Knock. Knock. A sound interrupted Yuel’s thoughts. Apparently, somebody was at the door.

“Hey!” Luke opened the door. “Lars, it’s your girlfriend again!”

“I-I’m not...!” Julia was there, spearing Luke with her glare. Her face was slowly, but surely, turning into a tomato.

“Oh, you two aren’t an item yet?” Luke snickered. “Then, how about you go out with me?”

“In your dreams.” Julia scoffed.

“Wow!” Luke staggered backward as if he received a fatal blow. “The way she plays hard to get is so damn nice.”

“You better drop it,” Yuel advised quietly. “She’s prone to losing her cool. Trust me, you don’t want to be on the receiving end of her fury.”

“Heh, sounds like you got first-hand experience with that.”

“Yeah, I’m practically a pro in the field. It wouldn’t be strange for somebody to sponsor me.”

“Haha, damn.” Luke smiled awkwardly. “Sounds like she’s a difficult gal.”

“You have no idea.” Yuel sighed deeply.

“She does act cute around Lars, tho,” Luke pointed out.

“She sure does.” Yuel made a face. “Lars is about the only person I’ve seen her act nice around. Everybody else is on her blacklist.”

“Gotta admit, she sounds more attractive by the moment.”

“How, exactly?” Yuel narrowed his eyes. “Are you into masochism?”

“Haha, nah it’s ain’t like that,” Luke reassured. “She just sounds like a tough chick to conquer, that’s all.”

“If you aren’t already her love interest, then you probably have no chance.”

“Challenges like that are the best!”

“If you say so.” Yuel shrugged.

Honestly, he had no idea what Luke was on about. It sounded like the guy liked throwing himself at impossible challenges. Then again, that was a fitting attitude for somebody who insisted to play memes on the competitive scene. As always, I can’t begin to comprehend this guy.

While Yuel and Luke were whispering, Lars went to greet Julia at the door. The two exchanged some words.

Lars was all smiles and sunshine, but Julia’s expression was stiff. She plastered a cute smile on it, a thing she has always done around Lars. But, the girl wasn’t amused at all. Yuel could tell at a glance because he was a pro at dealing with her.

Well, she probably came to see Lars, so it’s no my business. Yuel ignored the scene and returned to his brainstorming.

But, just as he started turning the gears in his brain again, he felt a prickling sensation at the back of his neck. His hair stood to an end for no obvious reason.

I know this feeling. Yuel sighed in resignation. There was only one person whose glare could spark static electricity in the air.

Yuel reluctantly turned around, only to confirm his suspicion. Two sharp eyes were spearing him with obvious killing intent. Julia was glaring at him, and she wasn’t amused.

What is it this time? Yuel sighed and dragged his feet to the door. Did she come to chew us out for losing? I don’t have time for this. I need to come up with a backup plan in case any of our classes gets banned.

But, of course, the rude invader didn’t care about any of that. She came here to complain, so she was going to unleash all her fury without holding anything back. Sigh.

“What is it?” Yuel asked.

“I’ve been asking about the two games you just had,” Julia explained. “What was that all about? Are you stupid or something?”

Starting off with insults, I see. Yuel wanted to get angry, but he didn’t have the energy for that. This was the usual deal with Julia, so Yuel has already developed an Anti-Julia passive ability at this point.

"It's as you saw," Yuel said plainly. "We lost."

"Yeah, I have eyes, thank you very much.” Julia scoffed. “What I’m asking is, what the bloody hell- Ahem. I mean, what was that all about? Why aren't you taking this seriously?" 

"But I told you, July," Lars insisted. "We were totally serious. These dudes are just that good." 

"You were serious? Really? Then, what's with that formation?" Julia's expression conveyed obvious doubt. "And, if you were really 'serious' that game and you still lost so badly to some B-grade team, then I don't wanna know you anymore."

"Haha, harsh." Lars laughed dryly and sent an SOS to Yuel.

You want me to handle this? Yuel made a face. Really? Me? The guy she hates more than anybody? Is this some sort of harassment? It got to be, right? And, thinking of it, I totally deserve it.

