Discovery (5)

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

Then what about the Cool Beauty concept?

I had no intention of revealing the truth right then and there. But since I had already let on that I knew about it, I had to create the slightest impression, an impression that I couldn't possibly not know, so that Mia Crowfield would be satisfied enough to move past it.

What did 'I don't know what face to make at a time like this' even look like?

I racked my brain furiously in that short moment.

Would it be better to just turn back time after all? Should I just rewind about two weeks and start over?

But if I did that, would I even be able to maintain the concept again for those two weeks?

Was there a second-best option? I racked my brain, searching for a way out of this situation without shattering the 'Cool Beauty' image.

And then,

"Also, those things you saw me doing...... were practice."

I ended up spouting pure nonsense.

I had intended to somehow deflect and divert her attention, but I literally just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blurted out something nonsensical.

...... No, even if I had nothing else to say, practice? And not even practicing facial expressions, but practicing yawning or sniffling? It was a story so absurd that anyone hearing it would think it was ridiculous.

Even if the other person was Mia Crowfield, who had a bit of a clueless side—

"... Prac, tice?"

...... No?

She did have a fairly thorough personality, enough to have stalked me. And she hadn't just followed me casually; she had probably put a lot of thought and preparation into tailing me. Seeing how she had set things up under the bed made me think so even more.

Yet, despite all that, the other person was still Mia Crowfield.

She was a kid who had grown up without friends, raised by her mother to harbor hatred for the Emperor.

In a sense, she'd grown up similarly to the original Claire. Though the result had been different, of course.

Meaning, she knew how to make her own plans, and considering she was antagonizing the Emperor, she also knew how to hide herself and had exceptional magical skills, but she was incredibly awkward when it came to forming relationships with people.

"That is correct. It was practice."

Recalling Mia Crowfield's character card from the game, I decided to push my luck and roll with this. If it really came down to it, I could just rewind time and start the conversation over from the beginning anyway.

Right, I held the advantage right then. At least Mia Crowfield didn't have her staff in her hands.

"I am......"

I furrowed my brows slightly. Even just that was probably a big change in my expression. Usually, I was so expressionless I didn't even do that much. If anyone had ever seen me make this expression, it was probably either Jaden or Lucas. Or maybe both.

"I am not very good at expressing my emotions."

I lied through my teeth without a speck of shame.

Not expressing my emotions, my ass. I rolled around on my bed in my room, ate sweet things, and made sloppy expressions. If anything, you could say I was an incredibly emotional human being.

Of course, I did turn back time to make it so those things never happened.

Somehow, I had tried to act like an expressionless, emotionless person in front of others...... but it looked like I had grown lax in many ways since starting at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the academy. Since I had gotten caught so blatantly.

"B-But what I saw was—"

"Practice."

I put on a brazen face.

Honestly, I wasn't sure if she would really fall for it. I was just saying this, believing in the image of Mia Crowfield that I had seen in the game.

"Because if I suddenly revealed my emotions on my face, it would fluster the people around me."

And they really had been flustered. Alice may have been able to read my expressions, but I hadn't exactly shown her a blatant, grinning face either. The fact that everyone else had gotten incredibly flustered over the expression I made while eating that parfait the other day proved it.

"Nodding off to sleep...... was practice......?"

Mia Crowfield muttered with a blank expression.

Damn, right. That had happened.

Deliberately practicing nodding off or yawning? It was strange no matter how I thought about it. Maybe if I was practicing smiling or crying faces, that would be a different story.

The problem was that I had already decided to push through with it and put on a brazen face. So, essentially, I had no other choice right then besides saying this or rewinding time. And I was putting on a brazen face specifically to avoid rewinding time.

"...... My practice does not only include facial expressions."

"......."

Since the atmosphere felt like Mia Crowfield was listening to me, I continued speaking slowly.

"Because simply changing your expression does not necessarily make you look human. Allow me to give you an example. I shall assume I am trying to make a smiling face."

I kept my eyes as still as possible and just lifted the corners of my lips slightly. Mia flinched at my expression.

"How is it? Does it look natural?"

"...... No, it doesn't look natural at all."

As if creeped out, Mia Crowfield stepped back about two paces, and then her back hit the door, causing her to flinch and startle.

Good. I had deliberately made the expression look as awkward as possible. Not just awkward, but it was even better if it was a creepy smile where the mouth was smiling but the eyes weren't. That way, I could definitely convey the 'awkward' atmosphere to the fullest.

...... Alright, if I ever needed to use this expression on someone else, I'd make a point of using it exactly the same way.

"Facial expressions are only possible if various parts of the face move properly. For a smiling face, not only the shape of the mouth but also the shape of the eyes is important. Moreover, it is not simply a single 'smiling face'; a grinning face and a laughing-out-loud face are different. For a laughing-out-loud face, the sound is also important. I have something I have been practicing. Shall I show you now?"

"Ah, no, you don't have to show me......"

