Reincarnated into Two Bodies Chapter 255: Accidental Meeting

Student Council Office

I sat by myself on a velvet couch, which was way more comfortable than it had any right to be. The tea was warm and soothing, and the confectionery was top-notch as well. I had no complaints about it.

Well.

That was assuming I ignored the extrely loud problem in the room.

“Have you ever read the academy rules?! It was written right there!”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know that was a thing!”

“It is absolutely a thing! And even if you didn’t read it, common sense should tell you not to damage academy property!”

“But I really wanted to show it to—”

“—I know! You’ve said that ten tis already, and it still doesn’t make it any better!”

Ah.

What a wonderful tea this was.

I took another slow sip while Ricent’s soul continued getting purified several ters away from .

“Did you brew this tea yourself, dear President?”

She nodded. “I did. But… could you not call that? It’s kind of embarrassing to hear you say it.”

“It’s your title, isn’t it?”

I was just glad that even nobles like the feisty secretary there still called her president. At least she wasn’t being discriminated against in her own office.

I took another sip. The aroma was smooth, calming, and quite effective at making forget there was an active execution happening a few ters away.

“Still,” I said, lowering the cup, “this is genuinely good tea.”

“Thank you for the flattery.”

“You say that as if I’m lying. Seriously, this is good.”

Not as good as Leila’s, but who could beat her anyway?

Clara carefully placed her cup onto the saucer with a soft clink before straightening her posture.

“I’m really sorry Talia dragged you into this,” she said apologetically. “This… wasn’t exactly how I pictured your first visit to the student council office to be like.”

“It’s alright. I feel like this is the best way for to get acquainted with this room anyway.”

Better than getting called in to be disciplined. This felt like a quick, small reunion of friends instead.

I honestly thought I was screwed when I was dragged along Ricent’s couppance by the secretary, Talia. I tried explaining myself several tis, but every attempt got shot down by the secretary’s terrifying glare before I could even finish a sentence.

Thankfully, Clara was in today, and she was a lot more reasonable to reason with, which led to our current situation.

I was absolved of involvent, and Ricent was taking the full brunt of the bla.

I felt bad for him, but he honestly needed to learn things the hard way. I an, what kind of person would rip a notice paper in front of a faculty mber? If he wasn’t disciplined properly anyti soon, I wouldn’t just be dragged under a bus, I’d be a re paste on the road.

Sad to say, I had to agree with the feisty secretary on this one.

Before long, even Talia ran out of fuel. There was only so much of Ricent’s innocence one could take, and it seed it finally got to her. She let out a huge, defeated sigh.

“Seriously. If he weren’t so favored by the academy, I would’ve…”

Ricent is favored by the academy?

Ah.

So that’s why the academy never pressed charges against him about the wall.

“I expect a written apology to be sent to my desk by tonight,” Talia added coldly, “And if I catch you tearing down anything again, I’ll personally staple you to the announcent board as a replacent. Got it?”

“Y-Yes, Ma’am!”

“Don’t call ma’am! Ugh, just go!”

Ricent turned and then practically fled the room.

The mont the door shut behind him, silence finally descended upon the office.

Well then. Ti to finally make use of that tournant information and start training.

I pushed myself off the couch—

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Feyt?”

I paused and turned back toward Clara.

“What is it?”

“Could you stay for a mont?” she asked softly. “I need to talk to you… in private.”

I saw Clara eyeing Talia, who seed to understand her intentions as she imdiately grabbed her bag and left the room without another word.

I stood frozen by the couch.

…Why though.

…

“I... heard about the incident.”

“Incident?”

“You know, the one where they accused you of… that.”

“Ah, that.” I sank back into the couch.

To be honest, I’ve been trying to keep it off my mind. I had my fair share of Feyt-the-discipline-loving-attendant rumors, and Feyt-the-panty-stealer gossip, which was mostly spread as a joke, still felt worse to hear echoing down the hall.

I suppose as a Student Council President, the report must’ve gotten through to her at so point. Though with how basically everyone won’t stop talking about it, she would’ve heard about it regardless.

“I can’t believe they would accuse you of such a thing. It’s disgusting,” she remarked, her tone sharp.

“It’s not a big deal, really.” I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. “Besides, Lady Carine ca and helped explain things before things got too far.”

Even though it reached the hands of a director.

“But that still doesn’t make it forgivable.” Her eyes narrowed. I sensed the sa silent fury she showed when she found with a bruise on my head. “Thankfully, Director Randolph made the right decision in disciplining them.”

With how much fury she was showcasing here, she must be the type to uphold justice above all, huh? I can see why she beca the Student Council President now.

But, placing worry on sothing that had already passed its course… wasn’t too healthy.

“Had Director Randolph sided with them… had the report been taken at face value… you wouldn’t even be sitting here right now. You could’ve been suspended, fined, or even expelled.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t.” I shrugged. “Seriously, there’s nothing to worry about. Lady Carine’s connections helped a lot.”

