Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest

Chapter 959 220.5 - Protagonist, and Heroines?

Jane... envied that.

Her focus had been splintered lately, even more so with everything that had happened. The stares, the rumors, the shadow of conflict that still loomed behind her even in the safety of library walls. She studied, yes. She worked. She trained. But there was always something clinging to the back of her mind, tugging her attention away.

But Astron?

He was like the eye of a storm. Everything around him could burn, and she suspected he'd still turn a page at the same pace.

Jane adjusted the sleeve of her coat slightly and lowered her gaze again. Her next line of notes was neater than usual-more deliberate.

She didn't try to mimic him. But there was something about sharing space with someone like that... someone who wasn't just calm, but anchored... that grounded her too. Just a little.

I want that kind of focus, she thought. That clarity.

Astron, for his part, didn't look at her. Didn't acknowledge her presence beyond the first glance. Yet, in some strange way, that was what made it easier. There were no expectations, no tension, no need to talk or perform or explain.

He simply existed next to her like a distant pillar. Quiet. Steady. Self-contained.

This-being invisible-was something Jane had always known.

Something she'd lived with.

The quiet background figure. The girl no one remembered first, whose name came up only during roll call, whose existence was often defined more by her absence than her presence.

She hadn't hated it.

In fact, she'd grown comfortable with it. The anonymity. The peace of slipping through hallways unnoticed, of studying in corners without interruption.

She didn't want to be known. Not really. Not in the way others craved.

Because being known meant being seen.

And being seen meant being vulnerable.