I WAS The Rank–1 Hero-Chapter 98 : To Nova Academy [2]

The Nova Express halted at the Frostvile City Station. Almost all five passengers, including Elise and me, were guided out of the train by an attendant.

When I stepped out of the Nova Express, I noticed that the train station was filled with people, and among them, many were Nova students. If I have to guess how many, then around thirty at most.

They, too, were being guided by an attendant similar to ours.

"Sir, Ma'am. Please, this way."

Our guide led us to the exit, and in front of it, three black buses with opaque glass were waiting for us. Their metal bodies had the huge Nova emblem printed on them, clearly attracting even more attention from the locals.

Nova was a prestigious academy. The admission rate was less than three percent—only the best could afford to take admission in it. Maybe that's why, whenever people spotted students in Nova uniforms, they automatically considered them intelligent and successful. And to some extent, they were right. Nova guaranteed that its students would become perfect heroes.

Even the Hero Association directly scouted heroes from Nova Academy.

I turned my head to the side and stared at the cars surrounding the two buses. Just like the buses, the cars were black too...

'Why is every damn thing at Nova black?'

But those cars were no ordinary ones. They were geared with numerous weapons and high-end security systems.

"Wow!" The students behind me exclaimed.

"Aren't they overdoing it..."

"First, they send their private train, and now this."

"Stop complaining dude!"

"It's seriously so damn cool!" One guy jumped in excitement. "I feel like a damn celebrity."

"Hey~ Hey~ Click my picture."

Several opinions were exchanged before we all boarded the bus.

The interior of the bus was undoubtedly luxurious, and we even had two guards onboard, fully equipped with weapons. They were keeping an eye on everything we did.

Elise and I took the seats at the very back. She took the window seat, while I sat beside her.

To be honest, this whole security arrangement felt odd. But as a former Rank 1 who was well aware of the government's internal workings, I knew exactly why they were going overboard with this level of security.

After the teleportation incident, where a total of two hundred students went missing, the general public blamed Nova and the Hero Association for their shortcomings—for how they just let it happen.

Now, everyone was pointing fingers at them.

So, what they were doing now... was trying to save their reputation. They were showing the world what they were capable of.

They had arranged an entire private train overnight and military-grade security for just a simple bus transport.

The more I thought about it, the longer my sighs became.

'What's gonna happen to me now?'

My gaze shifted to my left, where Elise was calmly humming a song with her earphones on.

Through the window beside her, I saw the buildings and cars slowly passing by.

The Academy was about twenty minutes away by road from the train station, so for now, I decided to take a short nap.

Just as I was about to doze off, Sera's voice dragged my almost-relaxed mind back to something stressful.

'Don't forget that you have to explain your multi-elemental capability to your friends.'

Her words alone gave me an existential crisis. And here I was, thinking of a plan on how to stay low.

Resigning myself to my fate, I honestly answered Sera.

'To tell you the truth, I don't know how to handle this...'

Placing a stone on my heart, I took a deep breath and asked Sera for help.

'And after analyzing my past interactions with others, I've realized that I'm not very good at making excuses.'

No matter how painful it was to admit, I continued.

'I would be grateful if you could guide me... on this.'

'...'

Silence.

I thought Sera was thinking of an excuse for me, but she remained silent for over a minute.

'Umm... Sera, you there?'

No answer came, and this time, it genuinely freaked me out.

Did the ghost get exorcised somehow? That means...

My privacy is safe!

But before I could celebrate, a light sigh echoed inside my head.

'Are you really the same human we know?' she asked. This time, I could visualize her squinting her eyes at me as she spoke.

'What do you mean?' I asked, confused.

'I thought you were dumb. But at last, you finally realized your mistakes…' After a brief pause, she continued. 'I feel so proud!'

"..."

I was left speechless.

Seriously, my excuses weren't that lame... right?

But well, what can I say… After all, all of this was true, and I had to accept it.

The current situation I was in required excuses in nearly every action I took—I couldn't help it.

