The discomfort from the awkwardness of the duel did have its effect.
Sophia Bianchi was originally quite proud.
When she first appeared, she acted as if she enjoyed fighting on the battlefield, and after defeating the main characters, she made a remark about “not controlling her strength” or sothing similar.
But this ti, she started by losing to .
Even Lena, who was on my side, wasn’t deed to have died, which was a good sign.
Of course, I fought while using my ability to rewind ti multiple tis, but that wasn’t the only reason I was able to win.
I had faced Lucas recently.
And not just facing him, but facing Lucas when he was extrely angry at , and wearing the protective armor and holding an artifact as a weapon.
Sophia Bianchi’s skill didn’t compare to Lucas's.
I rembered sothing a baseball player once said. He faced a pitcher who threw fastballs with monstrous speed, and when that pitcher was replaced, the next pitch seed much easier to hit.
That was exactly how I felt.
Although Sophia Bianchi wasn’t a weak opponent and wasn’t soone I could easily defeat without my abilities, I was confident that, at least with my ability to rewind ti, I could take on a cathedral knight like her.
It gave a bit of confidence.
That was the positive effect I gained from the duel.
But there was also a negative effect.
It was—
“Sylvia!”
Sophia Bianchi had beco far more clingy than before.
I hadn’t realized it when she’d been sticking to before, but perhaps back then, she was just evaluating .
She was a skilled swordswoman, and for soone like her, it would have seed odd to treat soone like as ‘important,’ since she would have seen as soone with no talent.
But after yesterday’s duel, it seed like she looked at differently.
Well, it wasn’t like she was physically touching , so I suppose it was a relief…
“Ah, Sophia. How are you?”
“Yes, of course!”
She was acting so differently from how she was in the original story.
Claire had changed, but this felt even stranger. While Claire had grown up in an entirely different environnt, Sophia’s circumstances hadn’t changed so drastically.
...Perhaps this was all an act?
“You seem in a good mood today.”
Charlotte seed to feel a sense of familiarity with Sophia Bianchi. It was probably because they ca from the sa region. There was still quite a big difference in status, though.
“Yes, sothing wonderful happened yesterday.”
“Sothing wonderful?” Charlotte asked, tilting her head. Sophia Bianchi’s face turned toward with a wide smile, and I felt a little uneasy seeing her expression.
“Yesterday, Sylvia and Miss Bianchi had a duel,” she said, before I had a chance to speak.
“That’s right,” Lena added.
For a brief mont, I caught a flash of irritation on Sophia Bianchi’s face as she spoke. Most people probably wouldn’t have noticed, but I did. And, oddly, I felt relieved.
So, she hadn’t completely changed her character.
“Yes, Sylvia and I had a duel yesterday.”
“I see,” Charlotte said with a wry smile.
Her expression suggested she had a rough idea of what had happened.
“When a swordsman with pride faces Sylvia in a duel, their perspective usually changes afterward.”
...That was a bit too much praise.
“….”
After listening quietly, Alice turned to , smiling gently.
Considering that Alice was probably the only one who could read my expressions accurately, she likely picked up on the changes in my face.
I took a deep breath and held it in.
---
“Miss Bianchi.”
After school.
As everyone packed their bags to head back to the dorm, I called out to Sophia Bianchi.
“Yes!”
She imdiately stopped packing and flashed a big smile in my direction, drawing the attention of everyone around and even the entire classroom.
…I should’ve talked to her sowhere else.
Still, it wasn’t bad to observe the reactions around .
Sophia Bianchi wasn’t a character I t in the academy in the original story, so seeing this reaction from the others was actually quite refreshing. It would help to understand how people were perceiving her and how her image was being shaped.
I realized I’d beco a bit self-conscious about judging people’s appearances due to the number of good-looking people around . With everyone being so handso or beautiful, it was hard to objectively judge soone’s looks when eting them for the first ti.
Considering how many of the boys were staring at Sophia Bianchi with awe, it seed safe to say that her looks were objectively excellent.
“Can we talk for a mont alone?”
At my question, I heard a few people quietly gasp. It wasn’t often that I asked soone to speak alone with .
Now that I thought about it, what did people think of ? The way my friends saw probably differed from how others saw .
But that was sothing I’d think about later.
“Of course!”
Sophia Bianchi responded as if she had been waiting for this mont.
I felt Alice’s gaze on , intense and sharp.
After glancing at Alice briefly, I looked back at Sophia Bianchi.
“Then, please co to my room this afternoon. I would like to discuss yesterday’s… duel.”
“Understood!”
Sophia Bianchi answered with that sa bright smile.
---
The most comfortable place to talk at the academy was, of course, my dorm room. Being a room for nobles, the walls and door were thick, so no sound leaked out. The room was warm, in contrast to the chilly air outside. Even if the conversation went on for a while, we wouldn’t need to change locations.
As Sophia Bianchi entered and glanced around, it seed like she was trying to spot differences between my room and her own.
I quietly prepared tea, letting her continue looking around.
“Well then… let’s talk. Please, have a seat.”
“Yes.”
Sophia Bianchi sat down, her expression showing no sign of tension.
She looked directly at .
Her athyst-like eyes locked onto mine, and it was a little uncomfortable. Despite living in the West for ten years, I hadn’t fully gotten used to this kind of eye contact.
I steeled myself.
There was no reason for to feel uncomfortable in this situation. In fact, the person who should feel uncomfortable was Sophia Bianchi, who was here on a covert mission.
In that sense, she was doing her job well.
“Sophia Bianchi.”
“Yes?”
“Are you from the Law Country?”
I asked without beating around the bush, and for a mont, she stood there, speechless.
“Pardon?”
“I asked if you’re from the Law Country.”
Sophia Bianchi stared at blankly, and I poured so tea into her cup.
It seed strange to think she wouldn’t be discovered, especially with her sword techniques and openly ntioning the goddess.
Though, there might be people in the Empire who casually talk about goddesses. It wasn’t a religion that everyone believed in, but it was still an influential faith, so there must be plenty of followers.
I only realized the truth and figured it out, so maybe other people wouldn’t have noticed. They might have thought, “There’s no way a true knight from the Law Country would be so open about it.”
“You’re not going to answer?”
As I urged her for a response, she blinked and spoke.
“Are you saying… I’ve been hiding my nationality?”
“You may not have been hiding it. If the status itself is real, then you wouldn’t be lying. It could be a ‘real’ status created for a purpose.”
At least, it wasn’t sothing created just for this mission. In the original story, her na had always been “Sophia Bianchi,” and that hadn’t changed, even in the latest editions.
“Then I’ll change the question.”
I looked directly at Sophia Bianchi, just as she had looked at earlier.
Sophia Bianchi was flustered but didn’t avert her gaze, so her expression beca clearer.
Was she doing this on purpose? Maybe she thought showing her flustered expression would make believe her?
Well, I would find out soon enough.
“Are you a knight from the Law Country?”
“…”
Eventually, Sophia Bianchi’s expression stiffened.
“…If I ask how you knew, will you tell ?”
“Well…”
I replied as I stared at Sophia Bianchi.
“If the hand you’re showing is useful to , I don’t see any reason to hide my cards either.”
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