So I’m a Fish, So What?

After leaving the guest room, I walked back home in a daze. 

My mind is far too chaotic to do anything, so I just informed a maid that I wish not to be disturbed and went up to my room. 

A day’s break should be fine, right? I’ll take one anyways. And what better way to kick this off than by taking a nap?

Though I say it’s a nap, I ended up sleeping until about two hours before midnight, which can by no means be considered a nap anymore.

A nice refreshing nap really does work wonders for stress-induced fatigue though!

Waking up, I rub my eyes and stretch my body as a loud yawn escapes my mouth. It was very unladylike, but I don’t pay much attention to those rules when I’m alone.

Basically, I’m currently in a I don’t give a single fuck mood.

Shifting my body into a sitting position, I ignore the covers sliding off my body as my eyes drift towards the starry night sky outside the window.

A few minutes later, another yawn escapes my mouth as I lift myself off the bed and lightly step towards my personal full-length mirror.

I’ve long gotten used to my new appearance. Honestly, sometimes I would even go as far as to make girly poses in front of the mirror. 

After I slowly and meticulously adjust my appearance after which I search for the nearest maid with Presence Perception.

Locking onto her position, I loudly call for her to prepare supper and bring me a change of clothes before leaving the room and walking towards the baths.

Removing my garments, I place them in the designated laundry area and proceed to wash the accumulated sweat off my body before soaking in the hot water.

I let out a satisfied sigh as I lean back and close my eyes, my thoughts drifting back to today’s events.

Filimos just dropped a bomb with the information she revealed, huh? Truthfully I’m very confused about how I should proceed from now on…

What she revealed was undoubtedly just the tip of the iceberg, yet it was enough to shake my determination.

Just as I thought, our entire class was reincarnated in this new world and everyone got a second chance along with a brand-new life filled with infinite possibilities.

While I should be glad that everyone’s safe, I can't help but feel uneasy about what the future holds for us.

This isn’t some isekai manga where everything goes according to our wishes, this is a real fantasy world where the will of those with authority are forced onto the commoners and the words of the strong are forced onto everyone.

Who knows what dark secrets are hidden under the seemingly prosperous scene I’ve been exposed to since childhood? I’ve seen too many dark fantasy mangas for me to believe everything’s the perfect picture hiding the truth.

And what colors has this new world dyed our previous classmates with? Fei and I have already become different people over the years.

I mean, it’s only expected that we’d change this much when one of us had their gender changed and the other had their entire race changed, right?

Honestly, the way Shun still holds onto the morals of our previous life and strives to have a similar lifestyle is admirable in its own way.

My latest source of distress is the fact that there are a lot of people who know about reincarnations, our special skills, and very high potential.

I’m not really averse to people knowing, what’s bugging me is that I’m completely in the dark about their identities.

Filimos’s words revealed that the entire elf race already knows, but what about humans? Demons? Mermaids? And whatever other races are out there.

It’s very frustrating, actually. I put too much effort into acting normal, yet I was still exposed anyways!

Like, what the hell?! It’s like I was doing my best to avoid getting wet on a rainy day, but that one asshole driver just decided to splash an entire lake’s worth of water on my body!!

Sigh… I’m also very concerned about how they found us. While Filimos didn’t mention it again during the conversation, it was quite obvious that she knew Fei’s true identity.

However, the fact that she is still unable to contact or even locate Tomoko with such methods at her disposal is more worrisome.

Haaaah, I have too many questions, yet each of their answers will probably lead to more questions. I really don’t know what I should do.

I guess that’s why I finally decided to confide in Fei. 

The pressure's really getting to me and I don’t think I can bear this ever-increasing load by myself much more.

Shaking my head, I slowly lift my body and start walking towards the changing room.

Glistening water drops slid down my body as I scanned the room in search of the clothes I previously requested from the maid.

Upon finding them, I waste no time in getting dressed, after which I head towards the dining room.

I’ll leave all the troublesome thinking and planning for tomorrow. Tonight, I’ll just immerse myself in a long leveling session!

Finishing my meal, I wipe my mouth with a napkin and go back to my room, then promptly teleport to my secret base hidden in the forest.

As for those poor monsters that are gonna end up as my venting outlet, I’m not sorry!