'You're just an idiot.' Sera commented. She sounded so disappointed.

'Why did you even use your multi-elemental in front of them? I can think of several ways where your actions wouldn't have required you to use three of your elements!' She was scolding me.

'Why? Well, that's because...'

The words got stuck in my throat.

Why did I use my multi-elemental?

At that time, inside the underground city in the demon continent, I considered Sera a potential threat. Her body was emitting extreme Essence, rivaling even Envy.

That's why I used it—

'No! Fuck my rotten luck!' The realization hit me.

'Don't you dare blame it on luck!'

There was no need for me to use all three of my elements at that time—only Fire Essence would have sufficed.

Anna already knew I could use both Ice and Fire Elementals, and now I had to explain to her how I could use a third one.

"Sighhh…"

'So, what would the Great Elf Queen suggest I do now?'

I slammed all my problems on Sera.

Sera, as if already expecting it, answered with a grin.

'Hehe... You are thinking too hard. The answer to your problems is rather simple.'

Simple? How was all this simple to her? Noticing my confusion, Sera spoke.

'It's all about trust, my dear human...'

She continued.

'Anna has known from the beginning about your ability, but she kept her lips sealed. She trusts you, and I think, at some point, you do too.'

I trust them...?

Now that I think about it, why did I trust Anna? Why didn't I worry about the possibility that she would spill it to someone else?

Why?

I searched for an answer.

It was rather strange of me to trust someone after what the Hero Association did to me.

In my entire life till now, I only trusted my family, my master Envy, and... Ruby.

It was out of character for me—someone who had been treated like a mere weapon his entire time in the Association—to trust some random girl who had been kidnapped, with a potential secret that could risk my identity.

'Because life teaches lessons beyond our wildest dreams.'

Sera's answer left me in disarray.

Giving up, I asked her for a solution.

'Then... What do I do?'

It was a serious question—one that could change my and their fate in a completely new direction.

'Tell them the truth.' Sera suggested.

'Because by doing that, you will gain their trust, and maybe in the near future, they will stand right next to you when you need help.'

There were infinite possibilities a person's fate held.

With every decision they made, no matter how simple it was—it opened up a different path.

With every action, every choice, we were actually changing our fate with our own hands.

Nothing was truly rational—at every turn, we carved a new path.

'Alright.'

I had decided—I would tell them the truth. Not fully, but a partial truth.

As I was diving into my thoughts—

"Sir. Ma'am."

The lady attendant came near my seat and reported.

"We've arrived at Nova Academy. Please disembark the bus."

She politely gestured toward the door.

I looked outside the window and noticed that the bus had stopped inside Nova Academy's campus, and the seats around me were all empty.

"Huh?"

I looked around rapidly before tilting my head toward Elise.

My sister was sleeping soundly beside me.

"You two were the only ones left. Everyone else boarded off."

My eyebrows twitched.

"S-Sorry..." I shook Elise's body. "Oi! Wake up!"

"...ummmeemm..." She mumbled.

She slowly opened her eyes. Before rubbing both her eyes, she stretched her whole body, raising both arms.

"Haaaaaahhhhh!" Elise let out a light morning cry. "Oh, did we arrive?"

She blinked at me and then at the lady attendant, who was awkwardly looking at her.

'This girl...'

"Sis, hurry." I pinched her cheeks.

"Ouch!"

"We are going to be late," I added.

I kept stretching her cheek.

"Soowwyyy," she said.

I let go of her.

After stretching herself one more time, Elise and I both got off the bus.

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The first thing I noticed was a huge auditorium in front of me.

All the students were gathering at the entrance.

"What is happening there?" I asked.

Elise, who noticed it too, answered.

"You don't know?"

Hmm?

The way she asked me—it was as if she was aware of all of it.

I shook my head.

"No."

"It's because Headmistress Ruby is giving a speech today."

Ruby?

"Ah!"

I suddenly recalled—the first and second years had recently learned about her true identity as Rank 3.

So today was the day she would officially announce it to the world.