I Was a Man Before Reincarnating, So I Refuse a Reverse Harem

Chapter 194 – Sophie Linier’s Dream ―The Given Words― III

The soft morning light that entered through the small arched window illuminated the man who was as motionless as a doll.

Just like Christina, the figure of the person, who gave off a sacred feeling just by sitting, was looked at by Sophie with exasperated eyes.

Did this man return to his dorm properly? He didn’t actually wait here all night, did he?

The fact that the location of the board, pieces, and Remiel’s expressionless face on the table were the same as yesterday made Sophie think so.

The only difference was the queen’s piece that Sophie dropped was placed beside Remiel.

Was this the reason why the librarian greeted me with a relieved expression despite it being before the opening hour?

This man was very troublesome from the librarians’ perspective.

They could remind normal students, but they have a hard time doing the same toward the second prince.

I might be responsible for this, but he really is a man who does things as he likes.

Sophie let out a small sigh and sat down in front of Remiel with light steps.

“I’m sorry for leaving suddenly yesterday.”

When Sophie told him that, Remiel replied with a short “No…”

For a man who didn’t care about other people’s feelings at all, for some reason, his amethyst-like eyes wavered in an unconventional way.

Regardless of the reason, it was Sophie who suddenly ran away.

Sophie was prepared to receive some sarcasm for that, but she never thought the response she got was him awkwardly looking away.

Sophie was puzzled by Remiel’s attitude, but she looked at the board and said,

“Should we start over from the beginning?”

“No, we can just continue as it was.”

His reply was quick and clear, showing no worry in his response.

“Is that so? But at this rate, you’re going to lose, you know?”

When Sophie told Remiel that with the tone like telling a child “Be careful of tripping when you run,” Remiel raised an eyebrow in a bad mood.

“You jumped to conclusions too quickly.”

“Oh my, I’m the daughter of a gold star, after all. I’m good at predicting things, you know.”

As she said that, the girl elegantly picked up the queen’s piece, pulled it toward her mouth, and showed a fearless smile.

Her fresh green eyes were radiating with a dazzling light as if she was convinced of her victory, and her lips were filled with composure.

Looking at her dignified expression, which made it hard to believe she was the same girl who ran away yesterday, Remied unknowingly swallowed his breath.

Even when he was confronted by his mother, who was known as a diamond-like noble lady, he didn’t falter, not even once.

Unaware of Remiel’s turmoil, Sophie placed her piece on the previously paused board.

It was a move without hesitation. But it wasn’t something decisive that decided the match nor a bizarre move in particular.

Even so, Remiel stared at the board and Sophie alternatively and quietly asked,

“Which one is the real you?”

Hearing such an irrelevant question, Sophie smiled lightly.

What a shrewd man. How did he know?

The angle of her fingers and her gesture should look feminine, just like yesterday.

However, this man should be able to tell.

The change in Sophie’s heart through the board.

Although Sophie was surprised, her heart wasn’t shaken like yesterday.

That was why she responded gracefully.

“Oh my, both are me, you know?”

“…”

Sophie raised the corner of her mouth and smiled, which made Remiel look dubious for a moment, but Sophie continued calmly.

“But yes, if possible, I wanted to think I’m different as well. Because it’s embarrassing, right? The fact that my other self is just so weak… it takes a lot of courage to admit one’s weak self after all.”

“You… wanted to hide that, didn’t you? Someone told me that sometimes one’s mind refuses to acknowledge it thoroughly. Why do you feel like talking about it so easily now?”

That someone should be Gerald.

The only person in this academy who could advise Remiel in this matter was him after all.

Heh~ so Geragera has that kind of sensitivity. It’s kind of surprising.

As Sophie thought about something rude, she picked up a pawn.

“If you ask me why, the answer would be simple. You are someone who has a tendency of wanting to expose things even if I try to hide them anyway. That’s why I’m thinking of using you as a stepping stone to organize my mind. It’s the so-called autocrine effect, which states that the best way to organize one mind is to talk to people.”

