NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8
“Will it work?”
Rustle rustle
“It should.”
Rustle rustle
“Cut it like this over there.”
Rustle rustle
“Hey, you’re not just chopping wildly, right?”
Rustle rustle
“Who cares? It’s not like anyone’s gonna see it.”
Tana spoke as if it was no big deal, but it hit me pretty hard in the chest. Sure, no one’s gonna see it, but shouldn’t I at least not look ridiculous in front of others?
I was getting my hair cut by Eve and Tana.
Since I hadn’t cut my hair since enrolling in the academy, it was getting a bit long, but it was necessary to chop it off.
Once the snipping was done, the two of them grinned and held the mirror up to me.
“Hmm? Not bad!”
Honestly, since entering the forest, I had kept my hair manageable by either cutting it myself or tying it up out of laziness, so I had never had it this short before, and I found it quite decent.
“Looks great!”
“Not bad at all. It was a bit messy with how long it was.”
“Thanks, I’m satisfied.”
“I don’t accept thanks without a treat, you know.”
Seeing Tana laughing playfully, I chuckled and nodded.
“Guess I should buy you coffee at the café then?”
“Yeah! Let’s wrap this up and head out.”
Since we had cut my hair in the corner of an unused classroom, we swept up the hair with a broom, threw it in the trash, and stepped out.
I definitely nailed it down when those guys shouted to add cake with the coffee; that was a hard no.
Just before we turned the corner, I spotted a boy entering the classroom we just left.
“Got caught.”
“Already?”
“Guess he was in a hurry.”
We were waiting at the corner, turning our bodies away from the café as if we were quiet fishermen waiting for a catch when a brown-haired boy bolted out of the classroom, running somewhere fast.
Not bothering to chase after him, we turned back into the classroom, and the hair I had just thrown out was gone.
“Wow, he really took it!”
Tana made a disgusted face, clicking her tongue.
“It looks like he’s definitely making potions. But when will he do it?”
“Maybe as soon as today.”
I answered Eve’s question firmly.
From the boy’s expression and his frantic pace, I could tell he was planning to act quickly.
Additionally, because I had told Eve that I was supposed to be expelled last time when I was protecting her at the café, he was likely aware of the time crunch.
“Eve, since we don’t know when that guy will show up on my face, let’s set up a code.”
“A code?”
“Yeah, something simple. If you say the weather is nice, I’ll say Tana is a fool.”
“Wait! Why am I part of that!”
“I just thought you might feel left out.”
Tana yelled and protested while Eve nodded, saying she liked it.
“And just in case…”
Knock knock
At 10 PM.
It was bedtime, so Eve had already turned off the lights and lied down to sleep when a clear knock echoed in her ear.
Having read a lot of novels, she thought, “This sounds like an urgent knock,” and immediately opened the door.
There stood Daniel McLean, awkwardly smiling while sweating cold.
‘Fake!’
Sadly, Eve didn’t even need to use the code; she instantly recognized him as a fake. The smell alone was too different.
Being sensitive to people’s scents, she quickly got it right and felt a peculiar pride inside.
She had distinguished between the real Daniel and the fake.
Thinking that Daniel might like hearing this, a natural smile appeared on Eve’s face.
“Daniel, what’s going on?”
“Hmm? Just wanted to see you.”
“So you come at this late hour?”
“Uh, is that bad?”
Eve nodded.
“Of course it is. You should go back.”
Yet he forced his way inside and shut the door.
“Why? It’s fine. You and I are in a relationship!”
“Excuse me? With you and Daniel?”
“…Huh?”
At this point, Charlie Kraush felt something was off. Had he been acting all day like they were together, just to find out it wasn’t true?
‘Ah, is it just a physical fling?’
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but just leave. We can talk tomorrow.”
“Don’t try to evade!”
At this, Charlie tried to reach out with his hand. He couldn’t hold back the excited heart he had recalling what had happened in the library, believing in some ridiculous certainty that she liked him.
Smack!
This time, Eve fiercely slapped his hand away.
“Who do you think you’re touching?!”
She hadn’t been like this before.
When he had touched her once, she would have curled up like a frightened animal, trembling and crying.
“W-What are you talking about? I’m Daniel. I’m Daniel!”
Checking his reflection in the window just in case, he confirmed he still looked like Daniel McLean.
In fact, he had perfectly imitated the haircut from today.
He had been so friendly at the academy. So why was he facing a wall now!
After all this, Charlie began to feel anger rise.
He was Daniel now, after all.
So he could do whatever he wanted; it didn’t matter since the country bumpkin would end up taking the blame for it all a week later.
As he repeated this to himself, something human-like he had been holding onto started to snap, and he felt a strange sensation.
