Chapter 275: Epilogue 34 - Training Luca

Luca felt his body hit the ground once again. As frustrated as he was, there was nothing he could do; he had been defeated once again.

"Good match," Zoe announced. "Now, our training ends here. You guys can go take a shower and change clothes!" she said, already beginning to clean up in her dojo.

Following her dream, the girl had continued to train in martial arts, and after competing in a few official tournaments and winning them, she was back to her life as a trainer.

She wanted to settle down, planning to finally have a baby with Liam, but that would be a subject for another time.

Meanwhile, she was giving martial arts classes in the Harem Village. The monster girls had a lot to learn and improve on under her. The MILFs and other girls wanted to train to keep their bodies in top shape for Liam. And finally, there were a few kids who simply benefited from the exercise.

Luca was a special student because he was close to Liam and Seraphina’s younger brother. Besides, he was super dedicated, and even if he was only thirteen and a bit younger than his classmates, he was one of the best students.

But aside from him, there were other students, girls and boys whose families had moved to the Harem Village for many reasons.

Zoe wiped down the last mat, collected the stray training pads, and gave the dojo one final look. Satisfied with the cleanliness, she flicked off the lights and slid the heavy wooden door shut behind her, heading toward the village’s main house.

Outside, the late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the training yard. Luca sat on a low wooden bench, rewrapping his knuckles, when a familiar voice cut through the air.

"Hey, Luca. Still licking your wounds?"

He looked up to see Iris walking toward him. She was sixteen, with long, platinum-blonde hair that she wore in a deliberately messy high ponytail, a few strands always falling across her face.

Her training gi was tied far too loosely at the top, revealing the sharp line of her collarbone and the lace edge of a sports bra. She was totally unladylike, not worrying about things like that.

Her lips curled into a perpetual half-smirk, and her eyes held the teasing, provocative glint of someone who loved annoying others, and she especially loved annoying Luca.

Luca sighed, looking away from her, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing his smug smile.

"What do you want, Iris?"

"Talk to you. Isn’t it obvious?" she replied teasingly. "Besides, I also brought you a candy. I’m sure you are starving for sugar after all this training."

"A candy?" Luca asked, his body shivering.

"Yep."

The boy couldn’t resist the offer, his tongue already craving a sweet taste. So he finally turned toward her, then he froze.

The candy she was offering was already in her mouth, hovering teasingly as she looked at him. It was a pocky, a long shape pointing straight at Luca.

For a moment, neither of them spoke, and Luca’s face turned bright red, just like a tomato. He averted his gaze quickly.

"I-I’m not eating that!"

"Eh?" Iris blinked innocently. "Why not?"

"You know why!"

A mischievous smile spread across her face. She leaned toward him, almost forcing the candy against his mouth.

"Coward," she murmured.

Luca nearly choked. "How does that make me a coward?!"

"Coward, coward, you’re such a stupid coward," she repeated, barely managing to hold back her laughter.

Having her face that close was already too much for Luca. He quickly looked away, his ears burning red.

He was just too easy to tease. Iris popped the candy into her own mouth and chewed it triumphantly before finally taking pity on him.

"Well, since you’re hopeless, here." She dropped an orange gum into his hand. "You can have this one."

Luca grumbled but accepted it.

"There, you can take it," she said, looking toward the horizon. "Oh! It seems your dad is already here to pick you up."

Luca followed her gaze and immediately spotted Liam.

"He’s not my dad," Luca said for what felt like the thousandth time. "He’s just dating my sister."

"Uh-huh."

"He isn’t!" Iris barely listened. Instead, she stared at Liam with open admiration. "Wow... he looks even cooler up close."

Luca frowned.

"Seriously, my mother envies your sister so much."

"What?"

"She says all women wish they could get his attention. Anyway, bye-bye!"

She suddenly turned and started jogging away.

"Where are you going now?"

"Cardio! You should do it too," she shouted while running backward. "If I stop training, you’ll never catch up to me!"

Then she burst out laughing and sprinted away before he could retaliate. Luca was left standing there, still blushing.

