While Noah faced Tiamet's Dungeon in the realm of the gods, in a flowery garden overlooking the World Tree, a group of young heroes answered the call of the goddess Freya.
[ Now that young Noah is gone, I wonder who will be the first to cross the portal ] the goddess spoke, eyeing the eager youths aspiring to become heroes.
— I-I will, Lady Freya! exclaimed the young teacher — stepping forward ahead of her students.
[Very well, little Elizabeth. The other world awaits you.]
Without hesitation, Elizabeth, Noah's teacher and the teacher of the other students, stepped forward and faced the portal, carefully observing the flow of energy coursing through it.
"I need to set an example for them. Lady Freya trusts me!" she thought before crossing the portal.
After her, one by one, the others present in that place entered the portal, gladly fulfilling the goddess's wish.
— I'm next! — shouted one of the students.
— No, it's me — exclaimed another.
— My turn! — said one more.
As the students crowded near the goddess, a small group watched the scene from afar.
— Do you think Noah is okay?
It was Selena, who seemed distraught by recent events.
— Seriously, Sel, I don't know what you see in that guy. Sure, he might be handsome and have a good physique, but his personality is crap — replied her friend, somewhat annoyed by Selena's abandoned girl behavior.
— You don't understand. He has that rude behavior, but he never actually provoked anyone in class; besides, you've never really talked to him — Selena explained, her face slightly melancholic.
— Even if you say that, whenever we tried to approach him, he acted rudely. Once I tried to ask him for help with homework, and he just said it wasn't his problem — clearly irritated, she continued — Seriously, is he blind? I, one of the prettiest girls in school, went to talk to a loser like him, and he dares to treat me like a nuisance!.
— Relax, Ciel.
— I hate him! I hate him with all my heart! I hope that damn snobbish jerk is called crazy in the other world.
"You really have a bad view of him, don't you?"
Selena and Ciel. The two most beautiful girls in school and also the richest.
Both are daughters of wealthy magnates, possessing incomparably distinct beauties.
Selena had a slender, strong body, with skin as white as pearl, lips as pink as flowers, and standing at 1.73 meters.
Her beautiful body, combined with her long black hair, blue eyes, and kind personality, earned her the title of "Angel of the third year."
Meanwhile, Ciel, with a slightly smaller body than her friend's but with a bolder personality and a wilder appearance, stood out in a different way.
Her eyes were as yellow as the sun, her straight hair had a blood-like color, and her physique was "ample" in all the right places.
Thanks to her lively personality and attractive physique, the only description that could be given to her was "Queen of the class."
Together, they could be considered the targets of all the boys in school; however, they never gave openings for romance... that is, until now.
— Seriously, I don't understand what you see in him. Are you a masochist? — asked Ciel, with a somewhat mischievous smile.
— Stop it, Ciel. I'm not a masochist; I just think his behavior is charming — replied Selena.
— Ew. Falling for a nerd is the height of absurdity — exclaimed the redhead, making a disgusted face.
A secret that only the two of them knew was that Selena, the "Angel of the third year," was hopelessly in love with Noah Elísio.
But only Selena knew the reason for this.
"If they knew the truth, would their attitude change?"
Selena is the class representative, and in the first semester of the year, their class was responsible for organizing a booth for the winter festival.
Because it was a class formed by children of wealthy multimillionaire families, few were truly interested in helping set up the booth, let alone in collaborating in organizing the event.
Because of her kind personality, Selena had decided to take care of the most difficult parts that no one else wanted to do alone.
For an entire week, she organized the necessary materials and made posters.
She worked so hard that she even developed calluses on her hands.
In the end, she realized that doing everything alone would be impossible and decided to ask for help, but to her surprise, no one wanted to help.
— Don't worry, president, I know you'll manage — said one of her classmates.
— Sorry, prez, but doing this would ruin my nails — another replied.
— What? I'm the son of the director of this school. You can't give me orders — said another one of her classmates.
It didn't take long for all those she considered her friends to reject her and treat her idea as ridiculous, except for Ciel and Lucas.
At the end of that day, she was alone in the classroom to make more posters, but to her surprise, someone else was there.
It was Noah.
He had already made 5 posters and was already making the sixth.
Selena was happy with the occurrence and even thought about thanking him, but Noah had always been someone difficult to approach, and during the time they were there, they didn't exchange a single word.
The next day, Selena had woken up hours earlier and headed to school. She was ready to set up the booth, however, once again to her surprise, the booth was already set up and organized, just needing to be decorated before the festival began.
