Free Web NovelChapter 97: Peaceful Tournament Start
In the VIP lounge.
"Hey, do any of you know, where that piece of work is?" a woman asked in a sharp tone.
She was sitting on a soft and elegant chair while watching the matches.
"Huh? Why should I know? Rather, aren’t you able to keep your eyes on her?" another woman, who was standing, while leaning her back against the wall, replied annoyed.
"Hm? Care to say that again?" the woman on the chair said equally irritated.
Sparks flew as the two women glared at each other.
It was only the end of a match that distracted them.
"A-and the first winner is Lily Hayth!" the announcer declared vigorously and stunned through his magic tool, which raised the volume of his announcement and resembled a short metallic rod with a small ball on top of it.
The crowd went wild and cheered loudly.
"That was pretty quick..." Mika commented amazed.
"Heh, just like I said, she got a lot stronger." Sylvia huffed with a smug smirk.
"Y-yeah..."
Lily spotted the two and waved her hand victoriously at them.
"Shall we go down?" Sylvia suggested.
He moved his head up and down.
Thus, the two exited the arena and waited for Lily.
"Hey guys, did you see that?" Lily shouted as she approached them.
"Yes, of course! You were amazing!" Mika replied genuinely impressed.
"Hehe..." she giggled embarrassed.
Sylvia sighed. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"I wished I could have fought you." she stated, glancing at her in anticipation.
"I don’t know about that... I don’t really want to be that exhausted after the first round, haha..." Lily responded unconvinced.
"I know, I was just joking."
"That was a joke?" Mika muttered.
"If we were to fight, then it would be in the final round." she added.
"I look forward to it." Lily answered determined with a smile.
As Lily’s match was one of the first matches in the first round, whereas Sylvia’s was one of the last, they could only face each other at the finals.
The two were grinning at each other.
"Maybe I should get between the-"
"Mika!"
But before he could make as much as a step, someone yelled his name.
Recognizing that voice, he frighteningly turned his head around.
"R-Rachel..."
"Uff!"
It was Rachel, who tackled him.
She jumped right into his stomach, almost making him fall over.
"Mika!" she called his name again, rubbing her face like a pet against his body.
"R-Rachel, there are people here...!"
"..."
"..."
With a stone-cold expression, Lily and Sylvia stared at Mika.
Then, they heard a sigh.
"Sorry, guys. We couldn’t rein her in anymore. She wanted to see Mika as soon as possible."
"It’s still shocking to see her like that..."
Coming from the same direction as Rachel were Belian and Harik.
"Are you on your break?" Sylvia asked, ignoring the background noises as Mika tried to free himself from Rachel.
Lily attempted to help him, but it was no use.
"Yeah..." Belian replied while heaving another sigh.
"Is your job that exhausting?"
"Even worse... Even though our first shift lasted for roughly two hours, I feel like dying..." Harik explained dejectedly.
"We have to be cautious all the time and be suspicious about every person. Considering the past incidents, we mustn’t let our guard down." Belian added sternly.
"Thus, we initially wanted to take it easy during our break, but then this little girl suddenly rushed to Mika." Harik stated, pointing at Rachel, who still clung herself to Mika.
Sylvia looked awkwardly in the same direction.
"Don’t be so shy, Mika."
"Shy? I’m anything but that...!" Mika said with a strained voice, still trying to push her away from him.
"Hmm~? Reall- Ugh!"
Out of nowhere, Rachel received a cop to the head.
"Rachel, that’s enough. We’re leaving now." Belian announced before faintly smiling apologetically at Mika.
"..."
She glared at Belian.
"Listen to him, okay? We can talk later." Mika added with a nervous smile.
"Fine~ But just because you said so!"
Thus, Belian and the others left the others after they waved their hands at them.
"..."
The other three stayed and watched until their backs vanished among the crowd.
"I-is something...?" Mika asked, still staring in the direction of Belian and Co.
He tried to not look into the girls’ suspecting eyes and smiled wryly.
