There's an old saying that goes, "You may know the waters of ten rivers, but you can't know the heart of another."
It's a saying that still invites a myriad of interpretations to this day.
To Theo, those words meant that since the human heart can change dozens or hundreds of times a day, you should seize opportunities when they come.
After all, someone who was friendly today might become hostile tomorrow.
─Understood, Isabella. I'll leave right now.
Theo decided to meet with Isabella without delay.
'While Isabella is favorable towards me, I'll take advantage as much as I can.'
After ending the call, Theo bid farewell to Noctar and the orcs.
"I'll be back soon, so don't wander off anywhere. Study quietly on your own. If there's something you don't understand, write it down and we can go over it all at once later."
Noctar and the orcs burst into complaints.
"Where are you going, Theo! Only because of you are we barely managing to sit at our desks!"
"Are you abandoning us? Have we been abandoned?!"
"Woowoo~! You bad guy. Leaving us to go hang out with some girl again."
Theo didn't respond.
Instead, he pointed at Seria, who was giving a peculiar look from the side.
"If it's really urgent, ask Seria. She's talented enough to be top-ranked in the Hero Department if she transferred right now. See you later."
Creak──
Theo immediately opened the door and left.
Noctar and the orcs grumbled as they went back to their textbooks.
Seria stared at the door for a long time and then murmured.
'Hmph. Not telling us where he's going or why he has to go......'
Seria cast a [Focus] spell on the orcs again and said,
"I'll be out for a bit too. Don't worry; I'll be back before the [Focus] spell wears off. Just as Theo asked, please study quietly on your own, okay?"
With those words, Seria too opened the door and left.
Inside the student council room, Theo and Isabella sat across from each other at a table.
Isabella spoke.
"You've become even more famous lately, haven't you? Thanks to that, I've been receiving some help."
"It's just been a bit of luck," Theo humbly replied.
Of course, his intention was not to score points with Isabella.
Theo wanted to keep the conversation as short as possible.
'If we talk for too long, she might read my true feelings.'
He deliberately answered curtly, hoping she would get to the point quickly.
Theo had been interacting with Isabella for some time.
However, due to her unique ability [Mind Reading], he avoided direct contact, communicating only through a communication crystal.
But Isabella wanted to prolong the conversation.
Isabella chuckled and said,
"If you have such luck, why don't you share some with me? It's not every day an academy student makes headlines in the major news outlets by luck alone. I still remember one of the headlines. What was it? 'The boy who walks the path of a hero, surpassing even a champion'......"
There was no reply from Theo.
At Theo's indifferent response, Isabella felt a bit awkward.
'Still can't get a read on him. He wasn't this quiet over the phone.'
Maybe he's surprisingly shy?
'Theo Lyn Waldeurk and shyness...'
It was a combination that didn't match at all.
Isabella found herself laughing without realizing it.
'No, that's not it. I can't even guess his intentions, but there must be a reason.'
He was the only one who had managed to persuade her, almost to the point of coercion, to get what he wanted.
And he was also the only one whom her [Mind Reading] couldn't touch.
Isabella opened her mouth again.
"Hmm, well. Since you seem busy, I'll get straight to the point."
"Yes."
"Two days after the final exams. There's a big event hosted by the Order in the magic city next Sunday. The Order has made a not-so-subtle request for me to attend, and so I will."
"I see."
Theo responded with nothing but short answers.
Isabella was incredulous.
'What's with this guy...'
Anyone else would try to prolong the conversation with her, embellishing every word she said with all kinds of flowery language to keep the dialogue going.
But this guy in front of her seemed desperate to end the conversation as quickly as possible.
'It wasn't like this when we met before.'
Had there been some change in his feelings?
Did he trip over a stone while running here?
'I don't know.'
It's difficult, oh so difficult.
For the first time in her life, she felt she could relate to the old saying, "You may know the waters of ten rivers, but you can't know the heart of another."
As Isabella was lost in her confusion,
"Is there something on my face?"
"Ah!"
Startled by Theo's sudden question, Isabella let out a scream.
Her face turned beet red.
'Wha, what's with this all of a sudden...!'
It was the first time she had made such an embarrassed noise in front of someone else.
She could feel her cheeks burning.
Embarrassment and shame flooded over her.
...Those who have always been predators are often inadequate at handling crises.
This was also true for Isabella.
Isabella took a deep breath inwardly.
'Calm down, calm down... Hoo, hoo. Hoooo~'
But the more she tried, the hotter her cheeks became. Now her neck was turning red as well.
