Chapter 289: Truly Scary

“Lady Carine!” a voice called out from the murmuring crowd around us, waiting for the next match.

I turned my head to find Lionne walking over with two small open boxes of cookies on each of her hand.

She sat down on her seat beside me and extended one of the cookie boxes to me, offering a slightly shaky smile.

“Sorry, I didn’t know what to get you, but these cookies look great, doesn’t it?”

Cookies for lunch, really?

At least it’s not an apple pie.

I reluctantly accepted the box, and my ice-cold face thankfully hid my disappointment. I began munching on them as the arena was being cleaned up in preparation for the next match.

Meanwhile, to my side, I could hear Lionne mumbling ever so slightly.

“Seriously, did he get the hint or not? I didn’t see him in the line for the skewers either…”

I let out a small chuckle as Feyt in my room, as I realized what Lionne was talking about.

Back when I met her in the arena entrance as Feyt, she was totally hinting at me to buy the skewers for Carine as a show of genuine care.

But… like hell I would just walk into that rumor bomb. If I did that, the chances of the crowd around us whistling or wooing us wouldn’t just be over zero; it would be near a hundred percent.

There should be plenty of other food options more suitable for lunch throughout those numerous stalls, but she only bought me cookies so that I would have room for the skewers Feyt was going to buy.

Which… wasn’t going to happen.

However, I really, really, couldn’t afford to eat just cookies for lunch, considering my match would take place on this exact same day.

I was thinking of just going down and buy some proper lunch myself, but I really didn’t want to miss anything in the arena while waiting in line. I needed my eyes on site at all times.

Should I just bite into the rumor and buy some food as Feyt? Convince Lionne that whatever it was that she was planning won’t work? Or should I risk missing an entertaining fight in the arena?

None of those options sounded particularly great.

If only Leila were here. I just had to tell her that I wouldn’t need anything for lunch today, since the stalls seemed plenty appetizing.

“Lady Carine, there you are,” a voice called out across the crowd again.

I turned to find none other than Villius, stripped of his gear I saw him last down in the sands and now back in his casual clothes. A simple dark blue buttoned shirt worn loosely over his dark long pants.

But what really caught my eye wasn’t his clothes. It was the sticks he held in both hands, a total of three meat kebabs. Two in one hand, one in the other.

Seeing those meat kebabs, my encounter with Marina re-entered my mind, and I leaned back by instinct at the sight of the meat.

“Villius?!” Lionne said in shock. “You’re not heading back to your dorm to rest?”

“Well, I lost…” he shrugged. “There’s really no point in heading back to rest now, is there?” he said with a light chuckle. “By the way, mind if I take this seat?” He gestured toward an empty seat right next to Lionne.

“O-Oh, actually, that seat’s for… Ugh, never mind.”

“Thanks,” Villius said with a gentle smile. He held out his hand, extending the two meat kebabs towards both of us.

“I figured you two might not have lunch yet, so I took the liberty of buying some. It’s the longest line in the stall, so I think they’ll be good.”

“W-Wow! Thanks, Villius!” Lionne took her kebab with reluctance, mumbling to herself. “Ugh, Feyt was supposed to buy this… Where is he, anyway? Did he not get the hint?”

I took the kebab right out of Villius’s extended hand, our fingers briefly brushing one another. After I grabbed my kebab, Villius pulled back his hand pretty fast. Almost faster than when he was swinging his sword.

“Thanks, Villius,” I said as Carine.

“I-It’s no problem at all, Lady Carine! Please, enjoy!”

I stared at the kebab intently. In Carine’s eyes, the precise marbling and glisten of the grease and sauce were far more detailed than they had been through Feyt’s eyes, but I wasn't sure if that helped or made my appetite worse.

Steeling myself, I brought it to my mouth and took a big bite.

I let out a slow sigh as I chewed. It was worse. It was definitely worse than it had tasted on Feyt’s tongue.

I already knew my two bodies tasted things quite differently, but this bite just felt... wrong. I couldn't tell if the meat genuinely tasted different or if Marina’s lingering influence from earlier was still souring my stomach.

Lionne turned to look at me, her brow furrowing slightly. “Lady Carine? Are you alright?”

“Nothing,” I murmured quietly, making sure Villius couldn’t hear me. “Just a little... disappointed.”

