The Misunderstanding Is Resolved?
Charlotte burst into uncontrollable tears.
A woman who operated with cold calculation and ruthlessly pursued every advantage—such a figure should never have shed tears like this. Yet her eyes brimmed with them, unstoppable.
I didn't bother soothing her. She needed time. I needed rest.
Honestly, I felt like fainting right here and now.
From now on, I really must add physical training to my daily schedule. Yeah, I absolutely have to.
Fighting for barely five minutes and I'm already this exhausted? If I keep it up, I'll die without ever accomplishing anything.
*I'm going to die.*
Gripping my left shoulder, the one pierced by a bullet, I collapsed onto the ground.
The tracks were still there beneath me, unchanged. But who cares? If another train comes along, Charlotte will handle it on her own. I don't know the first thing about it.
My right hand felt slick. The bleeding must have been worse than I thought, given how hard I'd moved my body.
Now that I thought about it, one of the symptoms of excessive blood loss was indeed a feeling of fatigue. Whether it came from losing too much blood or simply from being genuinely worn out, I couldn't tell.
My eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
My consciousness drifted far away... and then something happened. Wait, a train? What was that?
My half-closed eyes snapped open. My shoulder had grown wet.
It wasn't blood. A strange, warm sensation seeped into my skin.
I opened my eyes slightly and found Charlotte staring down at me.
She had stopped crying and was now applying something to the spot on my shoulder—probably a potion she'd grabbed from somewhere.
It must be the one from the Achievement Shop, I realized. The shape was far too familiar.
"Oh my, have you finished crying? You really should drink some water. You've lost so much fluid; dehydration is bound to set in."
"....."
My joke earned only silence from Charlotte.
She was still trying to figure out exactly how to treat me, wasn't she? Well, only she would know the precise answer.
"Haha, I understand. My words probably sound like fiction to you. This world being a novel... it’s only natural that you wouldn’t believe it..."
"No. I do."
"Eh?"
So she had decided to hold off on killing me for now.
Phew. Thank goodness I had put out the urgent fire.
Now, how would things progress from here?
Should I simply say I believe her and end it? Or would she try to reveal her own Earth origins?
Either way, I needed to prepare for any reaction.
"I... I'm from Earth too. I got isekai'd just like you, after reading the novel *Grand Saga*. In short... we're in the exact same situation."
Is that it? She had chosen to reveal her own secret after all.
".....Is that really true?"
"Yeah, look."
She pulled out a pistol and showed it to me lying on the ground.
"See? Evidence is right in front of us. The bullet hole confirms it. I was actually shot, so there's no room for doubt. It hurts like hell."
"That... I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry."
Charlotte turned her gaze away and fidgeted. It seemed she wasn't very good at apologizing.
After all, she never apologized to anyone in the first place, so this must feel completely alien to her.
"It's fine. In the end, everything worked out. A happy ending, right? The wounds aren't fully healed yet... but since I applied emergency treatment, you won't die right away."
"Ah, come to think of it, is your arm okay? You got hit there too."
She knelt and carefully examined my clothes.
Then, with bold movements, she tore open the sleeve stained with blood and inspected the wound on my arm.
The soft touch of her fingers made the cut sting faintly, but it wasn't painful enough to make me cry out.
"You're too rough."
"Shush. Hey... the bleeding has stopped? Do you have some regenerative ability?"
"No. There's this Achievement Shop... Ah, do you know Lady Cervantes? Anyway, I treated it simply with that."
"I know. The moment I heard the words 'Achievement Shop' from your mouth, I realized you had also been isekai'd with the same powers as me—status, traits, classes, the works."
"Exactly. Charlotte... no, Lady Cervantes."
Charlotte shook her head and spoke.
"You can call me Charlotte. We've revealed every secret we can't tell each other, so calling me 'Lady' all the time feels weird."
"Understood. So Charlotte? May I ask why you're holding my hand?"
She lay down beside me, still gripping my hand.
"Hmm... I don't really know either. I just want to stay like this. Ah, don't misunderstand. This isn't because I like you after this incident or anything like that."
"Haha, what a shame."
"Up until now, I had suffered a lot from feeling completely isolated in another world. But now that I know there's another pathetic person like me..."
"Wow—saying you're comforted by someone else's misfortune is a bit... what do you call it? Twisted."
"Even you think the same, don't you? Fighting alone in a distant world is far more painful than fighting side by side with someone else."
"I can't argue. You're right, Charlotte. You're sharp. I can't help but admire you."
I gave a tiny nod. A rustling sound came from beside me, and I turned my head.
Charlotte was glaring at me with a furrowed brow.
"But... you talk like that even though you're from Earth? Did you really speak that way in reality? It doesn't make any sense the more I think about it."
