Chapter 362: Elena Black [2]
Since childhood, Elena Black had always preferred rational choices.
Two people were better than one.
Creating was better than destroying.
Mutual benefit was preferable to conflict.
These principles had become the foundation of her existence long ago.
She disliked harming others.
She disliked being harmed herself.
And perhaps most importantly, she disliked inefficiency.
As a child, her naturally detached personality had caused countless misunderstandings.
Other children found her cold.
Adults found her difficult to understand.
Even her peers often became frustrated during conversations.
At first, she couldn’t comprehend why.
Then she studied the problem.
Observed people.
Recorded reactions.
Analyzed outcomes.
Eventually, she reached a conclusion.
Her personality was inefficient.
So she changed it.
Not through force.
Not through deception.
Through learning.
She observed kind people.
Reliable people.
Heroes.
Friends.
She studied how they spoke.
How they smiled.
How they comforted others.
Then she incorporated those behaviors into herself.
The results were excellent.
People smiled more often.
Conversations became easier.
Relationships became smoother.
So she continued.
Year after year.
Refining.
Improving.
Optimizing.
And eventually—
People began calling her perfect.
A perfect student.
A perfect hero.
A perfect human being.
Others called her gifted.
Talented.
Blessed.
Some even described her as the ideal hero candidate.
After awakening her Talent and Trait, those evaluations only intensified.
Everywhere she went, people admired her.
Respected her.
Trusted her.
Many were grateful to her.
Others envied her.
A few even worshipped her.
But regardless of whether their emotions were positive or negative—
They all looked at her.
They reacted to her.
She understood them.
And eventually, they understood her.
That was how things always worked.
Except today.
Because the boy sitting on the hospital bed was looking at her differently.
Very differently.
Elena maintained her calm smile.
Outwardly, nothing changed.
Internally—
She was analyzing him.
The hostility in his eyes wasn’t subtle.
It wasn’t hidden.
The moment she entered the room, she had seen it.
A brief flash.
Quickly concealed.
But not before she recognized it.
Hatred.
No.
Not quite.
Resentment?
Not exactly.
Her mind searched for a comparison.
Where had she seen this before?
Then she remembered.
A disaster site.
Years ago.
The expression of someone who had lost family members because heroes arrived too late.
People occasionally looked at villains that way.
Sometimes they looked at heroes that way too.
As if searching for someone to blame.
But that wasn’t it.
This felt different.
His gaze lacked grief.
There was no sadness.
No disappointment.
No sense of betrayal.
Instead—
There was contempt.
No.
Even that wasn’t accurate.
Disgust.
Pure, uncomplicated disgust.
As though he had seen something revolting.
Something he couldn’t stand.
Elena paused.
The realization surprised her.
Because she had encountered that expression before.
Not from civilians.
Not from victims.
From villains.
The people she defeated often looked at her that way.
As if her existence itself offended them.
As if she represented something they hated.
The realization should have bothered her.
Instead—
She found herself intrigued.
So when their eyes met earlier, she smiled.
A polite smile.
A gentle smile.
The smile she’d learned produced the best outcomes.
And immediately—
The boy’s expression worsened.
Elena almost blinked.
That was new.
Most people relaxed when she smiled.
Others became nervous.
Some became flustered.
This was the first time she’d witnessed visible irritation.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Her curiosity continued growing.
Because she couldn’t understand it.
Her learning should have been complete.
Not perfect, perhaps.
But close.
She understood social interactions.
Human behavior.
Communication.
People.
At least, she usually did.
Yet this boy remained incomprehensible.
Why?
What had she done?
What did he know?
Why did he dislike her so much?
The questions continued piling up.
One after another.
For perhaps the first time in months, Elena found herself genuinely curious about another person.
Not because of their Talent.
Not because of their achievements.
Not because of their usefulness.
But because she simply didn’t understand them.
And Elena disliked not understanding things.
A small part of her wanted to ask immediately.
Why do you hate me?
Simple.
Direct.
Efficient.
Unfortunately, the timing wasn’t appropriate.
There were too many people present.
Ryan.
Leo.
Leona.
Nora.
Kiera.
Professor Lena.
Asking now would create unnecessary complications.
Which meant she would need to wait.
An irritating conclusion.
A completely irrational feeling of disappointment appeared within her chest.
Elena ignored it.
Then she turned her attention back to the room.
If she couldn’t ask the question she wanted—
She would ask something else.
Something reasonable.
Something expected.
Opening her mouth, she spoke calmly.
"So."
Her silver eyes moved across the group.
Then settled on Rin once more.
A faint smile remained on her lips.
"I heard the doctors have forbidden all of you from leaving your beds."
A brief pause.
"Judging by everyone’s expressions, I assume none of you plan to listen."
The room immediately became awkward again.
And for the first time since entering—
Elena found herself genuinely looking forward to the conversation that would follow.
A heavy silence immediately descended over the room.
Everyone carefully avoided Elena’s gaze.
Which, in itself, was already an answer.
Elena’s smile widened ever so slightly.
"I see."
Ryan coughed awkwardly.
"In our defense—"
"There is no defense," Leo interrupted.
"Traitor."
"I’m being realistic."
Leona crossed her arms.
"The doctors said two weeks."
"That’s unreasonable," Ryan said immediately.
"You got half your organs rearranged."
"I can walk."
"Barely."
"I can still walk."
"Like a cripple."
Ryan looked personally offended.
Elena quietly observed the exchange.
It was noisy.
Disorganized.
A little ridiculous.
Yet she found herself watching with genuine interest.
Most heroes she interacted with became stiff and formal around her.
Even adults often treated her differently after learning who she was.
These students didn’t.
At least, not for long.
After the initial surprise, they had quickly returned to arguing with each other.
It was... refreshing.
Her gaze drifted toward Rin.
Unlike the others, he remained unusually quiet.
Watching.
Thinking.
Analyzing.
The same way he had been since she entered.
And every time their eyes met, that unpleasant hostility resurfaced.
Interesting.
Very interesting.