The second day of the competition.
I just said I would cheer from my seat, but Sen dragged me to sit by the dugout where the players were waiting.
I thought I’d be standing around alone, but Eve, dressed in cheerleader attire, hopped towards me like a bunny.
“Daniel! Did you just see me cheering? My moves were perfect!”
I thought they were all wrong. I had been thinking I should comfort Eve when she came over after seeing me floundering, but she’s way too bright.
“Yeah, you did well.”
I had nothing else to say.
As Tana mentioned last time, Eve excelled because she had physical prowess. You could hardly find anyone with Eve’s physique throughout Aios and Pales.
“U-um.”
Just then, one of the male members of the mana volleyball team approached Eve cautiously.
“Yes, what is it?”
He looked to be a second-year student, but his formal speech didn’t stop. Come to think of it, I think I’ve never seen Eve speaking casually.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
I glanced back and saw the other boys in the same uniform whispering and looking our way. It seemed like this guy had boldly stepped up.
Eve made a troubled expression and looked at me, saying, “I’m sorry, but I have someone I like.”
“……Oh, I see.”
He followed Eve’s gaze to me, narrowed his eyes, and walked away in a huff. Seriously, he was so nice to Eve but turned cold to me…
“I’m a senior, you know?”
Looking at the guy who’s still glaring at me, I chuckled to myself, but I guess he couldn’t hear me.
“That’s the fourth time already.”
“Huh? Did you ask that many times in just two days?”
Sure, the guy wasn’t wearing his glasses and looked different with his hair down, but still…
For some reason, he seemed quite skillful at politely declining.
“No, that’s just today. Yesterday, it was about seven times. Especially after the competition ended, a ton of them came from Pales.”
“Hmm?”
Eve plopped down next to me with a sulky expression.
“I thought someone would be there to watch over me. Turns out, no one.”
“……”
I had been too busy retrieving the bounty Tana set up yesterday to pay attention to the others. Of course, I didn’t mention that.
From Eve’s perspective, it seemed quite troublesome that all the other guys were rushing in while I wasn’t around.
“What would you do if I was dragged away forcibly by someone else?!”
For a moment, I felt a chill, recalling the Charlie Kraush incident from the past. But Eve raised her fist, saying, “Of course, I gave a ‘punch of forgiveness’ to those who crossed the line. I let go of anyone who tried to lay a hand on me.”
“Well, good for you.”
“Tana didn’t forgive them, though.”
So she meant Tana had knocked out some of those boys who approached them. They were at least trying to toughen her up with exercises…
“You’ve become too strong.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, don’t move so passionately.”
With her cheerleading outfit being loose, any slight motion heavily accentuated her body. Maybe she forgot about that, as she stared blankly at me, then turned red and quickly adjusted her clothing.
“Ahem, anyway. Since Daniel didn’t protect me, shouldn’t he grant me one request?”
“Why are you trying to twist that around?”
“I’m just pulling a fast one. And your act of pretending your right hand was broken was quite shameless too.”
Ouch, she’s gotten pretty bold!
Alright, since she’s cute, I’ll give in.
“Anything you want to buy? I got some money recently.”
I’m in a position where I could splurge a little now. I received about half of what I took from the pirates.
I heard there’s a gambling den in Lavender, and it was me who told Elise to go all-in on the events I participated in.
And it was also me who brought home the victory.
In the end, I was the one who caught and dealt with the pirates trying to escape after Lavender’s report.
With the treasure the pirates had hoarded, my pockets got lined with cash, and I’m feeling good about life now.
However, Eve inflated her cheeks and poked my side with her finger.
“Do you really think I’m here for your money?”
“No… It’s not like that.”
When people have money, they tend to want to solve everything with it. Apologizing made Eve pull a book out of her bag stuffed away in the corner.
“Please read this and write a report on it!”
“Can’t I just settle it by giving you money?”
“Uh, you’re going back to Aios in the carriage tomorrow, so you’ll be bored, right?”
“Well, I guess that’s true.”
Glancing at the title of the book…
“‘Jasmine Blooming in the Library’?”
Is it a romance novel? Well, Eve likes old books, but she also has an interest in romance novels.
I took the book and gave it a quick skim.
“An academy delinquent and a librarian’s story?”
What the heck is this?
