"They’re here! They’re here!"
"Ayrin and the others are here!"
A group of girls was waiting in the plaza on Holy Spring Tone Street. Among them, the tallest girl was over two meters tall, and her figure was also especially lithe. One could see at first glance she was Agate Lake’s Nikita. When this group of girls from Agate Lake Academy saw a group of people walking their way from the head of the street, most of them started to chirp and chatter in excitement. It made captain Sophia scold nonstop in a soft voice, "Pay attention to your image. Remember, you’re girls, can’t you act a bit more reserved!"
"Pretty girls, pretty girls everywhere! It seems joining Holy Dawn Academy isn’t all bleak! At least we can go to the national tournament together with Agate Lake Academy!"
The ones who came their way were team Holy Dawn. The two teams representing St. Lauren had agreed to meet in this place, and then set off together for Eichemalar where the great national tournament would take place. Stingham was originally walking behind Ayrin and the others, a little listless and downcast, but his eyes immediately flashed with light as soon as he saw team Agate Lake already waiting there.
"Sophia indeed looks even more beautiful from up close!"
"Nikita is so tall, her figure is so fine, what an adorable feeling!"
"I have to choose which one to make my girlfriend. Ah, what a headache!"
Unwittingly, Stingham was already walking in the front all by himself, leaving Ayrin, Chris, and the others far behind.
In his beautiful fantasy, those beautiful girls from Agate Lake Academy were all looking at him, full of love and tenderness. Any of them could be his girlfriend, he only had to choose one.
"Ayrin!"
However, the reality was very cruel. He was looking left at Sophia, right at Nikita, feeling that it was too hard to pick. But just then, the Agate Lake girls who couldn’t keep the demeanor of virtuous ladies even at Sophia’s berating were already ruthlessly passing beside him straight on their way to surrounding Ayrin.
"Ayrin’s really cute!"
"Can you let this sister pinch your cheek? How did you get up even after taking so many blows?"
Stingham felt as if he suddenly became invisible air.
After staring blankly for a few seconds, the depressed Stingham’s vision went black. He closed his eyes and shouted, "Ayrin, I hate you!"
"You’re Stingham? You’re really handsome, let’s hang out together from now on, alright?" All of a sudden, he heard a voice behind him.
"Sophia! Nikita!" Stingham suddenly felt a huge brightness and happiness take ahold of him. He remembered that just now, Sophia and Nikita were the only ones who didn’t move.
Excited, he turned his head around and shouted, "Ok!"
He saw Sophia and Nikita come his way.
Who would it be?
Stingham became excited again. He waited, a little restless. But what made him instantly stunned was, he saw Sophia and Nikita directly walk past by him without sparing him a single glance. Instead, a fat lass about one fifty to one sixty tall, weighing about a hundred fifty appeared behind Sophia and Nikita as they went away. She held a bunch of roses, extraordinarily excited, her eyes flashing when she looked at him. "Is that true? You really agree to be my boyfriend?"
"Ayrin! I hate you!" Stingham closed his eyes again and shouted on top of his lungs.
…
"Can I really pinch your cheek?"
"You can. You won’t hurt me, right?"
"Ah! Ayrin, you’re really too adorable. Call me elder sister, this sister will treat you very well."
Surrounded by half the members of team Agate Lake, Ayrin scratched his head in embarrassment and chuckled gently. He also felt that these Agate Lake girls were too adorable, too warm.
"Chris, congrats for making the national tournament this year." As the captain of the team, Sophia walked in front of Chris and stretched out her hand with courtesy.
"Eh, why are there so many carriages? What are you guys bringing?"
All of a sudden, Sophia noticed close to twenty luggage carriages following behind team Holy Dawn. On top of that, all of them were pulled by meek unicorns, spotlessly white from head to toe.
"We don’t know either. It’s teacher Carter’s arrangement," Chris answered in all honesty.
"Could they be bringing a great amount of training material as well?" Sophia mumbled silently to herself. "It looks like Holy Dawn Academy has great plans for the national tournament this time."
"Chris! Please accept my adoration!"
Just at this moment, a voice rose from the street like muffled thunder.
