THAT DAY I BECAME A STAR

"It is almost finished." Looking at the time remaining in the hourglass, they only have two minutes remaining.

"You think it is Germinia, Sir?" One of the green lights is making its way back to us at an incredible speed. Since I didn't pay much attention after Peter came back, I don't really know who is who.

"Yes, it's her. But the problem is that she is alone." That green light is coming back alone while there are two others following her closely. Aside from them, there are two others groups of lights, each with three lights.

"So that means Cordel is fighting two guys while Samson and Keltia are fighting two as well."

"Those guys are very well trained, it seems." Frankher seems irritated.. I guess he didn't plan for this.

Another explosion resounds and one of the green lights that were chasing Germinia disappears. Frankher nods his head while a guy from Mohana appears with a light. I guess it reduces the load on Germinia a bit.

"I am sorry, Sir, I got careless."

"It's okay. Winning isn't our best interest now anyway."

I hear the hammer hands talking with his students and what he says bothers me. Winning isn't their best interest? How? What are they here for then?

Though, now that I think about it, it seems true. None of their team members seem to be looking for their designated object. Could it be that really are just here for something else?

"Assessing our strength, is it? What foolishness." Frankher seems to have understood what they are doing.

"You think so, Sir?" Even Peter doubts it. I guess it is truly weird then.

"Yes. It is the only possible reason."

Right as he says that, we hear a tree falling then Germinia appears from the wood, holding the dagger in her hand, her helmet is gone and her head is slightly wounded. The student who was pursuing her also appears. His left arm seems to be dislocated as it is waving around aimlessly. Still, he is holding a crossbow with his other hand and manages to recharge a bolt on it using his mouth.

In midair, he releases his wind aura then aims and shoots at Germinia's foot but…

"Enough!" A wall of light appears and blocks it. "The eternal academy is the winner of the event. Tell the members on-site to stop the other students."

"Sir." The referee looks at one of his colleagues and he immediately goes inside the forest.

We won but it seems this tournament will be harder than we thought.

"It will take more than that to catch me, Shitheads!!!" Germinia turns to the guys on the hammer hands's side and insults them with rage. She must have lived a similar experience to Peter.

"Miss Highlander, please mind your language." The referee immediately reminds her of where we are.

"Tch!" She walks to the referee and gives him the dagger.

"Mohan's headmaster. Are there any objections to my decision?"

"No, there isn't."

"Good."

As the teacher says that, the teacher who disappeared in the forest reappears, and a series of bright lights follows his arrival. The different participants appear almost all at the same time. Cordel, Samson, and Keltia being with their armors moderately damaged while the guys from Mohana's academy are almost unscathed. Though, not all of them…

"So they have girls in their team, huh." One of them, a girl it seems, has suffered great damage. Her armor is broken here and there, her helmet is gone as well.

Her face is not something you would remember or forget easily. There are no extra features or anything that would attract your attention. A normal girl, so to speak.

But why does she look so…dead. Her eyes, her facial complexion…she doesn't really give off the vibe of somebody who is alive. I don't feel the signature of a crystal coming from her but from what Cissa told me and the fact that Thando has one inside him, there is a high chance that those guys are the same.

Which would means that the hammer's hands, no, maybe the whole school of Mohana is an ally to the Longinus. If so, I should probably tell Frankher about it but how to do that without raising suspicions on me, I will have to think about it fast.

***

"That first victory has a bitter taste to it, but still, we have won and that is the most important thing right now. Cheers!"

"CHEERS!"

As the night has fallen, we are all in the living room, enjoying our first victory with a glass of wine. The heroes are here as well and Farner is especially clingy tonight. Is there something going on? She is staying so close to me our bodies keep touching and bumping as soon as I move.

Moreover, Roxcia also looks really irritated. But I don't think it is because of me. Not this time, at least. Maybe I should talk with Excia. If I want to present the situation to Frankher, having the heroes, at least one of them by my side, would be a good thing. And Farner might not be the best person to talk to, she is too impulsive.

"But I have to admit, those guys were quite strong, even individually." Cordel engages the conversation about the event we won today. He has a triumphant smile.

"They were nothing. Just a bunch of dolls acting as they are told." And Germinia is the first to retaliate.

"Still, their strategy was good. Knowing that they couldn't win, they decide to gauge our strength first to devise a better tactic later on. I think that's a good way of thinking."

"If it brings them to the point of being suicidal, then that's not a strategy, it's just stupidity." It seems Peter is still angry about the way he got eliminated.

"Well…There are downsides to everything. But still…" Wait, that is enough to shut down the great Cordel. Who would have thought?

"You seem to dislike suicide." I am a bit curious about why Peter is so pissed off by what happened.

"Hmph! Unlike you, there are people here who value life. In the first place, do you even know what suicide means?" Don't act smart with me, man.

"I may not know the general meaning of it, but in this case, I know that those guys were and are ready to give up their lives for something they believe in. And that's admira-"

"NO!!! THERE IS NOTHING ADMIRABLE ABOUT IT!!"

Suddenly, Peter shouts like never before. I almost drop my glass from the surprise. The sound of a glass shattering breaks the silence that followed his shouts. Meanwhile, Peter advances to me and grabs me by the collar. I would like to read your thoughts right now but I don't see the point. I can understand already. That rage in your eyes speaks by itself.

"Peter, wait!" Keltia comes and tries to calm him down but he isn't even bulging.

"Listen carefully. There is nothing admirable about dying for other people or an ideal. That's just stupidity. Because once you are dead, you don't even know what will happen. Your ideal or whatever might even be crushed to the ground and buried as deep as possible that you wouldn't know."

"Still, you did it for something you believed in."

"AND SO WHAT? THAT'S JUST-"

"Don't you think it's because of those suicide as you call them that you are here?"

"W-What?"

I ended up reading your mind and it seems Peter got traumatized by a man who became his mentor when he joined Frankher. Apparently, the guy believed strongly that the church was hiding things from the people and got killed because of it. I wonder if the heroes know about it.

I remove Peter's hands on me and fix my shirt.

"You should think twice about the meaning and the background of one's actions before judging them. Else, you are just forcing your opinion on them."

"You are the last person who can say that!"

"Still, I do. Because I too, believed in something until my reality got shattered and broken. If you are going to judge just based on what I do when you don't know what I went through, there is no judgment, it is simple oppression."

"And why would I care about what you went through?! Do you think you are the only one who has seen shit?!!"

"You don't have to. But do remember your own words when you get angry."

"Tch!" Peter leaves the living room, walking in big strides.

Seeing as the mood in the room has been ruined, I guess it is time to go to my room. I walk to the hallway but Frankher stops me.

"Star of Mercuria, do not forget that your words carry weights and can influence people."

"I do try to but there are too many people thinking this world is all white when there is red and black everywhere to see."

Farner who is in the same line of sight as Frankher twitches her face as I say that. Yeah, it's true that as a hero, she must see a white and colorful world more than anybody else.

"Even so, please be gentler in your approach."

"I understand, Sir." Not that I will but I understand.