A Brother's Concern
"That damn kid is never any help. None at all." Jealousy clicked his tongue in irritation as he watched Arina's retreating figure with her friends. "I should've smacked him one more time."
He was still clearly fuming over Togun. Grumbling about how he'd gone and healed the boy for nothing, Jealousy suddenly straightened his posture upon spotting someone approaching from the front. His current appearance was still that of Arina Grant, after all.
"You were here?"
The man who appeared before him was clearly looking for the disguised Arina Grant. Humon Grant, was it? The third son of the Grant Trading Company and younger brother of the current head. Unlike the Master, he was one of the "real" family members connected to the young lady by blood.
They really do look alike. His brownish hair and green eyes were an exact match for the young lady's. Of course, the fierce, sharply slanted eyes on either side made him look nothing like the gentle-eyed young lady, and there wasn't a trace of cuteness to be found.
How should I describe this feeling? Right, he looked exactly like some third-rate neighborhood thug who had made a name for himself locally. Jealousy evaluated Humon as a world-class thug on a global scale while tilting his head in Arina's innocent face. So why had this man come looking for the young lady?
"What the hell was that pathetic performance this morning?"
Humon cut straight to the point without even greeting Arina, as if answering Jealousy's question. His brow was furrowed in clear annoyance. Having missed the chance to greet him, Jealousy inwardly mirrored the scowl.
Did he come here to pick a fight? His already mediocre mood plummeted to rock bottom in an instant. Thanks to inheriting the young lady's cute genes, the man's face was quite handsome. If he weren't the young lady's family, Jealousy would've gladly clawed that face apart with his nails.
What a shame. Such a waste. Clicking his tongue inwardly, Jealousy outwardly put on a frightened, cowering expression. Humon, unable to doubt such a flawless performance worthy of a top movie actor, reached out toward Arina.
Even so, I can't tolerate physical violence. If it were directed at himself, he could just curse and let it slide. But he couldn't stand the thought of the young lady's appearance being harmed by this guy. As Jealousy recited 47 assassination methods in his head, a magical tool was tossed at his feet.
"Huh?"
Unable to hide his surprise, Jealousy alternated his gaze between the tool on the ground and Humon. A rest magical tool? It contained a recovery-type magic circle that relaxed the body with mana. At a glance, Jealousy could tell it held nothing else.
"Don't go slacking off just because you're feeling under the weather. Like I said before, as long as you're participating in this tournament under the Grant name, your mistakes will ultimately affect the Grant Trading Company's reputation."
"Ah, yes……"
"Have you decided on lunch? If not, try the 'Haesinjeong' right next door. I've prepared a full nourishing course for you."
"Thank you. I'll ask my friends first."
"Hmph. If you show that unsightly performance again this afternoon, I won't let it slide."
With those words, Humon turned away from Jealousy.
What? So he came because he was worried about the young lady's condition? It seemed he had come out of concern after seeing Arina perform poorly, unlike yesterday. His words were sharp and harsh, but every single one of them was filled with worried advice telling her to take care of herself and do her best. Was this what people called a tsundere? Jealousy couldn't quite figure out whether Humon disliked or liked the young lady.
Well, it doesn't matter anyway. For now, he should at least send the young lady a text. She must be exhausted after training with the Master all night, so she needed to eat a proper nourishing meal to have energy for the afternoon. Just as Jealousy pulled out his smartphone with that thought, a vibration came through at the perfect moment. Looking at the screen with a puzzled expression, he saw it was a message from the Master.
Come to think of it, if the young lady is here, the Master must have arrived at the arena too. But why would he send a text? Knowing that the Master rarely texted anyone, Jealousy checked the message with curiosity, and a grin spread across his lips.
"So Pride failed too, huh?"
Expect some commotion. Make sure to protect the kid thoroughly.
Having grasped the entire situation from the Master's short message, Jealousy burst into uncontrollable laughter. That Pride bastard had nagged him endlessly about making a mistake in Vivaldi Territory, and now look at him.
Serves you right, you bastard.
His mood, which had been at its worst moments ago, shot up beyond the atmosphere. Humming a cheerful tune at the news of Pride's failure, Jealousy discarded Arina's appearance and strolled through the corridor with a rare bright smile on his face.
＊ ＊ ＊
Hisss—
The pleasant sound alone was refreshing. The tingling sensation of carbonation bursting like fireworks in her throat. The sweetness lingering on her tongue even after the liquid went down made a smile form on her lips.
"Kyah! Cola really is the best!"
Sylvia let out a cheer-like laugh, saying this addictive taste was exactly why she could never quit cola. Especially after running around busily all morning, the refreshing feeling seemed even more amplified.
"……"
Unlike Sylvia, who seemed to find all the happiness in the world in a single can of cola, Amy sat beside her with a gloomy face, her head hung low.
"Why are you making that face?"
Baraki approached Amy and roughly patted her head with his heavy hand. Feeling the unexpectedly heavy pressure strain her cervical spine, Amy squirmed. Then she shot a sharp glare at Baraki, who was smiling at her with a sulky expression.
"What does it matter if you make that face?"
Instead of being deterred by the dissatisfied look behind her glasses, Baraki's smile only deepened as if teasing her. He plopped down beside her and spoke.
"You did well. You succeeded in preventing Chris from scoring, just like we planned."
"That's right, that's right."
