"Whew, thanks."
Watching her classmates being herded out of the room under Tenya Iida's orders, Konata let out a deep breath.
"I'm not too fond of having so many people crowd around me… Feels like I'm some kind of zoo exhibit or something."
"My deepest apologies for causing you discomfort!"
Tenya Iida bowed deeply toward Konata.
"I neglected to consider your condition and let everyone act carelessly! I take full responsibility!"
"Uh… Could you not be so serious about it? You're making me feel super guilty…"
Konata scratched her cheek awkwardly, looking conflicted.
She glanced over at Izuku Midoriya, who was silently standing at the end of her bed. Then, after a moment of thought, she turned to ask Tsuyu Asui a question.
"Right, what happened after I passed out? No students were hurt, right? Aizawa-sensei's okay? And what about the villains—were they all captured?"
"You're asking a lot of questions all at once…"
Tsuyu brought her finger to her lips as she thought back.
"You were the most seriously injured among the students. The others only had minor injuries at worst. Aizawa-sensei recovered mostly after a day of rest. The enemies had all their attention on you, after all… Thirteen-sensei was injured more heavily, but it's not life-threatening. As for the villains…"
"Their two ringleaders escaped. The rest were all captured."
Izuku cut in suddenly, his voice heavy.
"So that means… everything ended after I blacked out? All Might had already arrived by then…"
Konata narrowed her eyes, deep in thought.
"No… The two new Nomus that appeared after were extremely powerful. And those two villains worked together with scary coordination. All Might also had to protect us… If Kacchan and the others hadn't shown up just in time, you would've been taken away."
Izuku clenched his fists tightly as he said that.
"That bad, huh…"
Konata blinked, then waved it off casually.
"As long as everyone's okay. I mean, space-based quirks are hard to deal with anyway. Still, they lost three of those creepy Nomu things, so that should hurt them a bit. No way they can mass-produce monsters that dangerous… right?"
She yawned, clearly still exhausted. Konata wanted to lie back down, but with everyone still gathered around her bed, she decided against it.
"By the way, why'd you all come visit me together? Shouldn't you be checking on Aizawa-sensei and the others? I'm not that seriously injured. I've already recovered this much in under a day—maybe I'll be completely fine tomorrow. Having the whole class come over seems kinda over the top, doesn't it?"
As soon as she said that, Konata noticed strange expressions on the faces of the three around her.
"Umm… Konata, do you know how long you've been unconscious?" Asui asked.
"Wasn't it just a day? Judging by the sun, it might not have even been that long."
Konata glanced out the window and answered curiously.
"You were out for three full days. You just woke up now."
That voice came from the doorway—Aizawa-sensei.
Everyone turned to see him walk in, bandages wrapped around his face and neck.
"Uh…"
Konata opened her mouth but was cut off as Aizawa walked over to her bed, speaking in his usual half-asleep tone.
"First of all, I'm glad you're safe. As your teacher, I failed to protect you, and I owe you an apology."
"Aizawa-sensei, I…"
"And one more thing: you are absolutely forbidden from using that move without my permission again. The power it unleashed was impressive, but it nearly killed you."
"But… if I hadn't used it, I would've been captured and turned into a Nomu…"
Konata shrank into her shoulders, replying weakly.
Aizawa's expression stiffened for a moment, then quickly returned to normal. He didn't continue that line of thought.
"Get some rest first. But there's something important I need to tell you. The enemy group is being referred to as the League of Villains for now. According to the black mist user, their goal was twofold—first, to assassinate All Might inside USJ. Second… to capture you."
He paused, his eyes narrowing as he observed the blue-haired girl in her white hospital gown.
The Nomus' strength—he'd experienced it firsthand. They had even put All Might in a tough spot. And yet, this tiny girl had managed to bring one down.
Was this "Fantasy" quirk of hers really that powerful?
"…Second, though we don't know why you were targeted, they definitely won't give up after this failure. For your safety, starting today, you'll be living with Midnight-sensei."
"Midnight-sensei…?"
Konata tilted her head, puzzled.
"Who's that again?"
Aizawa: "...…"
——
"Finally, some peace and quiet…"
After seeing off her visiting classmates, Konata slumped back against the headboard, clearly worn out.
The nightstand next to her was piled high with gifts from her classmates. Even more overflowed onto the floor.
From waking up at noon until now, as dusk settled, she had barely had a moment to herself.
Another wave of visitors left her emotionally drained. At some point, Konata stopped wondering if she was just a monkey on display… No, wait. She must be something more precious—like a national treasure. A giant panda, perhaps.
All Might had also dropped by once and got extorted for ten autographs. Later, Midnight-sensei—the teacher who would supposedly be living with her—came for a visit too. It wasn't until Konata saw her in person that she truly understood why Midnight was called an R-rated Hero. That skintight suit alone screamed "R18+." If she wasn't already a hardcore loli fan, and if she herself weren't one, Konata was sure she'd have been utterly defeated by that woman. Midnight's figure was absolutely top-tier.
Still, Konata didn't have any objections to the arrangement. Free food and lodging, a Pro Hero guarding her, and best of all—she didn't have to spend a single yen. Where else could she find a deal this sweet? Maybe it was some sort of apology for letting a student almost die on school grounds…? Honestly, Konata didn't really care.
From her point of view, she had basically locked down her golden meal ticket. No more sneaking out at night to rob the rich and punish evil. With this sort of miraculous stroke of luck, why bother overthinking?
"Hmm… Recovery Girl said she'd bring food later, but eating an apple now should be fine, right?"
She glanced around. Too lazy to actually get up, Konata stretched her arm toward the nightstand beside the bed.
It was dusk. The evening sun slanted through the window, painting the entire room gold. A drowsy atmosphere gently settled into the space.
Bathed in that lazy, golden hue, the scene froze for a moment—Konata in her white hospital gown, lying in bed, arm reaching toward the nearby table.
Standing at the door, having quietly returned, Izuku Midoriya could only stare—completely stunned by the sight before him.