No way.
No way no way no way.
What about the cool beauty concept?
I’m not planning to spill the truth right here, right now. But since I’ve hinted that I know the truth, I have to create at least a little atmosphere that makes Mia Crowfield believe I might know something.
What kind of expression should I make in a situation like this?
I racked my brain fiercely in that short time.
Should I just rewind time? Start over for about two weeks?
But could I maintain that concept for those two weeks?
Is there a backup plan? I kept brainstorming ways to escape this situation without ruining my ‘cool beauty’ image.
And then,
“Also, what you saw was… practice.”
I blurted out nonsense.
I was trying to redirect the attention with my words, but I ended up spouting complete nonsense.
No way, even if I have nothing to say, calling it practice? And not even practicing faces but yawning and sniffing? That’s the kind of story that makes anyone think it doesn’t make any sense.
Even though my opponent is somewhat dull-witted Mia Crowfield—
“…P-practice?”
…Maybe not?
She was meticulous enough to follow me. It wasn’t just casual stalking; she probably prepared thoroughly before sneaking after me. Seeing her set up under the bed makes me think so even more.
But despite that, we’re still talking about Mia Crowfield.
She grew up without friends and was filled with hate for the Emperor by her mother.
In some ways, she resembled the original Claire. Of course, the outcomes were different.
She could come up with plans and was quite exceptional in her magical abilities, hiding her true self by opposing the Emperor, but when it came to forming relationships, she was incredibly awkward.
“Yes, it’s practice.”
I recalled the character card of Mia Crowfield from the game and decided to push forward with it. Whatever happens, I could always rewind time and start over.
Right, the advantage is on my side at the moment. At least Mia wasn’t holding a staff.
“I…”
I slightly frowned. Just that would change my expression significantly. Normally, I barely showed any expression, so if anyone had seen this, it would probably be Jayden or Lucas—maybe both.
“I don’t know how to express emotions well.”
I lied without even wetting my lips.
Not expressing emotions? Pfft, I roll around on the bed or eat sweet treats making silly faces all the time, so I could be considered a very emotional person.
Of course, if I rewound time, it would be like it never happened.
Anyway, I tried to act expressionless and emotionless in front of others… but it seems I’ve loosened up a lot since starting at the academy. After all, I got caught red-handed like this.
“B-but what I showed was—”
“It’s practice.”
I put on a poker face.
Honestly, I’m not sure if she’d be fooled. I just said what I believed based on Mia Crowfield’s image from the game.
“If I suddenly show my face, everyone around will get shocked.”
And actually, they did get shocked. Alice was reading my expression pretty well, but that doesn’t mean I was openly grinning. The expressions I showed while eating parfait last time made everyone really dumbfounded.
“That nodding off… was… practice…?”
Mia Crowfield muttered with a blank expression.
Crap, I forgot about that.
Practicing nodding off or yawning? It sounds ridiculous. If anything, practicing a smile or something would make more sense.
The problem is, I already decided to push this forward with a poker face. So, this means I have no other option but to go along with this unless I rewind time. And I’m maintaining this poker face to avoid rewinding.
“…My practice isn’t just about expressions.”
“…?”
It seemed like Mia was somewhat engaged in my words, so I continued speaking slowly.
“Just changing my expression doesn’t mean I’ll appear more human. For example, let’s say I smile.”
I kept my eyes quite still, only slightly lifting the corners of my lips. Mia shivered as she saw my expression.
“How does it look? Does it seem natural?”
“…Umm, no, not at all.”
Mia Crowfield took a couple of steps back as if she was creeped out and pressed against the door, shoulders trembling in surprise.
Good, that was the goal. I purposely made it look as awkward as possible. Not only awkward, but if my mouth smiles and my eyes don’t, that’s the perfect mixture of creepy to convey that “this is awkward” vibe.
…Alright, if I ever have to use this expression again, let’s not do it in front of someone else.
“Expressions need all parts of the face to move properly. A smiling face isn’t just about the mouth; the eyes matter too. And not just one type of smile—smirking or laughing looks different too. The sound is crucial for a good laugh. I had some practice, would you like to see?”
“Ah, n-no, I think that’s fine…”
Mia Crowfield said with a creepy expression.
