The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character Chapter 54 54: Red Flag [2]

The girl who'd kill over nothing.

And if I so much as sat at the sa table as Ryen?

She'd probably strangle with a fork and smile while doing it.

No thanks. I wasn't about to lose my life just because I got roped into lunch plans.

She was a red flag—a bright, flaming one with sirens and warning signs. The kind of person you admire from a distance but never approach unless you had a death wish.

But that logic only worked for normal people.

If you were Ryen—the protagonist, the golden boy with plot armor thicker than steel—it was all fine.

She'd lt like butter around him.

Unfortunately, I wasn't Ryen.

Just as I was about to co up with so excuse to dodge this social landmine and eat alone in peace, soone walked up to us.

"I was waiting for you to show up, but you got here earlier than I expected."

I turned toward the voice—and instantly froze.

"Leon— I an, Leon?"

Damn it. I nearly said Leona. If I had, that warm smile she was wearing would've gone ice cold in a heartbeat, and she'd have dragged into a full-blown interrogation.

'How did I know her real na?'

'What else did I know?'

'Was I a spy?'

All that from one slip of the tongue.

She narrowed her eyes just a little, catching my stutter. "Why are you stamring? If you act like that, people will think I'm bullying you or sothing."

Her tone was light, teasing even—but there was a sharpness underneath, like a blade hidden behind a smile.

"We didn't set a ti for lunch this morning, so I just waited here for you."

Wait—we were supposed to eat lunch together?

Since when?

Before I could question her logic, she finally noticed Ryen standing beside .

"Oh?" Her eyes lit up. "Ah! The freshman representative."

Figures. Of course she'd recognize him. Ryen was basically a walking headline at this point.

He wasn't just the top freshman; he caught a terrorist on his first day and sohow ended up doing an interview afterward. The guy was already famous across the whole academy.

And now he was here. Standing beside .

"Well," Ryen said cheerfully, "looks like you already have company. You should've told ! But it's fine—I'll ask my friend if it's okay to eat together!"

I blinked.

Wait. What?

So now we were becoming a party of four?

How did a quick lunch turn into a full-blown survival mission?

I wanted to stop him—shout, grab his sleeve, anything—but before I could even open my mouth, it was already too late.

"Ryeeen~!"

The high-pitched, lodic voice cut through the air like a warning bell.

Ryen froze mid-step, then turned around with the kind of grin you'd expect from soone who just spotted a beloved pet. "Ah, over here!"

He raised his arm and waved like an idiot, all smiles and sunshine.

I, on the other hand, knew instantly—I was dood.

Because that voice?

It belonged to the very person I wanted to avoid most in this entire school.

Approaching us was a girl with impossibly long, silky pink hair that fluttered with every step she took.

She looked like she'd just stepped out of a romantic shoujo manga—warm aura, graceful deanor, and a dazzling smile.

But I wasn't fooled.

I knew what lurked underneath all that glitter and sunshine.

There are only two types of characters in fiction with pink hair—either they're angelic saints who can do no wrong... or absolute nightmares in pastel packaging.

Nora Hayes was, unfortunately, the second kind.

The childhood friend.

The possessive, jealous, doting, possibly unstable kind.

Also known as: a walking landmine with a smile.

In the novel, she was basically a pseudo-heroine in the early chapters. A top-tier healer, constantly glued to Ryen's side thanks to their "precious childhood bond."

She had that aura of a gentle spring breeze—but only when she was with Ryen.

To everyone else?

She was a nace.

'Didn't I say this before?' I thought grimly.

Getting too close to Ryen was like walking into traffic with a blindfold on. And Nora was the semi-truck coming at full speed.

Of course, in the original story, she t a tragic end. My dumbass friend—the author—gave her the "Never a Heroine" treatnt.

She was built up as a major character and then got killed off for Ryen's awakening arc.

Her death was dramatic, emotional, and just barely spared the story from reader backlash.

Still, the comnt section beca a warzone.

So mourned her. Others cheered. And I?

I just stayed the hell out of it.

Because behind that cotton-candy appearance was a whole load of crazy wrapped in ribbons.

When she finally reached us, she didn't even glance in my direction or Leona —Leon direction as matter of fact.

Her entire focus was locked onto Ryen, as if we didn't exist. It was only when she got close enough that she seed to realize there were… extras in the scene.

She blinked, then looked at us with a slight frown.

"Who are they?"

And there it was.

Her voice, which had been sweet and sugary when she called out "Ryen~", had dropped just enough to chill the air.

Only about three degrees colder. But trust , that's enough to freeze soone like .

Of course, Ryen, ever the oblivious protagonist, didn't notice a damn thing.

"Ah, they're my new friends," he said brightly. "I told you about them before, right?"

'No, you didn't,' I wanted to say.

'Don't lie in front of the pink-haired devil.'

But it was too late for regrets now. We were already inside the blast zone.

And I had a bad feeling the real fireworks were just about to start.

Nora gaze briefly scanned my entire body and then moved on to the Leona who was disguised as boy but still Nora eyebrows twitch in suspiciouons as she further narrowed down her eyes.

'This is secen is just like out of the novel!' I couldn't help but thought in suprise.