A primal fear surged through me, making me jump back instinctively.
What, what, what is that? A doppelgänger? Is it that thing where if you meet one, one of you has to die? Where’s my shortsword? Damn it, I need to activate my Weaving right now─
“Frondier, calm down. It’s Senior Quinie.”
“Huh?”
As Sybil said this, the person with Frondier’s face let out an “Ah” sound. He then reached up with his hand and peeled off his face from below his ear.
The true face revealed beneath was indeed Quinie de Viet.
“……Ah. It was a mask.”
I was too shocked by the face to notice anything else; everything else was different. The color and length of the hair, the figure, the clothes, and even Quinie’s signature fan were all different.
If I had been a bit more composed, I would have recognized it immediately, but I was too startled.
Quinie answered, though her expression was not good. Not just bad, but pale as if she was about to die, her complexion was ghastly.
“I’m never doing this kind of thing again.”
“……Ah.”
I guessed the situation from her muttering to herself.
Quinie had put on a mask and pretended to be me to attract the students’ attention. The scene of students moving like corpses attacking her must have been quite horrifying.
……Like corpses.
I closed my mouth and looked at Quinie. Quinie spread her fan and covered her mouth with it, speaking with her eyes instead.
‘Don’t give it away.’
Understood.
“But where did Aster go?”
“He’s fighting right now.”
Elodie said.
Fighting?
“Why? The students should have regained consciousness by now.”
“That’s why they’re fighting.”
“Huh?”
That’s when it happened.
Boom!
A loud crash sounded from the playground outside the auditorium.
My companions and I went outside to check the situation.
There, Aster, pinned beneath, was pushing Robald’s face away with his foot.
“You crazy fool! You were out of your mind!”
“I won’t admit it! Don’t delude yourself into thinking you’ve won with a fight like this!”
“Quit it with that nonsense and get lost!”
Oh, Aster speaking so harshly is somewhat refreshing.
Elodie said.
“It seems like Aster was using his aura to almost completely subdue Robald, who had lost his consciousness. But then Robald woke up and started causing trouble, saying, ‘This isn’t a real fight!'”
“……That’s so Robald.”
I sighed and looked at the two of them.
“Aster! It’s a rematch! Right now! I’ll show you my true strength!”
“Are you insane! I can’t fight right now!”
“Why not!”
“Because I used all my strength stopping your crazy self! You dumbass!!”
As Aster shouted, Robald suddenly closed his mouth and blinked.
Then, pushing her away from him, he stood up.
“Hmm. I see. You’re trying your best to stop me. Hmm. I see.”
“……Yeah.”
“So you’re saying that even when I was unconscious, I was still pretty strong.”
Ah, so that works.
I felt a weight lift off my shoulders as the atmosphere lightened up.
Whenever these two fight, there’s no telling where the sh*t might hit the fan. And that sh*t might be me.
“Oh, but hey, Robald.”
Aster brushed himself off, stood up, and opened his mouth.
“What is it, Aster?”
Robald asked, and Aster broke out in a grin.
The muscles in his face bulged.
“You fight better when you’re unconscious.”
“……What?”
“If you want to fight me again, go and bang your head against something first. Then you might stand a chance.”
“You little sh*t!!”
Robald lunged at him. The two of them grappled and rolled around, fighting each other.
I just watched them like I was watching a movie, feeling completely unfazed.
“They should just let it go. Really, Aster.”
Elodie sighed.
“Well, Aster has a lot of pride.”
I guess that’s part of what makes him the protagonist of this game.
* * *
That night, I returned to the mansion and headed to Selena’s room.
Standing in front of her door, I hesitated for a moment.
……When I go into my escort’s room, what should I do? Should I just call out to her, or should I knock?
After a moment’s thought, I knocked.
Knock, knock.
“Selena, it’s me.”
“Frondier-nim? If you have an order, I will come out right awa,”
“No. I have something to do in your room.”
“……In my room, you say?”
“That’s right.”
There was no answer from inside the room after my reply.
Then,
“Then please wait five minutes. I’ll be right there.”
“Five minutes? Just open the door. I’m coming in,”
“Oh! You can’t! I’ll change my clothes, no, I’ll be right out.”
Then there was a flurry of activity inside the room. Rustling, the sound of clothes being brushed against, the scraping sound of a wooden door being opened.
I sighed and said,
“There’s no need to change your clothes. This is not an official matter.”
The noise stopped abruptly.
“I didn’t change my clothes. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m just following the proper procedure to let Frondier-nim into my room,”
“I see. Are you done with the procedure?”
“……Yes. Please come in.”
Only then did the door open.
Selena was wearing a fluffy nightgown. It was completely different from the tight, uncomfortable-looking nightgown she was wearing when I first met her.
……Yeah. That makes sense.
I stepped into the room and looked around. Hmm, it’s got everything you need. This is the Roach mansion, after all.
“What is it that you need?”
“It’s something very important for you.”
Selena’s expression tightened at my answer. Yeah, it’s good that she’s taking it seriously.
I said my next words.
“Starting today, I will teach you the ‘ancient language.'”