“Good fight,” Growly said after Narias and Flavia came back to their seats.

“Thanks,” Narias said, bumping fists with Growly.

“Congratulations on your win, Narias,” Ileena said yet she hasn’t even turned her head to look at him.

“Yeah, good fight,” Flamiris blurted before pouting her lips again.

Eh? Was it something I said? Narias became confused why his other two girlfriends looked upset.

“Hey, what’s gotten into you two? Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy watching our fight?” Flavia jumped in to find out why the two of them were so grumpy, noticing them acting weird.

“I’m sorry. You’re right, it was a great fight. You’ve become really strong, Flavia,” Ileena finally said, adjusting her glasses.

“Yeah, the end of the fight was extra exciting. Humph,” Flamiris added, showing a frown before crossing her arms in front of her.

“For sure. I thought I would win, but Narias withstood my last punch. I didn’t expect him to be so strong. You must’ve trained really hard for the last two weeks, partner? Huh? Hey,” Flavia turned to Narias who was dozing off for some reason.

Are they upset about me winning? Must be because of what I did at the end to… Huh? Wait… at the end? Hold on. They’re not upset about the fight. They’re upset about me and Flavia kissing at the end of the fight. Sigh… Narias finally got it.

“Yo’, partner. What’s wrong?” Flavia said, patting him on the shoulder.

“Ah, nothing, nothing. I’m… remembering our fight, that’s all,” Narias said, showing a silly smile.

“The current matches have concluded! We will be starting the following matches now! Get to the designated field as soon as you hear your number being announced!” In the meantime, Ranga was announcing the new fights.

“It looks like it is my turn now,” Ileena said, standing up after she heard her number being called out.

“Kick ass, Ileena,” Flavia cheered her on.

“I will,” Ileena added in a serious tone, turning to leave.

“Hey, hold on, Ileena,” Narias stopped her right before she was to go down the stairs.

“Yes, what is it, Narias?” She turned around, probably expecting him to wish her good luck. “Huh? Hmm…”

“Good luck,” Narias said after giving her a kiss and showing a smile after.

“Oh… Thank you,” Ileena’s face brightened, a shade of red dressing her cheeks. “I’ll be off now.” She added, a happy smile showing on her lips.

“Tch… Bummer…” Flamiris made a sour face again. She had already fought her current round’s fight, so she knew she won’t be receiving any good luck kisses from Narias now.

“Hey, Flamiris. What’s that under your seat?” Narias asked after he came back to sit down but stopped in front of her unexpectedly.

“Eh? What?” Flamiris became confused, shifting in her seat to check.

“Stand up and have a look,” Narias suggested, extending his hand to her.

“If anyone had put something under my seat, then…” Flamiris stood up after taking Narias’s hand before turning to see if there was something under or on her seat. “Huh? I don’t see anything.”

“Over here,” Narias said, Flamiris turning to face him.

“Wha… mhm…” Flamiris eyes widened when she felt Narias’s lips on hers the moment she turned around.

“Sorry for a late congratulation kiss, Flamiris,” Narias said after they stopped kissing, showing her a slightly cheeky smile.

“You… Mastermind Pervert,” Flamiris’ face was burning from the surprise kiss she had received. “Don’t you dare to forget to congratulate me properly again. Humph.” She pressed her lips at his again.

“Hey, that’s cheating,” Flavia protested, jumping from her seat.

“No, it isn’t,” Flamiris argued after the kiss. “It was Narias who kissed me first, so I simply kissed him back.”

“Eh? What? Oh… Hey, Narias. You know… I kissed you at the arena back then, but you didn’t kiss me back, so…” Flavia rolled her eyes, poking her fingers at one another while looking away.

Oof… Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all. I mean… Yet again, Narias had dug a hole for himself.

“Hmph…” In the meantime, Growly was watching one of the fights very intently.

After Narias had made up to his girlfriends, they sat down to watch the four fights that were going on right now. They were mainly watching Ileena fight, of course. Ileena looked to be extra energetic and was more aggressive than she usually was. Her opponent was a Water Magic user, so she had an advantage over the girl student she was fighting against. As hard as Ileena’s opponent struggled however, the girl couldn’t do much, and after getting struck by lightning more than once, had to admit she wouldn’t be able to win. Ileena was happy to get another win under her name again.

