"Thank you for the generous offer, lady Marin. However, I don't think that my Reila is agreeing of sharing," the MC said.
The beautiful bird was beside the MC with her long and colorful tail circling him. Her dark eyes were gazing intensely at the kimono lady in the guest platform.
The bird's overprotective behavior amused the audience and everyone laughed. The lady who was conversing with the MC also laughed, although nervously.
"Oh my... As much as I adore talented youngsters, I still love friendly monsters. So I think I will stop my advances for now."
The MC chuckled and gestured his hand to the lady, "Give applause for Lady Marin from Pyreblair!"
The audience cheered and clapped their hands in excitement.
When Jai finally returned to his seat, he saw the MC and his bird partner walking around in the arena while talking.
“What did I miss?” Jai won
Apparently, because Torfo had been warned by the minister, there were no more casualties among the participants. Darrion, Mugen, and Oki were the only ones in the medical tent who might be out for the rest of the fight. With Darrion passing out from exhaustion, while Mugen and Oki passing out from being knocked out.“Damn, Aeronvein’s full of powerhouses,” Bara said, entering the participant’s box while holding his hips. He just won his battle against Ugi.Ruhan, who was sitting on Jai’s left, immediately stood up and turned to Bara, “I-I’m sorry! Did I hit you too hard?”The brunette had a big bandage plastered on his left cheek from a partially healed, second degree burn.“No, I can do it myself...” Bara waved his hand and slowly sat by himself behind the brunette. “Why are you apologizing?”“Uhmm.. Uhh...” Ruhan seemed out of words.Jai smiled. Ruhan's behavior is kind of cute, Jai note
As Jai had predicted, he was called to fight against Bara in the next battle.He had seen how Bara fights. The big guy relied heavily on his fist, being the close fighter that he is. If Jai had to compare him to make it easier, he was like a boxer with fire element mixed with a green belt karate martial artist.His style was a bit similar to karate martial artists, but there were also moves that Jai noticed were different from karate. He used fists more often and he defended like how a boxer defend themselves from their opponent's attack.However, like the others in the participant box, Bara was not in the peak condition at this point. He slipped a few times in his momentum and Jai was able to land in a few hits on him because of it.But that wasn't the reason why Jai didn't use his lightning at all in this battle. He was saving it for his fight with Torfo or Raka, because he knew he would need as much energy as he can. What was left a
Jai walked to his bags while holding his wet clothes, putting them on the hamper by the partition to dry them. He had to change because his clothes were wet from his fight with Mac. It was like when he fought Vienn, but the fight with Mac was not at all hard for him. Just very tiring.Well... It was staged, after all, so he could say that everything was prepared. Mac had hinted at his attacks with eye gestures, so Jai knew where the water elemer’s next attacks would be. For the finishing move, Jai punched Mac in the face and slipped his thunder in to knock the orange boy out. He made sure to visibly burst his lightning after the guy went flying and not before.He could kill the guy if he did it when he punches him. Besides, he did that only to make sure the people believe the fight was real.The audience didn’t seem to notice and they roared like crazy just like how a normal battle is.“Mmhmm~” a voice hummed. “I ca
Jai walked to the arena with the guard who fetched him. His fists clenched and unclenched multiple times because he was feeling nervous. He had the interest in asking the guard about who he will be fighting against so that he could better put his energy conservation plan right away.He opened his lips but ended up closing it again. Then he stopped walking, prompting the guard in front of him to stop walking too, and turned to him."Jai? Is everything alright?" the guard asked."Um, yeah, just, give me a minute," Jai said, then he looked down to think.'What am I doing? It's not like me to worry about something like this. Just three more battles and it's all done. If I can win all three, I can be the first winner. Just endure three more fights, me,' Jai sighed.Then he swallowed the unexisting lump in his throat and nodded, "Let's go."He breathed in and out slowly as they wal
From the initial assessment, Jai noticed a few things that Raka assumed from him.One, he thought that Jai was only a close range fighter who had changed punches and kicks as his arsenal.Jai noticed this when he shot his lightning.Jai’s skill spread from his hand and disappeared to the ground around Raka before Raka jumped back. His distance from Jai before the shot was not close and could be considered medium range. That was why he looked surprised when Jai shot him with lightning from such a distance.Two, he had never been electrified or being struck by lightning several times. It was seen from how his face was contorting ever so lightly when Jai hurled charged punches at him.Another punch was blocked by Raka’s right hand, and he immediately continued by sending his palm to the center of Jai’s chest and once again, blowing the lightning elemer away.Jai didn’t fly high this time, jus
