“Do you really want to know my background that badly?”
Yide, looking at Sonia, who seemed to have turned completely monochrome, was a little curious.
“I really, really do!”
Now that it was out in the open, Sonia no longer hid anything, her cowlick standing up excitedly.
“Since you, Mr. Yide, already know my background, it’s only fair that I want to know yours too, isn’t it?”
Yide didn’t deny it; it did sound a bit unfair that only he knew Sonia’s background.
The problem was, he hadn’t actively tried to learn about Sonia’s background.
He had originally thought about delving into each other’s pasts once they had built more rapport.
But who would have thought that in just two days, this girl would reveal all her secrets during casual chats?
It didn’t deviate much from Yide’s guesses: a standard fallen noble, starting with both parents deceased.
Because there was no pillar of the family, she almost lost her residency in the upper district during her childhood.
Later, she temporarily retained her noble status by enrolling in the Duel Academy, but a month ago, she was forced to drop out because she couldn’t summon a duel spirit and consistently ranked last in practical combat, leaving her to live in a house her father had left in the lower district.
This wasn’t something Sonia told Yide directly, but rather something Yide pieced together from a myriad of details Sonia mentioned in her daily life.
Not only her family, but also the structure and geography of the entire Ringworld City were also pieced together by Yide from Sonia’s words.
This shows just how much Sonia had talked in the past two days.
So, Yide, on the contrary, became curious.
“If you want to know so badly, why didn’t you just ask me directly when we were chatting?”
“I thought… Mr. Yide wouldn’t tell me because you had some painful past that you didn’t want to share with me…”
Sonia drooped her head, like a dejected small animal.
But the next moment, she mustered her courage and asked, “So, why can’t I find any records of Mr. Yide anywhere I look?”
“Mr. Yide, shouldn’t you be a very powerful duelist?”
“Well, that’s because I’ve never been a duelist.”
“Huh?”
Sonia was stunned: “But, Mr. Yide clearly understands dueling so well…”
Yide smiled: “That’s because I’ve had more than just you as a host.”
“Because of a disagreement, my previous host and I broke up, which is why you summoned me.”
“Someone didn’t even cherish Mr. Yide?!”
Sonia was struck by a shocking truth.
She couldn’t understand it.
She was just a slacker with no great ambitions, and her only real aspiration was to restore the Seth family’s noble status, but that seemed too distant for her.
So, a spirit who could fight for her and act as a teacher was simply a perfect fit for her needs.
Moreover, for Mr. Yide to have developed such an understanding of dueling, his previous host must have been brought to B-rank or even A-rank by him, right?
Even at A-rank, would they still consider Mr. Yide useless?
“It’s not that simple.”
Yide saw the confusion in Sonia’s heart and said calmly, “I only understand now that some people will take your efforts for granted.”
“What’s more, the relationship between a spirit and a host is somewhat like that of a teacher and student, so naturally, there will be students who want to kick out their teacher once they’ve learned the trade.”
He just said it casually.
But unexpectedly, Sonia seemed to have made some kind of decision.
“I… I would never treat Mr. Yide that way!”
The girl’s eyes were filled with seriousness: “Mr. Yide saved me, so I’ll always be with you!”
“Even if you don’t want to duel anymore someday, I’ll still muddle through life with you!”
“You don’t have to be so dramatic…”
Yide felt a cold sweat breaking out.
But… always be with me?
Yide didn’t really believe in such lifelong promises.
After all, the last person who talked about ‘forever’ wanted to form a band.
However, looking at the girl’s serious eyes, Yide couldn’t deny that he felt a touch in his heart after hearing those words.
Thanks, I’m touched.
“Speaking of which, who exactly is that bad guy? If I find out, I’ll definitely teach her a good lesson for you, Mr. Yide.”
“…Uh, if I get a chance to meet her, I’ll tell you then.”
Yide didn’t want to continue the conversation.
He suddenly remembered that Loveland and Sonia weren’t entirely unrelated.
If he told Sonia that the so-called previous host was Loveland, wouldn’t that be like admitting he was the one who led Sonia into the fire element pit?
He definitely didn’t want that kind of social suicide!
Yide quickly diverted Sonia’s attention: “By the way, your friend has been watching you for a while now. Are you sure you don’t want to respond to her?”
“Huh?”
Hearing Yide’s words, Sonia just then remembered her best friend was still standing nearby.
Looking back at the outside world, Sonia looked up and met Tivia’s worried gaze.
“Wh-What’s wrong, Tivia? Why are you looking at me like that? (ļ½”ļ½„Ļļ½„ļ½”)”
Tivia didn’t speak, just stared at Sonia, who was deliberately acting cute.
“…Sonia, are you hiding something from me?”
“(āļ½ļ½„(ļ½“)ļ½„Ā“ā) No, Tivia, you’re so strange. Why would you ask such a question?”
Definitely yes!
Tivia looked at Sonia’s “nothing happened” expression and grew even more suspicious.
Every time her best friend lied, her expression would become exceptionally rich!
Sonia herself hadn’t even noticed this!
So, whenever Tivia saw Sonia making strange expressions, she knew that Sonia was definitely hiding something from her.
Moreover, Sonia’s schedule today was suspicious in itself.
Although her best friend was diligent, she never came to the library, and it was even less likely that she’d be interested in biographies.
When she so solemnly asked for her help a few days ago, even offering to grant her a wish in exchange, it couldn’t possibly have just been to read a few extra-curricular books here!
Her dueling skills suddenly skyrocketed, and she suddenly started reading biographies…
Wait, could it be that Sonia has, cough cough, found a teacher outside?
A guess suddenly popped into Tivia’s mind.
Her skills improved by leaps and bounds because she had a teacher’s guidance.
And now she’s at the library flipping through biographies to find out about her teacher’s past?
It has to be said that as Sonia’s childhood friend, Tivia’s casual guess was already very close to the truth.
She just didn’t expect that the so-called teacher had just been in her hand, not daring to make a sound.
With her guess, Tivia also breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as Sonia wasn’t exposed to the dark side of this world or seduced by some evil god, it was fine.
Although Tivia was still very curious about this teacher.
But now, she had more urgent matters to attend to.
“Sonia, since you’ve finished the books you wanted to read at the library, isn’t it time for you to fulfill the condition you promised me?”
“Tell me, Tivia.”
Sonia closed her eyes tightly, with a resigned expression.
She had thought Tivia wanted to use this condition to get to the bottom of things and was ready to confess the truth.
But unexpectedly, Tivia proposed another condition.
“Come on, let’s go back to the Duel Academy.”