For some reason, hearing her praise Liam had left an unpleasant feeling in his chest. A few moments later, Liam arrived.

"Ready to go home?"

Luca narrowed his eyes. "No," he said, pouting cutely, in a way Liam had never seen.

Could it be that he was finally showing his rebellious side? It was so cute, Liam couldn’t stop himself from smiling softly.

"Why not?" he asked.

"I challenge you to a duel," Luca said with determined eyes, pointing at Liam.

The man blinked in surprise, looking down at the kid who, at most, reached half his size. There was no way this would be fair.

"Okay, come on, then..." Liam said, unsure what to answer. Anyway, he just needed to be careful so Luca wouldn’t hurt himself by accident.

The boy charged forward aggressively, wanting to show all his power, but... the duel lasted approximately three seconds.

Liam casually grabbed one ankle, and suddenly, Luca found himself hanging upside down in the air.

"Put me down!" the kid screamed, flailing his arms and kicking his legs in an attempt to break free.

"No."

"This is cheating!"

"How?"

"You’re bigger than me!"

"That tends to happen when you’re thirteen," Liam chuckled. "And there is not much I can do about my size. You are the one who needs to grow up."

Luca swung his arms wildly, trying to reach him, but Liam simply held him a bit farther away. Not that he would get hurt even if Luca managed to hit him.

"Release me!"

"You were the one who asked for a duel." Liam threw him up in the air, making Luca spin a few times before catching him again. "So you need to be the one to surrender after being defeated. So what do you say, do you surrender?"

Luca hesitated for a second. Truth to be told, being thrown in the air was actually fun, but there was no point in continuing with that, and he really wanted to be back on the ground.

"I surrender!"

"Okay." Liam tossed him to the ground, half expecting the boy to fall on his butt, but the boy managed to land on his feet properly.

Luca attempted one final desperate attack by flailing like an angry cat. However, his opponent saw the attack coming from a mile away, and it accomplished absolutely nothing.

Liam effortlessly carried him toward the car by one leg while Luca continued protesting. Soon, the little boy got too tired to continue with all of that.

"So, are you going to tell me why you wanted a duel out of nowhere?" Liam asked. "Unless you want me holding you like that for the rest of the day?"

After a moment of hesitation, the boy finally revealed the truth, which nearly made Liam laugh out loud.

So it was all because of that girl, Iris, on whom Luca obviously had a crush, despite refusing to admit it.

"You don’t need to worry about it. She’s just a kid, and I have no relationship with her," Liam said with a chuckle, trying to hold back his laughter. "Besides, she’s in love with you. By the way, you should probably make your move soon. Stop being a pussy." Liam smacked the back of his head in a friendly way.

"What do you mean, she’s in love with me?" Luca asked, blushing deeply. Not only did his face turn red, but it seemed like his entire body was blushing.

"Wait, you haven’t noticed yet?" Liam asked, blinking in surprise. But then again, Luca was young, so it was to be expected. "I don’t think it could be any more obvious than that. She looks at you all the time, she always wants to tease you, to be your opponent. She is deeply in love."

"Are you sure?" Luca asked, his voice small.

"Completely sure. Think about it: she shows up at every single one of your classes, she only ever picks on you, and she gave you candy she’d already put in her own mouth. That’s not how you treat someone you find annoying. That’s how you treat someone you like." ℴ

The boy peeked at him through his fingers. "And what do I do, then?"

"Keep training. Get stronger and call her for a date," Liam said. "You are a great guy already, so don’t sell yourself short, and things will work out."

The boy was quiet for a long moment, turning the words over in his head. Then something shifted in his expression, the embarrassment fading, replaced by a small, burning spark of determination.

"Then I’ll get even stronger," he declared, clenching his small fists. "Stronger than anyone in class. Stronger than... than even you one day!"

Liam laughed, warm and genuine. "Now that’s the spirit. I’ll be waiting for that duel rematch, then. Make sure it lasts longer than three seconds next time."

"It will!" Luca promised, puffing out his chest. "And... Liam?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," Luca said.