Theo watched the scene.
Outwardly, he appeared calm, but inwardly, it was a different story.
'A rare sight indeed. Isabella in a state of panic is something even the game didn't show...'
It was quite amusing.
He tried to maintain a state of no-mind to avoid letting any compromising memories slip... but it wasn't easy to do.
Before long, the heat had spread to Isabella's collarbone.
Given her sizable chest, comparable to Seria's, it was easy to tell.
Theo observed her closely.
'That day, huh.'
His sharp mind quickly came to a conclusion.
Somehow, the face-to-face meeting between Isabella and Theo came to an end.
Isabella had asked Theo to accompany her to an event being held in the magic city to the north next Sunday, and Theo had agreed.
For Theo, there was no reason to refuse.
'This is a chance to properly deal with those [Turning White] guys.'
It was an opportunity.
Since it was a big event, surely many of the Order's paladins would be mobilized.
Theo planned to incite them to join him in targeting the [Turning White] guys.
And if he could successfully persuade Isabella, it would greatly reduce the difficulty of inciting them.
It didn't matter if it took some time.
The last day of final exams was also the end of the semester.
Theo stood up.
"Then I'll be taking my leave, Isabella. Good luck with your finals."
Isabella, whose cheeks had finally lost their redness, also stood up.
"Uh... Yeah, thanks. Be careful on your way back. Is that the Chalon family's artifact on your waist?"
Isabella pointed to the [Demon Sword] at Theo's waist.
Theo nodded.
"Yes, it is."
"It's hard to tell from the appearance that it's that famous artifact. May I take a look?"
"Of course."
Theo handed over the [Demon Sword], still in its scabbard, to Isabella.
Isabella drew the [Demon Sword] from its scabbard with a curious look.
Swoosh──
With a clear sound, the sword was drawn.
Isabella narrowed her eyes and observed the blade.
'Hmm... It doesn't seem particularly special. No sound is coming from it.'
It was said that holding the Chalon family's artifact would cause you to hear broken voices strangely, but that didn't happen.
When she brought her face closer to the blade to observe it more deeply.
─Let... go... child... face...
"Kyaaah-!!"
The broken voice was suddenly heard.
Isabella screamed in horror and hastily pulled her face away from the blade.
Theo, with Isabella's face turning pale, took back the [Demon Sword] and sheathed it.
Isabella pointed at the [Demon Sword]. Her fingers were trembling.
"What, what is that... You fight with that thing? It's really creepy."
"People usually react that way. I'm used to it."
Isabella sighed in relief.
"Phew... That's good."
"Of course, no one has screamed as loudly as you did."
"...You know what I'm going to say, right?"
Theo answered without any change in expression.
"I'm not sure."
"Keep what just happened a secret."
"Hm, understood."
Isabella seemed uncertain about Theo's response, so she emphasized again.
"It's important. You must keep it, no matter what happens. Promise me."
"Understood."
Isabella extended her pinky finger to Theo.
"Promise with a pinky swear. You must keep it."
"Understood."
Theo linked his pinky finger with hers.
'Does this woman also read novels...?'
Suddenly, an image of a blonde elf overly immersed in novels popped into Theo's mind.
Anyway, that seems to be the end of the conversation.
Theo decided it was time to leave.
"Then, I'll really be going now."
"Right. I really hope you keep your promise."
Theo left the student council room, with Isabella seeing him off.
──But then.
"Why are you here?"
An unexpected figure was standing right outside the door.
"Hehe, the orc orcs were making a fuss, saying they had a lot of questions. So, I came out to see you off."
Seria glanced back at the student council room.
Inside was Isabella, a second-year student in the Hero Department and the First Saintess of the Renimid Church.
Seria greeted her gracefully with a bow.
"Hello, Saintess. It's an honor to meet you. My name is Seria Lun Hestia, and I'm studying in the Magic Department. I'm Theo's aide."
"Oh... Yes, hello."
Isabella immediately read Seria's inner thoughts.
─That girl? She's the one who interrupted my precious time with Theo. Theo really is becoming more and more flirtatious. No, it must be that girl who made a move on him.
-...She's more suited to be a courtesan than a saintess. Ah, it's getting harder by the day. The ones currently attached to him are troublesome enough, but this girl is on another level... And her chest, it's absurdly large. Oh, oh...? Does Theo like big chests after all? Yes, he must like big chests for sure!
Confronted with such dense and dark thoughts after a long time,
Isabella's vision went dark.
