After dragging myself through two foggy classes, I finally made it to lunchtime.
As usual, after getting our meals at the cafeteria, we returned together to the dormitory. But this time, I didn’t eat with them in the living room; instead, I took my food back to the bedroom.
I locked the door, put the food down, and then took off my mask, intending to call out to Eliza.
“Eliza, are you there?”
The bedroom’s soundproof door worked well, so anyone outside wouldn’t hear me speaking inside.
After a short while, Eliza suddenly appeared before me.
“What’s up, kid? Why the sudden call? It’s pretty rare for you to call me.”
Seeing her looking rather cheerful, I guessed she wasn’t mad at me.
“You’re not mad anymore?”
“How could I be? If I were mad, would I have saved your life in History Class this morning?”
“…Are you really not mad?”
“Of course not. I’m really not mad. Getting angry only causes wrinkles.”
Eliza’s insistence that she wasn’t angry actually made me more uneasy.
Why was that…
I had this feeling she was lying about not being mad.
But with that inscrutable smile on her face, I really couldn’t figure out what she was thinking.
“Sorry about this morning! I guess I just got too worked up!”
Better to apologize first!
Don’t want Eliza to come after me later!
“I already told you, I’m really not mad.”
Really not mad—
Eliza said with a warm smile, as if the morning’s incident was already behind us…
…was it?
(Damn kid, just you wait!)
“Alright, alright, let’s just put this morning behind us, okay? You didn’t call me just because of that, did you?”
She said kindly, and only then did I reveal my real reason for calling her.
“Of course not. I wanted to ask if there’s any way I can hide my teeth?”
I pointed at my teeth, hoping only Eliza could help me now.
Her answer didn’t disappoint!
“Of course, it’s pretty easy to hide your Demonization.”
“Really!? Then help me get back to normal!”
I looked like I had found my savior, begging Eliza to help me.
That way, I wouldn’t have to wear a mask during training this afternoon!
But Eliza said,
“I can’t do it for you. I can only guide you on how to hide your Demonization.”
“Ah? Why not?”
“This is your body, not mine. Since you control this body, you have to do it yourself.”
“……”
She made a good point!
“So… how do I hide it? It can’t be too difficult, right?”
That was my main concern. If it was hard, I’d have to wear the mask again this afternoon. I really didn’t want that.
“No, it’s actually quite simple. All you need to do is…”
Eliza then patiently guided me on how to hide it.
Just as she said, hiding Demonization was very easy. Under her guidance, I learned to conceal it in less than half an hour.
“Wow, it really worked!”
Seeing my teeth return to normal, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. Now I didn’t have to worry anymore.
“Wow, you caught on fast, kid. I thought it would take you one or two hours to fully master it.”
Could she stop calling me “kid” already…
“Not too bad. It’s actually not that hard.”
With this issue resolved, the weight on my chest finally lifted. I then opened the lunchbox on my desk and started eating.
Eliza, however, didn’t immediately leave. Instead, she rummaged through my backpack and pulled out a game console.
She also grabbed a bag of snacks from the desk and sat on the bed, leisurely playing.
“……”
I watched her while eating, noticing how focused she was on the screen, her eyes never leaving the console. She seemed a bit addicted.
I guessed she must be pretty bored being trapped in my body.
After all, she couldn’t do anything inside, and no one could talk to her.
Thinking about it, Eliza must feel quite lonely. Apart from me, no one else can see or communicate with her.
So now, I didn’t mind her sudden appearances; in fact, having a doppelgänger was kind of nice.
See, this is my “Substitute Envoy”!
“What’s wrong, kid? Why do you keep staring at me?”
Eliza suddenly put down the console and asked curiously. She probably knew I was watching her the whole time.
“Nothing, just wanted to look at you.”
“You’re so weird, kid.”
Seeing my odd expression, Eliza didn’t think much of it and went back to playing the game console.
‘Mmm~’ She even shoved a snack into her mouth.
Hmm…
I really hope she doesn’t eat snacks on my bed!
After finishing the last few bites, I tidied up the desk and turned on the computer, planning to watch some anime before resting.
But just as I opened my laptop, someone knocked on the bedroom door.
“Xiao Lu, are you okay in there?”
I could tell right away it was my sister’s voice.
So I went to open the bedroom door and saw her looking worried.
“You alright, little sister?”
“Huh? I’m fine, sis.”
I looked at her in confusion. Could it be because I said I had a cold this morning?
“My cold’s already gone, so no need to worry, sis.”
“Then why didn’t you eat with us?”
“Well… I was worried the cold might come back and infect you all, so I just ate in my room.”
“I see…”
I quickly made up an excuse, and my sister believed it.
“Rest well, sis. We have training this afternoon.”
“Got it, got it. You rest well too, little sister.”
As she was leaving, Xiao Xi suddenly glanced toward my room.
Her eyes passed over the slightly messy bed, where a bag of opened snacks lay. But that wasn’t what caught her attention.
She was shocked to see my game console oddly floating midair above the bed, as if held up by an invisible force.
The screen still flickered, the game playing itself weirdly, like an unseen player was controlling it, but no fingers were visible.
“Lu… Luna…” Xiao Xi suddenly stammered, staring at me in horror.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“Behind you… on the bed!”
Hearing this, I turned to look, but Eliza was quicker and had already put down the game console. So when I looked over, the console was on the bed and Eliza was sitting beside it.
“Hm? What’s up, sis?”
I looked back at her.
Could it be she actually saw it?
I thought my sister was scared because she saw Eliza.
“No… it’s nothing…! Didn’t you see it? Your game console was floating in the air!”
“Oh, sis, what are you talking about? There’s nothing here. You must have imagined it.”
I looked puzzled, which made Xiao Xi start doubting what she’d just seen.
Maybe I was just seeing things…
She muttered to herself, maybe it was an optical illusion.
“Maybe… Yeah. I guess I need to get some rest, haha…”
With an awkward laugh, Xiao Xi returned to her bedroom, and I closed and locked the door behind her.
“So, what’s wrong, girl?”
After I closed the door, Eliza asked what had happened.
“…Maybe she mistook you for some ghost.”
“A ghost? Do I look like a ghost?”
“No, but you’re definitely a Demon.”
“Sigh… you’re such a kid…”
“And next time, can you react faster? Don’t keep playing while people are obviously suspicious.”
“Got it, got it.”
Eliza sighed and picked up the game console again, ready to continue playing.
But I wasn’t going to let her take up space on my bed.
“I’m going to rest, Eliza. You can go sit on the chair and play.”
“Oh.”
Obediently, Eliza took her snacks and game console and sat down on the chair to play.
Since I locked the door, I wasn’t afraid anyone would suddenly come in.
Alright—
Time to sleep.