Sylvia nodded in agreement while drinking her cola. Thanks to Chris not taking first place in the survival treasure hunt, the score gap between Benedict Academy's Team A and Sirionella Private Academy had widened even more dramatically.
"But that wasn't because I did well."
While the result was certainly good, Baraki's words brought Amy no comfort whatsoever. In the survival treasure hunt, Amy had contributed nothing. It was all Togun's achievement. The one who had gone head-to-head with Chris. The one who had grabbed his ankle and dragged him down to force a draw. All of it had been accomplished by Togun Masao alone. For Amy, who valued the process leading to results more than the results themselves, this was clearly no different from a failure.
Everyone else is doing so well. She had joined this tournament as the youngest scholar to have her name on a Magic Tower thesis, full of momentum. But honestly, she had done nothing in this competition. Combat was obviously not her forte, and the events she was confident in had all been completely overwhelmed by the unreasonable genius that was Marily Raymond.
Wouldn't it have been better to bring another combat member instead of me?
Day three of the Academy Tournament. Amy's self-reproach finally exploded—she had been no help at all. She let out an even gloomier sigh than before. At that sight, Baraki and Sylvia simultaneously turned to look at each other.
Hey, do something. This kid's completely deflated.
What do you want me to do?
You're both girls. You'd be better at this than me.
What does being a man or woman have to do with this situation?
Anyway, just do something!
At Baraki's desperate gaze, Sylvia turned toward Amy. Forcing a smile on her lips, she reached out to Amy, who was spreading dark clouds in all directions.
"Ah, ahaha. Amy, want some cola?"
Are you an idiot?! In this situation, the best you can come up with is offering cola? Baraki smacked his forehead and shook his head as if he had been a fool to trust such a person. Flustered, Sylvia jumped to her feet and shouted.
"What! What's wrong with cola?!"
Honestly, Sylvia's choice wasn't that bad. Cola contained an enormous amount of sugar, and it was scientifically proven that consuming sugar temporarily improved one's mood. Of course, if someone drank cola to the point of addiction like Sylvia herself, it would increase the likelihood of depression, but that could be avoided by drinking in moderation. Proud of her quick thinking, Sylvia was met with Baraki's scathing snort.
"Quick thinking, my ass. The problem is that you try to solve every situation with cola."
"……"
"Last time too, you shoved cola at Togun the moment you said you wanted to get closer to him."
It wasn't quick thinking—it was simply that cola was the only option Sylvia could come up with. Unable to hide her exasperation at such pathetic behavior, Baraki's expression made Sylvia snap. She grabbed her empty cola can and threw it at him.
"If you're so great, you do it then!"
The cola can flew straight toward Baraki's forehead. He easily caught it, crushed it, and used magic to extend his arm, tossing the empty can into a distant recycling bin.
"Let's see what kind of amazing comfort you can offer."
Ignoring the fuming Sylvia, Baraki stared at Amy, who hadn't even lifted her head despite the commotion. After a moment of thought, he rummaged through his pocket, pulled something out, and held it out to her.
"Want some candy?"
"You're even worse than me!"
What kind of answer is candy?! Cola would've been a hundred times better! Seeing Sylvia shout that he was only nitpicking her when his own response was just as lame, Baraki frowned.
"……What are you two doing?"
Unable to watch any longer, Aaron returned from his brief conversation with Professor Frankhorn and stared in disbelief at Sylvia, who was clinging to Baraki and stretching his cheeks, and Baraki, who was pushing her away with his rubber-like elongated face.
"This guy!"
"This idiot!"
Despite Aaron's questioning, the two only blamed each other, growling. They usually got along well, but at times like this, they were like oil and water.
"Haa."
Looking at the two of them while simultaneously noticing the thoroughly dejected Amy, Aaron let out a deep sigh as if he understood the situation. He slowly approached Amy and gently patted her shoulder.
"Don't be so down. You've done your part more than enough."
"But……"
"You didn't make a single mistake. Against Princess Marily, no less. That's enough."
By not letting the score gap widen further, she had sufficiently fulfilled her role. After all, she was a third-year. Neither Aaron nor the academy had expected much from her.
"Scoring points is our job as seniors. Did you really think we'd let you steal all our spotlight?"
At those words, Amy shook her head in surprise. Before she could say anything, Aaron pressed down on her head just like Baraki had and added,
"The situation is very much in our favor. You haven't done anything wrong. If anything, we're the ones who should be worried."
"……"
"I may not look it, but I'm quite competitive. I have no intention of losing to my juniors."
Benedict Academy's Team B was currently on a fierce roll. Yesterday, Arina had taken down Aaron. Today, Togun had stopped Chris's solo run. Their performances were unbelievable for first-years. This match is the critical point. Due to the draw in this morning's survival treasure hunt, Benedict Academy Team A's victory was nearly confirmed. If they took first place in this match as well, their championship would be all but secured.
So I have to defeat both the juniors and Chris?
And that premise came with the added condition that they had to take down all of them in this match. Yes, from here on, it was their turn to show what they could do. To this junior drowning in self-reproach. Thanks to your efforts, we were able to win.
"Wait here. I'll definitely come back victorious."
With those words, Aaron met Amy's eyes, smiled, and stood up. Then, giving a meaningful glance to Sylvia and Baraki, who had stopped their bickering, he grinned.
"Alright, let's go. Time to win."
Without a single thought of defeat in his mind, only victory in his sights, Aaron Dice, the strongest of Benedict Academy, made his way toward the arena where the "Capture the Leader" match would take place.