He had let go of something he was supposed to possess as a human.
Clunk!
“What are you doing?!”
A female professor on night duty at the girls’ floor opened the door wide. How?
The door was locked!
Charlie lunged at the professor, knocking her over. The teacher, shocked, hadn’t expected such fierce resistance.
“You garbage sexual predator!”
Tana’s kick landed solidly in Charlie’s sternum. Though she wasn’t particularly skilled in martial arts, the anger-infused kick took him down.
“Haah, you’re Daniel McLean, right? You sexually harassed Eve. What a piece of trash.”
The professor, filled with disgust, used magic to restrain him. She shouted that he needed to be expelled right away for attempting another crime.
It seemed the other female students, woken by the commotion, came out of their rooms.
The professor dragged Daniel out in front of the students as if it were a public execution, but due to the excessive shock, Daniel’s face started to contort.
“What the hell!”
“Gross!”
“His face is changing!”
It began to morph back into its original shape until finally reverting to Charlie Kraush’s true face.
“What is going on?”
The professor couldn’t help but feel startled.
Charlie Kraush was a student she knew well. Shy, quiet, yet exceptionally talented in alchemy from Class A.
“Could it be polymorph?”
Behind the panicked professor, Tana wore a victorious smile. Not only the female students but even the professor watched in shock as they saw the culprit had been using polymorph to impersonate Daniel.
If they investigated Charlie’s dormitory now, they would find evidence immediately, along with questions about the similarities to previous crimes and the victims no one knew about.
Daniel kept insisting he was innocent, so it would naturally come to light that Charlie had framed him.
“Are you hurt at all?”
“Nope, didn’t even touch me.”
“Glad to hear it. Looks like what Daniel taught me was useful.”
The self-defense techniques Daniel had taught her.
Though it had only been an hour-long crash course, it proved effective since sexual offenders would clear on coming hands; she had practiced deflecting approaching hands and it really worked.
“And there’s this too.”
Tana pulled out a children’s toy.
Just in case, it was something Daniel had bought in town today, which lights up on one side when pressed down on the other.
When she heard the knocking, Eve pressed it, allowing Tana to tell the on-duty professor that a man had entered Eve’s room.
Of course, Daniel had one too.
“Why isn’t he coming? It was originally planned for him to show and verify that there were two Daniels.”
“…True.”
Eve, feeling a bit disappointed, wondered if he was already asleep.
But the situation was not as straightforward as she thought.
*
Light suddenly shined from the toy given to Eve.
It was a sign that someone had visited Eve’s room.
While I was exercising, I quickly put on my clothes and opened the door, only to find an unexpected girl standing there.
“Rin?”
Rin, in her pajamas and with her hair tied back, stood there. I wondered what was up, but there was no time to deal with her now.
“Sorry, but just a minute…!”
I tried to push past Rin, but she unexpectedly thrust me back into the room and closed the door.
Click.
The sound of the door locking sent chills down my spine for the first time. With a shiver, I noticed her expression was a bit off.
The girl who usually smiled warmly at everyone was staring at me with an expressionless face.
It was different from when I met her as the owner of the army.
Back then, she had a faceless expression; now it was clearly burning, yet she seemed to be suppressing it.
“What’s going on?”
I tried to keep my racing heart in check while asking, but Rin replied backward.
“Betrayer.”
“Eh?”
“Betrayer.”
Her voice had a strangely chilling tone that sent a shiver through me. I didn’t know what she was talking about, but we didn’t have time to waste here.
Eve might be in danger right now.
But at that moment,
“Thinking about another girl, are we?”
“…What?”
“I’m right here. Your childhood friend is standing in front of you. In her pajamas, late at night.”
Her voice was almost a plea by now.
Tears began to spill down her cheeks. Given her strong will, I had only seen her cry once in my life.
When it pierced my heart.
That’s probably why I felt the situation was extremely serious.
I didn’t know what state she had been in then, but it was the first time I saw Rin in such a disheveled state.
“What the hell is going on?”
“Why are you the one asking that?”
With tears streaming down her face, Rin struck my chest with her fist.
Though it lacked strength, her nostalgic punch struck heavily in my heart.
“Why did you give up so easily and start dating another girl? Why? How long have we been together? We’ve always spent time together! It shouldn’t change!”
At this point, I couldn’t help but pick up on what was happening.
‘Ah…’ We were on the same page back then, weren’t we?
A strangely bittersweet feeling flooded my mouth.
While I contemplated whether I should say something to comfort her, I realized I didn’t have time to do so and quickly gave her the essential information.
“I’m not dating anyone.”
A silence ensued that felt like time had stopped.
Her sobs abruptly halted, and she slowly lifted her head to look at me with disbelief.
“…Huh?”