13TH GEAR - IT’S NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY!
“Tahahaha. I lost. I am a failure after all.”
Fluonessia returned with a sad and exhausted expression. She’s heavily panting due to the extraneous use of her spells in just a short amount of time. She’s even sweating a lot due to running and jumping and slipping for the past twelve minutes.
“No! You did great against our Prez!” Cruzo beamed with a smile and a thumbs up. “This is just your first day as a Speedmage, so there’s a lot of room for improvement! I’m sure you’ll be on her level in no time!”
“R-Really?” Fluonessia finally smiled.
“Yes! Being able to score that much is an achievement in itself! You see, Prez is on par with the Cool Escape Guild Captains!”
“So you think that I have a future as a Speedmage?” Fluonessia pumped her fists.
“Of course!” Cruzo nodded.
“Thank you for your compliment! I will do my best to contribute a lot to the club!” Fluonessia bowed energetically. She seemed to have recovered her lost energy just by listening to a brief pep talk!
Finally, Fluonessia turned to me and noticed that I was just removing the headset from my head. She smiled and her sapphire eyes twinkled. She pumped her fists once again and approached me.
“Thank you for the helpful advice, Jonathan! I’m sorry I could not execute your commands on time! It was entirely my fault that I lost!”
“Don’t mind it,” I said. “It was nothing.”
“It was everything! I appreciated that you came to my aid when I needed the most! So thank you, Jonathan, ~”
Fluonessia’s bright smile and blushing face made her the cutest girl in the world. She’s a naive cinnamon roll that is willing to be friendly even to a guy as aloof and rude as me. It softens my ice-cold heart.
“Y-You’re welcome.” I turned away with a blush. I don’t want her to see me all red, so I covered my mouth.
Ericka was finally back here on the rooftops, and she is holding her hip and smiling at me. That smile ticks me off so I decided to call her attention.
“What’s the smug about?” I asked Ericka with an annoyed tone.
“I am just amazed how stubborn you can be, Jonathan Wardenorth. It’s your fault that Fluonessia lost.”
“I what now?” I shrieked.
“Yeah, Jonathan is the reason Fluonessia lost. Hmmm… hmmm…” Cruzo seconded the motion by nodding.
“Excuse me?”
“O-Oh! I just remembered that you’re the reason why I lost! Hmph!” Fluonessia pouted with her cute puffy cheeks.
“You too!?” I asked.
I don’t get the deal with these three idiots, blaming me for something I have no idea about. I helped Fluonessia, didn't I? Even though it ended up in a loss, I still managed to give her advice and had her score some points! If I just watched the fight like a good spectator, she wouldn’t be scoring anything!
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“You’re misunderstanding something, Jonathan. What we’re saying is that you’re fully responsible for Fluonessia’s loss. If only you coached her earlier, she would have beaten me.” Ericka said with a smile.
“If you only grabbed the headset from me at the start of the match, Fluonessia would have won! Believe it!” Cruzo seconded.
“Y-Yeah! Take full responsibility!” Fluonessia is still pouting.
I was taken aback by the thickness of these stooges. They have the nerve to bully me, just because I am in their territory! I thought I’m the guest here, dammit!
“I’m not a part of the club, so I am not responsible,” I said in a serious tone.
“...”
“...”
“...”
There was silence among the three. Ericka and Cruzo turned to their unhappy faces. And Fluonessia seemed to be ready to cry any second now.
The afternoon sun is setting, giving an orange tint to everything in the surroundings. The chilling summer breeze blew on our bodies. The awkward silence is killing me. I have nothing to do here. I decided to step back and turn around to leave. But then-
“Jonathan.”
It was Fluonessia’s soft voice.
“Don’t you find Speed Battles fun?”
“I…”
I held my aching chest. Of course, Speed Battles are fun. I will be lying again to myself if it wasn’t. The adrenaline, the thrill of the race, and the fear of losing the game make my heart beat fast. It was my dream. My shattered dream. I know being a Speedmage is not for me. But I can’t deny this honest feeling of excitement whenever I watch them running around with magic.
“...I find it fun.”
“So why won’t you join?” Fluonessia asked softly.
“It’s because I’m not a mage.”
“You don’t need to be a mage to become our coach. The whole Merry Knights Guild will welcome you even if you’re a magicless person.”
“You don’t understand what I’m feeling, Fluonessia,” I said as I slightly turned to her. “Every time I see a Speedmage, all I feel is envy and jealousy. It reminds me of my dream… my dream that can never be attained. It reminds me of how powerless I am in reality. It reminds me of how it is impossible for me to become the Speedmage Champion.”
“Then I will become the Speedmage Champion for you!”
A strong gust of wind brewed upon us.
I was taken aback by Fluonessia’s sudden outburst. I turned around and saw that her eyes are about to unleash tears. She’s gripping the edge of her skirt to suppress her emotions. Her whole body is trembling as she looked down at my shoes to avoid my gaze.
“Fluonessia, you…”
“I’m serious about it, Jonathan. I find Speed Battles fun, and I wanted to be much better than I am now. I know I’m still a failure, but I will work harder than anyone. I don’t think I will become a proper Speedmage without your help, so I’m begging you…”
Fluonessia bowed as tears sprinkled from her eyes.
“Please be my coach!”
“...”
I couldn’t say anything. For the past few days, I’ve been pestered by idiots to do a trivial thing such as joining a Speedmage Guild. Why are they desperate to have me, even though there are mages who are far more qualified for the position?
Even so, Fluonessia is trying hard for me to join. Not even her, but Cruzo and Ericka too. The match might have been a set-up to convince me, but there is no way that Fluonessia had planned this drama beforehand. She’s a simple-minded person who just wanted to have fun running while using magic.
“I…”
“Please don’t refuse! Or else!” Fluonessia cried.
“Or else what?”
“I’m gonna cry!”
“You’re already crying.”
“I’m gonna cry so hard that I’ll bawl my eyes out, choke on my tears, and have a heart attack!” Fluonessia screamed.
“Isn’t that a little bit extreme?” I cringed.
“Hey, don’t you dare break a pure maiden’s heart, okay?” Cruzo finally joined the conversation, and he was smiling. I actually wanted to punch his face for that smirk.
“Are you going to leave while a cute girl in front of you is crying?” Ericka grinned. If only I can hit a woman!
“Urk!” I gasped and swallowed my saliva. I can’t believe I’m being pressured into a three-way pincer attack!
I have to be calm in this situation. I breathe in air and breathe out bullshit. I have made my decision already, but I did not need those two seniors to be interfering with my drama with Fluonessia. I just hope my decision will not ruin my life.
I opened my mouth and spoke from the depths of my heart.
“Fine, I’ll be your coach.”
“Really!?” Fluonessia suddenly transformed from sad to happy in just a split second!
“Y-Yes.”
“Really really?”
“Yeeees.”
“Really really really!?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself or I will take it back.”
“That’s great!”
Fluonessia held my hand and shook it vigorously. Then she beamed brightly like a kid who just got her early Christmas gift.
“We will be in your care, Coach!”
<>
And so, my adventure as a Speedmage coach has officially started. I have a feeling that this will be a rough road for me from now on, but I am pretty sure everything will be fun and okay.
Maybe.