Grand Market, Main area.
A group of four girls could be seen walking towards the beach, they all were wearing the uniform of the great Freya academy and people gave way to them as they passed by them.
"By the way, how did the two of you meet actually? I think you two have been together from the start..." (Riya)
While nibbling on those tasty-looking donuts that Riya bought after leaving the clothing store, she asked Lia a question that had been bugging her for a long time:
Hearing Riya's question, Lia smiled and replied.
"Hmm, if it's the first meeting then I would say, I first met him during that first practical combat test the academy had conducted..." (Lia)
A slight blush appeared on Lia's face as she explained:
"I was about to get injured by the boss monster of that dungeon... he suddenly appeared out of nowhere and split the monster into several pieces..." (Lia)
Thinking about that, a pout appeared on her face:
"That idiot! Hmph! He didn't even bother taking me to the infirmary and left after killing that monster... and when I asked him about it later, you know what he said?" (Lia)
Riya stuffed her mouth with donuts and listened to Lia's story with great interest. Even Ellie and Riko were listening to this conversation silently from behind.
"What did he say?" (Riya)
"hmph! That idiot! He said if you want to repay my kindness, then pay me money for saving your life!" (Lia)
"What!? How rude! Is that how you should be talking to your future girlfriend!?" (Riya)
Hearing the two of them ignore the fact that 'Rio didn't even know her at the time', Ellie who was the most knowledgeable in the group shook her head in helplessness.
'When it comes to these types of things, I feel like Riya and Lia both forget about logic....' (Ellie)
"Indeed! I was so angry after that! I went ahead and ran a full background check on him, then I personally investigated him for several days, you know!" (Lia)
'That's not investigation! You were stalking him!' (Ellie)
"I investigated the situation for at least a month I think and then we went to Roult islands, I was fighting with a monster and he meddled with my fight you know!" (Lia)
"How rude!" (Riya)
'They both already threw their logic down the drain!' (Ellie)
"But well, he at least carried me back to the ship on his back so I would not complain about it..." (Lia) (She omitted the part where Rio teased her for her boldness after getting drunk...)
While Lia continued to explain, Riya nodded her head continuously like she was Lia's lackey and was totally in agreement with Lia's exaggerated bluffs.
"Well, after that I continued to investigate him for a while..." (Lia)
'How long were you stalking him, girl!?" (Ellie) (Ellie doesn't know that Lia still does that stalking every once in a while...)
"Eventually, I never noticed when I ended up having feelings for him while doing all those investigations...." (Lia)
...
(Let me cook, guys...)
If any of you think that at the start of the story, Lia and Rio became a couple extremely fast then you are gravely mistaken.
Rio confessed to Lia at the New Year event, which means Lia had been stalking Rio for about six months by that time, she already had a ton of secret photos in her cabinet that she collected.
Even her personal maid is oblivious to how big Lia's 'collection' has become by now.
Simply speaking, Lia had already become a lot interested in Rio by that time.
Rio who had never felt the emotion of 'Like' in his past life became interested in Lia when she took care of him after he had fainted due to that mental battle with the named monster. (That octopus who was stalking Rio...)
All in all, both of them were unsure of their feeling around that time, but Rio was the type to never let go of a perfect opportunity, he saw the opportunity during the New Year festival and decided to seize that rare chance.
At the time Rio thought that instead of keeping these feelings hidden why not just tell her about it? (Rio was actually prepared to get rejected by her that day...)
Originally, Rio just confessed on the spot and was prepared to be slapped on the face due to his sudden confession, but fortunately, that never happened.
Lia was already interested in him and that sudden confession became the reason why she wasn't able to reject him either.
She also went with the flow and they both ended up becoming a couple without them noticing when they both fell for each other.
Days went by and they both ended up understanding each other more and more, eventually, their relationship had become so solid that there was no flaw in it.
Rio and Lia both are training maniacs who train and fight like brutes, they end up becoming so well accustomed to each other that directly ignore each other's flaws.
