Brendu’s kiss left me frozen. My brain stopped working more than when I reached Sapphire rank or when I obtained a Law related to dragons, even my mental skill is wavering, for a moment I thought I wouldn’t be able to remain steady and composed.
This kiss, this action means more than I thought at first, a single kiss is capable of paralyzing this continent. We’ve always walked hand in hand, embraced each other and openly shown the affection we feel for one another no matter what others think.
We’ve even appeared in many publications from companies dedicated to rumors about powerful and influential people. Many times I’ve been labeled as the princess’s trophy husband or we’ve been called the most beautiful young couple on the continent, but we had never kissed in public.
I remember once being called: The Luckiest Womanizer. That company exposed my relationship with Brendu, Sol, Arisa and Marga; I don’t know how they obtained such detailed information.
This kiss confirms what many noble houses, gossip lovers and others already knew, my relationship with the princess of a kingdom.
Sol, Marga and Arisa will probably take even bolder actions in public the next time we see each other. They won’t fall behind in this, they’ll surely want to show the world our relationship in one way or another.
“Thank you. You know what this kiss means, right?” I ask Brendu.
I can’t lie to myself, I’m happy to have been kissed in this moment and to show the world our love, I just would have preferred it in a less public place and at the same time with the four of them.
She smiles, unable to speak because I gently push her aside with my Imra. The rest of my teammates are already close to me, Humyr didn’t care about the situation at all and jumped straight at us, I moved Brendu away so she wouldn’t get dragged down.
My body receives a heavy impact from the big guy, sending me crashing into the coliseum sand. Bruk also throws himself onto us to join the celebration. I can hear them saying something, it’s just hard to understand because of the stadium noise and my friends’ shouts are barely audible.
“Move, you two.” Shawu tries to push them away. She’s forced to reinforce her body with mana to move both of them after a few attempts. “You did it, you really did it.” She helps me up and gives me a tight hug.
Brak and Ogine congratulate me as well, though their congratulations are calmer and more reserved.
“You really pushed me to third place.” Areci’s voice is calm and I can hear the happiness in her words, her wide smile confirms it.
“I promised I’d beat him and I did.” I wink at my friend. I’ve kept my promise to surpass him and take first place for now.
I think no one will be able to surpass me in speed to defeat the monster, there are four very talented people left considered geniuses across the continent. I don’t know if they’re stronger or weaker than me, I just don’t see myself being beaten in this test.
We all move outside the coliseum, heading to a VIP box where we can enjoy the rest of the tournament. As a participating school we’re given a preferential box, but being the organizing school with many influential figures has given us the advantage of having one of the best boxes in the coliseum.
“Congratulations to you too, Brendu.” Areci’s voice draws our attention. “I didn’t think you’d be brave enough to kiss Maki in front of the entire continent.” She says it with a mischievous smile, almost teasing her friend.
“You know me, I don’t like anyone else touching what’s mine… well, we’re already sharing, but I wanted to send a clear message to the rest of the women in the world.” Brendu grips my arm tightly. “Someone is standing out too much and that will attract unwanted attention.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Brendu’s eyes are judging me, I’m firmly ignoring her gaze. I’ve learned that lesson many times while living with the four of them, there are situations where it’s better to say nothing and pretend ignorance.
We start talking about various topics while the matches continue. Some of my friends knew the other participants for different reasons, they’ve fought them in tournaments, noble gatherings or powerful family events, or they had simply heard about them.
I’m still the same as years ago, I have no idea who most of the participants are. I’m not very involved in the aristocratic world and for now I still don’t have much desire to participate, I feel like I’m lying to myself, telling myself I’ll learn faces and names soon, yet I keep postponing it more and more.
The tournament continues, now we’re all paying attention to someone I do know. Another limit breaker I’ve already faced in the past, the star of the Merno Kingdom: Jefran Valla.
The boy with ice and mist affinity is ready to begin his fight. His final time was 3 seconds and 79 hundredths.
The ogre never had a chance, it was attacked by multiple ice spells while its body was bound by mist. It was beaten from start to finish. I can see clear fury on Jefran’s face, he doesn’t look happy at all, he hasn’t lost that shitty attitude, his manners are still garbage.
He didn’t react at all to his teammates’ congratulations, I can even see some fear on their faces when they speak to that bastard.
I relax after a moment because it’s not my business, as long as he stays away from my matters like he has throughout this tournament I won’t pay him any attention. I don’t want to stress over something that isn’t worth it.
The next person on my list of interesting people didn’t take long to appear. He walks calmly with his spear in hand toward the teleportation platform. There’s not a trace of concern on him.
His spear is black and gold, with a captivating design and it might even be of better quality than my Thundersnow Fangs.
Brendu and Areci explained about him a few days ago, this boy is the adopted son of two Obsidian ranks. No one knows whether it was coincidence or the powerful love of parents who never expected to have children that a miracle happened.
The adopted son inherited the light affinity and was born with talent for the spear, the mother is one of the best light magic users in the world and the father is known as one of the best living spear users.
The child was raised strictly to be a good person, he never lacked love or understanding. In gratitude toward his parents, Saule decided to become someone equal or even better than them, he began training every day until exhaustion.
His parents disagreed at first, they know how hard life is when you aim for the very top, but after watching him train alone for months they decided to train him themselves, at that moment all his talents bloomed like a flower in spring.
Saule, with perfectly groomed yellow hair, eyes of the same color, a well-built body and a cold mind, is a complicated opponent. He already defeated the ogre, he simply closed his eyes while waiting to be teleported back, his time is something that could have awaited me: 3 seconds and 21 hundredths, the same time as Areci.
The last interesting person from my point of view is another boy. He’s a genius in the use of magic and was naturally blessed with 4 affinities: Water, Fire, Rock, Wind and Darkness, he also has great mastery over 2 supreme affinities: Space and Death.
Both will be a huge headache if I have to face them, they’re ridiculously strong, at the same time I feel excited about fighting them.
The time of the most talented mage in recent years was: 3 seconds and 23 hundredths. Placing him in fifth position in the tournament. Brunu has black hair, narrow obsidian-black eyes and is slim but not skeletal.
One of them tied Areci’s time, the other finished behind. That doesn’t matter right now, I’ve noticed something more interesting about them, both held back a little, they didn’t show their best and are hiding aces up their sleeves.
Every limit breaker who participated in this event gave their best within their limits, they held back in some way or that’s my opinion.
The tournament advanced without much trouble, little by little all the schools finished. The crowd kept cheering until the very last moment. We peacefully enjoyed our gathering in the box.
We’re sure we’ve qualified for the final round, where the fights will be individual. Before that last event we must participate in school combat, everyone against everyone.
“What do you want to do in these two days of rest?” Brendu rests her head on my shoulder.
“I was thinking about training, but I’ve changed my mind.” She looks at me, waiting for my next words. “I just want to rest at home with you and enjoy the festival. I don’t know if I’ll be able to come in the following years.”
She agrees with me, we’ll need to use some kind of mask or item to hide our faces, otherwise it’ll be torture walking among so many people, we’ve both become very popular.