However, before Ilena could finish speaking, she suddenly felt a chill at the back of her neck. Almost instinctively, she turned to look in a certain direction.
And then she saw:
"Hm—?!"
(^)
A threatening expression and a terrifying gaze, sharp as an icy needle, had appeared on the face of the terrifying little teacher Annie, sitting across from her on the sofa.
The big green eyes of the troublesome little girl who'd been focused on her game console were now dangerously narrowed. She stared straight at Ilena like she'd spotted her prey, her little face full of displeasure, annoyance, and disdain:
"What?"
(.)
"Ilena... do you have a problem?"
(.)
Annie asked, pausing between each word.
"!!"
At the sight of that, Ilena froze for a moment, then jolted and snapped back to her senses. In an instant, she smoothly switched from "angry victim" mode to "loyal supporter" mode.
"Um..."
Sure enough, her expression swiftly changed from shock to realization, then to ingratiation. The speed of the transformation was truly astonishing.
"Ah!"
"N-no!"
"I absolutely have no problem with it!"
She waved her hands repeatedly, shaking her head like a rattle drum.
"Teacher Annie, you've got me all wrong!"
"What I meant was... delicious! Wonderful! Absolutely mouthwatering?"
She forced out what she considered her most sincere, admiring smile.
"Actually..."
"I've always been very unhappy with that bird-catching test, too!"
"Boring!"
"Dull!"
"No skill required at all!"
"It's an insult to geniuses like us mages!"
"Forget you—if it were me, I'd eat them, too!"
"I'd have to!"
"And I'd eat a few more!"
She spoke with such righteous indignation, though no one could say how much of it was sincere.
"Tsk!"
o(^｀)o
Watching Ilena abandon all dignity and switch sides in an instant, Annie curled her little lip in disgust