07. Who Are You?
07. Who Are You?
He'd never thought his life had ever gone smoothly, but lately it had been especially bad.
The Growth Potion he'd finally found turned out to be a fake, and Hayden Parker, whom he'd naturally assumed was living out the original story just fine, had apparently never existed in the first place.
At this rate, wouldn't even the flimsy future he'd been using as his guiding light become completely useless?
"Um... is something... wrong?"
"Ah, don't worry about it, it's nothing!"
As his expression darkened, Amy grew anxious.
Even if he moped around, it wasn't like the demons would stop targeting the academy.
He'd already fought plenty of demon worshippers—the organization targeting the academy—ever since his days in the Imperial Knights.
Just in case, he'd ask the guild to investigate, and for now he'd have to assume Hayden Parker didn't exist and come up with a new plan.
'Or maybe... could it be?'
Suddenly, a hypothesis flashed in his mind.
The only latecomer at the entrance ceremony with the surname Parker, red hair, Amy Parker... She wasn't Hayden, and she wasn't a man either, but her circumstances were the most similar.
She might be a completely separate person, but... what if Amy was Hayden?
What if some external factor had caused her to be born a woman instead of a man?
'There's no way something like that...'
But come to think of it, from the moment he possessed this world, he felt like nothing could possibly be strange anymore.
It seemed worth investigating.
"Got some time? This might get a little long. Want to go to the cafe up ahead and continue?"
"Ah... is that alright...?"
"You've got nothing else after this anyway."
"Yes... yeah!"
The students who'd entered through the exam had no other schedule besides the entrance ceremony.
Classes and the official start of the semester would begin tomorrow, and today was completely free for students to get to know each other.
He could already see some students grouping up and moving around together.
The academy cafe had an atmosphere similar to modern-day cafes.
There was nothing like a kiosk, but the menu items were written in elegant white lettering on a blackboard-style menu.
The cafe was decorated with antique furniture, the rich scent of roasting coffee beans filled the air, and a middle-aged barista was brewing coffee—it was unmistakably a modern antique-style cafe.
He didn't know why it had developed this way, but since this world was built from a novel someone had scribbled out, he tended to accept things calmly even if they seemed a little strange.
The real world didn't always run logically either, so you just had to accept it.
"Um... I've only ever lived in my territory... this is my first time in a cafe."
Amy, who'd said it was her first time in a cafe, looked around with shining eyes, taking in every corner of the place.
The Parker territory was a small countryside area, so there probably weren't any proper cafes there.
As he watched Amy stare at the menu crammed full of items with a puzzled expression, agonizing over what to choose, a thought suddenly flashed in his head.
'I wonder if she likes the same things Hayden liked?'
It was a sudden burst of curiosity.
Hayden's drink preferences had been quite different from the common tastes of Imperial nobles, so if their tastes matched... wouldn't that lend weight to the hypothesis that they might be the same person?
"I... I'll..."
Amy's eyes swept over the prices on the menu, and just as she was about to point to the cheapest item, he made the first move.
"One Pine Sparkling here,"
At his order, the corner of the barista's mouth lifted slightly.
It was because this strange drink was an original creation, born purely from the barista's personal taste, that it was even on the menu.
Pine Sparkling—a beverage made by adding an extract from the sprouts of northern coniferous trees to carbonated water—miraculously tasted just like 'Sol's Eye' pine needle drink.
The advertising slogan was definitely something like 'The refreshing coolness of the north that clears even your head!', but most people felt put off by the cool menthol scent and hardly ever ordered it.
If you liked it, you should just drink it alone—why on earth would you sell something like this in a cafe?
But ridiculously enough, the protagonist Hayden Parker had been fanatically obsessed with this drink.
"...And one glass of milk, and those chocolate chip cookies over there."
He felt odd looks again because the tiny little guy had ordered milk.
He felt slightly pissed off.
He hadn't ordered it with any deep meaning in mind.
It was just a habit ingrained in him since he'd possessed this body.
He carried the plate of cookies, the Pine Sparkling, and the properly warmed milk over to the table and sat down.
"Um... the money..."
"I'm paying."
When Amy tried to pull out her wallet from her pocket, he grabbed it and made her put it back.
He was the one who'd suggested coming, so it was only right that he paid.
The drinks weren't exactly cheap.
He didn't know about other things, but he had plenty of money for ordinary spending, so he didn't skimp on stuff like this.
"I'll... pay you back later..."
"I just bought yours while I was getting mine. It'd only make me uncomfortable if you held onto it, so don't worry about it."
He told Amy, who seemed burdened, not to worry, and as he sipped the warm milk in his mug, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
At his words telling her not to worry, she ducked her head deeply, then lifted the Pine Sparkling in front of her and brought it to her lips.
"...!"
As she drank the Pine Sparkling, her eyes went wide and round.
This was positive—at least she hadn't grimaced.
'Is it alright?'
Judging by her expression alone, it seemed fine.
"That's this cafe's secret menu item. How is it?"
"It tastes really unique... it's like my chest feels wide open."
