Main Heroine

Ugh, it’s kind of weird and embarrassing to say this, but I have been reincarnated.

Surprise, surprise, who could have guessed another innocent author has fallen victim to the whims of a greater existence, just for some shit and giggles.

Anyway.

Yeah, I have been reincarnated in my own shitty novel.

Let me guess what you're thinking? I am some random extra, right? Background character #7, the guy who gets eaten in chapter three, to establish how dangerous dungeons are?

Nope.

Okay, maybe some minor villain then? With the goal of changing their fate and avoiding death? The classic "I'm the villain who gets engagement broken, then pays back by sleeping with her mother" route?

Wrong again.

Then definitely the protagonist, right? Who else could it be but the overpowering main character who gets all the cool moments and the world revolves around him like he's the sun and with planets as his harem?

Very, very wrong.

I bite my nail, still staring at the mirror like it would change something if I glare hard enough. Like reality might flinch and go, “Oh, my bad” and swap me back into literally anyone else.

But no.

What stared back at me wasn’t a random NPC, minor villain, or protagonist.

It was the genius.

The prodigy among prodigies.

The cool, cold, kuudere with the emotional range of a glacier.

The main heroine of my shitty novel.

The romantic interest of the main character.

Aria. The Ice Princess.

Short silver hair cut in a bob, a few loose strands softening otherwise sharp features. Sharp muted

purple eyes that looked like they could see through you. Fairy-like fair skin, which made her look doll like and delicate, yet excluding a cold, unapproachable aura.

"What the fuck."

This had to be a joke, right?

I mean, come on.

The god of reincarnation wouldn’t be this cruel, right? Surely, they had some line they wouldn’t cross.

"Oh! Hello! Anyone listening up there?" I yelled at the ceiling. "Are you really that desperate for entertainment? Did you look at my life and go, 'You know what would be hilarious? Sticking this guy in his own emotionally dead waifu!' Is that what happened? Did you get bored?"

Silence

There was no booming voice, divine response, just a mad man in a women's body screaming to the ceiling.

"Sigh, it seems like I have finally lost it."

This reality was so hard to accept that my brain had apparently developed an elaborate coping mechanism. One where a stupid author was writing my suffering for measly views and ad revenue. Probably making, what, three cents per chapter? Living their best life while I’m stuck as a kuudere ice maiden who probably has to say emotionally vacant shit like, “How tiresome,” and, “You’re in my way,” for the rest of my life.

But, well, that couldn’t be possible.

This was reality.

There was nothing else to it.

…Right?

I looked down at my hands.

They were smaller, pale, and delicate, like they’d never seen the sun or touched grass in their entire life.

But I was also pretty sure these hands could beat the living shit out of most people.

I remembered. I was drunk when I wrote that insane montage where six-year-old Aria fought bears, survived blizzards, and collapsed multiple times a day under brutal training.

All the while, I was screaming, “Peak writing. Peak writing.”

Remembering the setting I gave her made my chest feel… heavier.

Her mother died during childbirth. Her father grew cold toward her. He stopped being a father and became an instructor instead, with one singular goal: turn her into an S-rank hunter and push their clan into the Council of Ten Seats.

For the nth time, I sighed. “What the hell am I supposed to do?”

It wasn’t like I felt particularly motivated to rush ahead and help the protagonist complete the story. Even if I did, would that send me back to my old world?

Probably not.

“I guess I just need to exist, huh?” I muttered. “Pretty tall task, if you ask me.”

If I could, I would have smashed my head against the wall, that's how much I was dying from the embarrassment. Fortunately, I hate pain.

So instead, I fell onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.

I wasn’t thinking about anything in particular. It was just… hard to think when you’re suddenly thrust into another body, another world, another gender.

Bzzt. Bzzt.

There was a sound of something.

I ignored it.

Bzzt. Bzzt.

Still ignored it.

Bzzt. Bzzt.

It kept buzzing, being an annoyance,

"...Fine."

Too lazy to stand up, I just rolled around the bed like a depressed burrito until the phone was within

my reach. When I powered it on, there was a lock on the screen.

A groan left my mouth. "Seriously?"

Fortunately, it wasn’t a pin lock but a pattern. Otherwise, I’d be here until the end of time.

I tried the obvious ones first.

D..

Wrong.

I frowned. Okay, so it’s not a word or a basic shape. Then maybe just a straight line or something?

The phone buzzed and flashed red.

Wrong Password.

“Dammit, what’s up with this? Why is it so tough to crack a tee—”

"UGH!"

Pain laced through my skull like ice picks driving into my brain. The room tilted, walls blurring into streaks of color. I squeezed my eyes shut, but that only made it worse, images flooded in, foreign and familiar at the same time.

Aria’s hand tracing the same pattern over and over on the screen.

I opened my eyes and began to trace my finger from top left to bottom right, then back up to top right, then down to bottom left, then the middle column; top, center, and bottom; which made an hourglass-like pattern.

The screen blinked open.

“Was she hiding nuclear code or something?”

What was that anyway? I blacked out for a second, then suddenly remembered the password like I’d always known it.

Is it like a memory thing?

You know, the usual reincarnation trope where the MC gets the memories of the person they inhabit?

But just the password?

Why not everything else?

Why not something useful, like how to fight, or where she hid her money, or how to cook without poisoning herself?

Whatever. I’ll deal with it later. My brain was already operating at, like, 2% capacity.

But just the password? Why not all the memories? Why not something useful like "how to fight" or "where did I put my savings"?

Whatever. I'll see to it later. Not like I'm finding anything by thinking about it. My brain is already operating at 2% capacity.

The phone was unlocked, and there were notifications on the screen. One of them was the Academy group. I clicked it open.

[Hunter Academy - Class 1 Announcement]

From: Professor Murdock

Hello, aspiring hunters! As you all know, from today all your classes will officially begin! But before that, I request all first-year students to attend the Opening Orientation at 10:00 AM sharp in the Central Hall. Attendance is mandatory.

I checked the time.

9:30 AM.

Hmm… should I go?

I know it’s mandatory and everything, but come on. Does it really matter when I’m facing an existential crisis? Like, if there’s a fire in the house, is it really mandatory to attend class?

I know math teachers would argue yes, but still.

Besides, what are they going to do? Expel the Ice Princess? The main heroine? The girl who’s supposed to fall in love with the MC and save the world or whatever?

Actually... wait. What chapter of the story is this?

I scrolled through the phone, looking for a calendar, a date, anything.

April 3rd.

April. APRIL?!

Oh no.

This is the beginning of chapter 1, where Aria first meets with MC. When he tries to introduce himself enthusiastically, she just walks away, saying, “I didn’t ask.” This would first time our MC meets Aria and develops an interest in her.

“Absolutely not. Not happening.”

I am not living that cringe scene.

I tossed the phone aside and pulled the blanket over my head like it was a shield against responsibility.

I didn't care if this was my second chance at life or something. I am way too confused, lost, and emotionally unprepared to try anything right now. I'm pretty sure the story could move on without the Ice Princess for one day anyway.

I closed my eyes.

Thirty seconds passed.

I opened them again.

“Sigh, of course this happens.”

DIng!

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

QUEST

Quest: Attend Orientation

Objective: Attend the Opening Orientation at Central Hall (10:00 AM). Stop the plot from collapsing

Reward: Calculated upon completion

Failure Penalty: Destruction of the world