"…" People from team Holy Dawn were all struck speechless.
No need to turn around. Just from the voice, they knew for sure it was team Southern Monsoon’s Ferdinand.
Indeed. As soon as everyone turned their heads around, they saw the entire team Southern Monsoon rush their way, bustling with energy.
Just like before, the five of them had big letters written on their clothes, together reading "Chris’ support." Not only that, each of them had a red bandanna tied around their foreheads, with "Chris’ support squad" written in small letters.
Walking at the forefront, Ferdinand’s face seemed filled with passion, filled with powerful fighting spirit. Behind him, the other four team members all looked like they felt they were losing face, like they were being idiots, but were still ready to go through fire without any hesitation, to sacrifice their lives for a friend.
"Chris, we’re leaving with you guys too!"
"We’ll go cheer for you during all of the national tournament! Because we’re your most devoted fan group!"
When Chris looked at Ferdinand, very helpless, this captain of team Southern Monsoon even scratched his head and laughed out loud: "Chris, I’m really very much looking forward to the day when Chris’ support group becomes Chris’ group of friends and family."
"This guy… There’s probably no one in this world who’s more brainless and more moronic than this guy." Such a thought popped in the mind of Moss, Belo, Rinloran and all of the others.
But at this time, what made the three of them instantly speechless was, Stingham said, "You guys, look at me! Don’t just look at Ayrin! Can’t you tell that I’m wiser, more powerful, more handsome than him?! Hurry up and come surround me!"
Stingham had already returned not far away from Ayrin. He adopted a posture he himself believed to be very charming, shouting at the girls from team Agate Lake with a narcissistic face.
"Being on the same team as this guy, it’s really a shameful feeling." Moss lowered his head and mumbled, depressed, "Even more embarrassing than being mocked by Ayrin."
"Hmph."
Belo readjusted his glasses. Cold light shone on the lenses.
He walked toward Stingham and brushed past by him. Then, without a word, he walked back.
It was only the space of a few seconds.
"Ah! Why does it itch so much! I’m dying from the itch!"
"Why are there so many bugs!"
All of a sudden, Stingham started twisting around and shouting at the top of his lungs. He kept scratching himself, to the point he couldn’t endure it anymore and even took off his clothes.
Everyone saw him catch quite a lot of small red bugs from his body.
"It must be Belo’s doing!"
Moss had paid attention to Belo’s actions, and he suddenly came to the realization. He felt a shiver run through all over his body, and couldn’t resist immediately stepping away from Belo; the latter wasn’t batting an eye, looking quiet and gentle.
"Ayrin, it must be some evil thing you did, am I right?!
"You must be jealous I’m more handsome, more powerful, more brilliant, am I right?!"
What made Moss and Rinloran almost fall down head first was, Stingham wasn’t suspicious of Belo who just brushed by him moments ago. Instead, he was loudly shouting at Ayrin.
This super narcissistic guy, what was his brain made of?
"This group of little guys is really a headache."
Coming down from a luggage carriage behind them, Carter looked at the chaotic turmoil, and couldn’t help but shake his head with a wry smile.
This year’s team Holy Dawn was sure to give everyone a big surprise. But no matter which way you looked at it, team Holy Dawn didn’t look like a powerful awe-inspiring team right now.
Sophia looked at Carter coming their way. After greeting him with a faint smile, she glanced again at Ayrin and said in a soft voice, "Teacher Carter, I heard that Moss and Ayrin helped teacher Ciaran to defeat a very strong elite master, that he ruined a plot from the Evil Dragon followers again. It seems that Moss and Ayrin are even stronger than what we saw during the matches."
"You guys also know about it?"
Carter froze a moment, a little depressed. He shook his head and said, a little vexed, "It must be that big mouth Fran who told you guys, right?"
An indignant voice immediately said, "Who are you calling a big mouth? Carter, do you want to die!"
A standard blond belle with a face covered in frost, looking about the same age as Carter, walked out from a store at the side. She wore a pair of pretty golden silk gloves.
"You’re responsible for taking team Agate Lake to the national tournament this time?" A surprised Carter stared with his eyes wide. Then shortly after, he looked left and right: "Who said anything about a big mouth? Did someone say something about a big mouth? I didn’t hear anything. Sophia, did you guys hear it?"
