I'm The Ex-Girlfriend of a Soldier Chapter 10

Translator: shiko
Proofreader: Royals
QC: Haru Honeyshiki

Chapter 10

"How the hell did you get here? No, never mind that, what's up with your face?"

Ever since I entered this novel, I've seen eyes and hair of a multitude of colours so I was confident I won't be take aback by them anymore. However, I was surprised at seeing his jet black hair and red eyes. Both were colours I've never seen before.

“…Is this face also not to your taste, Meize?”

Why are you questioning my taste when I asked you why your face changed? Despite my surprise, I couldn't say no to his earnest expression.

“No, your current face is beyond reproach.”

“I'm glad.”

“Huh?”

“This is my real face. I usually hide it with this.”

Yse gestured as if to raise his glasses, although they were absent.

“How is it possible to change your face?”

“… By using magical items. I know a wizard who dabbles in that sort of magic.”

“Using magical items? So does that mean your face changes when you wear your glasses, and returns to normal when you take them off?"

“Yeah, that's exactly it.”

Yse nodded slightly. I didn't know why but it seems like his eyes looks sharper than before. I inclined my head in momentary contemplation before swiftly giving up that line of thought.

Unlike my original world, this is a fantasy novel so it isn't strange to see magical tools.

“But why are you using such an item? I don't think you need to hide your face.”

“Oh, I don't like being noticed.”

Yse gestured at his face.

Well, that face obviously deserves attention. His is the kind of face that makes people turn their head unconsciously for a look over and over again until it disappears from their sight when he walks down a street.

“Why are you revealing it now all of a sudden? You could've informed me beforehand instead.”

“You said you didn't fancy handsome men.”

“I don't choose friends based on their looks. That doesn't matter to me.”

“Really, if I knew that would be your answer, I wouldn't have hidden it.”

Yse smiled in delight. I returned his smile with a small one of my own, and cupped my flushed earlobes that betrayed my reaction to his unearthly beauty.

I used to always think you were quite acceptable in terms of looks, but now you're extremely handsome. I've seen many with black hair here, but those red eyes? I thought red eyes would look peculiar but instead they resembled a pair of brilliant rubies.

“W-Well, even if you were using your true face, how did you go on a blind date? I recall you saying you don't have friends apart from me.”

“I told you, didn't I? I was worried about you.”

He beamed at me with his unique eye smile as he declared that he no longer intended to hide his identity.

“I'm not gonna die on a blind date so, what's the matter anyway…”

“That's my concern actually.”

Why can't I communicate with you even though we're in the same room at the same time?

“When you said you were going on a blind date, I was scared and couldn't stand it at all.”

His pearly whites, which became exposed whenever he laughed, looked even whiter juxtaposed with his red lips. The contrast gave off an innocent and affable air, whereas my smile turned into a pout.

“But you told me to have a good trip.”

Actually, when I said I was going on a blind date, I was hoping he would stop me. I wanted him to notice my distaste for blind dates.

But he didn't. In spite of his jealousy, he only displayed emotions appropriate towards a friend. So I decided to keep my feelings to myself. After all, the feelings I felt for Yse went a little beyond friendship, but only to a certain limit. I knew I'd be fine after some time.

“That's because I didn't want to be hated by you.”

“I won't, Yse. I won't hate you even if you tell me you don't want me to go on the blind date. I told you, you're special to me.”

There were many good people around Meize, except the person that they knew and liked isn't me. I'm only the villain who took the real Meize from them.

So I always acted like the real Meize in front of them. The guilt of taking Meize from them always reared up whenever I talked to them, and the fear of disappearing should she ever return was hard to ignore.

After coming into the novel, there were only two times I've acted like myself and not Meize; when I broke up with Syukr and whenever I'm with Yse. Being with Yse is special because I can act naturally around him.

“Then, what if I say that I like you?” [Yse]

“Good, I like you too.” [Meize]

I felt his hand stroke my cheek gently. A big and warm hand. I had expected he would feel warm, but I didn't dare to be greedy for more.

"No, much more than you think.”

“What ‘much more than you think'?”

