Nearly a month passed in the blink of an eye.
With monsters appearing more and more frequently across the world, the establishment of Hero Alliance branches progressed at remarkable speed.
Securing land was easy.
Building infrastructure—even easier.
Like a global deployment operation disguised as a luxury vacation, heroes were transported via private jets to their assigned regions.
Of course… this didn't include the North and South Pole branches.
Those places barely had any human presence.
Even their branch heads—Ulric and Icarus—only visited occasionally for inspection.
Inside Stella's Room…
"…Aiden… can you… um… d-date…?"
Stella Nightfall stood in front of a mirror, face flushed, stammering over her words.
She took a deep breath.
Steadying her racing heart.
"D-Date with me?!"
She gathered all her courage—
And stared at the person in front of her.
Who was…
Also her.
Yes.
She was practicing.
Alone.
In front of a mirror.
After spending time learning human common sense, Stella now understood what a "date" meant.
And more importantly—
What it meant to ask someone out.
Specifically—
Aiden Cross.
The first person who accepted her.
The one she had grown closest to.
And, thanks to a certain mischievous "romance advisor" (Mash), that affection had long since evolved into something deeper.
Love.
"…Haah…"
She sighed, shoulders drooping.
This was worse than she expected.
If she was this nervous just practicing…
How could she possibly say it to him directly?
Still—
A girl in love doesn't give up that easily.
"…I need to try harder…"
She straightened up and faced the mirror again.
This time, she tried a softer approach.
"Aiden… would you like to go out and eat with me today?"
She paused.
Then frowned.
…No.
That wasn't it.
She had avoided the word again.
That wasn't a date.
That was just… normal.
"No… I have to say it properly…"
She clenched her fists.
Face red.
Heart pounding.
"Ai-Aiden… next time… can we… go on a… d-date?"
"…Still not good enough."
She inhaled again.
This time—
More direct.
"Aiden… will you go on a date with me?"
A beat.
Then finally—
She poured everything out.
"Aiden… let's go on a date!"
"Sure."
A voice answered from behind.
Stella froze.
For a moment, she thought—
I practiced too hard… I'm hallucinating…
But that voice—
It was too clear.
Too familiar.
"…Eh?!"
She spun around.
At the doorway—
Stood a black-haired, red-eyed young man.
Arms crossed.
A faint smile playing on his lips.
"A-Aiden?!"
"Yeah. What's wrong, Stella?"
"W-When did you get there?!"
"From the beginning."
"…Oh… wait—WHAT?!"
Her face exploded into red.
If he had been there the whole time—
That meant…
He saw EVERYTHING.
"…I'm going to die from embarrassment…"
"Taking a break once in a while isn't a bad idea," Aiden Cross said casually.
"There's nothing urgent right now. Let's go out."
He looked at her.
"So… when's our date, Stella?"
Somewhere, far away—
Aizen felt a disturbance in his workload.
Stella's brain shut down.
Completely.
"…U-Um… tomorrow…?"
"Alright. Then it's settled."
"I'll reschedule the Hero Academy stuff."
"…Eh?! That's important, right?! You can just postpone it?!"
"It's fine. Aizen and Professor Koro will handle it."
Aiden Cross gave a confident thumbs-up.
Absolutely irresponsible.
Meanwhile—
At X-Academy, now officially merged into the Hero Alliance and renamed:
At Hero Academy
Principal: Aiden Cross
Vice Principal: Charles Xavier
Teachers:
Professor Koro
Captain America
Black Widow
Hawkeye
Falcon
War Machine
Mirrorblade Sage
They were busy training a new generation of mutants—
Future heroes.
Or support staff.
Depending on their choice.
"…Is it really okay… to postpone something so important… for me…?"
Stella stood there.
Long night-purple hair draped softly over her shoulders.
Eyes shimmering like crystal.
Face flushed like a shy rabbit.
Aiden Cross smiled.
"Of course."
"Hero Academy?"
"…What's that? Not important."
Somewhere in the world—
Aizen Professor
Koro Professor
Charles Xavier
All felt an inexplicable urge to cry in a bathroom.
Back in her room—
Stella jumped onto her bed.
Hugged her soybean-flour bread pillow.
And rolled around endlessly, burying her face in it—
Blushing like crazy.
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