—

After downing the kebabs in a swift fashion, the next match was starting.

“Wonder which pairing is up next,” Lionne muttered.

“I have a feeling who it might be,” Villius said. “I ran into a certain someone when I made my way to the arena entrance.”

“Oh, really?” Lionne tilted her head, curious. “Who is it?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

...

"Ladies and gentlemen! Please welcome our next two contestants!"

The announcer gestured to the eastern gate.

“From the eastern gate, we have Viorre from Class Bison!”

The eastern gate rose as the student entered, dressed in heavy gear with a war axe and shield… looking almost like a Viking.

But, if Viorre was up next, and I remember the pairing from the bracket list clearly, then her opponent should be...

Then, the announcer gestured to the west.

“From the western gate, we have Clarissa from Class Raven!”

I knew it!

“Clarissa?!” Lionne blurted out with a bright sparkle in her eyes. “So it’s her turn now, huh? Hey, we should cheer for her! Heyyyy, Clarissaaaaa! Over here!!”

Lionne stood up and began waving her hands frantically, trying to catch Clarissa’s attention, but it didn’t work.

Clarissa continued to walk across the sand and eventually arrived at her designated spot. She wore some light leather gear along with a leather quiver carrying wooden arrows, with blunt, softened cotton tips, I assumed.

I held back a grin as I watched the two opponents take their place. This was a battle I mustn’t miss.

Clarissa stood calm on the arena sand, her eyes closed as she held her bow firmly. Her opponent, meanwhile, lowered her stance as she prepared to lunge forward at Clarissa first thing.

"Three... Two... One... Begin!!"

The moment the announcer rang out his voice, Clarissa’s eyes snapped open with sharp focus, instantly locking onto the armored bull charging toward her.

She quickly nocked an arrow and let her arrow loose. Her opponent raised a shield to block it. But the second she pulled the shield away to get line of sight on Clarissa again, another arrow was already flying through the air. It hit her straight in the head, earning an instant point for Clarissa.

Villius chuckled as the poor Viking girl picked herself up off the sand, looking thoroughly confused. “Clarissa is… as terrifying as she was back then.”

“You said it,” Lionne agreed, watching with awe. “She might actually be the best archer we have in the first years.”

After that, the second round started.

Having learned that peeking out from behind a shield was bad for her health, the Viking kept her guard locked tight and charged forward like a runaway freight train.

As she closed the gap, a cocky smirk broke across her face. She seemed to have thought getting within melee range of an archer meant automatic victory.

Yeah, from my own experience, that ain’t it.

The Viking girl swung her axe down right where Clarissa was standing. But instead of panicking, Clarissa braced her bow to catch the wooden shaft of the axe, sliding the axe’s momentum off to the side.

Before the Viking girl even realized she’d missed, Clarissa took a single step back, nocked an arrow, and delivered a point-blank shot right to the girl's face, sending her stumbling back with a hand over her nose.

"AND THAT’S A MATCH! A QUICK BACK-TO-BACK VICTORY BY CLARISSA OF CLASS RAVEN!"

The crowd exploded. Roars, cheers, and disbelief echoed off the arena walls, but up in our section, the vibe was a little different.

That… was officially the fastest match we’d seen yet. Not only was it a flawless, unscathed victory, but she’d wrapped up both rounds in under half a minute combined.

I turned to look at Villius and Lionne. Both of them were frozen solid, eyes open wide, mouths agape. Even though they already knew she was terrifying, that last stunt of hers must’ve painted a whole new picture.

And I had to admit, I feel the same way.

Down on the sand below, the high-stakes adrenaline seemed to finally fade from Clarissa's shoulders. The terrifying focus she had vanished, slowly being replaced by a girl who suddenly realized thousands of people were staring at her. She began looking around nervously, shifting from foot to foot looking around.

Then, her eyes swept past our row and locked right onto us.

Her entire face lit up. She gave us a huge, adorable smile, lifting her arm to give us a little wave.

The three of us reluctantly raised our hands and waved back.

I stared at her sweet, wholesome expression, then down at the Viking girl currently holding her nose in pain, and back to Clarissa again.

The way she quickly adapted, the way she took action without hesitation, and the way she did it all while staying calm…

She was going to be a truly scary opponent for sure…

And I couldn’t wait to fight her for real.