I asked you to fight as Gary with your bare fists, but those two were different.
Ares, playing ‘Geldmea’, and Althric, playing ‘Roben’, were both swordsmen, so they knew how to handle swords. But…
Hmm?
Althric Senior seemed quite awkward holding a sword. With a face like an intelligent handsome man and a physique that screamed jock, I thought he’d be more coordinated.
Ah, that’s definitely a stance for handling a spear.
It seemed Althric’s main weapon was a spear. While he must have handled swords as a basic weapon, it still looked clumsy.
In the end, only Ares was using his primary weapon here.
Whoosh!
Ares dashed in first.
His eyes showed a genuine determination to take me down, but Professor Veritio seemed to think Ares was completely immersed in his role.
And right behind Ares was Althric Senior. It looked like he was already getting into the role of ‘Roben’ from the expression on his face.
Yes, that’s how you should come at me.
This could count as a bit of exercise.
I took a deep breath, recalling Gary’s lines and actions from today, and clenched my fists.
This wasn’t just about knocking those two down; it was a play.
If I were Gary…
I would appear as the owner of the dueling arena, threatening the two protagonists.
The ultimate villain of this story and the strongest man.
So, what I needed to do here was…
Thump! Pow!
Ares’s wooden sword slammed down on my shoulder, followed by Althric Senior’s sword hitting my side.
Since it landed squarely, everyone around perceived it as an accident, and screams erupted. Professor Veritio also gasped and tried to stop the whole thing.
But instead, I seized both of their necks without changing my expression and pushed forward, slamming them onto the dueling arena floor.
Cough!
Crack!
Both of them wanted to gasp, but with their necks held, they couldn’t let out a proper breath.
I could go straight into a mount and finish this off right now, but…
Huff.
I released their necks and slowly walked forward, slipping my hands into my pockets.
Right now, I was the owner of the arena, Gary.
Gag! Gag!
Unlike Althric Senior, who was clutching his neck, Ares immediately got back up and charged at me, furious.
The difference in skill was already evident.
If I were Gary, now it was time to overwhelm them.
I delivered a kick straight into Ares’s gut. His eyes widened in pain, but he swung his sword at my face.
As I kicked, I pulled my upper body back to avoid the blade.
My hands were still buried in my pockets.
Looking down at Ares, who was clutching his stomach in agony, I pulled my right hand out and swung a fist at his temple. He squeezed his eyes shut, but…
Tap.
“If I hit you for real, you’d be dead, punk.”
I lightly gave him a playful hit and checked on Professor Veritio.
Althric Senior seemed to have lost the will to fight from the start, so I figured we could wrap up the duel here.
Professor Veritio, staring blankly at me, suddenly burst out crying.
“Ah, ah, ahhh!”
“What? Why’s he acting like that?”
As Professor Veritio made a fuss, Mei murmured, but it seemed she wouldn’t hear it.
Professor Veritio rushed over, grabbing my hands with both of his, practically screaming to the point of making my ears ring.
“Gary! Just now, Gary was here! No, wait. Not really. It’s not Gary! It’s Daniel! You should change your character name to Daniel right now…!”
“Please! I’m sorry, but don’t do that!”
I was genuinely startled and tried to stop him.
Using my name to deliver those lines? Ugh, gross!
I managed to prevent Gary’s name from turning into Daniel, but Professor Veritio’s emotional state didn’t seem to simmer down quickly.
“It was perfect. Truly perfect. Geldmea and Roben need a bit more practice, but you? You were already Gary.”
“Uh…”
I wasn’t sure if I should be glad about this, but if he was pleased, then that was a good thing, right?
Maybe it was because I handled those two a bit roughly, but the other students looked a little shaken.
Mei and Rin were cheering happily, though.
“Are both of you okay?”
“Ugh, cough! Yeah, I’m fine.”
“…”
Unlike Althric, who was coughing while holding his neck, Ares stared blankly at the floor of the arena, looking like he had received a shock.
“Ares?”
“Yeah… I’m okay.”
“Right. You’ve fought duels like this many times at Aios Academy.”
After all, it’s a place where kids team up and beat each other up for practice. Such duels were an everyday affair.
Even so, Ares still looked a bit dazed, but Professor Veritio began giving both of them acting advice.
“Hey Daniel, you know that if a person doesn’t exercise for just two days, the world suddenly looks beautiful?”
