And so the next morning, it was noticeably livelier on the whole school. Half of it because of the Pacifics’ visit, and the other is because of the news of who Minato’s father is has already spread among the students.

“…yeah, I shouldn’t be surprised at the newspaper club at this point.” Sigulf commented while watching Minato being surrounded.

“Kyaa! It’s Sanada’s son!” a random girl screamed.

“Oh no, he’s looking here…!” another joined.

“Hey, Sanada! Fight me later!” a boy challenged him.

“What!? Hey, I should be the first!” another protested.

“…was it a mistake telling my story?” Minato lamented.

Even the three girls wasn’t sure whether to shield or to gush over him,

“Well, as long as the students are energized…” Celina added.

“True, true! It’s the best when everyone happy!” Chelsea echoed her sentiment.

“Oh right, you all were there. No wonder you don’t seem so surprised by now…” Alba realized after her initial shock.

“Haah… And he got all the spotlight just like that…” Yuu sighed.

Of course Sigulf and the others watch contently from a distance.

“Ahahah, couldn’t agree more on that.”

“Hm? Oh…”

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.”

The voice which caught their attention belongs to none other than Houjou. He was accompanied by two council members, who saluted upon noticing Celina, and his teammates.

“Good morning.” Celina returned his greeting. “I hope you all rested well.”

“It’s all thanks to your hospitality.”

Calm and polite, so Sigulf noted. A direct contrast to his mates who look understandably tense.

“But it’s indeed something,” Houjou continued, quickly understood as referring to Minato. “Having the son of such acclaimed Duelist enroll here would surely turn heads!”

“Houjou…?”

The boy didn’t reply as he chose to approach Minato instead.

“Good morning.”

“Eh…? Oh, good morning.”

The crowd promptly began to whispering among themselves.

“Hey, it’s that guy from Pacific…”

“Oh no, he’s a good looking fellow…!”

So Minato was a bit surprised when Houjou suddenly offered a handshake.

“Pleased to see the famed Sanada’s son in person. My name is Kouji Houjou.”

Nonetheless, he accepted it.

“I’m Minato Amakawa. Nice to meet you too.”

“Amakawa…? Oh, I see. So how’s that it is. Hopefully, we’ll have a great duel sometime in the future.”

“Likewise…!”

The crowd went “Oooh…!” at the scene, excited for any possibility, while one of his teammates, the cool looking girl, sighed at his action.

“B, beautiful…!” Chelsea admired the two, though for an entirely different reason.

“…I still don’t really get what’s going through your head.” Celina commented.

“Hmm, this is not good…” Yuu mumbled.

“So, what do you think, Siggy?” Alba asked him.

“I don’t care. I just have to fight well.”

“Edgy.”

Alba’s quip earned a chuckle from Celina and Chelsea.

“…shut up, you do know it’s right.”

——–

Shortly after, everyone entered their own classes. And Sigulf, like many others, noticed something a bit unusual.

‘They installed 5 new, temporary seats, but the guy named Houjou isn’t here. Does that means he’s an upperclassman? But then, who—‘

“Alright, calm down a bit, everyone.” Eliot commanded. “I know you’re all eager with the prospect of fighting strong rivals, but let’s listen to what they have to say first, alright?”

The cool girl looks a bit surprised at him, but didn’t say anything.

“Ladies and gents, if you will.”

‘Hm…?’

“Well then…” she took a step forward, followed by the rest. “As you’ve already known, we are here on excursion as the representatives of Pacific Academy. As for myself… Draft pick number 2, Wen Mei. Pleased to be your acquaintance.”

“Likewise, number 3, Reika Kannomine… de gozaru. Pleased to meet you.”

Yuu suddenly narrowed his eyes on her turn.

“What’s the matter?”

“Why does she felt familiar?”

“…wait, you too?”

“U, umm…!” their introduction continues. “N, number 4, Misha Smirnov. N, nice to meet you…!”

“And number 5, Anil Kumar. Greetings.”

The students, obviously, began talking among themselves.

“I see,” Eliot said. “So the number 1 is—“

“Unfortunately, yes.” Mei responded.

“Well, I don’t think it’s necessary for us to prod deeper, so… Anyways, I’m sure you’ve got lots of question for them, but save it for lunch break. And…” Eliot paused to think. “Oh, that’s right. Amakawa, can you accompany them later?”

“Eh? Me?” the boy in question was surprised.

“B, but, Sir!” Eurypha quickly raised her hand. “He’s—“

“I know. Then in case accidents happen, you have my permission to… Ah, punish him.”

