Flowers and Steel #1
Rooooar────.
The massive seahorse's cry echoed like a ship's horn across the distant waves.
After about two hours of sailing, they had finally arrived at Fabio Island on Battle Island. Stepping off the boat onto solid ground, the coarse grit of the sand pressed against his shoe soles.
A quick glance around revealed nothing but pristine white beaches and dense, lush forests.
"Tch."
And then there was Professor Georgia, his face twisted in irritation as he fed the giant seahorse.
...This was the kind of thankless job that made one question their life choices!
Of course, the seahorse paid no mind, vacuuming up the massive box full of locusts without a care in the world...
"Bardi."
As Ricardo watched the scene with pity, Diego approached and spoke up.
His razor-sharp eyes were the same as ever, but the unpleasant edge they once held had vanished. Even his obsessively slicked-back hair had fallen into a more natural style, a visible sign of his newfound mental ease.
"I'll crush you in the finals. So don't go getting embarrassingly taken out by anyone else before then."
"Oh."
"Classic~ rival talk~ Ughhh... *blech*..."
"Miss Belluna. Either tease him or hurl—pick one."
"Eek!"
"Hahaha! Manly and fine, isn't it!"
"Argh! You're all so noisy!!"
Diego's cool facade crumbled instantly amid the kids' boisterous chatter.
Ricardo smirked at the peaceful sight and replied leisurely.
"Don't cry about losing again when the time comes."
"Oh yeah? I'll wring every last tear and snot out of you, Bardi."
-Kiek!!
Diego growled. At the same time, a monkey bounced around at his side, mimicking its master.
It was the one Diego had rescued from the Bewitching Forest. Apparently, these days he went everywhere without a single attendant—just with this monkey.
Rumors had spread that the third son of the Borromeo marquis had developed some weird tastes, earning him a scolding from his family. But Diego acted like he couldn't care less, steadfastly dragging the monkey along wherever he went.
"Anyway, you're going solo?"
"Hmph, obviously. You think I'd trail after you lot like a duckling?"
More than that, Diego continued.
"The sandbars connecting to the other islands won't appear for a while yet. Meaning everyone's stuck here with just us freshmen."
Diego lightly tapped the monkey's head—not hard enough to hurt. The bouncing creature obediently climbed onto his shoulder.
"With the Nicola Class here—two royals, no less, plus the 'dragon user' everyone's buzzing about—they'd have to be suicidal to challenge you all. You'll never collect those Rank Chips at this rate."
Sure enough, they'd each been given just one Rank Chip at the start. Lose it, and you're out. Everyone would play it safe early on.
"...You're pretty sharp."
"Oh yeah? That just gave me one more reason to thoroughly smash you."
A vein bulged on Diego's forehead.
"Ah, then I'll go with Lord Borromeo."
That's when Erhun spoke up in her soft, hesitant voice.
"I think it'd be fine, but you never know. Things could happen. Better to pair up in twos at least—safer that way."
"Erhun, did you...?"
Ricardo phrased it carefully: Like with Leviathana or Glontes—did you sniff out another Seven Fingers executive? But Erhun shook her head.
"Not right now."
"In that case."
"So... is that okay with you, Lord Borromeo?"
"Hmph, do whatever."
Diego strode off, monkey perched on his shoulder. Erhun bowed politely to the group, then scurried after him.
Come to think of it, Erhun was a Ratatosk ratkin in disguise. Ricardo's expression turned a bit odd.
That guy's turning into a real nature lover.
"Hm, both Borromeo and Erhun have a point. We should split into teams appropriately."
Eden adjusted his glasses as he spoke.
"In that case, I'll go with Beatrice. What do you say?"
Alessia asked, and Beatrice clutched the amulet around her neck, nodding vigorously.
"Eek! Ah, y-y-yes, I-I'm good with that!"
She didn't look good with it at all, but for Beatrice, that was surprisingly positive.
"Hm, then I'll pair with Prince Alexander. How's that?"
Eden glanced at Ricardo and Adella before suggesting it. He'd probably considered how Ricardo had saved Adella from her kidnapping before, preemptively reading the room.