"…" Chris, Sophia, and the others instantly turned shrew-faced. They looked at Carter, their expression one of mutual understanding. They never thought the so upright-looking teacher Carter would act so dishonest, that he would have the gall to lie right to their faces.
This standard blond beauty teacher stared very fiercely at Carter, and said in a low voice, gnashing her teeth, "If you let me hear you call me a big mouth again, I’ll let you die an ugly death!"
Compared to her facial features, her mouth indeed looked a little big, but it still seemed very pretty.
"I’d never say that," Carter said, righteous and upright.
"Relax, I know to act properly." Fran’s face eased up a little. She humphed, and said in a voice only she and Carter could hear, "We’re both teams representing St. Lauren’s honor. When outside, I’ll never divulge to anyone the secrets about your team’s strength."
"Just from these words, I can tell you’re the one who told Sophia and the others about the fight between Ayrin and Makkany. You still say you’re not a big mouth…" Carter kept nodding, but that was what he was mumbling inside himself. "That said, Agate Lake Academy also switched to someone as strong as you to lead the team. It seems they’re also worried about the team’s safety. Added to professor Plum, we’re absolutely safe now."
"Ayrin, you’re really adorable. Come here, let his teacher sister pinch your cheek!"
The next second, Fran was already walking happily in Ayrin’s direction.
"She’s already this age, the same as me, but she’s still a love-struck fool just like before. She has to stick her nose in whenever she sees a handsome guy…" Carter was immediately speechless.
"Ayrin, why didn’t your girlfriend Charlotte come to see you off?"
"That’s right. Normally, their team will also go to the national tournament to observe and study. They’re not going with you?"
"I have no idea… After the last match ended, she promised to cheer for me in the national tournament."
In fact, Charlotte had already reached a corner of the street at this time, next to a shop very close to Ayrin and the girls from Agate Lake Academy. When she heard these Agate Lake girls surround Ayrin very much unlike virtuous ladies and ask questions like these, she was already regretting a little being there.
But at this time, Ayrin suddenly saw her. He immediately shouted, "Charlotte! Charlotte, you came!"
"I…" Charlotte could only brace herself and walk forward, red-faced.
"Love really has boundless magical power. Look, even war goddess Charlotte can make such a shy expression…" Especially when the girls from Agate Lake Academy looked at her and Ayrin with ambiguous eyes, when these whispers drifted to her ears, she was so shy she almost lashed out in embarrassment.
"Ayrin, when they said your girlfriend Charlotte right now, why didn’t you explain!" she said in a voice only the two of them could hear when she came to Ayrin’s side.
"Explain what?" Ayrin looked at her, confused.
"About the girlfriend part!" Charlotte couldn’t resist stamping her feet.
"You’re my friend, plus you’re not a boy either." Ayrin stared blankly. "What?"
"When they say girlfriend, they don’t mean that kind of ordinary female friend!" Charlotte really raged out of embarrassment now. She said, unable to control the volume of her voice, "It’s the kind where when you like me, you can’t like any other girl…"
"Eh! Sure enough… Turns out she was afraid Ayrin would take a fancy to one of us after going to the tournament together with us, and have us steal him away. That’s why she especially came to warn Ayrin!" The girls from Agate Lake Academy immediately looked like they suddenly saw the light.
"…" Charlotte realized she’d spoken too loud the latter half of her sentences and ended up being overheard, and even caused some serious ambiguity. Her face became as red as red cloth. She wished there would be a crack in the ground she could drill herself into.
"About that…" Ayrin understood somewhat now. A bit slow on the uptake, his face was also a little red. It looked even more suspicious when the others saw it.
"Be careful on the way. I’m done talking to you!" Charlotte felt that she couldn’t explain herself anymore. She stamped her feet again, spoke a few quick words with her head down, then turned around and left.
"Charlotte, didn’t you say you’d come to the nationals and cheer for me!" Ayrin shouted.
Charlotte’s voice came from the corner of the street: "We’ll go by ourselves. We’ll be there by the time the tournament starts."