The matches continued and Growly’s number was eventually announced too. It wasn’t very surprising to see him win again. His opponent was a boy student who was a Wind Magic user, but he wasn’t fast enough to stop Growly from getting close to him at the very beginning. The moment Growly’s opponent was within range, Growly’s slap did what it always had. You can be an amazing spellcaster, but if you were physically weak and couldn’t defend yourself against physical attacks, no magic would save you. However, not many magic users were putting extra time into their physical training which led to their downfall the moment Growly became their opponent.

“Congratulations on your win, Growly,” Narias congratulated his friend.

“Thanks,” Growly said, showing his sharp fangs when he smiled.

“Are you ok? Your opponent landed a few direct hits on you with his magic,” Narias was worried about Growly.

“It’s ok. He wasn’t that strong,” Growly brushed it off, showing he was totally fine.

Narias and his friends had to wait for the remaining matches to end, so used the time they had to rest up without talking much. They knew there were more fights to come and wanted to use their free time wisely.

“Alright! Are you enjoying the fights so far?!” Instead of announcing the next round, Ranga decided to talk to the spectators first. Cheers and shouts were heard from the seats, demanding to see more fights and making Ranga laugh out loud as a result too. “In that case, let’s bring in more action! Round four is about to start! Participants, get your butts down right now and show us what you can do!” The pairings who will fight next followed.

“Yo’, you’re first to fight this time, partner,” Flavia exclaimed excitedly when Narias’s number was called out first.

“Good luck,” Growly wished him.

“Thanks,” said Narias.

“Hah, I’m going too,” Flamiris declared proudly, brushing her fiery-red hair to the side before standing up.

“Oh, shall we go down together, Flamiris?” Narias asked, definitely knowing the answer.

“Humph,” Flamiris showed a satisfied smirk before wrapping her arm around Narias’s arm.

“Good luck to you two,” Ileena added in a supportive tone of her voice before Narias and Flamiris walked away.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Hey, let’s see who will win their fight first,” Flamiris threw in a challenge before the two of them reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Just be careful, ok?” Narias on the other hand, was more worried about his girlfriend’s safety.

“Don’t worry, I’ll blast my opponent away before they can do anything,” Flamiris stated confidently.

“Let’s see who their opponents will be,” Flavia spoke after Narias and Flamiris walked away. Due to so many students participating, there were several lounges reserved for them, so other participants were coming down to the fields from different stairs.

“Wait, what? Narias is fighting… Zhanna?” Ileena exclaimed, jumping up from her seat.

“Zhanna?” Flavia stood up too. “Is Narias gonna be ok?”

“Narias is strong for sure, but Zhanna is not someone you can beat easily,” Ileena said, pressing her clenched hand closer to her chest.

“Flamiris’ opponent is strong too,” Growly commented suddenly.

“Flamiris’ opponent? Who will she… Oh…” Ileena became even more worried when she saw who Flamiris will be fighting next.

“Dang, this is getting intense,” Flavia added, her eyes jumping from Narias to Flamiris and back.

“Let’s just stay calm and watch. I’m sure both of them will be fine,” Ileena said, sitting back down.

“Yeah. Narias! Flamiris! Kick ass!” Flavia yelled out to cheer them on. The arena was already loud enough with other spectators shouting for the matches to start, having Flavia’s voice blend into the noise, but she still kept at it.

“Good day to you, Narias Talrone. I’m so thrilled to finally meet you again face to face,” a girl’s voice greeted Narias before he stepped into the designated arena.

“Oh, sorry, hello… huh? Zhanna?” Narias turned to see who was talking to him, becoming surprised when he saw who the person actually was.

I’m fighting… Zhanna? Narias became upset with himself for not paying attention who his opponent will be before coming down to the arena.

“That is a rather direct way to address someone, but I will be willing to forgive you just this once,” Zhanna was unusually polite considering how Narias remembered her treating people in the past. She was wearing a frilly red and white dress and had her blonde hair combed into two pigtails which made her look rather cute too.

“Ah? Please, forgive my rudeness. Good day to you, Miss Zhanna,” Narias said, bowing respectfully. He knew treating people with respect was the right thing to do no matter who the person was.

