“Hey, Siwoo.”

“Yeah?” 

“Wanna go on a date?”

“…What are you saying out of nowhere? In that body, where would you go?”

He chided Amelia, who was lying in bed.

Calling it a ‘date’ instead of just saying ‘let’s go out’ aside, her body currently needed rest.  

She wasn’t severely injured, but she had pushed her body to the limit, so she needed to rest for a few days.

For her to even suggest going out while hospitalized.  

Jokes should be made in moderation.

“No, not me. With Arte.”

“…Huh?”

“You said you’d go on a date during the outing but couldn’t. Wouldn’t it be better to do it now?”

“No, what are you… Weren’t we supposed to drop that? From the start, the idea of her liking me made no sense. Thinking about it again, it really doesn’t seem to be the case…”

“No, I’m sure of it. Arte loves you! Do it. Right now!”

Had she finally gone insane?

It seemed her mind had snapped from having to stay bedridden with her ‘plans’ suppressed.

‘To think a colleague I considered a friend would lose her mind… It’s a pity.’

“Why are you looking at me like that? Now’s the perfect chance, for real!”  

“What chance? There’s no way to even meet Arte. On top of that, a date? It’s only been a few days since we’ve been ambushed. I’d be lucky not to be treated like some woman-crazed fool.”

It hadn’t been long since the nation was turned upside down by Übermensch’s raid.  

The attack on the academy students and their mysterious annihilation. 

Unlike what they could with Lyla, their names spread rather quickly.

“Plus, those guys were originally in the hundreds, right? They’re all dead.”

“Ah, you mean that. There were rumors it was some kind of internal rebellion.”

“…Did that come up in the news?”

“No, I heard it from my father.”

Siwoo often forgot, but Amelia was a precious young lady. The gap between the glimpses of that side and her usual self was jarring.

“Apparently, it was crazy. The sight of humans minced into pieces made even seasoned vets vomit.”

“Ugh, don’t make me imagine it.”  

“Plus, from the hallway to the rooms was a sea of blood! Along with a silly scrawl that said ‘Arachne was here’ and a spider pattern, all done in blood apparently.”

Spiders.

It did seem plausible it was an internal Übermensch rebellion. 

“Spiders are animals, right?”

“Yeah. They’re easily mistaken for insects.”

“…And they spit out webbing?”

“Right.”

Everyone would probably think it was an internal Übermensch conflict.

But Amelia and Siwoo couldn’t help but have a different thought about that spider pattern.

“I’m thinking it’s Arte. What about you, Siwoo?”

“Same here. The webbing, spiders, and even the smell of blood back then. It has to be her.”  

She had said when parting ways with me, 

She said she was a bit late because she had to use the restroom.

There’s no way that was true. 

And to subdue that many villains…

His hunch deepened. 

No, he should say it became a confirmation.

She had been at odds with Übermensch.

“Could she be a traitor?”

“But Arte didn’t have an animal body like the other villains.”

“Hmm…we lack information.”

Just what is her true identity?

A traitor of Übermensch? 

Or a villainous organization rivaling them?

As I was pondering her identity, Amelia raised her voice again.

“No, now’s not the time to think about that! Think of a date course instead!”  

Here we go again.

What is this fixation on a date?

He sighed and opened my mouth to calm her down again.

“I told you. The timing for a date is…”

“It doesn’t have to be a date!”

“…What?”

More nonsensical words.

Whenever Amelia was like this, he always ended up convinced by her claims, spellbound. 

And the results were never good. 

In fact, he thought he shouldn’t listen, but…

…I couldn’t overcome my curiosity.  

Curiosity killed the cat, as the saying goes. It really was true.

“Operation 0: Make You the Person Who Loves Arte the Most in Order To Stop Her. It failed due to an unfortunate accident.”

“Operation 0…?” 

“So it’s time for Operation 1 to take the stage…! Code name: Getting Clothes Wet in the Drizzle!”

Again, some absurd operation name was coming.

Even as he thought that, he couldn’t help but lend his ear.

“Tell me, Siwoo, what do you think a date is?”

“Well, it’s when a guy and girl who love each other go out somewhere together.”

“Pfft, that’s why you’re a virgin.”

“?!”

Wh, what?  

Did I say something wrong? 