Rio got used to handling Lia's 'tsundere' personality and Lia got accustomed to Rio's 'emotionlessness'.
Moreover, they got the support and approval from Lia's father on the very first meeting. Lia's father acknowledged Rio the very moment he saw that photo where Lia was laughing while she accompanied Rio.
For him, his daughter's happiness was what mattered most. And since Rio was capable of making her smile, he allowed Rio to take his daughter's hand.
(If Rio went to propose marriage today, her father would personally arrange everything for the two of them to get married... in fact, her father might like Rio more than his own daughter...)
...
"And then we went on several dates.... You know, I had to plan every date, he didn't even know how to play 'cards', that guy literally had no idea on how to have fun!" (Lia)
"What? Even I know how to play cards..." (Riya)
Lia nodded her head in agreement.
"I was surprised too, I had to teach him about it myself... you see, aside from training to become stronger, he doesn't really do anything in his free time at all!" (Lia)
Talking about that a slight blush appeared on her face as she thought to herself.
'That perv! In his free time, he likes to tease me all the time! Hmph!' (Lia)
Lia was the first-hand victim of Rio's devilish teasing techniques, she sometimes doubted that he had taken a proper course on how to tease her more efficiently.
"Well, Link is like that too, he trains all the time, even though he is so strong, I sometimes feel like he puts too much pressure on himself…" (Riya)
Then suddenly Riya glanced at the girl who had been walking silently all this time and she asked Riko with a curious look.
"What about you Senpai? How did the two of you become a couple?" (Riya)
Riko who had been walking with a stern look all this time was surprised by Riya's sudden question.
A troubled look appeared on her face.
"Uh… we are not a couple you see, Zach is just a friend of mine…" (Riko)
"Huh? But then why would you stare at him all the time-" (Riya)
Before Riya could spout any more nonsense, Lia hurriedly stuffed another donut in her mouth to make her stop talking.
Riko shook her head.
"No no, you might have some misunderstanding, I don't think of Zach in that way, in the first place I don't have feelings for him either…" (Riko)
She further said:
"I don't have the leisure to be playing house, I have other important things to do, I can't indulge myself in these things…" (Riko)
A determined look appeared on Riko's face when she said that. She seems to have a more important goal to achieve, than wasting her time dating someone.
"I-I see, I guess everyone has their opinions…" (Lia)
'I feel like she might have a very stubborn personality…' (Lia)
"But, a friendly advice from me Senpai, 'it's never good to focus on revenge too much', I know those eyes as I have experienced it myself… make sure you don't end up burning yourself out in those flames of revenge…" (Lia)
Lia seemed to have seen right through Riko's heart in just a matter of seconds.
'I know those eyes all too well, she's heading the same way that I was going…' (Lia)
Riko shook her head at Lia's advice.
"It doesn't matter, as long as the result is good, I don't care about the process…" (Riko)
'Sigh~ I know she won't listen, just like I never did…' (Lia)
Lia shook her head in helplessness and stopped thinking about this matter.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, the four of them continued to head towards the beach slowly.
…
At the same time.
A faraway café.
*drip**drip*
Tears dripped from the eyes of a young boy who had been smiling for a while now.
"Huh, wha-what happened Senpai!? Are you okay!?" (Link)
"Are you feeling unwell Senpai!?" (Liam)
All three of them panicked when they saw Zach crying all of a sudden.
Just a few seconds ago, all four of them were having a leisurely chat, when Zach suddenly went silent and after a few seconds tears fell from his eyes.
Ignoring the other three's look of concern, Zach hurriedly wiped his tears and put up his usual smile again on his face.
"Eh, no, it's nothing, something went in my eyes, that's all… haha let's order something else to eat, it's my treat guys!" (Zach)
All three of them looked at Zach with confused eyes. They all seemed to be bewildered by his sudden mood swings, and all of them had the same question in their mind.
'What just happened!?'