Mia Crowfield said with a creeped-out expression.

.......

Mm, I had intended for her to react like that, but it was a little sad to see her look at me with that expression.

After all, as befitting a female character from this kind of game, Mia Crowfield was a very pretty girl. In reality, her strangely clueless personality paired with her gloomy backstory to create a gap moe, making her a fairly popular character.

"...... The difficulty of expressions is this high. Therefore, I decided to master somewhat simpler 'actions' first. Sitting in a chair, nodding off, or yawning are actions I can somehow imitate without necessarily changing my expression."

"......."

She still seemed to harbor some doubt, but the furrowed brow that had seemed to ask 'What on earth are you talking about?' every time I spouted one of these ridiculous backstories was now gone.

"I have been practicing to show the same behaviors an ordinary person would normally exhibit at those times. The figure you saw me as must have been one of those moments."

It wasn't a setting from the Aetherna Chronicles, but it was one I had seen in another comic. The actions of a robot, which normally acted just like everyone else, were actually just imitating learned behaviors. The protagonist despaired at the robot's actions...... It was a hard sci-fi animation, but it got more and more depressing as I watched, so I had never finished it.

"......."

Mia Crowfield stared at me silently for a while.

And for a long moment, she didn't say anything.

Was she going to believe me?

Actually, it wouldn't be strange if she didn't. From Mia Crowfield's perspective, I was absolutely not a person to be trusted. Anyone who could completely trust the person who killed their father would be the strange one.

But on the other hand...... this was also a situation where she had no choice but to believe.

Mia Crowfield had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looked very confused when she saw me like that. For her to think that I, who was supposed to be a cold-blooded killer without blood or tears, was actually a being with emotions just like an ordinary person...... that would be an incredibly magnanimous act on her part. It would be no different from a World War II Allied soldier thinking, 'These Nazis are human too.'

...... Because my emotions had been so intense back then that I hadn't been able to think of Mia Crowfield's father as a person. It wouldn't be strange if Mia Crowfield felt the exact same way about me.

But if, in the middle of all that, I revealed that 'Actually, that wasn't my human side, but a disguised facade,' wouldn't she want to believe me more?

"......."

I stared quietly at Mia Crowfield, who had frozen up, unable to give any answer, then extended my right hand.

Startled enough to jump in place, Mia Crowfield looked at my hand and opened her mouth slightly.

I was holding out the pistol I had been holding toward Mia Crowfield. With the grip facing her, not the muzzle.

So that if she took it, she could shoot me on the spot.

...... Well, I didn't expect her to be able to blow my head off in one shot.

The reason Mia Crowfield couldn't kill Claire in the end was because her nature wasn't suited for killing. Deep down, the extremely timid Mia Crowfield, who had grown up without friends, actually wanted someone to be close with her.

Claire might have been prickly with the people around her, and she had a sarcastic personality...... but as you could tell from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how Claire was now, that was just because growing up in that sort of environment had ruined her personality. She wasn't actually a bad kid at heart.

Because of that, she sympathized to some extent with Mia Crowfield, who had 'lost her father because of her,' and that emotion sometimes manifested in her actions.

By the time Mia Crowfield found out about the enemy who had killed her father, she had already become deeply close with Claire. Claire had even given the line, 'Fine, then attack me if you must.' The situation at the time had made it sound unavoidably sarcastic, but she had actually meant it.

But in the end, Mia Crowfield couldn't kill Claire.

I was handing over the pistol thinking of that situation.

Moreover, Mia Crowfield only had circumstantial evidence, no solid physical proof, and she couldn't even be properly certain it was me.

She wouldn't shoot me just because she took this.

...... Well, even if she did shoot me, I could turn back time as long as it wasn't instant death.

Mia Crowfield took the pistol with trembling hands.

And then she stared at me blankly.

"If you are certain right now that you have to kill me, then shoot."

"......."

Mia Crowfield just opened and closed her mouth. No answer came.

"Someday, the day will come when you, too, learn the whole truth about that situation. If, even knowing the full truth, you still believe you must kill me, then very well. I will not dodge the bullet if you fire."

"...... Can't you...... can't you just, tell me now......?"

"Not right now. You are not ready to accept it."

"......."

At my answer, Mia Crowfield bit her lip.

"If, by any chance, you are ready to accept it but still fail to realize the truth, then at that time, I will tell you myself. What happened back then."

"......."

Mia Crowfield hung her head low.

I walked slowly, carefully, past her side.

Thankfully, I didn't get a bullet in the back when I reached the door. Phew.

"...... Ah, and."

I turned my head slightly and spoke.

"Please keep the matter regarding my practice a 'secret' from others. It is not a 'completed' performance, after all."

"...... Yes, I will do that."

After hearing her weak reply, I turned my head forward again.

And then I opened the door and left.

My heart was pounding hard.

Honestly, I wanted to cheer aloud—but

—I could not let myself get caught again.

Trying to maintain my usual pace, I headed for my room.