“Uah! I’m tired! But I feel like I couldn’t do anything!!”
“That’s not true! You did well!”
“Yuugo is right. Good job, Epee.”
“Hn, but I feel like it didn’t go well… Yuugo, praise me!”
“Dowah!? Y-you…! Ryuuga is watching…!!”
After the first group was done with the test, Yuugo welcomed Melt back with Ryuuga, but was flustered when she leaned on him and held him.
While he did feel like rewarding Melt for her efforts, and this situation definitely felt like a perk, the eyes being pointed at him, not just Ryuuga’s, were hurting him.
Ryuuga looked on warmly, but he wanted to avoid the angry eyes of the other boys. But Melt continued, with her body still pressed against his.
“Come to think of it, none of those hero prospects bothered me during this test. Normally they would start talking to me as soon as they saw me away from you.”
“That’s true. I was feeling like something was different as I watched the test too.”
“So it wasn’t just me. Did they finally realize there’s no space for them between us and give up? I hope so!”
“Hm… Well, I feel like they’re just too preoccupied with the combat miko. But I’d appreciate it if they stopped messing with us at every opportunity.”
Yuugo was watching Melt’s test, and agreed that it was noteworthy that Shian and the others did not try to talk to her, which was new.
They were focused on the combat miko, but Yuugo also wondered if Shian and Egos learned their lesson after the (deserved) misfortune that befell them.
But he quickly realized that these people were not that admirable, and thought of something bad.
(What if people like Shian and Egos impress the combat miko and they get involved with them? If they act the way they’ve been acting with girls like Melt and An, won’t that cause an international incident…!?)
It could happen… Or rather, the odds of that happening were very high, thought Yuugo as he turned pale.
But he also thought that surely, the combat miko would not be drawn to such vulgar people, and he felt anxious again as he remembered that the hero prospects commanded a strange respect from the other students.
In the meantime, Melt spoke to him and Ryuuga with such energy that made consoling her not necessary anymore.
“Well, forget about me! We should think about you two! Even putting the combat miko’s opinions aside, this is your opportunity to let loose and stand out!”
“Ah… About that. Ryuuga, we should probably not work together during this test.”
“Eh…?”
Melt was surprised. Ryuuga also showed some surprise, as he questioned Yuugo’s motive.
“Why is that? Are you saying you can’t trust me?”
“That’s not it. It’s just… Not fair, you know? We just happened to meet this morning, and all these coincidences led us here…. It’s too many good coincidences on top of each other actually, and I feel bad using that luck in this test. I don’t know how to explain it, but we should tackle this test in a way that won’t make others say it’s unfair.”
“…How honest of you. You’re so honest that it’s funny.”
Ryuuga snorted, appraising Yuugo with an amused expression.
Yuugo was not sure if he was being praised or criticized, but Ryuuga continued.
“If you say so, I won’t object. I was going to work in a way that builds a cooperative relationship with you, but I’m not so inclined if it ends up backfiring. But… Yes, I don’t think we can be very active in the test. Probably.”
“Eh…? What do you mean?”
“If you don’t know, it’s best if you stay that way.”
Ryuuga seemed to be hinting at something, as he left the other two.
Yuugo and Melt looked at each other and tilted their heads, not understanding what he meant.
“What did he mean? It’d be one thing if he was talking about you, but he was talking about both of you.”
“I dunno… But what did he mean by it being good that I don’t?”
It did not feel like he was looking down on Yuugo. It felt as though Ryuuga really was just telling the truth, which got Yuugo very curious.
He had no idea what Ryuuga was hinting at… But he would once the test started.
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