“I surrender.”Raka stopped his attaks, but the crowds of people were shouting louder than before. They seemed to be conveying their disappointment that Jai chose to surrender instead of pushing on.But the committee immediately took over the events and declared Raka as the winner.Jai swallowed the non-existant lump in his throat once again as he tried to hold his agitation. His pride was hurt that he surrendered. But he remembered the reason he signed up for this competition. That's why he tried to live with it.'Screw my pride. I'm not here for myself. I'm here for Miria,' Jai thought.He tried to stand, but his hands and feet were trembling. He didn't feel the hot or cold pricks on his arms and feet anymore. But they were definitely warm and a bit numb. His head was still hurting as well, although the pain wasn't as much as before.He then heard footsteps coming over t
"Wait! Are you sure you want to go on, Jai?" one of the medics asked in concern."Wrong question, madam. I absolutely want to go on," then he grunted as he tried to get up, "You should've asked me if I can."He propped his elbow and tried to push himself up. But his elbows were still quite numb, so eventually, he turned to Darrion and said, "Darrion, help me up."His friend sweat dropped, but he did as he was asked, and Jai thanked him."You can barely stand. Are you sure you can continue with the fight?" Nurse Lin asked, her brows were inclined together."I admit I don't know. But I have to can. I mean, be able to," Jai said with a sigh. "My friend is waiting for me back at the village. So I have to win this."Darrion looked at him weirdly and smiled, "We all want to win this, silly."Ruhan chuckled from his left, "Yes, we do. But, resting more is also go
“Jai, wake up,” Darrion shook his shoulder.“Mmm... Just a minute,” Jai mumbled softly.“No, not just a minute, not anymore minute, wake up.”The blonde softly slapped his cheeks multiple times. Luckily, Jai is not a heavy sleeper and only needed a few effort in waking him up. That also happened in his house when the thunder boy stayed for the night. Hence Darrion wouldn’t agree to Jai getting a bit of sleep before his battle.Jai fluttered his eyes open and sleepily looked around, “Where am I...?”He felt sore all over his body and he just want to rest.“In front of the greatest man alive,” Darrion answered without skipping a beat.Jai frowned, “Who?”“Me,” the blonde grinned while Jai gave him a raise of his eyebrow.“Come on! The battle’s almost over,” Darrion helped Jai to sit up. His friend needed some energy before the battle, and he wanted to
Jai felt something wrapped around his stomach from behind. He immediately looked down to his waist, spotting two smaller sized hands coiling on his waist.‘A kid, obviously. But who is it?’ Jai wondered. This was a baby shower event, so he wasn’t feeling weird if children attend too. The question is, who is this kid?He tried to turn around to look at the hugger, but the kid was hugging him tight. It wouldn’t be hard to push it, but he was reluctant because it’s a kid. He knew there’s nothing he could do but ask.“Oh? Hello? Is there anything you need?” Jai asked with a friendly tone.He could hear giggles, but the kid didn’t answer his question.“Oh are we playing guess?” Jai asked.More giggles.“It’s a boy.” Someone whispered from his left side. A familiar voice yet he could not name.“Hey!” The boy protested.But from that tone alone, Jai could already figure out who it is. So he said. “Hello, Ruta-kun.”The kid let him go and Jai could finally turn around. True, it was Ruta. The
On the day when the baby shower was held, Jai arrived at the place with Baji.The venue is in a mansion in the North Town. Jai hadn’t been in that certain neighbourhood, but he finally understood that the North Town is the place for the riches, and the neighbourhood they were in is probably among the richest. The mansion building is tall, and the garden is so wide. There’s a medium sized pond with two gazebos on the side, and then there’s also a small orchard on the right side of the mansion.Baji leaned in to whisper something. “The party is in the back garden. And keep your mouth shut, please. You’re a famous guy and I don’t want you looking stupid.” Then he leaned back.Jai immediately closed his unconsciously parted lips and recited the plan. He couldn’t, of course, confront an important figure of a clan in a crowded venue. So Baji and Gilbert had made a plan to help him talk alone with Fuuji Fu in the venue. He just have to make sure he could deal with the ‘fans’, though he hoped
It isn’t a doubt that Cynthia was reluctant to share that information with Harris because Jai was there. So Jai proposed to the brunette to re-visit the place later in the day to ask about it.Baji was there when they returned, and Jai immediately told him about the findings he got also to consult about the Fiery Lotus.Baji crossed his arms on his chest and nodded in acknowledgement. “It’s fortunate that a promising lead is finally here. We’re sorry for the late initiative from our part. We should’ve worked harder.”He didn’t think that he would receive an apology from Baji. But it showed that the man is a responsible person. Jai shook his head. “It’s alright. From the start, it was already a scavenger hunt. But do you know anything about either of those?”Baji fixed his seating before he explained. “Well about the Chief of Fuuji, he’s a strict person on males. He’s nice to females, and he’s really into babies. There’s only one male person he had shown his friendly side to in public,