“…Stepping stone? You mean me?”

Sophie said that with a sunny expression.

If it was the usual Remiel, he would definitely ask, “What is the autocrine effect?”

But upon being declared he was a stepping stone, for the first time in his life, he was so surprised that he froze with his mouth open.

“Ah, don’t worry. It’s not like I expect any specific advice from you, and I don’t even think you are capable of giving any to begin with.”

Sophie spat poison while her eyes were filled with affection.

“You see, I always wanted strength that would never be lacking. I wanted the strength that allowed me to be unfazed and unflinching and allow me to believe in myself as I walked forward. If that was achieved, I would be able to proudly protect things with my own strength.

And another thing.

She didn’t want Tasuku’s weakness and ugliness to dwell inside the beautiful girl (Sophie Linier).

She couldn’t forgive it. She wanted to keep it hidden.

However―――― she was still herself in the end.

Even if she reincarnated, she was still the same.

“Christina onee-sama is exactly the person who filled the weakness of my heart. She is gentle, beautiful, and proud.”

If it was her, she might be able to become someone like Suzuka, someone that Sophie would never be able to meet again, such was her thought from the bottom of her heart.

“But everything was wrong to begin with. There was no need for me to fill in my weakness. After all, that wasn’t something to be filled or something that stubbornly needed to be overcome.”

The game continued as she spoke. Sophie prompted Remiel to make his move so he moved his knight, but it wasn’t a good move. Remiel was surprised at the fact he wasn’t focused on the game.

Remiel began to wonder whether Sophie was aiming for this through her storytelling skill.

However, he couldn’t bring himself to stop her from talking.

Besides, richu was a psychological warfare. Disturbing the opponent’s mind was also a kind of strategy. 

“I have forgotten the most important thing. The reason I sought strength is for the sake of the people I loved. They are the reason I wanted to become strong.”

Sophie paused and slowly pointed at a pawn.

“…Hey, don’t you find the game’s rules strange if you think about it realistically? When a pawn manages to advance all the way to the enemy base, they can be promoted. The best choice of promotion is a queen, but isn’t a soldier male? Isn’t it laughable if they were promoted into a queen?”

“Is it necessary to compare a piece to a person?”

Thinking it was just an idle chat, Remiel cut it off.

“Aren’t you curious? After the war is over, how will the pawn piece that got promoted into a queen piece lead their life, for example?”

“I never thought about it.”

“I am curious about it. After all――――”

Such is my life.

Sophie chose not to continue and look at it with self-deprecating eyes, to which Remiel asked a question.

“Wait a minute. Are you talking about richu right now? Or perhaps…”

“I’ll leave it to your imagination.”

She turned her expression around and responded with an innocent smile.

Remiel felt disturbed. Be it his path toward victory, her true thoughts, or everything else.

Even after analyzing Sophie’s remarks, expressions, and breathing and assembling them into one, Remiel still couldn’t understand her, which made him blatantly annoyed.

“So you’re really using me as a stepping stone…”

“Didn’t I tell you that from the beginning? Go ahead, hurry and make your next move.”

Being hurried, Remiel continued the game with that unsettling thought.

And the result of the match was announced loudly by Sophie as she moved her last piece.

“Okay, this is my victory.”

“…”

Remiel squinted his eyes at Sophie, who smiled while holding his defeated king.

Although the match itself didn’t take much time, Remiel felt exhausted somehow.

Author Note:

Sorry for only updating now (; ・`д・´)

I was focusing on turning my other work, “misunderstood marriage” into a light novel for a while.

I never thought it actually got released in November,  the same month of reverse harem comicalization. (/・ω・)/

And so, the work of Misaki Mori-sensei “I was a man before reincarnating, so I refuse reverse harem – The road to perfect lady (1)” would be released during November 11th (Friday)! It was a book where you could see a very cute Sophie and a very pitiful Rio. Please take care of me from now on as well!!