The air in the room was thick with tension. I felt suffocated, as if even breathing were forbidden in this place.
The reason for all this?
A strikingly handso young man sat calmly in the chair, the dim light of the room reflecting off his white hair, giving him a faint glow.
Zahid al-Nitchehid.
The last person I expected to see in my room.
When I saw him sitting in the chair as if his presence here were perfectly natural, my eyebrows rose slightly before I sighed slowly and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Silence hung between us for several seconds.
He showed no sign of intending to speak any ti soon, which finally prompted to break the silence.
"So... what brings you to visit at this hour?"
He raised his head slowly, then his dark eyes rested on for a mont before he finally spoke.
"Why do you think that way? Isn’t it obvious? I’ve co to say hello to my childhood friend."
"Huh."
Greetings?
Who on earth would believe that rubbish?
I narrowed my eyes slightly as I stared at him in silence, trying to understand what on earth was going on inside his head.
Then I let out a short, faint laugh, completely devoid of emotion.
"And since when have you ever bothered to say hello anyway?"
"Since my childhood friend started avoiding ."
"..."
When did I ever avoid you?
This is my first day at this bloody academy.
Who are you trying to fool? If it were anyone else in his place—
I might actually have believed him.
But I know him well.
Or rather— I know the person I used to love.
Zahid al-Nitchehid wasn’t the sort of person to do things without a reason.
Every word he speaks— has aning. And every movent—
has a purpose behind it.
So... what exactly are you trying to do?
"Well, since you’ve only co to say hello..." You pointed towards the door "You can leave now."
Zahid sighed softly, then leaned back further in his chair.
"I thought you’d miss at least a little."
Why did I choose soone like him to be one of my favourite characters? He’s really annoying.
"Where have your manners gone? Shouldn’t you at least offer a drink?" He stopped suddenly, as if he’d rembered sothing, before a faint smile touched his lips.
"Do you rember when we were young? Back then, you were like soone who could read minds... doing things before you were even asked."
Is he mocking ?
But... why would he do that in the first place?
According to the story, and at this particular mont,
Zahid wasn’t paying Nero any attention at all.
In fact, he barely even considered him to exist.
Or was the reason... the result of the simulation?
Oh. That ans that... because I won the simulation, his pride took a severe blow.
He must be thinking right now: how did this insect manage to outdo ?
To be honest, I can’t tell what’s going on inside his head right now.
But if he’s really trying to manipulate ... or mock , I won’t stay silent.
How could I, as an adult, let a little child make a fool of ?
Even if he’s much stronger than ... no, no.
I’m not that daft.
If he were vastly stronger than , I’d keep quiet straight away.
Who wants to die? And certainly... not .
Besides, at this point in the story, our strength is supposed to be roughly equal... at the very least.
"Why do you look so tense?" said Zahid, settling back further in his chair. "Calm down a bit... and let’s reminisce about so lovely childhood mories."
I kept my eyes on him for a few seconds.
He was sitting there completely at ease, as if this were his room, not mine.
"If you want sothing..." I said coldly. "Just say it straight out."
A faint smile, barely visible, appeared on Zahid’s face.
"Didn’t I say I’d co just to say hello?"
I let out a short sigh.
"And who’s going to believe that? I don’t believe you... and you probably don’t expect to believe you anyway. Say what you want or leave." I paused for a mont before adding indifferently: "Or you know what? Stay here... I’ll be the one to leave."
"..."
For a mont, silence fell once more.
I stood up, ready to leave. But suddenly—
"You’ve changed."
I raised my eyebrows slowly.
"It’s only natural that I’ve changed. Do you realise how long it’s been since we last t? Years. If I hadn’t changed in all that ti... then when would I change?"
After that disastrous conversation with Larshia, I’d considered this possibility.
What if soone asked the sa question again? And so... I prepared several answers in advance, tailored to each person.
If it were Arshif who asked , I wouldn’t give him the sa answer.
Most likely, I’d tell him that the inheritance had affected , or sothing along those lines.
True, it’s not at all convincing... but who cares?
At least, as long as it stops people from suspecting any further.
"That’s not what I an," Zahid said calmly, his eyes fixed on .
"You’re acting as if you know better than anyone else." He tilted his head slightly. "When our eyes t today... you were looking at with extre caution. As if you knew what I was thinking."
"..."
Did he really notice that? But... hang on. Isn’t it only natural that I’d be wary of him in the first place? This man is bloody terrifying.
I sighed lightly before saying:
"Perhaps because you’re a difficult person to deal with."
"Oh?"
"You’re clever, annoying, and suspiciously mysterious. And the sort who acts as if the whole world belongs to him."
"..."
He stared at for a couple of seconds. Then— he laughed... a short, quiet laugh.
And that alone was enough to make my unease grow even worse.
Because I’m sure... this man isn’t the sort to laugh much.
"So... is that how you see ?"
"Am I wrong?"
"A little."
He rested his chin on his hand, whilst continuing to look at as if trying to read sothing behind my face.
"But I’m interested in sothing else."
"And that is?"
"How did you win?"
Ah.
So, here we are at the heart of the matter.
I knew that the excuse of saying hello was nothing but nonsense.
I let out a little sigh as I leaned
back.
"Luck."
"Bad answer."
"Luck."
"Worse."
"..."
What a bloody provocative person.
I looked at him wearily before saying, "And why do you care anyway?"
That faint smile vanished from his face.
"Because you weren’t supposed to win. And yet... you did. And that made curious."
"..."
This is much worse; I’d have preferred it if it had just been a blow to his pride rather than turning into curiosity about .
"Perhaps... I was a genius from the start."
"...Is that a joke?"
"Perhaps."
For the first ti, his face took on the look of soone who had found sothing they’d been searching for.
He sighed lightly before slowly rising from his chair.
"I find you more interesting than before." He headed towards the door, but stopped before opening it. He turned his head slightly towards .
"By the way. Work on your facial expressions a bit more. So your lies beco more convincing. You’re really bad at it."
Then he walked out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
"..."
What on earth was that?
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