Inside the booth, Noah was sleeping, with his fingers bandaged and a hammer in hand. He had set up everything alone to the point of hurting his own fingers and hadn't said anything to anyone.
"I should have told the truth back then."
She wanted to thank him, but before he woke up, Ciel and Lucas had arrived to help her.
Seeing the booth ready, they simply began to spread on social media that Selena had done everything alone and that the people in the class had no character.
Shortly after, the place was full of teenagers working at the booth, following Selena's example, who had received all the credit for a job that hadn't been hers alone.
Her fame as an angel spread even further after that day, but the opposite happened with Noah.
— To be honest, Sel. How can you fall for someone who slept while we were all working hard that day?
When Noah woke up, the booth was already set up, and the event was about to start; however, his classmates weren't happy to see him there.
From their point of view, Noah was simply sleeping while everyone else worked, and Selena supported his behavior, preventing everyone from approaching him.
That was the last straw for those students, who didn't know how much Noah had worked, and they started to hate him.
"Hmph... Why did trash like you even come here in the first place? Can't you see we're all working?" Arthur said, annoyed with the newly awakened.
Not understanding what was going on, Noah simply looked around and spoke his mind.
"All I see are a bunch of freeloaders taking advantage of my work" he replied, looking the students surrounding him.
Noah was right. Half of the posters they hung had been made by him, and he had set up the booth alone and taken the materials from the warehouse before falling asleep.
"What!?"
To those who didn't know the story, it all seemed like a mockery filled with insolence.
"Ciel, he's not a slacker like you guys think" Selena said, recalling the past.
At the time, Selena had tried to explain what had really happened, but no one wanted to listen, not even Noah.
Her reputation as an "Angel" ended up hindering more than helping.
To everyone else, it seemed like she was trying to justify his bad behavior.
Seeing this, Noah simply remained silent and said nothing. He was accustomed to dealing with these types of people; those who accuse others of what they themselves are.
After the event, Selena tried to apologize to Noah, but his response was surprising.
"You don't need to apologize or thank me for anything. It wasn't you who accused me of being lazy; and about me doing those things, well, that was just my duty as a class member," he replied, looking her in the eyes.
"But it's not fair for you to be treated this way and hated for something you didn't do."
"Don't worry, I expected this to happen."
She was stunned. Not because he said he expected to be treated unfairly, but because she realized he was serious.
His eyes told her that he was used to these situations. Accustomed to helping and not being recognized. Used to being viewed negatively and labeled with bad titles. Accustomed to working hard and getting nothing in return.
So why had he done all that? What did he gain from helping her? What did he aspire to?
Selena couldn't stop asking herself these questions. She knew Noah wasn't interested in her, so why go so far?
That's why she asked him.
"What do you gain from all this?"
"What do I gain? Nothing."
A dry, emotionless response, but to her eyes, those words shone.
Someone who helped others without gaining anything in return. Not seeking recognition or fame. All he did was act according to his ideals, entering and leaving the scene without being seen or noticed.
To Selena, at that moment, Noah had become a hero, more precisely a solitary hero without friends, forgotten within the scene.
The hero who had helped her and whom only she knew the charm of.
— If people knew Noah even a little more, they would also feel sad about his departure — Selena said, watching her classmates cross the portal.
— Come on, Sel. Did you see how that guy talked to Lady Freya? He's garbage who decided to abandon thousands of people fighting against the Demon Lord — replied Ciel, looking at the beautiful goddess guiding the students to the portal.
"That may be true, but I'm sure he has his reasons."
Despite loving him, Selena was not able to accompany him.
For some reason, the moment she saw Freya, her soul was captivated by her beauty.
Selena didn't know how to explain it, but she felt she should serve her and follow her. It was as if nothing in the world was more important than pleasing her.
— Lady Freya needs our help, so I decided to stay, but after the other world, I'm going to ask her to return to Earth, and I'm going to confess to Noah — Selena exclaimed, seeing that only four people were left to enter the portal.
— You who know, — said Ciel, shrugging and heading toward the portal — I'll see you on the other side.
— Alright.
As she watched her friend cross the portal, someone silently approached her.
— Don't worry, Noah is still in this world.
It was Lucas who had come to speak to Selena, who seemed strangely cheerful about the whole situation.
— What do you mean?
— Well, this situation is a classic in isekais, and Noah must know that. Although it's a riskier route, he must have taken it based on the fruits it will bear — Lucas continued, adjusting his glasses — As expected of my friend.
Selena didn't understand what Lucas meant and merely stepped away from him in silence, heading toward the portal, ready to face the new world that awaited her.