Just Because I Have Narrow Eyes Doesn’t Make Me a Villain!

A morning like any other.

The girl opened her eyes to the sound of birds chirping.

“Yaaawn…”

Ugh, I’m sleepy.

I want to sleep more.

The girl, not fully awake yet, lay back on the bed to get more sleep.

However, she soon had to get up due to the aroma reaching her nose.

A delicious smell. Breakfast?

Feeling hungry as soon as she smelled it, the girl sighed and changed her clothes.

Right, today is the academy entrance ceremony.

It wouldn’t hurt to get up early.

“Oh, what’s this? Our daughter is up early.”

“Good morning, Mom… I was going to sleep more, but I smelled something delicious.”

“You always have such a keen nose for food. Wait just a bit longer. It’ll be ready soon.”

“Okay.”

Peeking into the kitchen, she saw more dishes than usual becoming increasingly appetizing as they passed through her mother’s hands.

It looks delicious.

Mom’s cooking was always tasty, but she seemed to have put in extra effort today, involuntarily raising expectations.

Smiling happily for no particular reason, she returned to the dining table where her father was already sitting, drinking coffee.

“Good morning, Dad. When did you get here?”

“I’ve been here since before you woke up, Irene. You just didn’t notice.”

“No way?!”

“It’s true. You’re such a heavy sleeper. It’s a problem.”

So that’s why I got up early today. I thought something was up.

My face naturally turned red at Dad’s muttering.

I really didn’t notice.

Ah, how embarrassing…

“How can you achieve your dream like this? To become a hero, you need to be diligent.”

“I can do it! I got up early today, didn’t I?”

“Well…”

I retorted grumpily at Dad’s meaningful smile.

Dad is great overall, but he can be a bit mischievous sometimes.

Just you wait. From now on, I’ll make sure to get up at this time and make you look at me with admiration.

But given my track record so far, I decided to change the subject without saying anything else.

It’ll be fine if I change from now on, right?

“Where’s my sibling?”

“They’ll be up soon, just wait. Your sibling will be shocked to see this scene.”

“Dad, you’re exaggerating too much.”

Isn’t it too much to say that just because I got up a bit earlier?

That thought was quickly erased by my sibling’s voice who came down a little later.

“… What’s this, why is big sis here? Am I still dreaming?”

“Hey?! That’s too harsh?!”

“Huh. It’s really big sis? You got up early?”

Damn it.

Why has my reputation in our house fallen so low?

I did get up a bit earlier than usual, but it’s true that I always… sleep in.

I always had to be forcibly woken up by my sibling.

I have nothing to say.

“You two, stop chattering. Sihyun, sit down quickly. Let’s eat.”

“Okay.”

Fortunately, Mom finished cooking just in time, allowing us to change the subject.

An array of delicacies appeared one by one on the table.

Foods that looked delicious just by looking at them covered inch.

“… What’s this? Why is there so much?”

“I put in some extra effort today. It’s a special day, isn’t it?”

“Thanks to big sis, we’re going to burst from breakfast.”

Isn’t this too much?

I thought so, but seeing Mom smiling at me, I decided to eat gratefully.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Eat a lot.”

I was surprised when I put the freshly made, warm food in my mouth.

It reminded me of the time when we went on a family trip.

There was a time when we ate all the food at an expensive hotel, marveling at how it could taste so good.

It’s delicious enough to remind me of that time.

“Mom, I knew you were good at cooking, but this is amazing…”

“Of course. I’ve been preparing hard since yesterday.”

Mom smiled smugly as if to say this is what I can do if I have time.

She looked so beautiful that it was hard to believe she was a mother of two children.

“…Talking about preparation suddenly reminds me. Irene?”

“Yes?”

“Did you prepare well for what you said you were going to practice?”

“…”

I did practice.

To look as natural as possible.

But will it really be okay with just that?

Thinking that, I couldn’t open my mouth to answer Mom’s question.

“… I’m sorry, Irene.”

“Ah, Mom, you don’t have to apologize!”

“But… Because of me, you find it difficult to make friends, isn’t it?”

I couldn’t really argue against that.

This expression that looks like my eyes are closed unless I’m conscious of it is inherited from Mom.

But I wanted to say it wasn’t Mom’s fault.

Because I wasn’t ashamed at all of the fact that I resembled Mom.

“Hmph. I don’t like people who are afraid of others just because of their appearance.”

“Irene…”

Mom and I look alike.

We look so similar that sometimes, people ask if we’re sisters when we walk together.

We’re not sisters but mother and daughter.

…Anyway, that’s why I could see my expression objectively.

Mom’s expression was my expression.

Even without looking in a mirror, I could tell how I looked to others by looking at Mom.

Objectively speaking, Mom looks very suspicious.

Her squinting eyes and genial smile remind me of the hidden power behind evil organizations in animations I watched when I was young.

The villain who always smiles suspiciously.

But if I consciously try to open my eyes wide, that’s even scarier.

Even I get surprised sometimes when Mom gets angry at me.

Her eyes are certainly beautiful and red, but…

How should I put it?

They seem to have an ominous feeling to them?

I, who resemble Mom, was no different.

From kindergarten, through elementary school, middle school, and high school.

I don’t know how much I was avoided by my peers.

It was especially bad when I was younger.

By the time you’re in middle or high school, people have some consideration, so they just avoid me, but…

Young children just cry loudly, saying I’m scary.

