Heroine Life

Chapter 1: This is the Beginning

Looking out the bus window the blue sky, mountain ranges, wide fields, and the occasional house fill the scenery.
There isn't anything really eye-catching, but I have nothing to do until I reach my destination so I just stare vacantly outside.
The bus rattles, shakes, and jumps as it drives along the rough and bumpy unmaintained road.
By now I've gotten completely used to this. When I first moved here, I would end up getting nauseous riding the bus. It sure was tough back then.

(....Soon it will be 5 years since I came to this town.)

My name is Chiharu Amabuki. Back in middle school, my grandmother took me in and I moved to this small town.
The population is low, transportation is inconvenient, and there's barely anything of particular interest. Even so, I've somehow taken a liking to this town.
That's probably because the easygoing atmosphere suits me.
I do not wish for an exciting and bustling life. Instead, I prefer an uneventful and peaceful one.

If there's one thing complaint I have, it's the distance from my home to the school.
It takes 20 minutes to get from my home to the bus stop, another 20 minutes to ride the bus, and after getting off, an additional 20 minutes to walk from the bus stop to the school.
Taking a full hour to commute to school is quite tough, and since I live in the countryside, the frequency of the buses is low. There are times when I've been late because I missed my bus.
One time I missed the last bus home and spent 2 hours walking to get home.
I want to get a moped, but our school does not allow us to get a license until we graduate. This is quite a harsh restriction for someone living in the countryside.
It's not that I have no other complaints, but the other major one is a personal problem and a fault of the town's so there's no helping it even if I complain.
...If it wasn't for that personal "problem", I'm sure I would enjoy my daily life a lot more.

"Kumakata Terminal~, Kumakata Terminal~"

I stand up after reaching my usual stop, show my pass to the driver, and get off.
It's still daytime, but the early mornings have become slightly chilly as proof that summer has already ended.
Even so, the clear outdoor air is refreshing and feels good. This could be said to be one of the charms of the countryside.
I take a big breath, brace myself, and walk toward the school.
In front of me, students wearing the same uniform and salarymen walked about.
To match the bus's schedule, I go to school early but there are still quite a few people.
This area is close to the train station and a lot of buildings.
The town's most lively shopping is in the other direction and it's quite convenient for people to be able to get all their daily necessities in one place.
Facing away from the shopping district, I head toward my high school.

(....Hm?)

On my usual route to school, there's a woman standing along the path trying her hardest to get the attention of the other pedestrians.

"Please help me with this survey~"

I try to avoid walking close to her, but unfortunately, she notices me and heads toward me.
Ugh! I contemplate whether I should ignore her and proceed. I decide that a short survey shouldn't be a big deal, so I stop walking.
Since I stopped, the woman happily held out a pen and paper.
There's no way to escape now.

"Do you have the time to help me with a survey right now?"
"Sure."

Although the woman is smiling, her eyes have a scary look that seems to say "I'm definitely not letting you get away".

Fortunately, I have enough time and it looks like I get a little gift for helping. I had no particular plans of escaping anyways, although I would have preferred if she never noticed me in the first place.
I don't know if she had a quota or not for her work, but she seemed so desperate that I felt a little sorry for her. Trying to conduct a survey in this small town must be tough.