"Septem Treina, Golden Thrust," I thrusted forward my white staff and it got through the mana beast''s stomach.


    Clenching my hand, I swept my staff and it knocked away all the other 3-stars mana beast around.


    -Booom!


    Following a deafening sound, the ground below me cracked. I shrunk back my staff as I looked at the blood of the mana beasts flowing down from the cracks on the ground.


    "Celesta Shimmering des!"


    On my right, Alfred was fighting a 4-Star Disaster Beast with his sword. With a wave of his sword, dozens and dozens of golden des pierced the Kangaroo-Boxer''s skin.


    "Ah!" With a yell, Alfred disappeared in a sh of light and stabbed his swords in the kangaroo''s head.


    The kangaroo didn''t even have the opportunity to scream and it fell on the ground in its pool of blood.


    "As expected of His Highness!"


    "Kyaaa!"


    "I-I love him!"


    "Can I be your concubine?"


    Following La''s praise, the other girls screamed with red faces.


    I couldn''t prevent my face from twitching at this sight.


    What the hell am I doing in this group?!


    It''s the worst group ever I could end up in!


    Am I doomed to watch Alfred broadening his female admirers for three days in rows?


    Hell no.


    I have to do something.


    "Are you jealous?"


    A vein popped out on my forehead when Eric asked.


    "Is that a joke? Why would I be jealous? Rather it would be annoying." I said.


    "Well, those girls clearly have a crush on you but your recent mood swings scared them to even approach you." Eric exined to me.


    Thanks for the exnation but I''m not jealous because I want a harem with those girls!


    "I don''t care about them." I shrugged my shoulders a little tired.


    That suction force was still there.


    "Something happened between you and La?" Eric finally asked.


    Well, only an idiot wouldn''t have noticed that La stopped speaking to me for a few hours now.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Since you ran away when it began, you don''t know huh. It''s a shame, Eric." I snorted at him.


    "I-I did not run away. I would have been just like a third-wheel for both of you…"


    "Third-wheel?" I raised a brow at his words. "What third-wheel?"


    Eric was confused when I asked that. "I mean, aren''t you in love with her?"


    "No!" I denied immediately. "Who said that?!"


    "The rumors?" Eric put his hand on his chin.


    Damn rumors.


    I hope all those gossipers die in a cruel way.


    "Please, forget all the rumors about me. They are all fakes." I asked in a pleading tone since I started to reach my limits with all the rumors about me being in love with each girl I speak to.


    "Right but you spoke about what then?" Eric asked.


    I sighed at his words and started to exin quickly how I offered my help to make Alfred fall in love with her.


    "I see…" Eric nodded several times before ncing at Alfred and La. "That''s why…they seem definitely closer than before despite Alfred''s cold demeanor toward her."


    "You think?"


    I honestly wasn''t sure if Alfred''s view on La changed but Eric seemed to think that.


    "If Alfred epts La, it would indeed erase our worries about her trying to kill Milleia." Eric muttered.


    "Yeah, that''s why I put my pride aside to help her," I nodded to him.


    "But you involved yourself too much with La," Eric shook his head.


    "I don''t care whether she hates, no she already hates me anyway." I shrugged. "I did my best to help her and now it''s up to her. I''m tired of all those things. In the Second Game, I will choose a different method."


    "..."


    I looked at Eric for his silence and he was staring at me with his eyes widened.


    "Y-You…"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "What?"


    "You are nning to go to Sancta Vedelia?!" Eric was dumbfounded.


    "Well, yeah? After this semester ends. We have to reach the happy endings in all the Games, you know, right?" I said to him.


    Is he for real?


    "I can''t believe it…"


    "What, you can''t believe it, Eric? If the Second Game doesn''t end well, it will be over for this world. The same is for the Third Game."


    Surely he knows that.


    "I know…but I''m not nning to go there, Edward…" Eric said with a conflicted tone. "I''m worried for my sister and I want to be sure that the Third Game will happen without any problems next year."


    Oh, so it''s not like he wanted toze off.


    I smiled and waved my hand. "I won''t coerce you, Eric. You are worried for your sister and it''s normal and rather I will be more at ease if you remain here.


    "Right…"


    Eric smiled back and checked his watch. "It will soon be night outside, the first day is nearly over."


    "How many Disaster-Beast did we beat?" I asked as I didn''t take any notes.


    "Seven with the one Alfred just beat now." Eric replied.


    "We are slightly behind huh…"


    The best case would be to beat ten Disaster Beasts per day to reach thirty at the end of the three days.


    Eric nodded at me. "It''s gettingplicated. The problems will soon start for the others…"


    Eric was right.


    I was in the best group as there were no Heroines so I was in safety but this wasn''t what I was looking for.


    "Liart didn''t appear so there might be no problems for now. Otherwise they would have canceled the exam." I said.


    "If I remember, it will start on the second day, tomorrow then," Eric seemed nervous and so I was.


    "I think tomorrow, I will split with the group, Eric." I told Eric my decision and he was already aware of that.


    "I will as well if things go awry," Eric nodded at me.,"We should just try to rest for tonight, nothing will happen today anyway."


    "Don''t raise a death g," I grimaced.


    "No way," Ericughed.


    Right no way.


    Nothing will happen on the first day, obviously.


    "..."


    "..."


    ****


    "How long has it been…?" A male''s voice rang lowly in a dark ce. Before him was fire crackling from the campfire.


    "Three years. Yes, it was three years ago when we met. Do you remember?" Carlos Dugary asked without ncing at Lyra next to him. He was only staring at the crackling fire.


    They both chose to be to take the first round of the night guard so the others were all soundly asleep.


    "..." Lyra didn''t reply. She was also staring at the fire. Nobody could tell whether she was listening to Carlos or she was just lost in thought.


    "You were the first one to approach me that day," Carlos said. "Yeah, you were the first one. I was getting beaten by those ruffians and you came to check on me. You could have left me there after that but you still went on your way to propose a job to me inside your mansion."


    "..." Lyra still didn''t react.


    "I had feared that you were just trying to use me for ill-intention like most nobles would but you did nothing like that. It was for pure sympathy—that''s what I had thought until recently but that was not that. You saw something in me and chose to take me with you as a guard or just someone who could support you. But I want to know something, Lyra." Carlos turned his gaze to Lyra. "Was our rtion fake? Did you just go with the flow to help my progress?"


    "..."


    "Two years ago, you suddenly chased me away from the mansion without any proper farewells. When I sneaked again to get answers, you just told me that you didn''t like me anymore and that I should just leave the capital. Of course, I wasn''t going to let it pass, Lyra. That''s why I came back and tried to take you away with me far away from-"


    "You tried to abduct me." Lyra cut Carlos off coldly. "You tried to kidnap me Carlos."


    "Indeed and your father nearly killed me for that," Carlos nodded. "That''s how much I love you, Lyra." He stood up and dusted away his clothes. "Now…follow me." He reached out his hand.


    Lyra shivered when she heard his words.


    She instinctively turned around—toward Simon.


    Thetter was sleeping, showing no signs of waking up any time soon.


    Until now she rejected him each time, he tried toe to speak to her about her shift in mood and if it had to do with Edward or not. At first, it was only out of worry for his childhood friend but as time passed, he fell for her.


    Lyra, at first, was annoyed. Mainly because Simon was Edward''s step-brother and so she shifted her anger on Edward to Simon. But then Carlos started to threaten her and she understood that Edward''s threat was cutepared to Carlos. She started to appreciate Simon''s apparition and even started to yearn for it. But until the end, she never gathered the courage to tell him her problem and the one behind it.


    Lyra stood up, ignoring Carlos'' hand and followed him.