“Aah, how charming,” Zhanna said, tilting her head to the side and touching her cheek with her right hand, a happy smile showing on her face.

She’s… unusually friendly. Narias found her behavior puzzling.

“Good luck to you during our fight, Miss Zhanna,” Narias added, standing up straight.

“Are you saying you’re actually looking forward to us fight, Narias?” Zhanna asked, not showing any hostility at all.

“Huh?” Narias didn’t expect to hear such a question but then snapped out of it. “I must admit I don’t like fighting other people, especially girls, but this is a competition and I intend to win.”

“What a gentleman you are, Narias Talrone,” Zhanna said, showing him a charming smile.

What’s gotten into her? Narias couldn’t make sense of why she was so nice to him.

“All participants have now arrived! Round four is about to start!” Ranga announced that the matches were about to start. “Ready?! Begin!”

“Humph,” Narias took a stance to defend against whatever Zhanna was about to throw at him. He knew Zhanna was an Earth Magic wielder and she was a capable spellcaster too, so Narias knew he should take the fight seriously from the very start. However, it didn’t look like Zhanna was intending to attack just yet. Not wanting to take any risks, Narias stayed put in his spot, waiting patiently.

“Hmm…” Yet all Zhanna did was give him another sweet smile.

What’s she up to? Narias couldn’t make sense of what she was planning to do.

“Are you… not going to attack?” Narias finally asked, glancing left and right without turning his head to check if any magic was being cast yet still staying where he was.

“You really have your guard up around me, don’t you, Narias?” Zhanna asked in a more direct way this time.

“This is a tournament and Instructor Dreknor already gave the signal to fight,” Narias told her which was very true.

“What if I told you that I didn’t come here to fight you, Narias?” Zhanna asked again, her question making him flinch.

“Not to fight? But you had fought your previous matches, Miss Zhanna?” Narias responded.

“Yes, but it was only so I could get to talk to you, you see,” Zhanna said with a smile.

“To talk to me?” He asked, squinting his eyes in suspicion.

“You seem to be reluctant to believe me for some reason,” Zhanna spoke to him, noticing the fierce look in his eyes.

“Well, maybe…” Narias wanted to say something, but kept his guard up. “But if you wanted simply to talk to me, you could’ve approached me outside of this competition.”

“And would’ve you been willing to listen to me if I did?” Zhanna asked, tilting her head to the side. “Or believed me even if told you whatever I have to say?”

“That is…” Narias reaction showed Zhanna might’ve been right about what she had said.

“See?” Zhanna said, throwing one hand to the side.

She’s acting strange, but… maybe she really has something important to say. After all, the start of our fight was announced and she hasn’t attacked me yet. Narias was debating in his head.

“Ok. I’m willing to listen to you, Miss Zhanna,” Narias finally said, standing up straight to show he wouldn’t attack.

“Why thank you,” Zhanna smiled, starting to walk towards Narias. “Hmm? Oh my… Didn’t you just say you were willing to listen to me, Narias?” Zhanna asked when Narias took a defensive stance again after she made a few steps to get closer to him.

“Sorry. I am willing to listen to you, but that doesn’t mean I trust you, Miss Zhanna,” Narias said, not willing to take the risk after all.

“But the message I want to tell you is too important to say it out loud. I have to whisper it to you, so nobody would overhear it,” she insisted.

“We are in the middle of the fight right now, as you are most probably aware, Miss Zhanna,” Narias reminded her.

“Ah, that’s right. I completely forgot since we weren’t actually fighting,” Zhanna reminded him the opposite. “But the message is too important for me not to tell you.”

“Sorry, but I came here to win, Miss Zhanna,” Narias wouldn’t budge.

“I see. In that case, how about we make a deal?” Zhanna offered.

“A deal?” Narias didn’t know what to think of it.

“Yes. I will give you the victory and you promise to hear me out,” Zhanna explained what she had in mind. “You do keep your promises, don’t you, Narias?”

“Well, yes,” he told her.

“Good. So, do we have a deal?” Zhanna asked again, showing another one of her sweet smiles.

“Hmph… Ok, deal,” Narias agreed after a moment of thought. “Huh?” But then took a defensive stance again when Zhanna raised her right hand suddenly.

“I surrender,” to Narias biggest surprise, Zhanna actually declared she surrenders.

