What’s that supposed to mean?”
Justina’s face became serious as she listened to Gran’s story.
She must have thought that this wasn’t the time to be questioning the relationship between me and Jeannie.
“I can’t be sure, though, because I was only eavesdropping.”
“Just tell me.”
“I understand.”
To be sure no one else apart from us could hear, Gran kept his voice low.
“The dragon that Jeannie was riding had a damaged wing, right? That wasn’t an accident where something hit it or something, there’s a high possibility that it was intentional.”
“No way…”
“I can understand your surprise. But don’t you think it makes sense? It’s not every day you have an accident in the sky like that. It’s more likely that someone else caused it.”
“You’re right… What about the culprit?”
“That’s hard to say. In the first place, it’s only a possibility, and they haven’t yet determined whether it was an accident or an incident. Well, I suspect the latter is the case.”
The unexpected information left everyone at a loss for words.
How could a dragon be targeted during flight training…?
It was no joke.
If it wasn’t, Jeannie could have lost her life.
And if they attacked the dragon, what would have happened to her later…
If there was a culprit…
Then they might be a very dangerous person.
Not thinking about the consequences… It was almost like Cedric.
“Mmm.”
Justina seemed to be thinking the same thing, and she had a difficult look on her face.
Justina wouldn’t be able to keep quiet if her friends were hurt.
“That’s all the information I can give you right now. I hope I’m not overthinking this… There’s always a chance that I am but let’s still be a little careful.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
There was no reason to disagree with Gran’s words.
Everyone nodded firmly.
________________
Someone was watching from afar as Alto and the others talked in the courtyard.
It was Jas Rakustin.
With a grin and a happy smile plastered on his face, he stared at Alto and the others.
“Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm… I’ve been observing it for a while now… After all, it seems that Estenia cares about those twins. I can’t mess with the divine dragon, but if I can make good use of them… fufufu, it’s going to be fun.”
________________
The accident… or incident caused all morning classes to be canceled.
The teachers were busy dealing with the situation and we students were left to do independent study.
Soon, the chaos was over.
Afternoon classes were to be held as usual.
The afternoon class was PE.
This time, it was not an endurance run, but a ball sport.
We played ten against ten, running around the huge court, throwing the ball and passing it around.
If you can toss the ball into the opponent’s net, you get a point.
The winner was the one with the highest total score.
The game was simple, but it was surprisingly physical.
You have to run around the court all the time, and once you have the ball in your hands, you have to be alert to your surroundings and instantly analyze the current situation.
It was not just physical strength, but also the ability to judge situations on the spur of the moment.
It was a very well thought out game.
“Alto! Look at this!”
In the court, Justina was running around.
Her allies, Gran and Jeannie, were desperately chasing after her.
I was taking a break.
There’s only one court, so we were taking turns.
“Ehehe! I’m in front of Alto, so I have to show him how cool I am! Here I go! Bahamut Shoot!”
“Yaaaaaah!”
Justina threw the ball with tremendous force.
The students who tried to catch the ball were blown away…
It was like one person was playing an entirely different sport.
“Hello. Can I sit next to you?”
“…Jas…”
As I was leisurely watching the game, Jas appeared.
It seemed that Jas was there today for a joint class with another class.
Before I could say anything else, he sat down next to me.
“…Do you need something?”
“Yes, of course. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be talking to Estenia, would I?”
Jas said with a cold expression.
This guy… has not changed at all.
He still sees me as a toy, just as he did when Cedric was here.
“I’ve been under a lot of stress lately.”
“What are you talking about?”
“No, a toy that I’ve cherished for a long time suddenly disappeared from my hands… I’m frustrated because I can’t release my stress because of it.”
“That toy… are you referring to me?”
“Yes, of course. How did you know?”
“That’s what you said before.”
Jas was laughing, then a twisted smile with a lot of hostility appeared on his face.
“Would you like to play with me again? I’ll give you plenty of love.”
“Huh?”
This brought back bad memories of me being bullied by Jas.
