-Oriana Mengral's point of view.
"How did I end up like this?"
Oriana wondered over and over again how she had ended up in the current situation. Although she didn't really care too much, Asher's attitude aroused great curiosity in her, as his actions were different than usual.
For a moment, I thought she had figured me out. However, even my eyes would be hard to see through Briana's ability. Because of this, I dismissed the idea of having been discovered.
Although, of course, I wasn't entirely sure, since Asher was acting completely different from how I knew him. Because of that, Oriana kept pretending, intrigued to know more about Asher at that moment.
But...
Was it necessary to hold hands?
True, she was pretending so as not to reveal her identity, but now the situation had taken on a whole new perspective.
Why?
Because Asher took her by the hand, and she accepted, since she had no other choice if she didn't want to be discovered yet.
In any case, she would try to lose him in the crowd if possible and return. Although there were awkward moments, as it was a new experience for Oriana, she continued.
However, something felt strange.
She was a 25 year old adult, but she was disguised as a 12 or 13 year old cadet while holding Asher's hand due to her previous awkwardness, something she herself had caused.
As such, the situation was quite peculiar.
"In my entire life I have never held the hand of anyone other than my mother, father and sister."
It was then that Oriana realized that this was completely different from what she had planned. Her goal was simply to watch Asher for a couple of hours.
To try to find out if there was something between them that would bring them closer, or something similar, but it all turned out to be more than she expected and she ended up being discovered by Asher.
At that moment, Oriana heard her sister's voice, and her heart skipped a beat, sweating nervously as her brother pulled her away from Asher.
"..."
Oriana looked at him with great curiosity.
"Looks like I've discovered something interesting," she thought.
Maybe it had all gone wrong for her, but after so many sacrifices, she discovered something interesting about her sister. It was nothing related to Asher, but she did discover something about her sister, which made her curiosity peak.
"..."
She frowned as Gloriana stared at her. She knew she was wearing a disguise, and her appearance was completely different, as was her height.
Because of that, Gloriana had no idea she was standing in front of her older sister.
"Who are you?"
"..."
I chuckled under my breath at my sister's questioning attitude, with the sudden question.
I answered without hesitation, trying to tease her.
"I'm Asher's girlfriend."
"..."
As expected, Gloriana's face changed to an expression of surprise, but at the same time darkened.
Her reaction was quite strong at the unexpected response.
But she had definitely figured something out.
"Hehe... I see you like someone, sis," I thought, realizing that my sister liked the bastard next to her, the same one who had been teasing her all day.
"I don't know if he really knows who I am," I said to myself.
If that were the case, Asher wouldn't have done everything he did with me during the hours we spent together.
However, I noticed that my attitude, my expression, and my facial features were beginning to change.
"Shit."
Quickly, I turned around trying to avoid the gaze of my sister and Asher, who strangely had his eyes narrowed in a wide grin.
"..."
I was slightly irritated, but now there was something more important to attend to.
"My appearance is returning to normal."
I look down at my hands and then touch my face, noticing that Briana's ability was slowly fading. Either she must have been quite far away, or the ability had a time limit.
Because of that, Oriana started to walk away, but....
"..."
"Where do you think you're going?"
Gloriana's hand gripped her shoulder, and Oriana began to get nervous. If she didn't leave soon, her appearance would return to normal and she would be discovered, which was the last thing she wanted, especially with her sister present.
What would happen if her sister found out it was really her?
Of course, she would look at her as if she were a completely different person.
I would think she was actually dating Asher while she had another appearance, pretending to be someone else.
"I'm sorry... I have to leave as soon as possible."
But...
"Then answer truthfully... Are you really... are you the girlfriend of...?"
Gloriana leaned closer and whispered in his ear, since Asher was two meters away.
"Are you Asher's girlfriend?"
"..."
Oriana looked at Gloriana in surprise. She had lied before just to tease her, but she seemed to have taken it as a serious answer, and now her question was more severe.
For that, I sighed slightly as I smiled.
"Not really, you can keep it, though it's pretty idiotic."
"Uh..."
Her face blushed, but I quickly turned around and then....
Thud!
In an instant, he appeared in his office. The disguise completely vanished, revealing her red eyes, silver hair and regaining her normal height, while thinking of only one thing.
"This ability... it's quite interesting."
She could change her appearance completely, going unnoticed by all nearby gazes. But eventually she would be discovered, as Briana's ability has a time limit before fading.
Still, I was satisfied.
I realized that my sister likes Asher, but the problem is that I didn't find out anything about him. I also realized something else, though.
"You little bastard... you were teasing me, weren't you? I think you actually knew who I was, and yet you kept teasing me."
I knew this when I saw Asher's smile at the last moment.
"Mmmm..."
I look at the clock and realize that the meeting Director Wilbek had announced is close.
[11:48 A.M.]
***
-Scene change.
-Asher Frostblade's point of view.
Oriana was already gone, but I smiled at her at the end, letting her know that I actually knew who she was.
Even if she wore a disguise and her appearance changed completely, her mana wouldn't change in the slightest. So, even though it was hard to remember Oriana's mana, in the end I figured it out and knew right away that it was her.
Because of that, I played several pranks on her and teased her a bit.
But.
"Now... why did Gloriana appear out of nowhere?"
She arrived and started questioning Oriana. Of course, Gloriana didn't know that the person in front of her was her older sister.
Still, I didn't stop her, as I found it quite an interesting situation.
"Haaa..."
Asher sighed heavily as he remembered something.
"Oh... it's almost 12, the meeting is scheduled for noon."
It was a few minutes away, so I spoke to Gloriana as she approached me.
"Hey, the meeting the director mentioned is about to start..."
"..."
Gloriana reacted strangely. I couldn't see her face, as she kept it tilted down, hiding her expression. However, I could tell that something was happening to her.
So, I moved closer and leaned down a few inches to get a better look at her, and then....
"Uh..."
Drip. Dripping.
What on earth...?
Why was she crying? Or maybe there was another reason.
However, I didn't understand anything and tried to talk to him casually.
"Hey... are you okay?"
"..."
There was no answer, but I kept talking.
"Is it because of the cadet who was with me earlier?"
"..."
Gloriana nodded quickly. Realizing this, I tried to calm her down.
"So... Ah... well, would you like to go out with me later?"
"..."
"Yes..."
"I mean, it's not important.... Let's go, we'll be late for the principal's meeting."
"..."
I briefly looked at Gloriana's back and thought of one thing.
"What a quick change of attitude."
***
-Scene change.
[Meeting section]
Asher looked at the sign above the large door leading to a huge hall. He opened the door, revealing hundreds of cadets, all seated and conversing, while the podium was empty for the moment.
This meant that the headmaster and the other teachers had not yet made their presence known. Perhaps because it was not yet noon, but it didn't really matter.
Asher noticed the other cadets seated and quickly made his way over to them along with Gloriana. They both sat down as the minutes ticked by.
"It must be time," he thought.
Suddenly.
Clank.
The lights came on and an old man in a black robe, a long white beard and hair of the same color appeared, with gray eyes that stood out. Other than that...
"Heh... what an overwhelming mana."
Principal Wilbek finally appeared, followed by the other teachers.
Among them were Oriana, Lucas, Aria, Bridget, and Briana, who, in my opinion, were currently the most influential.
"Cadets of Laosa Academy, I introduce myself. I am Principal Wilbek Laosa."
So it was that the meeting began shortly after his words, and silence filled the room full of cadets.