A spot-on flavor assessment.
But saying it tasted 'unique' was definitely not a positive expression.
After saying that, Amy gulped down the sparkling drink once more.
"Is it good?"
"Yes, it's good."
He felt relieved hearing her directly say it was good.
Amy also liked Pine Sparkling, just like Hayden.
Knowing that fact was enough.
The barista behind the counter was also wiping a glass with a dry towel, nodding his head as if satisfied by the positive review of the Pine Sparkling.
Wait, why was that guy eavesdropping over there?
"I didn't see you earlier. Did you also get in through the exam?"
"Yes... I do have a territory, but we're poor... so I couldn't get a recommendation letter."
"Wow, you prepared and got in here on your own? That's impressive... I just got in with a recommendation letter."
"Is that... so? I was under the impression that those admitted with recommendation letters still took the exam..."
"For exam admissions, you have to get an A or above to enter, but if you get in with a recommendation letter, the exam is just for sorting your skill level.
Even if you don't take the exam, you'll still be able to attend the academy or anything. And... you're a scholarship student, right?"
"...Yes."
"If you're a scholarship student, that means you got an A or above. That's more impressive than a recommendation letter. You can have a bit more confidence."
"...Thank you."
As he showered her with praise, Amy's face flushed red and she ducked her head deeply.
They talked about various things after that.
He opened up first by slightly embellishing his personal family history to make it sound a little better, and as the mood took hold, Amy shared a bit about her own family history too.
"I..."
A poor territory, exam admission, similar but still a little different.
In the original story, Hayden Parker was from a noble family, but when he was young, a demon appeared in his territory, and his entire family died. He wandered alone until he met the 'Devil Slayer' and served them as his master.
He enrolled in the academy after hearing intel that demons, his sworn enemies, had infiltrated it...
Amy's circumstances were completely different.
"When I was little, demons attacked my territory..."
It was true that the territory had been attacked by demons and suffered great damage, but someone had slain the demon, so her entire family hadn't died.
But the damage the demon caused was far too immense.
Most of the children Amy's age had been devoured by the demon, and Amy had almost died too, but she survived because that someone had slain the demon just in the nick of time.
"It was a small territory to begin with... but people stopped coming, saying a demon's curse had fallen upon the land... they just keep leaving."
Because of that, forget living anything like a noble life, they said they had to farm just to survive.
The solution young Amy came up with to save her territory, which was getting worse and worse, was the academy—a story a minstrel had told her when she was little.
"If I graduate from the academy... the people in my territory will finally have room to breathe..."
"I see... that's amazing."
Graduating from the academy meant you were a talent recognized by the Empire, and even more so if you'd gotten in through exam admission rather than a recommendation letter.
If things went well, she might even be able to forge connections with high-ranking officials.
She was going to succeed and save her territory... she had a really kind mindset.
In the end, they talked for quite a while longer before parting ways.
"Thank you... for today!"
"It's nothing... well, see you tomorrow then."
"Y-yes!!"
He still couldn't be sure.
Whether she was truly born with the protagonist's fate, or a completely different person altogether.
In her current state, it was impossible for her to endure the protagonist's destiny.
But if the protagonist broke under that destiny, the only thing left would be a bad ending.
If that were the case, he had no choice but to step in and help her fight through it somehow...
———————————————
The whole way back to the dormitory, Amy felt happy as she recalled the connection she'd made today.
"If it's this much... we're friends, right?"
The beautiful blond boy sitting alone in the garden.
He was shorter than her, but his mature aura made him not seem like a child at all.
They went to a cafe together, and they even carefully opened up a little about their family histories, which could be sensitive... they'd had such a fun conversation.
Talking like that with someone her age... it felt like the first time since that incident.
She'd been without any relationships with peers for so long that her senses had dulled, but having done this much, it should be fine to call him a friend.
Atlas Nemea, the first friend Amy had made since coming to the academy.
"Hehe..."
Truthfully, she'd been extremely intimidated.
Coming to the academy, there had been that accident, that embarrassing incident during the entrance ceremony; the dazzlingly brilliant carriages that came to unload luggage were overwhelming, and the academy's staggering facilities all burdened her and made her shrink back.
'That's more impressive than a recommendation letter. You can have a bit more confidence.'
Seeing as he'd entered with a recommendation letter, Atlas was probably from an incredible family too.
When an Atlas like that, with nothing to prove, praised her, telling her she was amazing when she'd had nothing to boast about and felt so small, the corners of Amy's mouth lifted without her realizing it.
"He was a nice person, unlike what I worried about."
Amy's muttering to herself grew longer.
Looking closely, it was a little different from just talking to herself.
"...You're telling me not to let my guard down?"
Even though no one was nearby, Amy was exchanging words as if she were talking to someone.
"No... Thank you for helping me all this time, but... I did what you told me to do. Even enrolling in the academy... Atlas is a good person... I don't want to be suspicious of him or anything."
Amy's conversation with the unseen someone paused for a moment.
"You're saying he gave me a fake name?"