novelraw Chapter 88: Identical
Chapter 88: Identical
I had many questions I wanted to ask.
The opportunity to do so presented itself when Mr. Rooga instructed us to turn to a partner and discuss what we had done over the break; it was a lazy way for the shitty god to get Arthurr to introduce himself to the members of his future harem in his novel.
Without hesitation, I began my inquiry.
"Ichiko, I did not expect to see you here," I said.
"That was the plan," she replied with a smile that drew the attention of a few nosy onlookers who had momentarily abandoned their discussions just to continue staring at her.
"I'm..." I paused, about to say something but stopped myself because it was information that outsiders needed to hear.
"Wait, give me a second," I said as I took a notebook out and began writing.
"Should I move my chair over?" she asked.
I glanced over to the other students and saw that some of them had done it.
"I guess you can."
Picking up her chair, she moved it over to my desk so she was now sitting directly beside me, facing the side of my face.
Looking at my notebook, she read what I had written for her.
[Aren't there a lot of issues back at Napaj that you still need to deal with?]
Last time we were on a phone call, she said that she was going to war again, this time with a different clan.
She extended her palm, and I placed my pencil on it. She slid the notebook closer to herself and began writing her response.
"Bell, I have a question I wanted to ask you."
"Go ahead."
It lasted less than a singular moment but there was hesitance in her.
"...Have you missed me since we've last seen each other?" she asked.
What a loaded question! Why did she have to ask it here... in this class? Don't tell me she's doing this on purpose...
I could see ears around us twitching, eyes turning to us, trying their best to not look suspicious but it was as clear as day what they were doing.
If I chose the wrong answer, I could already see my food being spat on during lunch by one of her diehard fanboys.
"Yes, I've missed you. It's good to see you again after so long. I just... I didn't expect it to be here at the academy," I said in a voice that wasn't quite a whisper but was quieter than my normal tone.
"Hehe. I've missed you too, Bell," she responded as she slid the notebook back to me.
[Last few months, I've concluded a lot of immediate issues. Dealt with a few moles. But yes, there are still quite a bit of issues that needs to be dealt with. However, I convinced my father to ask your father for assistance. As long as nothing major changes, everything should be fine even without my presence.]
"By the way, why didn't I hear about your arrival in the last class?" I asked, puzzled because her name should've already circulated around the academy an hour ago.
There's no way that she attended a class last hour and everyone didn't have the same reaction as this class did.
She gestured at the notebook, indicating that it was an answer that couldn't be spoken aloud. While I handed it back to her, I couldn't help but wonder what was so secretive about her arrival.
It's an answer you can't say out loud?
She began writing the answer while asking me, "Bell, what did you do over break? I almost forgot to ask what Mr. Rooga wanted us to discuss with our partner."
I chuckled lightly, "Haha, I don't think my activities over the break have been very private."
"Indeed, they haven't," she said with a hint of pride in her expression.
What's she making that face for?
Throughout our conversation, my gaze remained fixed on Arthurr, observing his every move while using mana to eavesdrop on his words.
Despite Ichiko's unexpected appearance, causing him to stray away from the original story, the scene seemed to be unfolding as planned.
There were minor alterations in word choice between the people involved, but the overall narrative was correcting itself as if erasing the mistake that was me.
Ichiko returned the notebook back to me.
[There was an issue this morning. I arrived in the country yesterday and stayed in a different city to discuss a business deal with our healing potion manufacturers. I had intended to surprise you during your agriculture class with Ms. Morgan, but on my way into the city, the bridge I needed to cross was closed due to a police investigation into a mother and daughter's murder on the bridge.]
Instead of caring about the revelation about the murder on the bridge, which I already knew was going to happen, what got my attention was the fact that she had intended to surprise me during my agriculture class.
"Ichiko," I whispered her name, my voice barely audible over the classroom murmur.
"Hmm?" She responded, her smile radiating innocence.
"How do you know that I had an agriculture class with Ms. Morgan last hour? And... and how are you also in that class and this class?" I asked, my curiosity tinged with a hint of suspicion. "It's just a coincidence... right?"
There was a short pause, during which the tension in the air between the two of us seemed to thicken.
"...Coincidence? What coincidence?" She asked, tilting her head slightly, her smile growing wider, masking any hints of deceit.
...Fuck me.