Eden's the man. Why doesn't the academy make him class rep? I'd be his biggest fan.
"Hahaha! No need to ask! Let's go, Eden!"
"Yes."
"Guess that leaves me and Adella as a team."
"Take~ good~ care~ of~ meee~ Ricardo~ *blech*..."
"...Young Master Bardi's in for it."
Alessia eyed Adella with a cold stare. But Adella, pale from seasickness, grinned cheekily anyway—one hand clinging to Ricardo's arm, the other flashing a V-sign. Heat was rising from Alessia's body; time to quit poking the bear.
Still, it was a relief the teams had shaken out this way. If those two had ended up together... well, disaster was guaranteed.
Rank Chips? Seven Fingers? Who cares—they'd be the least of their problems!
"Lady Belluna, the motion sickness medicine should be kicking in soon."
"Tch~."
Amid it all, Isabella politely pried Adella off Ricardo with a gentle hand. ...And apparently, the seasickness had been fake all along!
Ricardo inwardly thanked his lucky stars for not being sandwiched between these three women like a burger patty. Not to any god—he'd stopped believing in those long ago. To our lord and savior, Professor Georgia.
Speaking of whom, the good professor was still dutifully feeding the seahorse...
Ricardo shot him a sympathetic glance, but when Georgia noticed and started glaring wildly, he whipped his head away and spoke up.
"Alright, let's head out. Everyone, stay sharp."
"Yess~ Be safe, everyone~. You too, Lady Alessia~."
"Hoh... Belluna, I could settle things with you right now."
"Eek!"
"See you on Levitera."
"Say you're hungry! I'll treat you to Belluraca's special seafood! Hahaha!"
They chattered noisily, piling their hands together in a group high-five. Some went high, some low—it was a total mess. But hey, wasn't that the romance of school days?
A soft smile tugged at Ricardo's lips.
"So~ Ricardo~ what's the plan now~?"
Adella, stubbornly linked arm-in-arm with him, tilted her head. Isabella's blue eyes fixed intently—silently—on their joined arms...
Ricardo beckoned her closer before speaking.
"Probably two main possibilities early on."
"Two~?"
"Like Borromeo said: everyone too scared to challenge us, so we wander empty-handed for ages."
"Mmm~ that'd suck~."
"Or—"
Thwack!
A single card slammed into the ground right in front of them, as if blocking their path.
Ricardo eyed it for a moment, then continued calmly.
"—we run into guys trying to gang up like this."
At the same moment, a group hidden in the trees slunk out. Judging by their red-and-yellow uniforms, they were from the mid-tier Costanzo dorm and the bottom-tier Fabio dorm.
"Lucky you, dragon user."
The leader smirked sleazily as he spoke, then—looking utterly pathetic—scrambled to pick up the card he'd thrown.
"Didn't they teach you cards on the ground means forfeit?"
Ricardo chuckled. The leader—eh, whatever, Leader for short—grimaced fiercely.
"We'll see how long you keep yapping! Even you can't handle these numbers!"
"Hanging out all casual with girls while we're starving!"
"Rank Chips second—beat a dragon user and we promote to top dorms...!"
"Split the BP though! I'm dying of hunger here!"
Ricardo ignored their squawking and stomped the ground instead.
A low rumble echoed as the Battle Table erupted from the earth.
"Ready, Adella?"
"Found a shop earlier~."
Meaning: hurry up and win, then use the BP for food. Ricardo smirked, pulling his deck from his pocket.
"Young master."
Isabella whispered as she approached quietly.
"There's a backer behind this."
"A backer?"
"Yes. Even with numbers, charging the academy-famous young master right off the bat is suspicious. Especially with Lady Belluna here too."
"I'm just a bonus~?"
Adella puffed her cheeks. Isabella ignored her completely.
"Moreover, they're not even Nicola Class—just Costanzo and Fabio students. Mediocre grades too."
"Too iffy to win the whole thing, nothing to lose if they flop?"
"Exactly. Probably aiming to wear you down."
"Makes sense."
Ricardo hopped onto the Battle Table and slammed his deck down.
"If possible, that is."
A little warm-up should do nicely.