I smiled and replied while laughing back at Eve, who was sipping on her coffee loaded with chocolate.
“Do you know Eve? Even if you exercise all day for two days, you can’t burn off that coffee you’re drinking right now.”
…
Seeing Eve look like she had just been betrayed as she stared at her coffee, Tana beside me sighed and glared at me.
“Eve looks fine, though. Do you think it’s easy to get a body like that?”
“Uh, Tana? It’s okay, really…”
“Let it go, I’m explaining! Hey, Eve, look at your chest. Do you think it’s that easy to become this pretty and busty?”
“Tanaaa!”
“Stop! And what about your butt? Look how juicy and plump it is! You’re gonna have kids in no time!”
“Tanaaaaa!”
Eve started whacking Tana with a book she had, while Tana laughed and defended herself with her hands.
Ugh.
Lately, I feel like I’ve become a bit more relaxed around these two, probably because I’ve been getting swept away by the girls (Rin, Mei).
It seems like just yesterday we were a group of outcast friends, and now we’re tight friends, always hanging out together.
Of course, we hadn’t been able to meet up recently due to play practice.
“By the way, Daniel, your hair seems longer, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess it looks a bit messy.”
The two of them pointed at my bangs, which were starting to poke my eyes.
I was aware of it myself, so I curled my bangs with my fingers and replied.
“I want to cut it, but I can’t because of the play.”
Hmm?
“The play!”
Tana looked puzzled, but Eve, who was very interested in drama, sparkled her eyes and urged me to explain further.
“Apparently, for the role of Gary, I need to pull all my hair back and tie it up. So they told me not to cut it.”
I asked if I could wear a wig, but they shot that down because I wouldn’t be able to move vigorously.
At least Gary’s character, based on me, has black hair, so I’m relieved I don’t have to dye it.
By the way, Althric has put braids in his hair.
“Oooh?”
Suddenly, Tana seemed intrigued and removed a hair tie from her wrist, approaching me.
“Don’t do that.”
“Aw, come on, let’s just try it once. I want to see!”
“Yeah! I’m curious about how it feels!”
Eventually, I surrendered my hair to the two of them, and they pulled all my bangs up and tied them.
I feel completely exposed.
It’s not like I ever made an effort to groom in my past life, so it’s my first time with my forehead fully exposed like this.
Tana tied my hair while Eve came up to closely examine my face.
…What’s going on?
“Nah, it’s just that seeing you like this, Daniel looks so much like Daniel.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means you look like Daniel.”
From the way she said it with a smile, it seemed to be a compliment, so I let it slide.
“What? This just makes you look like a delinquent!”
Tana didn’t seem to think it looked good, but if I looked like a delinquent, I guess it fits Gary too.
“Are you taking this down?”
No matter how I tried, I couldn’t seem to loosen it with both hands.
As I struggled, I suddenly felt gentle hands appear from behind.
“I’ll do it for you.”
Hayun approached, loosening my hair tie and placing it on the table we were sitting at.
“Hayun! Why have you been so busy lately?”
“Yeah, you look tired.”
“Been busy preparing for the festival.”
While I was engaged in drama, it seemed Hayun had become friendly with the two and casually sat down next to me.
“A class doesn’t run a café?”
“Yeah, but I’m preparing something separately. I plan to open a stall to sell accessories.”
Hayun was struggling financially because her family had cut off support.
She used to have a cold, stunning beauty aura, but now she just looked like a beautiful person who seemed perpetually cold.
“You really are working hard.”
I felt both proud and sorry for her living so independently at such a young age, so I patted her shoulder, and Hayun subtly shifted her gaze toward me.
“Then why don’t you buy me something?”
“I don’t need any accessories…”
As I was about to politely decline, a good idea suddenly came to mind.
“How about checking out the costume team?”
“The costume team?”
“Yeah, they can’t make everything by hand, so they buy stuff too. I can set it up for you.”
With that, something began to shine deep within Hayun’s calm eyes.
“Okay.”
Hayun sprang into action.
Her enthusiasm resembled that of a warrior heading to battle.
“When we go to practice today, come by my room for a bit. I’ll prepare something.”
“Uh-huh.”
I watched Hayun’s empowered back as I silently wished farewell to her wallet.
Fight on, little flower beggar girl!
