Relentless Girl and a Resigned Boy.

"—it's time to set the record straight. What are you hiding from me?"

I was stunned by her sudden question. W-what? Am I actually busted?! My mind raced as I thought about what to say in response. M-maybe it's just a misunderstanding...

With that hope in my heart, I tried my best to pretend like I didn't know what she was talking about.

"W-what do you mean? I know I haven't been exactly stellar as of late, but I have nothing to hide from you..."

"Fabian."

She interrupted me sharply.

"Stop pretending. I'd felt something was off even before the duel."

From the moment of her appearance I'd felt incredibly nervous, and her firm denial didn't help matters. My back was already soaked in cold sweat. At this point, I was panicking so much that my words became a jumbled mess.

"S-so what do you think I c-could be h-hiding? W-what am I being accused of exactly?" I responded.

"You know you're stuttering, right?" Maria said and sighed. "'Being accused of'... huh? There are a few suspicious things that I've noticed."

"W-what kind of things?"

"Well, for example, you are struggling with your magic but you're trying to hide that."

She was correct.

"Also, you seem to be desperate to prove yourself. For whatever reason."

Right once again.

"And finally, the way you fought Viktor today was nothing like your normal self. It's as if you were replaced by a different person."

And again... The last part was particularly accurate. Scarily so.

"S-so what?" I replied desperately, "T-that doesn't mean I have anything to hide. I-it's just pressure getting to me, alright?"

At my words, she narrowed her eyes and looked at me judiciously.

"...There are several possibilities in my mind," she stated, her glare fixed at me the entire time. I was too tense to reply, and I was pretty sure that she didn't want me to. "The first one is, as you said, that you're simply under the pressure. The second is that something significant happened in the four months that we hadn't seen each other. And as for the last one—

I tensed up anxiously, knowing very well that her next words could determine my fate. I felt like I was a criminal being handed his sentence in the court. As I carefully listened for her, I desperately prayed for a miracle...

"—you have likely lost your memories."

...And my prayers were met.

Maria's question soundly resounded in the room. Her words lingered in my consciousness for several seconds. I remained silent, trying to process what she said.

Lost my memories...? Lost my memories, huh? In other words... amnesia. She thinks that I'm the same old Fabian—just without all of the memories.

Now that I thought about it, when I first got reincarnated, I thought that would make for a good coverup story. It would explain the gaps in my knowledge, my various inadequacies, and everything else that was inconvenient for me.

"Am I right?" she asked amidst my silence.

Technically, she wasn't wrong. I did lack the memories. But it wasn't because of amnesia, it was because I was an entirely different person altogether. So, unfortunately, she wasn't quite right. Unfortunately for her that is. For me, there could be no better misunderstanding.

To think that her theory would be so convenient for me... It's perfect!

"Y-yeah—yeah! Y-you're right. I have amnesia!"

My sudden outburst of energy seemed to confuse her.

"Why are you excited all of a sudden...?"

"N-no reason!" I replied. "I'm just shocked that you figured me out..."

Maria still seemed puzzled, but she continued speaking.

"Did that happen around a month ago? Maybe before I arrived at the manor?"

S-sharp! How does someone like her get the most important part wrong...? Although, now that I think about it, memory loss is a much more sensible conclusion than your fiancé being suddenly replaced by a different person. So maybe it's not that surprising at the end of the day...

"I though something was off so I talked to your parents and Lucy," she continued, "you made them so worried with your sudden rebellious phase."

"I'm sorry."

"You better be. Although, it's just like you to keep it a secret," Maria said as she mentally switched her gears, "now, we should focus on what happens next."

"What happens next?" I echoed her words, worriedly.

"The duel," she replied,"this one didn't go your way, but you can absolutely win the next one."

While I was still busy thinking about being exposed, Maria had already moved onto the topic of the upcoming match. She accepted the amnesia theory so quickly that it felt almost anticlimactic. Yes, she was the one who proposed it in the first place, but it was how easily she went along with it that bothered me...

"...Aren't you... sad?"

She lifted her eyebrows in response to my words.

"Sad? Of course I'm sad, you dumbass. But wallowing in grief won't do neither me nor you any good."

Maria then paused and took a deep breath.

"Sure, it feels horrible to know that I'm the only one who remembers all the time we've spent together. And sure, I wish we didn't have to go through all of this. But life goes on. As long as you're here, we can make as many new memories as we want. But those memories will be tainted if you don't give it your best shot right now."

Her resolution surprised me. Was it really something that you could just accept and move on from? She had no hesitation in her expression as she confidently spoke about the future. As always, Maria's willpower surpassed all of my expectations...