It was hard to shake off trauma.
I thought I had shaken it off, but it seemed I was still aware of it.
Just like the last time I met Jas in the city…
My body shivered pitifully.
But I didn’t want to give in to that…
I would never do that.
I decided to be strong so that I could stand next to Justina…
This was my determination.
“I refuse.”
“…Hoo.”
“I don’t listen to people like you anymore. Leave me alone.”
“You seem to be getting carried away with the presence of the divine dragon. Is that what you want as a man? Don’t you think it’s embarrassing that you depend so much on a woman?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Why don’t we play a game?”
“A game?”
“Play against me in the next practical training. There, we will make things clear. Of course, the dragon will not be allowed to be involved. Because this was a game between me and Estenia.”
“…”
“What do you think? I think it’s not a bad suggestion. …Ah, yeah. I didn’t tell you about the prize. If I lose, I’ll swear to never get involved with Estenia again. I can quit the academy if you want. However, if I win, you will be my plaything… forever.”
“No.”
“Oh? You’re refusing?”
“I don’t see the benefit of taking part in your game. There’s no advantage in taking you up on your offer, since you’re the kind of guy who might renege on a deal if you lose.”
I guess he had already anticipated my refusal.
Jas did not panic, but rather continued leisurely.
“It’s better not to say no. If you do, misfortune may befall those around you.”
“What?”
“I heard that one of your classmates had an accident during the flight training. How horrible. Maybe something like that will happen to you in the future.”
“No way, you…!”
It was him!
He threatened me and put Jeannie in danger just to get me to accept!
“Now… what do we do?”
“…Okay. I’ll take that bet.”
“That’s a wise decision.”
“You’ll keep your word?”
“Yes, of course. And don’t forget the deal, Estenia.”
“Don’t mess with the others.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but… if Estenia doesn’t run away from the match, there won’t be any unfortunate accidents.”
I can’t afford to lose to this guy.
I have to win.
I had a strong burning determination to fight Jas now.
What’s that supposed to mean?”
Justina’s face became serious as she listened to Gran’s story.
She must have thought that this wasn’t the time to be questioning the relationship between me and Jeannie.
“I can’t be sure, though, because I was only eavesdropping.”
“Just tell me.”
“I understand.”
To be sure no one else apart from us could hear, Gran kept his voice low.
“The dragon that Jeannie was riding had a damaged wing, right? That wasn’t an accident where something hit it or something, there’s a high possibility that it was intentional.”
“No way…”
“I can understand your surprise. But don’t you think it makes sense? It’s not every day you have an accident in the sky like that. It’s more likely that someone else caused it.”
“You’re right… What about the culprit?”
“That’s hard to say. In the first place, it’s only a possibility, and they haven’t yet determined whether it was an accident or an incident. Well, I suspect the latter is the case.”
The unexpected information left everyone at a loss for words.
How could a dragon be targeted during flight training…?
It was no joke.
If it wasn’t, Jeannie could have lost her life.
And if they attacked the dragon, what would have happened to her later…
If there was a culprit…
Then they might be a very dangerous person.
Not thinking about the consequences… It was almost like Cedric.
“Mmm.”
Justina seemed to be thinking the same thing, and she had a difficult look on her face.
Justina wouldn’t be able to keep quiet if her friends were hurt.
“That’s all the information I can give you right now. I hope I’m not overthinking this… There’s always a chance that I am but let’s still be a little careful.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
There was no reason to disagree with Gran’s words.
Everyone nodded firmly.
________________
Someone was watching from afar as Alto and the others talked in the courtyard.
It was Jas Rakustin.
With a grin and a happy smile plastered on his face, he stared at Alto and the others.
“Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm… I’ve been observing it for a while now… After all, it seems that Estenia cares about those twins. I can’t mess with the divine dragon, but if I can make good use of them… fufufu, it’s going to be fun.”
________________
The accident… or incident caused all morning classes to be canceled.