This entire situation was Yuel's fault, so it only made sense for him to handle it. After all, Lars was against this formation all along. The guy has been insisted to play Carry since day 1.

It was Yuel who decided to entertain Kai's selfishness for so long. Of course, he had additional reasons for agreeing to that deal, such as helping Lars develop independence by playing Mid. But, that was something they could've practiced at any time.

In the end, no matter how Yuel tried to sugarcoat it, this was a mistake he committed. And, by not sharing the details with Julia, Lars was actually covering for Yuel here. 

I have to clean up my own mess. Yuel resolved himself. As the culprit, it was his responsibility to appease the vicious beast in front of him. "I'm the one responsible for that formation."

"Aha!" Julia exclaimed. "I knew you were the one to blame! As always, it's you and your stupid decisions that ruin everything."

"I had my reasons."

"Oh, you did? Really? Pray tell."

"I don't think I'm obligated to share such information with an enemy."

"Wha-!?" Julia exclaimed. She opened and closed her mouth like a gaping fish. Clearly, she didn't have a good retort to this one.

"Haha." Lars patted Yuel on the shoulder. "C'mon, dude. Don't be mean like that. We're all friends, right?"

"Sure." Are we, though? Yuel wasn't really confident about that point. They played on opposite teams and they didn't interact much nowadays. Honestly, it was a stretch to still call them "friends".

Nevertheless, they were close friends at one point in time, even with all the bad blood between them. So, maybe that kind of cold treatment was really uncalled for.

"Okay, I'll tell you one thing," Yuel said. "You were asking about our formation, right?" 

"Yeah, it makes no sense! Why Lars isn't the Carry? And, you don't have to be the Support for all I care, but the current Support you got is even worse than you, and that says a lot."

"Well, you see, there was a really good reason to use that formation."

"Oh? I'm all ears."

"It's because people like you are here."

"Eh?" Julia tilted her head. "Are you trying to pick a fight?" 

"No, I'm just stating facts. There are people like you in the audience today. Namely, spies from other teams."

"Oh." Julia blinked. It seemed like she completely forgot her own role in all of this.

"I was trying to keep information leaks to a minimum," Yuel explained. "I didn't want to reveal our full strength to other teams just yet.”

"Oh, really!?" Lars jumped.

Why are you acting surprised!? Yuel wanted to facepalm so badly. You should be backing me up here! 

"O-Oh, right!" Lars forced a grin. "Yeah, you totally said something like that before. I remember now! It was some sick 200 IQ tactic, yo!" 

"Really?" Julia examined them with suspicion. Apparently, she wasn't entirely convinced. 

Well, half of it is a lie. Yuel admitted silently.

It was true he wanted to conceal as much data as possible from the spies, but it was a consideration he only came up with after agreeing to play this formation. In other words, it was a post-facto excuse he came with to justify his poor decision.

"Hmm." Julia gave it some careful thought. It sounded a little bogus, but it made sense. After all, she herself was a spy tasked with reporting this game to Howard. Naturally, other teams had their own representatives here as well. Yuel being Yuel, he came up with a stupid plan to confuse the spies.

But, that plan backfired. It was no good anymore.

"I understand what you were trying to do," Julia said. "But, you better not be planning to do it again next game."

"Nah, don't worry," Lars reassured. "Next game, we're going all out!" 

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear." Julia nodded in approval and turned around. "Sorry for taking your time. Good luck in the next game."

"You better watch it." Lars grinned. "We gonna show them the business!" 

"You better do," Julia smiled softly. On that note, she left.

Looks like I didn't have to worry after all. Julia thought. Well, I was only worried about Lars anyway. Yuel can keep playing whatever he wants. Lars doesn't need him to shine anyway.

Finally, Julia could sigh in relief. She rushed to this room all anxious, but now she was at peace. If it's Lars and Yuel in Bot, then they won’t lose to a team like Taurus.

Rather, they not ALLOWED to lose. Julia thought. They can't lose until they get to face me. I'll be the one to crush them!

And so, the final game of the scrimmage was about to begin. It was the final showdown between Stratus and Taurus. But, with Lars and Yuel playing their main roles, it'll surely be a cakewalk... right?