The mont my other self’s na left my mouth, Clara fell strangely quiet.

“So Carine was the first one to help you…” she murmured softly.

Hm?

Sothing about her tone felt… off.

Not angry.

But not exactly sad either.

I blinked. “Clara?”

Her shoulders stiffened slightly before she quickly shook her head.

“It’s nothing.” She forced a faint smile. “I’m just… relieved things worked out.”

That was very obviously not nothing.

Still, pressing further felt like stepping onto a landmine while blindfolded, so I wisely chose not to.

“Ah right,” she said, interrupting the tensing atmosphere with the clasp of her hands. “The tournant!”

My ears instinctively perked up.

“As the president, I have reviewed the rules in detail. If you like, I can help share so of them with you?”

“Would I?” I said, starry-eyed.

—

The tournant this ti would take place in different locations. The preliminary rounds at least. They would either take place in the several private training chambers scattered in the academy, so of the training grounds, and so on. It wasn’t an elimination ga where if you lose, you’re out. Rather, it was a point-based one.

Win a duel, and you’ll get a point. Only those who won three or more points could move on to the next phase, which would finally take place in the arena.

This ant that even if I encountered a hidden prodigy and ended up kissing the ground in one punch, I wouldn’t be out of the ga just yet.

There, it was the classic elimination ga. If you lose, there weren’t any losers bracket. You’re just out. So once you reach that phase, it was all for nothing.

This tournant would go on for several days. The only one that would actually have an audience would obviously be the second phase.

As for the rules of the match itself.

First, mages were excluded. In fact, magic users probably wouldn’t be allowed in tournants again for quite a while, especially after what Ricent had done to the arena walls.

Second, all matches would be one-on-one duels. Participants were free to choose any weapon they liked, so long as it was academy-issued to keep things fair. That ant I sadly couldn’t use Mother’s gift for the tournant. A sha.

Third, victory could be claid by any of the following:

- Landing a solid, decisive hit.

- Disarming the opponent.

- Immobilizing them through grappling or restraint.

- Knocking them to the ground.

Overall, it was pretty similar to the sparring rules Instructor Liz used in class, including the usual restrictions like no strikes below the belt.

“So aside from the preliminary format, it’s basically just a normal tournant, huh?”

Clara nodded. “From what I read, there weren’t any preliminaries last year. Every match was held in the arena, but they changed it this ti to help with pacing and crowd managent.”

“I see… Thank you for this, Clara! That’ll help a ton!”

Now I knew I needed to prepare myself to fight more than just a few opponents. With how the prelims were formatted, there was a chance I would be fighting more than half a dozen students in each body before I even set foot in the arena.

“I’m glad I could help,” she said with a serene smile. Then I noticed her fingers tighten around her own hand. “Actually, Feyt…”

“Yeah?”

“Are you… looking to win the tournant?”

“Win?” I stopped to ponder, but then, I shook my head. “I don’t know if I’ll win or not, but I will definitely try my best.”

The Third Prince’s request of wasn’t to win the tournant after all. Just for to “try my best”. Of course, to suit his agenda of bragging to his snobbish friends in the palace about , I needed to get Carine to the second phase at the very least.

“I see…” Clara muttered. “Then… would you like my help?”

“Your help?” I parroted. “What kind of help?”

She scratched her cheeks lightly. “Well… I could stand by near you to heal when needed. I can even help recover stamina using magic now!”

I widened my eyes. “You can do that?”

She nodded with a small puff of pride. “I’m still learning, too, you know? I’m bound to start figuring out new spells to try with my Light Magic!"

Recovering stamina with a spell.

That sounded dangerously close to cheating.

There was a good chance the preliminary matches would be scheduled back-to-back, too, so having soone refill my stamina in between rounds would be absurdly useful.

But…

“Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think that’ll be necessary."

Her eyes widened imdiately, fingers clutching at her blouse. “W-Why?”

“I promised I’d co to you if I got hurt, right?” I said. “But if I start running to you over every tiny scratch, I feel like I won’t be able to hold my head high anymore. So… I’ll pass.”

Clara still looked uneasy. “Are you… sure you don’t need my help?”

I scratched my cheek awkwardly before adding, “Listen, if I get seriously injured, I’ll definitely co find you. I promise that at least.”

“I see…”

Slowly, but surely, Clara’s smile returned. “Then, I wish you the best at the tournant. If you need any help at all, co to imdiately, got it?”

I gave a vigorous nod. “Thanks! I’ll keep it in mind!”

With that, I finally rose from the couch. I made my way to the door and grabbed the handle. Before leaving, though, I turned one last ti to Clara.

“See you later, President Clara!”

She was taken aback but quickly waved her hand frantically awkwardly. “S-See you!”

With that, I finally left the office, closing the door behind with a satisfying click.

I got so solid info thanks to this accidental eting. Don’t know if I should thank Ricent or not, though.