"There's no way. In the real world, I talked just like everyone else. But after being isekai'd into this body, this way of speaking just got stuck in my mouth..."
"Huh? I'm fine."
"Originally, Charlotte's speech isn't formal... or is it respectful? There's hardly any difference, isn't there?"
Smack!
Charlotte slapped my forehead. It hurt just like a normal one.
But I didn't mind.
"Then talk like your real self. Like you did in Earth."
Well... it didn't feel right for me to speak that way anymore, but... I couldn't refuse.
"Ah, just once? I won't tease you."
"Hmm... it's because your efforts are lacking. I don't feel like it."
"What?"
Smack!
Charlotte slapped my forehead again. This time it hurt a little more. She must have strengthened her fingers with mana.
"Haa... you're just the kind of guy who makes anyone angry even if they're not trying."
"Haha, thank you for the compliment."
"Even if it's not a compliment."
Charlotte let out a long sigh.
"Then you must have been isekai'd during summer break. That's why you pretended to have amnesia."
"Exactly. If I had been isekai'd as another character, I would have tried to act natural. But this Sion wasn't even mentioned much as a villain in the novel. I didn't know how to act, so I just said I had amnesia."
"Mm, that was smart."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"But wait a second. Now that I think about it... a demon officer named Letios—or something like that—came looking for you during the break. You said you weren't a demon, right? If you rejected his proposal..."
"How did you even survive?"
Charlotte was right; that part probably didn't make sense to her. I needed to explain.
"In this body of mine, there was a general trait called Counter. It reflected an opponent's attack. So I provoked him as much as possible to draw out a strong strike, and thanks to good luck, I managed to counter it and drop him in one hit. Even then, I still felt pain in Charlotte's room... I still don't know why."
It was a chilling memory, even recalling it now.
If I hadn't been able to counter Letios back then, I never would have imagined sharing such a heart-to-heart with Charlotte.
"......You're amazing."
She muttered softly.
We were lying side by side on the ground, so I couldn't see her face, but I knew she was probably shocked.
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Ah, one more thing I want to ask."
Charlotte asked again.
Since she had probably wondered about many things, I answered cheerfully.
"Ask anything. No need to hold back."
"Back when school started... when Shina Astorius introduced herself, why did you wave at me with a smile? If you were trying to keep the amnesia concept, it would have been far better to just pretend not to know."
"Ah."
I couldn't answer that I had done it to make her less wary of me... if I did, it would mean I was admitting I had known she was another isekai'd person like me all along.
"Uh... so..."
My head spun.
But no good excuse came to me.
"Why can't you answer? Is there something you're hiding?"
Charlotte narrowed her eyes and asked.
Alright, time to throw something out there.
It was better than letting her suspect me.
"Saying it might sound a bit embarrassing... but actually... Charlotte Cervantes is my favorite character..."
"Wha—phooey—"
Charlotte burst out laughing and covered her mouth.
"Hic—sorry, I shouldn't laugh, phoo-foo!"
She was clearly trying to hold it in, but her laughter was way too obvious.
My face grew hot in an instant, and I felt my cheeks burning red.
"D-don't laugh!"
"By the way, how old were you in Earth? If you were a student, wouldn't you have wanted to act like you knew your favorite character was right in front of you? Then then."
I was flustered, and she was laughing.
For the first time, I heard Charlotte's genuine laugh—it was light and carefree.
"......Amazing."
She muttered once more.
We were both lying on the ground, so I couldn't see her face, but I was sure her expression was full of surprise.
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Ah, there's one more thing I want to ask."
Charlotte asked again.
Since she had probably wondered about many things, I answered cheerfully.
"Ask anything. No need to hold back."
"Back when school started... when Shina Astorius introduced herself, why did you wave at me with a smile? If you were trying to keep the amnesia concept, it would have been far better to just pretend not to know."
"Ah."
I couldn't answer that I had done it to make her less wary of me... if I did, it would mean I was admitting I had known she was another isekai'd person like me all along.
"Uh... so..."
My head spun.
But no good excuse came to me.
"Why can't you answer? Is there something you're hiding?"
Charlotte narrowed her eyes and asked.
Alright, time to throw something out there.
It was better than letting her suspect me.
"Saying it might sound a bit embarrassing... but actually... Charlotte Cervantes is my favorite character..."
"Wha—phooey—"
Charlotte burst out laughing and covered her mouth.
"Hic—sorry, I shouldn't laugh, phoo-foo!"
She was clearly trying to hold it in, but her laughter was way too obvious.
My face grew hot in an instant, and I felt my cheeks burning red.
"D-don't laugh!"
"By the way, how old were you in Earth? If you were a student, wouldn't you have wanted to act like you knew your favorite character was right in front of you? Then then."
I was flustered, and she was laughing.
For the first time, I heard Charlotte's genuine laugh—it was light and carefree.