 

The following day at midnight, I sneakily make my way through the duke’s mansion after everyone’s fallen asleep.

My stealth skills are at a fairly high level as a result of stalking monsters in the forest, so it’s basically impossible for the guards to find me unless they’re specifically looking for me.

For some reason, the rate of which natives of this world gain proficiency is a lot slower than us reincarnations.

I don’t know whether reincarnations are special in this regard or if most humans in this world are too cowardly to use skills under pressure for quick levels.

Sue does gain proficiency levels at a very high rate, but I can’t take her as a benchmark considering she’s being supported by Shun’s Divine Protection.

It’s most likely that reincarnations are special.

Heading into the courtyard, I use a Short-Range Teleport spell to bypass the walls and shift my footsteps towards the castle.

Frankly, I’d rather just use a Long-Range Teleport from my room, but I decided to go there on foot in order to investigate the castle’s surroundings before meeting Fei.

The elven spies have already penetrated into the heart of the Analeit kingdom and who knows what other forces are lurking around.

Luckily, I had already created the perfect spell for such situations a few months ago.

Sometimes, I’d get tired during my secret leveling sessions, but it would be impossible for me to rest since I’m in the middle of a monster infested forest.

I racked my brain for months and spent many sleepless nights experimenting with magic before finally coming up with the perfect solution.

Combining four spells from two different magical branches, I created an exclusive magical spell that has two main functions.

First, designate an area and cover it with a barrier that tricks the senses of others and forces them subconsciously bypass the afflicted area.

This part was the hardest, as I had to combine Spatial Magic’s Coordinate Designation and Fixation spells with Heretic Magic’s Hypnosis spell in order to hypnotize idlers into leaving a certain area.

Fortunately, the second function was very similar, so all that time spent on research wasn’t wasted. 

I wanted to add an illusion function in case someone’s will power is strong enough to bypass the hypnosis, but since I already had the previous part done, I only had to follow the same steps and added in Heretic Magic’s Phantasm spell into the mix.

Quite the genius creation, eh!

This would’ve taken me years if it wasn’t for the space and heretic affinity I got from the soul mark.

After making sure I wasn’t being followed nor finding the presence of any lurking spies, I finally cast the barrier a short distance away from the castle walls and waited for Fei.

The young wyrm’s figure soon appears on top of the walls and her eyes intently scan the area, searching for my figure.

“Turn your back to the wall, close your eyes, and move forwards until I tell you to stop.” Telepathy is quite a handy skill, huh?

Fei freezes at the sudden voice appearing inside her head, but soon recovers and slowly descends the wall and proceeds to follow my instructions.

“Yo, Fei! You can stop and open your eyes now.”

“What are we? Kids playing tag?”

“Lovers having a clandestine meeting would be more accurate, but since I'm an underage girl and you’re basically an overgrown lizard, it doesn’t really work. Anyways, this is a countermeasure for spies.”

“So, you also found out, huh? Or more specifically, only someone as dense as Shun would gloss over Oka’s words.”

“While that may be true, don’t put him down too much. Shun’s working hard in his own way.” Scratching my head, I give Fei a wry smile. “Did anything else happen after I left yesterday?”

“Nah. Oka just informed us that she’ll be entering the magic academy with you guys and then she was called by the other elf.”

“Potimas… huh? Just that guy’s presence disgusts me. He’s quite a rude bastard as well.”

“We all share the same view on this one. Surprisingly, even Shun does.”

“I’d be worried if he didn’t. By the way, do you know when exactly we are supposed to enroll in the academy?”

“You expect me to know about this when you don’t? I only know that it's when you’re ten years old.”

“Well, that’s more than what I know, at least. Do you know why I called you here, or should I start from the very beginning?”

“I know already. Just get it over with.”

“Alright alright. I’ll stop dancing around it.” Pausing to take a deep breath, I put on a serious expression before proceeding with my words. “As you might’ve already realized, our current situation is quite bad.”

“... Go on, I’m listening.” Her lazy demeanor finally fades into a solemn one and her ears perk up in attention.

Sorting my thoughts, I start talking to Fei about all the worries I had since my Appraisal ceremony, save for stuff like my bracelet, soul mark, and secret leveling sessions.

This conversation will determine whether I can trust her with those.

And I really hope I can trust her.