No, I didn’t, right? Well, isn’t it?

More importantly, how did she know…!

“You don’t necessarily have to be in a relationship to go out together!”

“No, that’s true but…”

“It’s easy to meet up. You two are colleagues who went through that incident together, on the surface at least.” 

“I…I guess so?”

“Just say you want to talk about that incident, and since you’re already out, go to a cafe or something–that’s a date! You don’t have to tell Arte!”

He was confused.  

Why does that sound right? 

No, isn’t it right?

But has listening to Amelia ever turned out well? 

Not really.

Yet this time, it really does sound plausible.

“The goal of Operation 1, ‘Getting Clothes Wet in the Drizzle,’ is simple. It’s to increase her affection…”

“No, sorry. I don’t think this is it after all. I’m out.”

Siwoo cut her off, feeling he shouldn’t listen further.

Danger, danger.

If he listened a bit more, like when he ended up in the locker due to being swayed by her words, he might do something weird again.

It does sound right, but they should stop here…

“Eh, really? …I already called her though?”

“What?”

“Amelia…Ah, Siwoo is here too. Hello.”  

…It seems he never had a choice to begin with.

As he blankly looked at the suddenly appeared Arte, she smiled and spoke up.

“Haha, surprised you, didn’t I? Amelia told me not to say anything to surprise you… You’re surprised, right?”

When he gave Amelia a look asking what she had done, she beamed.

Bad girl.  

Just as you said, you really do employ any means necessary.

He’ll have to retract his previous assessment.

She’s overflowing not with a hero’s qualities but a villain’s.

***

[A, a date! A date!]

What date? Nonsense.

I wanted to say something to the Author, but I held back since Siwoo was there.

[The protagonist going around town with a girl on a date! Kyaa! I’m so happy!]

“Shall we go to a cafe or something?”

“Uh, yeah? S, sure.”

[A cafe is good too! A lovey-dovey date!]

Ugh.

I forcibly held back the curses that nearly slipped out.

Is going around town and resting at a cafe a date?

It felt like I had encountered someone maliciously labeling everything as dating.

What date?

Amelia had said that Siwoo wanted to talk about that incident, right?

The club president is hospitalized, and Amelia can’t stand properly. 

Since talking in the hospital room would be uncomfortable, she told me Siwoo would let her know later and sent us out.

But what? A date?

Is this a joke?

The protagonist wants to consult a colleague about the incident. 

I wanted to start nagging the Author, but I couldn’t.

Siwoo was still here.

“…So? What did you want to say?”

“Ah, right…By the way, have you heard? About those villains.”

“Of course. The Übermensch organization, right?”

“…Not that.”

Huh? 

What? Wasn’t he talking about Übermensch?

With this development, wasn’t the protagonist supposed to learn the proper attitude as a hero and estimate the strength of the villain organization through the first executive?

Was there more he could find out?

“Apparently, there were nearly 200 of those villains.”  

“Ah, I see. Is that so? But with so many…”

“They all died. Horrifically.” 

Ah, that story.

Come to think of it, Amelia is set up as the daughter of a wealthy family.  

Her father is a famous hero, making her the very picture of a wealthy heiress heroine.

She probably heard it from her father and relayed it to Siwoo. 

The information gathering befitting a young lady.

…Her personality is the complete opposite though. Why does she have that background but that personality?

“But you know, apparently, they found something a bit odd there.”

“Something odd?”

“Yeah.”

Something odd?

Hmm, I don’t know.

The villains turned into cube steaks? 

…That is odd if you call it that, but didn’t he just say they died horrifically? It can’t be that, right?

“There was a drawing on the wall, made with blood apparently.”

“…Pardon?”

[Oh, this is bad.]

She sounded flustered.

But I couldn’t care less about that as my mind spun rapidly.

…What? Was there a drawing on the wall made of blood?

“A drawing made with deep red blood shaped like a spider. Underneath it said, ‘Arachne was here.'”

Author!!!  

Just what did you do!!!

Unable to voice my irritation aloud, I deeply bowed my head.

Hearing that story, I felt like my face would be completely scrunched up.

“…What do you think about this ?”  

The protagonist cautiously asked me.

Author’s Notes

Two blockheads…! (I believe referring to Siwoo and Arte.)

And it seems Arte’s ambush succeeded!