Grand Market, Main area.
A group of four girls could be seen walking towards the beach, they all were wearing the uniform of the great Freya academy and people gave way to them as they passed by them.
"By the way, how did the two of you meet actually? I think you two have been together from the start..." (Riya)
While nibbling on those tasty-looking donuts that Riya bought after leaving the clothing store, she asked Lia a question that had been bugging her for a long time:
Hearing Riya's question, Lia smiled and replied.
"Hmm, if it's the first meeting then I would say, I first met him during that first practical combat test the academy had conducted..." (Lia)
A slight blush appeared on Lia's face as she explained:
"I was about to get injured by the boss monster of that dungeon... he suddenly appeared out of nowhere and split the monster into several pieces..." (Lia)
Thinking about that, a pout appeared on her face:
"That idiot! Hmph! He didn't even bother taking me to the infirmary and left after killing that monster... and when I asked him about it later, you know what he said?" (Lia)
Riya stuffed her mouth with donuts and listened to Lia's story with great interest. Even Ellie and Riko were listening to this conversation silently from behind.
"What did he say?" (Riya)
"hmph! That idiot! He said if you want to repay my kindness, then pay me money for saving your life!" (Lia)
"What!? How rude! Is that how you should be talking to your future girlfriend!?" (Riya)
Hearing the two of them ignore the fact that 'Rio didn't even know her at the time', Ellie who was the most knowledgeable in the group shook her head in helplessness.
'When it comes to these types of things, I feel like Riya and Lia both forget about logic....' (Ellie)
"Indeed! I was so angry after that! I went ahead and ran a full background check on him, then I personally investigated him for several days, you know!" (Lia)
'That's not investigation! You were stalking him!' (Ellie)
"I investigated the situation for at least a month I think and then we went to Roult islands, I was fighting with a monster and he meddled with my fight you know!" (Lia)
"How rude!" (Riya)
'They both already threw their logic down the drain!' (Ellie)
"But well, he at least carried me back to the ship on his back so I would not complain about it..." (Lia) (She omitted the part where Rio teased her for her boldness after getting drunk...)
While Lia continued to explain, Riya nodded her head continuously like she was Lia's lackey and was totally in agreement with Lia's exaggerated bluffs.
"Well, after that I continued to investigate him for a while..." (Lia)
'How long were you stalking him, girl!?" (Ellie) (Ellie doesn't know that Lia still does that stalking every once in a while...)
"Eventually, I never noticed when I ended up having feelings for him while doing all those investigations...." (Lia)
...
(Let me cook, guys...)
If any of you think that at the start of the story, Lia and Rio became a couple extremely fast then you are gravely mistaken.
Rio confessed to Lia at the New Year event, which means Lia had been stalking Rio for about six months by that time, she already had a ton of secret photos in her cabinet that she collected.
Even her personal maid is oblivious to how big Lia's 'collection' has become by now.
Simply speaking, Lia had already become a lot interested in Rio by that time.
Rio who had never felt the emotion of 'Like' in his past life became interested in Lia when she took care of him after he had fainted due to that mental battle with the named monster. (That octopus who was stalking Rio...)
All in all, both of them were unsure of their feeling around that time, but Rio was the type to never let go of a perfect opportunity, he saw the opportunity during the New Year festival and decided to seize that rare chance.
At the time Rio thought that instead of keeping these feelings hidden why not just tell her about it? (Rio was actually prepared to get rejected by her that day...)
Originally, Rio just confessed on the spot and was prepared to be slapped on the face due to his sudden confession, but fortunately, that never happened.
Lia was already interested in him and that sudden confession became the reason why she wasn't able to reject him either.
She also went with the flow and they both ended up becoming a couple without them noticing when they both fell for each other.
Days went by and they both ended up understanding each other more and more, eventually, their relationship had become so solid that there was no flaw in it.
Rio and Lia both are training maniacs who train and fight like brutes, they end up becoming so well accustomed to each other that directly ignore each other's flaws.