It even has illustrations. There’s a librarian wearing glasses, smiling while tucking her hair behind her ear.
Looking at Eve, she mirrored the exact smile as the illustration, saying, “So, how is it?”
“The intention’s way too obvious, so it feels bland. Still, I’ll read it.”
“Get absorbed in it as you read. You know, think about the friend who often reads and wears glasses.”
“Aren’t you being too obvious?”
“So what? May calls her husband that.”
That girl really is a problem.
The reason delinquents are bad is that they ruin the vibes for the normal kids around them too.
“……”
As I was talking about this with Eve, a small girl stood tall in front of us.
“Sen? Aren’t you supposed to be practicing?”
I wondered what Sen was doing here when the mana volleyball was about to start, but she looked down at me, arms crossed.
Getting looked down upon by Sen is quite a fresh yet peculiar feeling.
Anyway, she said with quite an unpleasant expression, “You were brought here to cheer for me.”
“Yeah, I know.”
You dragged me here forcibly.
“Don’t mess around, just cheer.”
“……”
“I’m watching.”
No, during the match, you should be looking at the ball, not me. Anyway, Sen gave me a sharp glare typical of the Chokugen Faction, then turned back to her members.
But Eve, who was beside me, looked at Sen blankly before poking my side again.
“Were you really here because of me?”
“……Huh?”
Oh, so that’s what she thought.
No wonder she seemed more energetic than usual.
“Well, maybe, in a way?”
“Aha, in a way?”
She crossed her arms and crossed her legs, elongating her speech.
I just wanted to go home.
No, I want to travel back to the Forest of the Demon Realm and settle down.
“Are you going to read?”
Now Eve was trying to take the book away. I quickly braced myself and yanked it back.
“W-well! Of course I will. It looks fun.”
As I awkwardly smiled and answered, Eve snorted and turned her gaze towards the volleyball court. It looked like she was seriously upset.
“Hey, there they are.”
“Wow, crossing arms looks amazing.”
“Wow, her chest is insane.”
Some male students approached, glancing around. They clearly didn’t look like our side students, so they shouldn’t be here!
They approached Eve without a care in the world, behaving all flirty.
“Wow, she’s a real goddess. Isn’t it boring here?”
“Let’s go drink coffee outside or something.”
“Wow, the smell of sweat is fragrant.”
I sprung up from my seat immediately.
Thanks, idiots! I thank you for giving me a chance to earn points with Eve!
But surprisingly, Eve yelled at them angrily.
“Can’t you see I’m with my boyfriend right now?!”
I froze in position as I was getting up. The delinquent boys from Pales cast a glance at me in annoyance.
“Wait, she had a boyfriend?”
“No, but why are you yelling when nobody’s done anything wrong?”
“Hey, isn’t he the one from the battle soccer match yesterday?”
Why do they need to refer to me in such exaggerated terms? Eve didn’t seem too pleased and grabbed the shoulder of the guy who approached us.
“Let’s step outside. We can talk once we’re out.”
The boys immediately tried to drag Eve outside. I thought it was my time to step in again, but…
Whack!
Eve’s fist landed directly on the guy’s jaw, making him drool and slump to the ground.
“Phew, I’ll forgive you.”
Eve blew on her fist to cool it down.
“You crazy woman!”
“Suddenly throwing punches!”
The other two rushed in, but Eve dodged and snatched the book she had given me, bringing it down on one of their heads.
“I’m forgiving you for sexually harassing me since earlier.”
“What the—”
The last remaining guy stepped back, seeing his friends down, but Eve clenched her fist and approached him steadily, devoid of expression.
“I’ll forgive what you said, so come here.”
“W-wait……!”
BAM!
Watching Eve land a perfect punch while twisting her waist made me almost clap unexpectedly.
This is the same Eve who was gasping for breath while running before?
As the other students and professors rushed over, wondering what the commotion was, we quickly explained the situation, saying that even though we were in our dugout, the Pales students had sneaked in.
With the chaos settling down, I watched the mana volleyball start and mumbled to myself.
“Eve is no longer my little Eve. She’s just Big Eve now.”
When did she grow up so much? Hearing my comment, Eve tilted her head slightly and asked, “Is it sexual harassment? I’ll forgive you.”
Seeing her clench her fist right after, I hurriedly waved my hands.
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