̶l̶e̶a̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶m̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶.̶ Again, you can dm me on discord  if you really want to know. You could also just complain about the comments; I read all of them, so yeah.

It’s mainly comedy for now, so don’t listen to old me

-Ruminas

Author’s Notes

I thought there was a lot of description of Lyra scratching her head.

No one questioned it.

I wanted to hear you say why you didn’t she wash her hair.