‘Young ones are so impressionable… it’s easy to dye them in any color—like a blank canvas.’
Not only had I improved Anabelle’s opinion of , but even the whole class now had a better image of my person. I had truly killed two birds with one stone, no?
Opinions breed image. Image breeds reputation. Reputation breeds identity. Identity breeds position. Position breeds capacity… and that capacity defines an existence.
All I had just done was to shift sothing so minute, seemingly inconsequential. But, the rewards would be enormous.
That was a guarantee!
**************************
[Three Days Later]
Classes ended for , and it was already late in the afternoon. Others began leaving the class to attend their Electives courses, but such things didn’t concern .
I had sothing more important to do…
“J-Jared Leonard… here…” A soft voice called out to .
I had been expecting her all day, but she really held on to the book until the last minute—Anabelle, that is.
I glanced in her direction and flashed my usual calm smile.
“Oh, you’re done already. That’s good.”
She returned my smile with hers, a sharp contrast from the glare she would usually give .
“Thank you for lending this book. If it’s not too much to ask, I’d like you to tell when you’re returning it. We could go together, so I can borrow it from the library at the sa ti…”
Her voice sounded shrill and ta for so reason. Over the past few days since I lent her the book, the air around us had certainly loosened. We now exchanged greetings, and Edward often made small talk with , though not much, since I always made myself occupied.
Currently, he was attending an Elective amongst over two-thirds of the whole class. That made the Lecture Hall nearly empty, giving Anabelle and ample ti to discuss.
“Alright, no problem. I’m guessing you’ve not completely digested the contents in the book.”
“Y-yeah. Lewis Griffith’s words are quite deep. I need more ti to cross-reference this with other materials and draw a reasonable conclusion.”
‘Ah, she’s talking about her assertion from that ti!’ My thoughts rang, rembering how she declared in front of everyone that the Great Sage’s materials and theories were incomplete.
“I see… you hold a keen interest in him, the Great Sage Lewis Griffith, uh?”
Her face morphed from the sowhat nervous look she had, to a more confident one. Passion blazed in her eyes and I could tell that she was excited about the topic.
“Yeah! I’ve been studying him and his works ever since I was a child, after all! He inspired to be a Scholar, after all!”
I could sense that this was genuine affection toward the man whose works must have lit a bright fire in the girl’s heart. It just felt weird because the man in question was , and having a very cute fangirl fawning all over my works just made things a bit awkward.
“I think every Scholar sees Lewis Griffith as motivation, though. Even Magic-Users also admire him…”
My response seed to surprise Anabelle a little, as she looked at in a peculiar, strange manner.
“Hm? I guess… but it’s not like how I feel. I sohow feel like he’s my rival, you know? I an, I’m working so hard so I can catch up to him and surpass him! It’s not like I worship him of anything… even though he’s so amazing and handso-, I an, intelligent. Ahem!”
‘You almost said ‘handso’, didn’t you?!’
This girl was giving mixed signals, and I couldn’t tell if her admiration for Lewis Griffith was purely academic, or if it extended into sothing deeper. A chill ran down my spine when the thought surfaced and I quickly buried it.
‘You don’t even know how I looked like back then!’ I nearly scread at her, but kept it within .
Well, I wasn’t that bad-looking, but my facial features couldn’t exactly be said to be top-tier. In fact, compared to how I looked now, my past self may have as well been trash.
‘Must be due to my current noble bloodline…’
In any case, I took the book from Anabelle’s hand, though her tight grip on it before she finally released what was mine, clearly showed how unwilling she was to part with it.
I could have extended her ti with it, but that would only bring suspicion upon . Why would I borrow a book for two weeks and lend it to another person, when I could be using it?
I had to act natural.
Plus, sothing told that no ti I gave Anabelle would be enough to satiate her uses for the book. It would just be best if she borrowed it from the Library after I was done.
“It’s Friday, already… last day of our first week.”
I had to wrap things up with the pair of both Anabelle and Edward before more ti elapsed.
“It’s nice to see that soone feels the sa as I do. I also share your opinion, Anabelle. Lewis Griffith… I intend to surpass him.”
My sudden statent, devoid of any lies, struck a chord within Anabelle the mont they were uttered.
Her eyes widened in surprise as I gave her a fierce look to show I was serious. Sparkles showed in her clear blue eyes and I could see more of her excitent build up.
“Kyiiiiii!!!” She suddenly let out a squeal that caught off guard.
“So, you feel the sa way? I knew it! I an, I’m always watching how you read during your spare ti, and how you look at the flowers in the garden, plucking quite a few. I assu those are for experints, right? You also brilliantly answer the questions in class and give your ideal opinion. You mix in your assertion, argunt, and possible proof when offering an answer! Do you know the significant similarities in those things?”
Anabelle was rambling now, she couldn’t be stopped. My statent had opened a chatterbox that exceeded my control.
“I-I guess it’s—”
“—That’s right! It’s what Lewis Griffith used to do back in his school days!” Anabelle refused to let complete my excuse of a response and just continued speaking.
Perhaps I didn’t have everything under control as I had initially thought.
Reviews
All reviews (0)