The teachers were busy dealing with the situation and we students were left to do independent study.
Soon, the chaos was over.
Afternoon classes were to be held as usual.
The afternoon class was PE.
This time, it was not an endurance run, but a ball sport.
We played ten against ten, running around the huge court, throwing the ball and passing it around.
If you can toss the ball into the opponent’s net, you get a point.
The winner was the one with the highest total score.
The game was simple, but it was surprisingly physical.
You have to run around the court all the time, and once you have the ball in your hands, you have to be alert to your surroundings and instantly analyze the current situation.
It was not just physical strength, but also the ability to judge situations on the spur of the moment.
It was a very well thought out game.
“Alto! Look at this!”
In the court, Justina was running around.
Her allies, Gran and Jeannie, were desperately chasing after her.
I was taking a break.
There’s only one court, so we were taking turns.
“Ehehe! I’m in front of Alto, so I have to show him how cool I am! Here I go! Bahamut Shoot!”
“Yaaaaaah!”
Justina threw the ball with tremendous force.
The students who tried to catch the ball were blown away…
It was like one person was playing an entirely different sport.
“Hello. Can I sit next to you?”
“…Jas…”
As I was leisurely watching the game, Jas appeared.
It seemed that Jas was there today for a joint class with another class.
Before I could say anything else, he sat down next to me.
“…Do you need something?”
“Yes, of course. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be talking to Estenia, would I?”
Jas said with a cold expression.
This guy… has not changed at all.
He still sees me as a toy, just as he did when Cedric was here.
“I’ve been under a lot of stress lately.”
“What are you talking about?”
“No, a toy that I’ve cherished for a long time suddenly disappeared from my hands… I’m frustrated because I can’t release my stress because of it.”
“That toy… are you referring to me?”
“Yes, of course. How did you know?”
“That’s what you said before.”
Jas was laughing, then a twisted smile with a lot of hostility appeared on his face.
“Would you like to play with me again? I’ll give you plenty of love.”
“Huh?”
This brought back bad memories of me being bullied by Jas.
It was hard to shake off trauma.
I thought I had shaken it off, but it seemed I was still aware of it.
Just like the last time I met Jas in the city…
My body shivered pitifully.
But I didn’t want to give in to that…
I would never do that.
I decided to be strong so that I could stand next to Justina…
This was my determination.
“I refuse.”
“…Hoo.”
“I don’t listen to people like you anymore. Leave me alone.”
“You seem to be getting carried away with the presence of the divine dragon. Is that what you want as a man? Don’t you think it’s embarrassing that you depend so much on a woman?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Why don’t we play a game?”
“A game?”
“Play against me in the next practical training. There, we will make things clear. Of course, the dragon will not be allowed to be involved. Because this was a game between me and Estenia.”
“…”
“What do you think? I think it’s not a bad suggestion. …Ah, yeah. I didn’t tell you about the prize. If I lose, I’ll swear to never get involved with Estenia again. I can quit the academy if you want. However, if I win, you will be my plaything… forever.”
“No.”
“Oh? You’re refusing?”
“I don’t see the benefit of taking part in your game. There’s no advantage in taking you up on your offer, since you’re the kind of guy who might renege on a deal if you lose.”
I guess he had already anticipated my refusal.
Jas did not panic, but rather continued leisurely.
“It’s better not to say no. If you do, misfortune may befall those around you.”
“What?”
“I heard that one of your classmates had an accident during the flight training. How horrible. Maybe something like that will happen to you in the future.”
“No way, you…!”
It was him!
He threatened me and put Jeannie in danger just to get me to accept!
“Now… what do we do?”
“…Okay. I’ll take that bet.”
“That’s a wise decision.”
“You’ll keep your word?”
“Yes, of course. And don’t forget the deal, Estenia.”
“Don’t mess with the others.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but… if Estenia doesn’t run away from the match, there won’t be any unfortunate accidents.”
I can’t afford to lose to this guy.
I have to win.
I had a strong burning determination to fight Jas now.