“Number three surrendered! Winner – number nineteen!” The man who was overseeing their supposedly ongoing fight announced, the spectators who were expecting Narias and Zhanna fight roaring in disappointment right after.

“Well, I upheld my part of the deal,” Zhanna spoke up after the result was officially announced.

“Ok… I will hear you out, Miss Zhanna,” Narias said, still feeling confused about what just happened.

{at the participants lounge}

“What? She simply gave up?” Flavia gasped in surprise.

“It… would seem so,” Ileena was equally confused about it.

“They weren’t even doing anything this whole time. What was that all about?” Flavia couldn’t understand what just happened.

“It looked like they were talking about something,” Ileena said, her eyes still not leaving the field where Narias and Zhanna were.

“About what?” Flavia asked, crinkling her nose.

“I don’t know. We can ask Narias when he gets back. The important part is Narias won without getting hurt,” Ileena added, letting out a sigh of relief while lowering her head.

“Huh? Hey, Narias is not coming back yet,” Flavia suddenly said.

“What? Why not?” Ileena was surprised to hear that, lifting her head to see what was happening.

“Maybe they are not finished talking yet. Look, Zhanna is coming closer to Narias,” Flavia pointed out.

“She is what?” Ileena found it suspicious, squinting her eyes.

“Wait, what is Zhanna do-“

“HUUUUH???” Ileena and Flavia exclaimed out loud in shock, both of their jaws dropping to the ground.

“Did… Did… Did Zhanna just kiss Narias?” Flavia was stuttering, pointing her finger forward.

“ZHANNAAA!!!” Ileena was unbelievably loud, purple lightning enveloping her whole body, the other participants in the same lounge stepping away from her in fear she might do something dangerous.

“Someone’s getting really excited over there,” Zhanna said, covering her mouth with a chuckle.

“Huh? Oh…” Narias mumbled, touching his cheek with one hand and feeling stunned about what just happened.

“Good luck in your future matches, Narias Talrone. Hmph,” Zhanna wished him, adding a satisfied chuckle.

“Ah, thanks,” Narias said, standing as still as a statue while watching Zhanna walk away.

Damn, this is so embarrassing. How will I explain it to Ileena and the rest of them now? Narias felt a sweat gathering on his forehead. Eh? I probably should go back to my seat now.

- ‘KABOOM!’ – Right before Narias was about to step out of his field, a loud explosion was heard at one of the other arenas where students were fighting.

“What?! What was that?” Narias exclaimed, turning to see what just happened. “Huh? Isn’t that the field where Flamiris is fighting? Is she…” Narias knew Flamiris was a Fire Magic user, but the fiery explosion just now was much bigger than Narias expected Flamiris could produce. “Something’s not right. I need to check on her.” He turned around and ran next to the wall to reach the field where Flamiris was fighting without disturbing anyone.

“It’s over. Just give up,” Nalitta spoke to Flamiris who was lying on the ground, looking badly beat up.

“Tch… no way… I’m… not finished yet…” Flamiris refused, stumbling to get back on her feet. “This fight… isn’t over yet…” She managed to stand up, but it was evident Flamiris was in much pain and her wobbly posture showed it. Still, she pushed herself to try and cast another spell. “Inferno…”

“Suit yourself,” Nalitta spoke to her, extending her palm forward. “Incinerate.” I flash of red light glowed in front of Nalitta’s palm before it shot forward directly at Flamiris, creating another fiery explosion.

“Ghaaa!” Flamiris cried out, her protective belt activating and encasing Flamiris in a magical bubble before she fell to the ground. The moment it happened, the person overseeing their match announced Nalitta was the winner and quickly called for the medics to come in and check on the fallen girl.

“Humph,” Nalitta lowered her head with her eyes closed before turning around to leave the field. “Huh? Narias Talrone?” She didn’t expect to see him standing in front of her when she did so, not that Narias was intentionally blocking her way. “I am here only to win this tournament for my student club. Nothing else.”

“Yes, me too,” Narias said, not exactly sounding angry or upset, but his fists were clenched tight. “Good luck in your future matches, Miss Nalitta.”

“Thank you, Narias Talrone,” Nalitta added before walking away.

“Huh? Wait, Flamiris…” Narias rushed to see if his girlfriend was ok the next moment.