"What happened while we were away?" Sylvia asked.
"It seems like you and Rachel are pretty close." Lily added.
"W-well..."
Mika turned his head in the other direction.
"Geh!"
However, Lily grabbed him by the shoulder and Sylvia clenched his head from behind. freёwebnovel.com
They turned his head and body forcefully towards themselves.
Mika tried to fight back.
"An answer please." Lily ordered, smiling scarily.
"Or are you perhaps hiding even more?" Sylvia wondered, smirking slyly.
Mika took a deep breath.
"How should I explain this...?" he whispered to himself.
He faced the two.
"Everything I can say for now is that I kind of took care of her condition. What you’re looking at now is her true self, I guess..." he tried to explain while averting his gaze from them.
"From now on, she can go through a day without feeling as tired as usual." he added, smiling compassionately.
"Y-you cured her...?" Lily said amazed.
"How did you do that?" Sylvia asked pensively.
"Sorry, but I can’t tell you yet." Mika replied nervously.
Sylvia shrugged her shoulders while sighing.
"It’s fine if you don’t want to say it." she said, smirking.
"We won’t pry any further." Lily said, also smiling widely.
"Thanks."
"And sorry." he muttered the last part.
Even though he could now display his true abilities, he wanted to at least keep it hidden from Lily.
"Anyways, how about getting something to eat? I still have some time, before I have to prepare for my match." Sylvia said, proceeding to walk ahead of them.
"Sure."
"Good idea!"
Then, the three roamed around the capital and its streets, buying something from the food stalls and looking at products from other stalls.
It was the first time after a while since the three got to talk casually. They had fun as they spent time like any other teenager.
Just for that moment, they put aside the serious things in their minds, talking about the trivial stuff that happened during their separation.
"Well, I guess I have to head back for now. What about you two?" Sylvia said after looking at the time.
"I suppose I will come with you. After all, My second match is right after yours." Lily stated.
"Then, what about you, Mika?"
"..."
Mika stared at the stalls.
"I will take a small stroll around here before heading back." he replied indifferently.
"Alright, then I will see you later."
Leaving with a smile on their faces, Sylvia and Lily headed back to the arena.
"..."
Mika, too, had a smile on his face as he watched them disappear.
[It must feel good to be with them again, right?]
"Yes." Mika replied softly and happily.
Now alone, he walked aimlessly around, looking at the busy stalls and the people.
Young couples. Families with kids. Old people. Group of friends. Even those, who came from other nations.
Every single one of them had a peaceful smile on their faces.
"It’s been three months, huh...?" he muttered as he smiled at the sky.
It was only in a peaceful moment like this...
Having the moment just for himself...
He could finally look back at what happened so far.
So much happened in that short amount of time.
From fighting students and teachers to fighting monsters and demons.
Even aside from all the fighting, there were countless times, when Mika was stressed out.
However, not everything was negative. After all, he was able to make friends, surprising even himself.
He found people, where he could feel at ease.
For example Gerard, his roommate, whom he could talk to about his problems and everything else as he was an average student compared to the rest of Mika’s companions.
The white class students, who may seemed unapproachable at first, but were more relaxed and understanding than he thought.
Then, there were Sylvia and Lily, his first friends at the academy. The two people at the academy, whom he cherished the most. While he still had to keep a secret from them, he had the most fun, spending his time with them.
And last but not least, there was another person, to whom he treasured. The first person, whom he could show his true self besides his parents. A person, whom he respected and looked up to. Yet, he found it difficult to put his relationship with said person into words. Were they friends? Acquaintances? Student and Teacher? Comrades? Or...
Mika shook his head wildly.
"What am I thinking...?" he murmured with slightly reddened cheeks.
He kept on walking while being lost in thoughts.
However, he did not pay any attention to his surroundings, leading to him bumping into someone.
"Ah."
"S-sorry! I wasn’t..."
The person, whom he bumped into, turned around.
"...attention."
Mika sounded shocked.
"Mika...?"
His eyes widened.
"Ms. Ross..."