…
Hmm, I did intend for that, but seeing her look that way makes it a little sad.
Mia, like many anime girls, was genuinely cute. Her oddly clueless personality combined with her gloomy backstory is what made her popular.
“…The difficulty of expressions is quite challenging. That’s why I decided to start with simpler ‘actions’ first. Nodding off in a chair or yawning are things I can mimic without changing my expressions.”
“…”
It seemed like her doubts hadn’t completely vanished, but as I kept throwing out my absurd statements, her frowning expression had finally disappeared.
“I was practicing to appear just like a normal person during those times. The way you saw me was during one of those moments.”
It wasn’t a setting from the Chronicles of Aetherna, but it was a setup I’d seen in other manga. A robot acting just like everyone else was simply mimicking learned behavior. The protagonist sees that robot in despair… it was a serious hard sci-fi anime that left me feeling down, to the point I couldn’t finish it.
“…”
Mia Crowfield stared at me for a while.
Then, for a long time, she said nothing.
Would she believe me?
Honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising if she didn’t. I’m not the kind of person anyone should trust by her standards. Anyone who can entirely trust the person who killed their father would be the weird one.
But on the flip side… it was a situation where she almost had to believe me.
After all, Mia seemed confused seeing me act just like a normal person when I should be emotionless, cold-hearted. If she thinks I have feelings like everyone else… that’s surprisingly generous of her. It’s similar to how people during WWII could see Nazis and think, “These are people too.”
…Back then, I couldn’t even think of Mia’s father as a person—so it wouldn’t be strange if Mia felt the same about me.
Yet, with the knowledge that “this is actually my human side and not a disguise,” wouldn’t she lean more towards trusting me?
“…”
As I silently stared at the frozen Mia Crowfield, I extended my right hand.
Mia jumped back as if I’d startled her, then gazed at my outstretched hand with slightly parted lips.
I was offering her the gun I’d been holding. Not aimed at her, but presenting it with the handle facing her.
If she accepted it as is, she’d be able to shoot me right away.
…Well, I didn’t expect she’d be able to blow my head off in one shot.
Mia Crowfield couldn’t kill Claire because her nature wasn’t suited to killing. Being timid and growing up without friends, Mia desperately wanted someone close to her.
While Claire could be quite sarcastic and annoying, as you can tell from the current Claire, her behavior came from a messed-up upbringing—she isn’t such a bad person at heart.
That’s why I felt some sympathy for Mia Crowfield, who had lost her father because of herself, and that feeling showed in my actions.
By the time Mia found out who killed her father, she was already very close to Claire. Claire even said, “Well then, if that’s how you think, go ahead and attack me.” It might sound sarcastic, but she meant it sincerely as well.
But in the end, Mia couldn’t bring herself to kill Claire.
The reason I was offering her the gun was that I understood this situation.
Besides, while Mia had circumstantial evidence, she didn’t have anything solid, and I didn’t even hold enough conviction.
There’s no way she would shoot me for taking this.
…Well, even if she did shoot me, as long as it wasn’t instant death, I could still rewind time.
Mia Crowfield reluctantly accepted the gun with trembling hands.
And she stared at me blankly.
“If you have the conviction to kill me right now, go ahead and shoot.”
“…”
Mia Crowfield just fumbled her words, unable to respond.
“One day, you will know the full truth behind that situation. If then you still think killing me is the right choice, then sure. I won’t dodge the bullet.”
“…Can’t you just… tell me now…?”
“Not right now. You’re not ready to accept it.”
“…”
At my response, Mia bit her lip.
“If by any chance, you are fully ready but still can’t comprehend the truth, then I will personally tell you what happened. About that time.”
“…”
Mia Crowfield bowed her head deeply.
I slowly walked and carefully passed by her.
Luckily, I didn’t get shot in the back at the door. Phew.
“…Oh, and.”
I turned my head slightly and said.
“Please keep this practice a ‘secret’ from others. It’s not a ‘complete’ act yet.”
“…Okay, I will do that.”
Her lacking response made me turn my head back around.
Then I opened the door and came out.
My heart was racing.
Honestly, I wanted to cheer, but—
—I can’t blow my cover this time.
I tried my best to maintain my normal walking pace and headed back to my room.
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