Moreover, young children sometimes think animations are real.

It was so heartbreaking to see them crying loudly, saying a real villain organization boss had appeared next to them.

…Ah, damn. I keep having gloomy thoughts.

“It’s okay! It might be better at the academy! Mom, you made friends there, right?”

I spoke in an intentionally bright voice to dispel the gloomy thoughts.

Indeed, I haven’t made many friends so far, but I don’t resent Mom for that.

I know best how much Mom loves me.

“Well, you know. There might be people like Aunt Amelia and Aunt Dorothy there too.”

“Yeah, that’s right…”

Mom’s friends occasionally send gifts to me and Sihyun.

I heard they both were friends made at the academy.

Wouldn’t there be at least one person like that among my peers?

The academy is an institution that nurtures heroes.

There should be fewer children who judge others based on their appearance alone. Yeah.

…Ah, speaking of Aunt Amelia, I suddenly remembered.

“By the way, Mom.”

“Yes?”

“Why does Aunt Amelia’s expression change whenever she sees me?”

“Her expression changes?”

“Yeah. She says weird things, and her expression changes. What was it… blood clot? Wrinkly?”*

“… It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Is that so…?”

“It’s just because Amelia is an old maid, that’s all.”**

I tilted my head, not understanding what she meant.

Well, if Mom says it’s okay, it must be alright. I decided not to worry about it.

“When you go to the academy, some teachers might have strange reactions… but don’t mind it.”

“Strange reactions?”

“Well, you and I look so much alike. The teachers might be surprised when they see you.”

“…Ah.”

I see, some of the teachers who taught Mom when she was a student might still be teaching.

It felt strange.

Going to the school Mom attended and learning from the teachers who taught her.

This kind of experience isn’t something just anyone would have.

Just as I was starting to feel happy about that thought, Sihyun said to me.

“By the way, sis. Shouldn’t you stop talking and get going soon?”

“What? How much time has pass… ed…”

I was shocked when I looked at the clock at my sibling’s words.

Has this much time passed already?

I might be late if I’m not careful?!

“Ah, Mom! Dad! Sorry, I’ll go first!”

“Take care.”

“See you later!”

I quickly put a few pieces of food in my mouth and hurriedly went up to my room.

Even if I run or take public transportation, considering the distance from home to the academy, I’m already certain to be late.

So there’s no choice.

I hurriedly opened the window, threw myself out, then changed my hands into threads and attached them to the building walls, using inertia to move in an instant.

My hair got slightly messed up from the cold morning wind, but I didn’t mind.

It was better than being late.

Minutes passed as I flew across the city with my threads.

Fortunately, I arrived at the academy without being late and greeted a familiar face standing in front of the door.

“Claire-ssi?! Hello! And goodbye!”

“Ah, hello Irene… She’s already gone. She’s fast.”

Claire sighed.

She doesn’t resemble her parents at all, huh?

While thinking that, she smiled at the fact that a child who looked exactly like her former student had now become her student again.

“Well then, the late person is…”

Bang!

“I’m not late, right?! Oh? Ha-Yul-ssi?! Are you my homeroom teacher?!”

“…Call me teacher. I’ll let it slide since it’s the first day. Now that you’re here, introduce yourself before going in.”

“Phew…”

I could see Ha-Yul-ssi cursing me with his eyes.

His expression seemed to say, “How long did you sleep to come only now?”

…Having someone you know as your homeroom teacher isn’t that great either.

As I awkwardly tidied up my disheveled hair, I noticed the students looking at me.

“Ah, well… Ahem.”

Self-introduction, self-introduction.

Is it time to say the lines I’ve been preparing hard until now?

I hope this will help me make some friends.

I took a deep breath, then smiled at the children who might become my friends.

“Hello, my name is Irene Iris! Just because I have narrow eyes doesn’t make me a villain!! Please take care of me!”

– Just Because I Have Narrow Eyes Doesn’t Make Me a Villain! (End.)

Translator’s Corner

There’s still an author’s final afterwords that I’ll put in another chapter, but I think most of you will end here, so let me say my final thanks.

Thanks.

-Ruminas

.

.

.

Hopefully people didn’t actually click off thinking it was done. Thank you all for reading up until now. I’m so happy that I finally finished the series, and hope you all enjoyed. Thank you all the sponsors also. James Baily, Viiyen, Nepper, Kaden Karras, Danmaka, Sergrand, Isaac Martinez, Clone Trooper, Dragons33, and Lemur4444.

But there is one thing I have to get off my chest. I messed with one character a lot. Let me say this: Ha-Yul is a woman. I let it slip during the wedding chapter, but this is how the raws actually is. This should explain how she was was able to integrate into Arachne without the genders awkwardly playing in, even if she was a professional or too revenge driven to do anything. There’s no big story altering dialogue that got missed out because of it, except for her listening in to Siwoo and Arte in the act. I’m sorry if you’ll hate me for that, but I just thought it was better like this.

Next, check out my other books. One is harem: I Was Rejected by the Main Character of a Romantic Fantasy.  One has painful misunderstandings: My Ex-Girlfriend Was Appointed as a Knight Commander. Finally… I actually don’t know, the series is quite new but looks promising: I Became a Murderer in the Academy.

Finally, sorry to Author-nim for leaving them behind. Also no fanart. Big sad.

Thanks one last time, and happy reading.

-Ruminas