"Ichiko, what class do you have next?" I asked, my voice shaky, a bead of nervous sweat forming on my brow, and nervously gulping.
"I have..." she began saying while tapping the tip of her fingers on the desk gently, "...world history with Mrs. Fields."
"Ichiko, by any chance, is your schedule identical to mine?" I asked in disbelief.
One shared class is a logical coincidence. Two is a lucky coincidence. Three — three is no damn coincidence.
She looked at me, observed my expression which I kept neutral, and then nodded her head.
"...Oh," I said, turning my head away from her because I was afraid that I was going to make a face that I couldn't explain to her.
There was a mixture of emotions swirling around inside me.
Her voice softened up and she nervously asked me, "Bell, are you upset with me?"
"No no no. Don't worry, Ichiko. I'm not upset," I reassured her, forcing the expression on my face to remain neutral. "I just need a moment to gather my thoughts. Can I get a moment?"
I can't even afford to get upset with you. All your fanboys and fangirls will foil my plans at this academy if I say that I'm upset and make you sad.
It seems that Ichiko knew she made a mistake because she nodded her head and had her eyes lowered.
After a minute of composing myself, I turned back to her, and she raised her gaze to meet mine.
"I guess that means there's more time to bond with my..." I trailed off, the raise of my eyebrows conveying the unspoken word that hovered between us — "fiancée".
Because we hadn't had our official engagement ceremony yet, we weren't allowed to outwardly state our relationship to anyone not a member of our two families.
My sentence must've been what she wanted to hear because her eyes lit up and the smile on her face was so bright that I heard a nosy student from across the classroom shriek and cover their eyes.
After Mr. Rooga regained the class's attention, we spent the last ten minutes engaged in an interactive activity. Everyone took out their phones and joined a website where questions would appear on the big screen in front of the room. Depending on how quickly you selected the correct answer on your phone, you earned more points.
Instead of participating in the game, I was on my phone looking at a text message from my mother.
[Surprise!]
The message was short and ambiguous, but I had a feeling I knew what she was alluding to. I replied promptly.
[Mom, did you know that she was transferring to the academy?]
A minute later, she responded to my question.
[Yes. How do you like the surprise?]
I ignored her question.
[Mom... how come you didn't tell me?]
[What's wrong baby? You don't like that your fiancée is attending school with you?]
I ignored her question again.
[Mom, tell me the truth. Did you give my schedule to her?]
There was a long pause. I watched the bubble pop up on the screen that said she was texting. But it would disappear and then reappear again over and over, meaning that she was deleting the text messages that she had been writing.
[Yes.]
All that time just to give me a one-word response.
[Why didn't you tell me first before handing her my schedule?]
[I didn't think that it was that big of a deal. Sorry, baby.]
I wanted anger to well up inside me because that was the obvious emotion to have, but I knew my mother had likely acted with my best interests in mind. After all, she was unaware of the true reasons behind my engagement to Ichiko and still believed it was a political maneuver orchestrated by my father.
She was still oblivious to my father's plan, which was for me to be engaged to Ichiko temporarily until the defeat of the demon king, after which I would be free to live life on my terms.
[It's okay Mom. Just next time, can you please ask me first?]
[Okay, baby. I will. I'm sorry. Love you.]
[Love you too.]
As the bell rang, I lifted my backpack and rose from my seat. Turning to Ichiko, I remarked, "I suppose the two of us will be inseparable for the rest of the day, then."
She responded with a nod and a smile.
Glancing back, I noticed Arthurr on the verge of approaching us, but he was intercepted by one of the girls from this class, also one of the members of his harem.
She asked him how he was able to use two elements, having heard about it from her friend, wondering if it was a code or an artifact.
Just like it happened in the novel.
"What are you looking at?" asked Ichiko, noticing my distraction.
"Nothing," I replied, shaking my head, and together we exited the classroom.
All eyes were on us, murmurs and whispers swirling like wildfire, rumors spreading like a contagion.
Just as I was about to head in the direction of our next class, a sudden figure materialized in front of me before I could brace myself.
It was Diana, her emotions still in turmoil since an hour ago.
I knew this because even to this point, my heart was still going nuts due to the connection we had with each other.
She locked eyes with me, offered a smile, and then turned her gaze to Ichiko, her smile widening for a different reason.
"Hi," Diana greeted her. "Nice to finally meet you."