While I stood still, in awe of her strength of character, Maria continued speaking.

"Anyway, we need to think of a way to beat Viktor. First, we should focus on—"

"—Do you..." I interrupted her, "do you really think I can beat him?"

Maria seemed downright confused by my question.

"Of course you can. You're still asking that? That arrogant prick is strong but narrow-minded. Despite having fundamentals of magical combat and the mastery of roaring flash engraved in his body, he lacks flexibility and creativity."

Her answer seemed reasonable, but I wasn't convinced.

"But isn't that because he was holding back? He just wanted to make a point..."

"And that he did. The point being that he's well trained and pretty good at throwing lightnings around—but that's about it. Nothing else about him was particularly impressive."

"Nothing?" I questioned her judgment, "his casts were much faster than mine, he was stronger, quicker, and had much more mana than I did. And on top of that, he knows how to handle roaring flash so much better than me..."

Maria paused for a second as she thought over her answer.

"That's exactly the point. As I said, he's well-trained in magical combat. His fundamentals are incredibly well-pollished. But that's it. Outside of that and the power of roaring flash there is nothing special about him."

As Maria spoke, she looked straight into my eyes.

"He might be a skilled warrior trained from an early age, but he's no Fabian Aes Berion. He's simple and lacking in thoughtfulness. You can outmaneuver him as long as you don't play by his rules."

Oh, I see. So that's what it's all about.

The more I listened to her, the more I understood one simple thing. She had complete and utter faith in one and only magical genius. That magical genius was someone special to her. And that someone wasn't me. 

She believed in Fabian, not Ayumu Shinohara. That much should have been obvious from the get-go. And yet, somehow I forgot it for just a second.

"Listen, Mary...," I spoke, "I'm... I'm not the same Fabian you knew."

Maria raised her eyebrows in exasperation.

"Are you talking about your memory loss? So what? You still seem to have most of your magical knowledge, right? As long as you have that, beating Viktor should be far from impossible," she answered, shutting down my words.

"...No, listen. It's not about the memory loss... no, I guess it is. But what I'm trying to say is that...I lost something important alongside those memories. I just... I just don't have what it takes."

Maria listened to me quietly. After I finished, she sighed.

"And how does that make any difference? What, do you think before your amnesia you were just cruising through life or something? Get a hold of yourself."

That he did, I wanted to retort. But Maria's fiery gaze possessed an intensity that stopped me in my tracks. Instead, I weakly spoke of my feelings.

"Listen, Maria... I can't. I'm... I'm no longer the same—I'm not longer a genius," I answered sincerely.

She seemed taken aback by my answer. Or maybe it was the frailness in my voice that finally got through to her.

"Fabian, you..." She spoke. Her voice turned much softer than it was just a few seconds ago.

Maria slowly approached me. Her gaze was gentle and kind. Her expression brought back to my mind the memories from my previous life.

I'd faced such situations so often back when I was Ayumu Shinohara. Whenever I would fail, my family and friends would always console me. Gentle, forgiving, enveloping, and stagnant words. I was very familiar with them.

It's just like back then—back when everything I started would go awry. Once again I failed. And once again, I will face pity.

Would it be empty words of platitude? Comforting promises of future successes? Or would she lament that there wasn't much I could do?

While my brain traversed the labyrinth of memories, Maria gradually closed in and—

*SMACK*

—slapped me in the face.

The hit came with a loud sound that resounded in the room. That sound echoed in my consciousness for a long time as my mind processed what just happened.

S-she... she just slapped me?

While I was still stunned, Maria continued.

"What the hell are you drooling about? What do you mean you're no longer a genius? Just how high is your goddamn ego? Of course, beating Viktor won't be easy!"

She pulled me up by my hands, lifting me on my feet; put her hands on my shoulders; and spoke resolutely.

"You don't have a choice but to fight him—so fight him you will! And if you're, you might as well do your best to prepare for it as much as you can!" Maria proclaimed. Her voice pierced through my lethargic consciousness. "So get your ass up and start training! Viktor is a freaking idiot who doesn't have half a brain cell in his empty head, but you are even dumber if you're going to give up without a fight!"

Her words felt as if a bucket of cold water—no, an entire freezing waterfall splashed on my head. Immediately, the sense of weakness I felt was replaced by pure sense of shock.

"So stop whining and fight, Fabian! Leave all of this nonsense about geniuses behind! You don't have to even be the same as you used to be. Stop obsessing over past you don't even know of. Just take the fight in your own way!"

As I stood, stunned from Maria's sudden outburst, I remembered something. I forgot one simple fact. 

This girl wasn't someone who would just take no for an answer.