Konata Doesn't Want To Be The Female Lead

"The test results are out. Since reading them one by one would be a hassle, just take a look yourselves."

Yawning lazily, Aizawa-sensei addressed the entirety of Class 1-A.

"Since two people tied for last place, I'm dropping the expulsion idea for now. Head back to the classroom. The schedule is there—get familiar with it."

"Tied for last place?"

Konata curiously glanced at the rankings… and sure enough, she found her name right at the bottom.

"Ugh…"

"Konata, Midoriya—you two, head to Recovery Girl's office for treatment."

Before Konata could fully process her feelings about her placement, Aizawa-sensei approached and handed Midoriya a note.

"Aizawa-sensei."

Just as he was about to walk away, Konata called out to him.

"Hm? What is it?"

He paused and turned around.

"You're a good teacher."

Konata's face was unusually serious.

"No amount of flattery will change anything. Today was just the beginning. If you two keep performing like this, I'll still expel you."

Waving his hand casually, Aizawa turned and left without another word.

"Tch… Would it kill him to say something nice for once? Hm?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Konata noticed someone approaching—and her expression immediately darkened.

That person, she recognized—something with "Baku-something" in the name. Since the softball test, that guy had kept glancing her way. He even went out of his way to mock both her and Midoriya during later tests, though Midoriya was clearly the main target. Konata was more like collateral damage.

But for some reason, she felt like his glances carried actual murderous intent.

Turning her head slightly to look at Midoriya, Konata squinted thoughtfully.

Wait… Could I have misunderstood? Maybe Uraraka isn't the heroine after all. Maybe this blond spiky guy is the true heroine. Honestly, it kinda makes sense in a shounen story…

Not wanting to deal with him, Konata immediately grabbed Midoriya's wrist and ran.

"Midoriya-kun, time is money! Let's get to the nurse's office—now!"

Midoriya was clearly confused.

"Eh? But Kacchan—"

"Forget him! He's just a spoiled brat you've coddled for too long. The guy's a walking ball of tsundere nonsense. You heard his insults earlier—if he's walking over now, it's just for more of the same. Let's go!"

Konata didn't bother lowering her voice. Since most of the class was still near the field, everyone heard her crystal clear.

As she pulled Midoriya away, every student was left stunned.

Bakugou Katsuki's favorability: -100

"Phew… Finally safe."

After sprinting into the school building, Konata could still hear explosions and shouting from behind. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Honestly, she had disliked Bakugou from the start. He was just a brat who hadn't grown up. Since she didn't know the exact plot, she wasn't sure what his role really was. But this was a classic hot-blooded shounen. Either Bakugou would eventually have a redemption arc and accept Midoriya… or he'd go full villain in a Sasuke-vs-Naruto way. There were really only those two options.

Losing favorability? Whatever. It's not like she needed to grind affection with him anyway…

"Come on, let's move. Stop looking back. The only way to deal with people like him is to leave them to cool off. Anyway—your finger's that busted and you don't even feel the pain?"

Seeing Midoriya still glancing back at the field, Konata rolled her eyes.

"With the band-aid on, it doesn't really… Oh—Konata-san, you're injured too?"

Snapping out of his daze, Midoriya finally noticed and asked in alarm.

"Took you long enough…"

Konata sighed, opening her tightly clenched right hand in front of him.

"It might not look like it, but it hurts like hell, okay?"

Seeing the gruesome state of her palm, Midoriya's heart clenched.

Back when he hurt his finger, Konata was the only one who noticed and offered help. But when it was her turn, he hadn't even realized she was injured. His own poor results had consumed his focus, but what about her? Her wounds were clearly worse than his, yet she had performed better. She must've been in terrible pain too—but still kept smiling. Compared to her, he really was falling short…

"…How long are you planning to stare at my hand?"

Konata's mouth twitched as she watched Midoriya space out, and she impatiently pulled her hand back.

"Can we please hurry to the nurse's office? This seriously hurts, you know."

"R-right! I'm so sorry—really sorry!!"

Midoriya snapped back to reality, his face flushing red as he stumbled back, stammering in panic.

Konata: "…"