9 The Time After (3) - 8

"CLINK!"

Watching the flash of steel on the other side, I could only smile, satisfied with my performance, and also due to that fact that I had learned that I hadn't lost my touch even after regressing back to this young body.

"How'd you do that?" She asked, looking slightly impressed.

I mean, this was probably in her expectations now, since I had disassembled and reassembled that gun really quickly.

"Just instinct." I replied, as in all actuality, it really was just instinct.

You see, before she left after teaching me in the past timeline, I had "confiscated" her guns, and then I had used them as my primary weapons for the rest of my life, so, it was only natural that I was extremely familiar with them.

I mean, after all, I could barely see with all these tears falling out of my eyes, so yeah, it was all instinct.

"Hmm... Is this perhaps your second time?" She asked after thinking for a few minutes in silence.

Hearing this, I froze.

"What would you mean by that?" I asked, my face as impassive as ever, even though my thoughts were racing on the inside.

"Would this happen to be your second time living?"

"Yes..."

"So why would you need me to teach you? I can give you the guns if you want."

At first, I couldn't understand why she was confused, but then I somehow remembered that I was definitely not the greatest guy back in the previous timeline.

"Nah, I don't need them, I plan on taking a different path on the road of gunmenship this time, but my parents are forcing me, so..."

"Ah, I understand, then do you want me to teach you whatever this other path is?"

"Yes, but that can wait until next time, my parents have only paid for 30 minutes of lessons everyday, and that time is now up."

And, right after I said this, two maids came in, one to wheel me away, and another to lead Rylvia to her quarters.

"See you tomorrow, Master."

Saying that, the last thing I saw was that familiar smirk that I saw on her face when she killed me...

...

Now, you might be wondering why my interaction with Rylvia was so cold and distant.

Well, that was because we basically never did anything that bad to each other in the previous timeline, so it wasn't like either of us cared about the other.

I mean, yes, she had killed me, but that was only because I was a threat to her safety, the safety of her lover, and the state of her country, it wasn't due to anything else.

But still, there was a problem.

You see, if she could remember the past due to seeing my face, then, couldn't all the other side heroines also remember the past?

After all, she wasn't a "true" heroine either...

Well, now, I had to be extremely careful with who I revealed my face to.

I think it was about time that I acquired a mask.

...

Hearing my request, my mom and dad had immediately been happy, thinking that I wanted to cover my tears, showing that I cared about my body again.

Of course, I could only shake my head at this, and so did Cor and Caroline.

But, this didn't change anything, and I was immediately sent with a group of servants along with Caroline to a mask store down in the town.

Getting into the carriage, I was left alone in the empty space with Caroline.

Knowing that it would take at least 30 minutes for us to reach the shop, I sat down next to Caroline.

Laying down on the seat made of velvet, I placed my head on Caroline's lap, which was even better than the velvet.

"!!!"

"Isn't this normal for siblings?" I asked her, a playful smile on my face.

Seeing her look away as her ears and cheeks turned red, I could only marvel at how cute she was.

So, not resisting my desires, I raised my hand up and pinched her cheek.

"Stuauauauauap!"

Repeatedly playing with her cheek, she could only respond in kind, and so she started twisting my ear.

"Owie!"

Taking my hand off her cheek, I pried her hand off my ear.

"Truce?"

"Truce."

And with that, a calm atmosphere fell over the carriage as I closed my eyes.

I mean, it wasn't like I was being selfish, resting whilst Caroline supported my head, because, after all, she was probably just happy staring at my calm, sleeping face, whilst wiping away my tears every few minutes.

But then, I realized something from what I had just thought about.

'Isn't she a little bit too obsessive?'

'Nah, it's probably just because she loves me, in more ways than one.'

Easing my mind with this thought, I drifted off to la la land.

...

"Cal, wake up, we're here."

Feeling a soft hand on my forehead, shaking me awake, I could only smile contently.

Opening my eyes, I saw the maids looking at us, and let's just say that the stars in their eyes were brighter than actual stars.

I guess we looked too cute, but that was expected, after all, we were both very pretty, being the son and daughter of nobles, and we were still children.

"Cough cough..."

Coughing to grab their attention, they regained their professional aura again and we were both led out of the carriage.

Holding each other's hands, we walked into the store.

"Welcome Young Lord, Young Lady."

"Thank you for having us." Replied my sister.

"No, it is an honor for a lowly peasant like me to be trusted with providing a mask to the honorable Young Lord."

He turned to me, expecting a reply to this, but I just nodded before walking to the wall covered with masks.

Annoyingly, every time I looked at a mask, he would bombard me with a bunch of useless information about it, thinking that I was interested.

But, seriously, there wasn't even one good mask in the store.

Sure, almost all of them were enchanted in some way or the other, but none of them were unique enough to catch my eye.

That was, until I noticed a strange mask in the discard bin.

Picking it up, I knew it was the right one for me.