I Don’t Want to be a Villainess

Ye Sara had only one outfit that could be called ‘sportswear.’ It was none other than the school gym uniform.

Although there were some fancy dresses and suits that seemed too elegant for her age and that she probably wouldn’t wear often, the only clothes she had for moving her body were the school gym clothes. This was more of a thing she got because it was included in the school supplies rather than something she bought specifically for exercising.

The clothes at the mansion were just for emergencies, while the ones worn at school were at school. True to being a rich school, they even had a professional laundry service that picked up the laundry and returned the cleaned gym uniforms to the owners’ lockers. Since they were not personal lockers but were located in the changing rooms, there was no issue with privacy invasion.

The gym uniform was the typical one you would think of when you hear ‘gym uniform.’ It consisted of a dark green hooded zip-up jacket and a pair of track pants with white stripes along the sides, knitted so that they weren’t too baggy but fitted enough not to look too rustic.

That said, it wasn’t exactly fashionable either.

Almost no one would recognize this as Hwayoung High School’s gym uniform just by looking at it, but it gave off a vibe one might wear casually when stepping outside their house for a moment. If it weren’t for Ye Sara’s body and it was instead worn by the original me, it might have evoked the image of a jobless person going out to buy a cigarette after all-night gaming.

At least Ye Sara’s face was quite pretty, which helped dismiss that image somewhat; honestly, it wasn’t the kind of outfit one could proudly wear around at any time.

“……I should buy a proper sports uniform later.”

Seeing me in my gym clothes, Yoo Ha-neul immediately said that. I nodded quietly. Even if I were to buy a gym uniform, I wouldn’t wear it often voluntarily, but since I’ve got plenty of money, buying a few wouldn’t be a problem.

Moreover, except for some expensive outfits fit for important occasions and pajamas for sleeping, Ye Sara’s clothes were mostly unremarkable ‘casual wear.’ The thin indoor outfit I wore when heading out to see Yoo Ha-neul was pretty much all I had. Maybe I hadn’t bought any clothes since there wasn’t much need to go outside?

……But then, why did she have dresses or suits? Ye Sara wouldn’t have had any occasions to wear those.

“Alright, then, let’s go!”

While I was lost in thought, suddenly, something was tugging at my arm.

Ah, it wasn’t ‘something,’ it was Yoo Ha-neul.

Before I knew it, she had linked her arm with mine. I must have looked deep in thought standing by the front gate.

……Something soft and hard to ignore gently brushed against my arm. Now that I thought about it, Yoo Ha-neul had a figure that was definitely not bad. Naturally, in this position, her chest would touch my arm.

Even though there was some fabric in between, I could feel the curves quite clearly.

“Ah, uh, wait a minute……”

In an instant, I fumbled my words, but Yoo Ha-neul didn’t seem to hear me at all and just pulled my arm.

As my upper body leaned forward, we passed through the front gate and moved onward. My legs moved reflexively to maintain balance—

Finally, I made it out of the gate.

When I turned my head back, I saw a security guard sweating profusely while staring at us. It was only March, so it wasn’t even that hot yet. It seemed he hadn’t expected something like this at all.

Yang Hye-in, who had seen me off here, was watching me with a somewhat expressionless face.

“Miss.”

Then she walked a few steps toward me. Yoo Ha-neul, who had been linked to my arm, discreetly released her arm and subtly backed away.

“Take this with you.”

Saying that, Yang Hye-in pulled out a smartphone from her maid dress apron pocket.

“It’s yours, after all.”

Although it was certainly an older model released several years back, it looked spotless as if it had never been used before. Naturally, it had hardly been used in reality. Thinking about it, it was pretty surprising that there was a phone registered in Ye Sara’s name.

And there was something else in Yang Hye-in’s hand besides the smartphone.

“What’s this…?”

There was something thick underneath the smartphone, and when I pulled it out, it was a wallet. The simple gray wallet was stuffed with several 50,000-won bills.

“That’s yours too.”

……Pocket money?

Or maybe it was truly Ye Sara’s money. No matter how many bank accounts or cards Ye Sara had, it wasn’t possible for her to have no cash on her.

Moreover, if I went out and used a card to buy something, it would probably report directly to the Chairwoman. A minor like Ye Sara wouldn’t be able to get a credit card in her own name, and even if she used a debit card, there’d be records of the transactions.

……Still, it was a bit surprising to see a little girl like Ye Sara carrying around a big stack of 50,000-won bills.

“I recommend using your mobile phone only when necessary.”

Yang Hye-in advised me like that.

“……Yes, thank you.”

I nodded. Maybe I was being followed.

In reality, once I left the mansion, someone was definitely going to tail me, and I thought it wouldn’t make much difference whether I used my phone or not… but it wouldn’t hurt to heed the advice of someone on the inside.

“Then, farewell and take care, Miss.”

Yang Hye-in slowly bowed her waist.

Seeing her, who was much older than Ye Sara, bow respectfully made me feel a bit strange.

It wasn’t just because I was witnessing an adult treating a younger person with deference. Rather, it was the constant reminder that Yang Hye-in was also a servant of this mansion.

