Reincarnated As Both The Villainess And Heroine...?

Philosophical Annette

"What a bloody mess."

"Stand back up, prince," I growled, wiping the blood off my lips. "This ain't over until you concede."

"So you say," the prince laughed, but the shaking in his stance was unmistakable. "You're on the verge of collapsing yourself too, aren't you?"

For once, his words contained nothing but the truth. My knees were weak, and the weight of exhaustion was piling on top of my frail body. Frankly, if not for the mental stability on Rin me's end, I would have fallen over several minutes ago.

How in the world did the original Elizabeth manage to beat this ego fueled freak?

"The prince aside, that duchess girl is sure a monster and a half..."

Oi! I heard that!

Even so, I had no energy left to glare at my future classmates, as I was just about ready to collapse on the spot.

"This fire has yet to die down..." another classmate complained about the heat rising over the field.

"Is that all you got, Bathory?"

"I could say the same to you, you treasure reliant weakling!" I responded with a maddening giggle.

With my mana stores running dry, all I could muster was a simple balling of my fist.

"Oh? My, oh my. How savage. But since you're so barbaric, I hope you wouldn't mind me hitting a lady," the prince laughed sarcastically as he raised his own fists.

Despite our determination, we were still children in the end. Our battle probably appeared as nothing but child's play in the eyes of trained professional, but the struggle was all too real for us.

With a single step from the each of us, we closed the distance just enough for it to be a melee. Using a shaky, uncertain movement, we threw a single punch at each other, both with barely enough strength to harm an ant.

And then, at the moment when our fists landed on each of our targets, that is, the cheek, the impact—

***

Ouch! That hurt! Huh? It actually didn't...? Ah crap, Elizabeth me fainted, didn't she. Shit. She just had to take that damn punch and go ahead and faint, so that it was me who felt all the pain.

Huh? She was me too? Well...we don't talk about that part!

"What's wrong? Does your cheek hurt?"

"It's just a bit of phantom pain," I smiled tiredly at the new friend I had just met.

"Is that so? Well, don't strain yourself, okay? It still ain't our turn yet."

Of all the people I've met ever since arriving in this world, Annette was perhaps the most normal individual. Not in a bad sense, no. Normal was good. Normal was sane. Normal was...soothing.

Her plain brunette braids, plain blue eyes, a near blank slate personality...She was very much an NPC that was forgettable. Yet, at some point, I grew tired of dealing with over the top characters. There just was something comforting in Annette's sincere smile.

You'll be surprised how much you crave normal human interactions after dealing with someone with such fake expressions...and it wasn't even this body dealing with that brat.

I was so lost in the madness that was the setting of this game, that I had completely forgotten about what it meant to be normal. In that sense, perhaps being friends with Annette should be good for my mental well being. I should be careful to not have her caught up in the future mess, though.