Rio got used to handling Lia's 'tsundere' personality and Lia got accustomed to Rio's 'emotionlessness'.
Moreover, they got the support and approval from Lia's father on the very first meeting. Lia's father acknowledged Rio the very moment he saw that photo where Lia was laughing while she accompanied Rio.
For him, his daughter's happiness was what mattered most. And since Rio was capable of making her smile, he allowed Rio to take his daughter's hand.
(If Rio went to propose marriage today, her father would personally arrange everything for the two of them to get married... in fact, her father might like Rio more than his own daughter...)
...
"And then we went on several dates.... You know, I had to plan every date, he didn't even know how to play 'cards', that guy literally had no idea on how to have fun!" (Lia)
"What? Even I know how to play cards..." (Riya)
Lia nodded her head in agreement.
"I was surprised too, I had to teach him about it myself... you see, aside from training to become stronger, he doesn't really do anything in his free time at all!" (Lia)
Talking about that a slight blush appeared on her face as she thought to herself.
'That perv! In his free time, he likes to tease me all the time! Hmph!' (Lia)
Lia was the first-hand victim of Rio's devilish teasing techniques, she sometimes doubted that he had taken a proper course on how to tease her more efficiently.
"Well, Link is like that too, he trains all the time, even though he is so strong, I sometimes feel like he puts too much pressure on himself…" (Riya)
Then suddenly Riya glanced at the girl who had been walking silently all this time and she asked Riko with a curious look.
"What about you Senpai? How did the two of you become a couple?" (Riya)
Riko who had been walking with a stern look all this time was surprised by Riya's sudden question.
A troubled look appeared on her face.
"Uh… we are not a couple you see, Zach is just a friend of mine…" (Riko)
"Huh? But then why would you stare at him all the time-" (Riya)
Before Riya could spout any more nonsense, Lia hurriedly stuffed another donut in her mouth to make her stop talking.
Riko shook her head.
"No no, you might have some misunderstanding, I don't think of Zach in that way, in the first place I don't have feelings for him either…" (Riko)
She further said:
"I don't have the leisure to be playing house, I have other important things to do, I can't indulge myself in these things…" (Riko)
A determined look appeared on Riko's face when she said that. She seems to have a more important goal to achieve, than wasting her time dating someone.
"I-I see, I guess everyone has their opinions…" (Lia)
'I feel like she might have a very stubborn personality…' (Lia)
"But, a friendly advice from me Senpai, 'it's never good to focus on revenge too much', I know those eyes as I have experienced it myself… make sure you don't end up burning yourself out in those flames of revenge…" (Lia)
Lia seemed to have seen right through Riko's heart in just a matter of seconds.
'I know those eyes all too well, she's heading the same way that I was going…' (Lia)
Riko shook her head at Lia's advice.
"It doesn't matter, as long as the result is good, I don't care about the process…" (Riko)
'Sigh~ I know she won't listen, just like I never did…' (Lia)
Lia shook her head in helplessness and stopped thinking about this matter.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, the four of them continued to head towards the beach slowly.
…
At the same time.
A faraway café.
*drip**drip*
Tears dripped from the eyes of a young boy who had been smiling for a while now.
"Huh, wha-what happened Senpai!? Are you okay!?" (Link)
"Are you feeling unwell Senpai!?" (Liam)
All three of them panicked when they saw Zach crying all of a sudden.
Just a few seconds ago, all four of them were having a leisurely chat, when Zach suddenly went silent and after a few seconds tears fell from his eyes.
Ignoring the other three's look of concern, Zach hurriedly wiped his tears and put up his usual smile again on his face.
"Eh, no, it's nothing, something went in my eyes, that's all… haha let's order something else to eat, it's my treat guys!" (Zach)
All three of them looked at Zach with confused eyes. They all seemed to be bewildered by his sudden mood swings, and all of them had the same question in their mind.
'What just happened!?'