Ye Sara received no attention, even from the servants of this mansion. If Yang Hye-in was one of those complicit in Ye Sara’s death, she’d be one of those accomplices.

Of course, Yang Hye-in didn’t know that I wasn’t Ye Sara. No, even if I told her the truth, she wouldn’t believe it. It was nonsensical. While this world is utterly fantasy-like and actually has abilities that defy common sense, for this world, that would be the norm. Everything else that seemed ‘fantasy-like’ would be deemed unreasonable.

If one weren’t a believer in reincarnation or this world transition nonsense, they wouldn’t believe it at all.

In that case, Yang Hye-in might simply be observing my actions in Ye Sara’s body and concluding that ‘Ye Sara has changed’ to behave this way.

Alternatively, if the original Ye Sara had opened her heart a little, Yang Hye-in might have acted this way towards her, too.

“……”

But it was already too late.

Yang Hye-in didn’t even know about Ye Sara’s death. Until the moment I entered Ye Sara’s body, she had just been lying on the bed like that.

“……Yes, I understand.”

The part hinting at Yang Hye-in’s existence in Ye Sara’s will was very brief. I need to figure out what kind of relationship they had.

Even if Yang Hye-in was one of the accomplices, if she had been someone who could help Ye Sara later, she’d be of use to me in my current state.

At my words, Yang Hye-in slowly lifted her bow.

Since she turned around during that time, I couldn’t see what kind of expression she was making.

“Well then, should we go?”

Instead, I saw Yoo Ha-neul, who was smiling brightly towards me. It was a radiant and pure smile that could outshine anything.

She grabbed my wrist.

Then, turning around, she started to run.

“Ah, wait……!”

Before I could even figure out how to stop her, we were already running together.

“First, let’s get as far away from here as we can! We can think about what to do next afterward!”

As she shouted this, the blue sky stretched endlessly above us.

*

In animations, when a cute girl bursts out of the place that bound her, calming music usually plays in the background. That calm music gradually swells, and it seems as if no sound other than the girl running exists, with the surrounding noises fading away slowly.

If there’s a savior guiding her, holding her hand, all the better. As if only the two were in the world, the music builds up, and from an initially soft melody, it now features a choir or a singer hitting very high notes, passionately singing as the animation heads towards its climax—

“Hah…… Hah……”

—But regrettably, I didn’t have the stamina to run until that background music ended. If it were an animation, there would likely be a cut in the music, and the heroine would be left gasping for air.

Darn it, I definitely need to build up my stamina first.

I’m not looking for extraordinary stamina that surpasses others. Just being able to run as much as the next person would be a huge help.

It’d be embarrassing to lag behind in a later dramatic scene, right? But of course, it was just imaginary production in my head. Nevertheless, the figure right in front of me was indeed the protagonist from a game.

Yoo Ha-neul let go of my hand and seemed lost in thought.

“Honestly, I should buy a gym uniform.”

Regardless of how breathless I was, Yoo Ha-neul commented while looking at my outfit.

“Our school’s gym uniform design isn’t particularly ugly, but that doesn’t mean I can wear it every time we run around like this.”

She wasn’t wrong. I had the same thought.

“Alright, then where’s the first place we’re going today? To the clothing store?”

Yoo Ha-neul nodded and replied.

“……The first place we’re going today?”

As I finally managed to catch my breath and asked that, Yoo Ha-neul vigorously nodded.

“Of course! We came out on such a sunny weekend—did you really plan to just jog around and head back?”

“……”

Hmm, that sounded like something I hadn’t really considered. I’d only thought about coming out but hadn’t thought about what to do afterward. I had intended to figure out how Ye Sara had communicated with the outside while at the mansion and school, but aside from that, there weren’t many places linked to Ye Sara outside.

No, there might be some places tied to childhood memories. The issue was I didn’t know such places.

“So, what do you say? Are you on board?”

“Sure.”

Well, I didn’t really have a reason to reject that suggestion.

“Great, then let’s sprint to the clothing store like this.”

Yoo Ha-neul took out her smartphone from her pocket as she spoke.

“……What?”

“There’s a shopping mall about 500 meters from here. We should run there! Now, stand tall.”

Yoo Ha-neul said that and, while I was bending over catching my breath, she seized my shoulders and pulled me up. With my stamina and strength considerably lacking compared to Yoo Ha-neul, I had no choice but to straighten my back.

“Eek! Wait a second!”

Surprised, I shouted, but there was no mercy from Yoo Ha-neul.

“Alright, now take a deep breath!”

“Are we really running 500 meters!?”

“It’s fine, I’ll run alongside you. If it gets hard, take a break.”

“No, that’s not the problem——”

Are you really suggesting we run through the heart of the bustling area in this outfit?

With plenty of foreign tourists around?

Of course, Yoo Ha-neul looked completely sincere. With a dazzlingly bright smile pouring forth from her face, she spoke without a hint of doubt.

“Of course!”

“Ah, can’t we just walk there instead—”

But before I could finish that suggestion, Yoo Ha-neul had already grabbed my wrist.

“Alright, let’s go!”

And then she began to sprint with all her might.

“Eeeh! Wait——!”

My scream-like shout seemed to have not reached Yoo Ha-neul at all.

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