“How much I like you, Meize Hazelnut.”

“I know, I like you too.”

This time, my voice was less dry than before. Ah, I shouldn't be like this but the cheerful Meize instead.

“It's the truth. I do, Yse. I wholeheartedly like you.”

Yse's eyebrows knitted at the apologetic afterthought. I smoothed the wrinkle between his brows with my index finger, all without losing my smile.

Come to think of it, Yse was strikingly close to my ideal type. It would be weird not to like him. But I didn't want to dive in with a superficial heart. It'd be better not to embark on anything that would end quickly. I was so tired of meeting someone, getting together impulsively and breaking up shortly afterwards.

I didn't think I'd be this tormented by a person.

Eyes falling half-shut, I let myself go limp as I lowered my head onto Yse's hands. I've read so many novels in which the main character did this. It was a common cliche and it gave me second-hand satisfaction to the point that I grew tired of it. However, the life of a protagonist who experienced it in person was not as sweet as it seemed.

I know the future of this world. All I knew, however, were the major events in the book, especially the ones focusing on the main characters. I knew nothing else. In spite of criticising the novel, I was still a clumsy observer and outsider even after some time has already passed.

“I thought I could endure it. I thought I had to. Because you always have your guard up and I don't want to be hated by you. It was a perfect method to approach you as carefully as possible. By the way…”

Yse carefully gripped my chin so that I looked up at him. I smiled slightly as I recalled him suggesting a fake love affair. However, Yse drew closer in an unexpected and abrupt movement.

“You've always exceeded my expectations.”

His eyes filled my sight.

Not the brown ones that I know, but the sharp red ones.

It made me feel like I was burning for no reason. It felt like I was being possessed by raging flames.

“Meize, please. If you don't want to see where the end of my patience is, don't act like that.”

“What do I look like right now?”

“I can't say what you look like right now, but…”

I could feel his breath since the distance between us was so meagre. Yse slowly took a deep breath and continued.

“An expression of sheer helplessness, as if it's overflowing.”

The sharp red eyes that seemed to look like they knew everything made me shudder.

I thought you hid them well. Then when the hell are you showing them now?

I rolled my eyes in embarrassment as Yse walked away. But he didn't go too far.

“I like you, Meize Hazelnut. So I'll gladly be your friend, and wait for you forever. As long as you don't leave me.”

He smiled languidly, like a sun-drenched cat as his eyes locked on me. He kissed my inner wrist, even as he warned me,

“So, please don't stand in front of me looking like that ever again. Unless you want to know the difference between my like and your like.”

I didn't know. No, maybe the difference was the expression of the man who turned away just now.

I didn't know. No, maybe the difference was the expression of the man who turned away just now.

Did I just receive a confession from Yse? Well, isn't it a little too vague to be called a clean-cut confession? I didn't answer his confession, did I?

So, are we still friends? But I can't really treat him like I used to.

Uuh, I don't know. What's the definition of my relationship with Yse currently? Teacher and student? Friends? Fake lovers? What kind of relationship? I don't think I can name the exact relationship between us.

No, leaving that aside, how should I look at him now? Today isn't a day for lessons, so I'm getting by, but… Tomorrow is the day we meet, so I should prepare my attitude in advance, ack!

My hair tangled into knots as I rolled around my bed with my head buried in my pillow. I grumbled and wiped away the tears in my eyes.

My hair is too long, I should cut it off. It's pretty but it gets caught everywhere. It gets caught even while I'm washing or drying my hair.

I carefully brushed aside my hair and roughly worked through the snarls. I was so upset that I didn't really think of cutting my hair before. I don't know if it's the main character bonus, but Meize's hair is so fine that it's low-maintenance, without the need for much care at all. Most importantly, her long hair was beautiful.

"Hm…”

I walked in front of the mirror and posed slightly like a model, staring at the reflection

At first, it was uncomfortable. But after a few tries, it felt more natural to pose. Since it's my house, there aren't any audience staring at me. And after all, this body belongs to Meize; her figure isn't that of a 2D model but a real one.

Chapter end