“So uhh, this person whom you mentioned before with Tsubasa is a very important person. And you want to ask him about Alex?” Darrion asked when they were in the carriage, heading back.Jai narrowed his eyes. “Why aren’t you being straightforward?”“I’m a bit tired from today. There are so many deliveries like yesterday. But ahh… I’m more tired in trying to understand what they say.” Darrion said with nervous smile.Jai forgot that his friend is not adept in Shouha language, it must be hard to work without understanding what anyone is saying.“Sorry.” Jai apologized.Darrion nodded. “It’s fine. Let’s just stick to no name for now, if possible. I… Can’t really erect a barrier right now.”“Sure.” Jai nodded. “The… Family, you know, told me about him. Saying that he is the first person we can ask about Alex. But he has a very high standing, as you’ve listened to me and the father talked about him, so it won’t be easy to talk to him.”“I see. So that’s why you go to them. They can be consi
"Sorry if it's too much of me to ask." Jai said."Oh no, no. It's fine. But my mother is not at home though, is that alright?" Yuta asked as he turned to Jai and Darrion behind him."It's alright. It's very sudden after all." Jai said."Alright then. Would tea be alright?" Yuta asked."Yes. It's fine. Thank you." Jai answered.Fu Fuuji is the head chief of one of the notorious Ten Guardian Clans, the Fuuji clan. After leaving the Komatsu’s residence, he was thinking about how to get in touch with this person. And the Akamine clan is the first thing that came into Jai’s mind.While they don’t really owe him a favor, this family is the closest connection that he has to the Fuuji clan, because they’re also one of the Ten Guardian Clans.Also, he knew that it’s not guaranteed that he would get an audience with Fu Fuuji through the Akamine. There’s a possibility that they are enemies with each other. But he would at least try to ask. So here they were, in the Akamine clan’s residence.Yuta
Returning to the present.“Little Sparks. Fiery Lotus. What the hell are those?” Jai asked as they left the compound.“Quiet down. You’re gonna get us killed for that.” Claude remindedJai turned around and talked in slight whisper. “If it’s associated with the Queen, that means it’s very private. In the North Town, in a community place like thing. It doesn’t ring any bells from the previous search. Do you know anything about it?”He saw an empty horse mount coming in their direction and waved it.The mount stopped in front of them and they immediately climbed in the carriage. “Southeast Windlet Post Office.” He told the horse mount driver.Weaving the air barrier thicker, Claude replied. “I don’t. I’m a hunter, not a mercenary. How do you suppose I know these things?”Jai smiled shortly with a shrug. “Maybe? Ah… But this is a major progress in the case. At least we know he’s not dead, and it will take more effort to rescue him now.” Jai smiled.Claude stared at Jai suspiciously. “Why
They were led to a corridor which have several doors across from each other. Alex immediately knew they are resting rooms, because he could see a bed from one of the opened doors.One of the committees, the previous guy who shot the Cloud Viewing Rune in the ceremony, pulled his hood down, showing his blonde hair. Then he turned around while the other committees went past him, leaving him to deal with the new freshmen batch.“Good morning. My name is Liam. I am one of the guild members and I am one of the supervisors of the freshmen. Well, not really supervisor, but I’m the one they put in charge to look after you when the super seniors are out. Like right now. Oh and umm, I’m not alone. I have my friends with me to look after you. So please don’t do anything rash, because we outpower you by a lot. And we prefer not to hit you, because you’re a potential junior. Please be nice to each other, okay?”Alex didn’t really pay attention. He stopped listening when he uttered the fourth sente
That morning on the day when Jai went to the Komatsu’s house, Alex had already settled in ‘the place’.He wasn’t familiar with the kingdom, as such, he didn’t know where he was taken to.And since he was late, he was grouped with those who were also late. Many eyes stared at him when he entered the room—it was an average room with beds—reserved only for those who arrived late.Apparently, those who arrived first had attended the ceremony and the first phase—and those who were late had to attend on their own. But they would be gathered together after that, and he would be able to meet his roommate. That was what Master Fu said yesterday when he dropped him off. But the old man wasn’t lying.He went through a sleepless night—because there were many others here that he didn’t know and he wasn’t keen on getting surprise attacked in the middle of his sleep. But the night went by uneventfully, fortunately.He and the others were given a tray of scone and tea to start the day. He didn’t eat
“Don’t. Test. Me.”Jai’s eyes glowed brighter for a second as he emphasized the last words.The civilians, of course flinched at his threat. All of them knew him as a humble and righteous young man. Always smiling and looked very kind. They never knew this side of him. That’s why they were very surprised. The Kizuato group wasn’t included though, they were there exactly to prevent Jai doing what he planned to do.Akane, who had have enough of her parents’ plan, stood up.“Akane-chan!” Rio tried to stop her, but she went anyway and spoke.But instead of retaliating at the guest in their house like the rest of her family, she was looking at her mother instead. “Just tell him, mother!”Rio frowned deep at her. “What are you saying, Akane?”Akane gritted her teeth. “Just tell him!! If you tell him, no one will be hurt!”Rio shut her mouth and swallowed, but she didn’t say anything.Akane looked at her mother with bewildered expression. “If you don’t, then I will.” She turned to Jai. But