The three girls looks satisfied with his decision, the Pacifics sans Anil winced at the word ‘accidents’, and Minato nearly slammed his face to the desk.

“Sir, you can’t be serious!” he protested.

“Uwaa, even Sir Fortier favors him over you now.” Alba whispered to Sigulf. “Whatcha gonna do?”

“No worries. He knows I’m not suited for social situations.”

“…pretty sure you should be worried, if anything.”

“Yes, you should indeed.” Eliot interrupted, having overheard them somehow. “So, Team Gallowglass you may join Amakawa as well.”

“Eheheh… Yes, Sir!”

“…yes, Sir.”

“Alright, you may sit down now.” Eliot signaled them. “And so, without further ado, let’s begin today’s lesson.”

———

The bell rings at lunch break, and everyone is getting ready to leave the class.

“Alright, shall we eat at the café?” Minato offered.

“Eh? But we brought our own lunchboxes.” Mei responded.

“Oh, it’s okay, so do we.”

“Well then, please show us the way.”

“Leave it to me.”

And so they head to the café, while Sigulf, Alba, and Yuu follow from behind.

‘Guess I’ll have to settle for this today…’

“What’s the matter?”

“No, it’s n— Hm?”

The group in front of them caught his attention. Celina, Chelsea, Lindorm and Laine are accompanying Kouji, seemingly with the same destination.

“Oh, it’s you guys.” Celina noticed. “Good afternoon, everyone.”

“Good afternoon!”

“Sir.” Mei saluted towards Kouji, followed by her teammates.

“It’s alright. No need to be so tense.” He laughed.

“…I’ll try.”

“So I guess this lunch will be a lively one.” Chelsea noted. “Let’s go grab some seats then.”

“How many of us today?” Eurypha asked.

“Umm, 15?”

“Fif—“

She turned around to see Walter has sneakily joined them.

“Yo!”

“…not ‘yo’. What are you doing here?”

“Aww, come on. One additional seat wouldn’t hurt. You don’t mind, right?” Walter grinned towards Minato.

“Yeah, not at all.”

Carmen sighed, and Eurypha facepalmed at his decision.

‘Well, that’s so him.’ Sigulf mentally commented.

———

The group managed to secure a table. Being large in number, not to mention being comprised of some notable students, they quickly attracted others’ attention.

“…it’s alright, I’m getting a bit more used to this.” Celina reassured herself, earning a wry laugh from Chelsea.

“But it’s truly a fine café.” Kouji complimented. “I can see why everyone would enjoy dining here.”

“…that, and it’s still a bit chilly. Not much people want to eat outside by now.” Mei pointed out.

“Hm? Why not? Won’t it be nice having lunch while we enjoy the scenery and cherry blossoms? Ah, right, should we do it tomorrow?”

She sighed in exasperation. “…Sir.”

‘He’s quite the jolly one…’

“Oh, I almost forgot.” He continued. “May I ask something?”

“Sure, go on.” Celina responded.

“I heard there were some problems with the nobles. What was all that about?”

“Ah, that…” she paused for a bit. “I’m sure you already know that, compared to your school, ours had… a tendency to prioritize ancestry over anything else.”

“Mm-hm.”

“And that’s why we’ve been trying to change it. I think it reached the boiling point when a young knight of ours got defeated. Then the nobles acted on their own and nearly attacked a 1st-year. Fortunately, we managed to subdue them. Even so, we still stand alerted in case they try again.”

“I see… That sounds troublesome. But that also means it will open a new way for non-nobles.”

“Indeed. That’s what we have been aiming; to make an environment when your skills, passion and drive matters.”

“I see, I see… And I presume Sanada’s son was at the center of this?”

“Eh…?”

“Oh, he’s not?” Kouji looks surprised.

“It was these two.” Celina turned to see Sigulf and Alba with a smile.

“Eh? Eeh!? …well, she’s not wrong, though.” Alba responded.

“It was her idea.” Sigulf pointed to her.

“…you talked like we did a bad thing.”

“Huh? No, not at all.”

“Sigulf Hrimgard.” Celina explained to Kouji. “He’s the one who defeated the knight and later got attacked for the trouble. The girl, Alba Hunter, came in to rescue, thinking he was being bullied. It then turned into a series of tag battles, with them coming on top over three teams.”

“Hee… Interesting. Tag battles, huh…”

Kouji watched them arguing less about the actual incident, and more about unrelated silly things.

“Excuse me, you two.” He finally called.

“”Yes?””

“Sigulf Hrimgard and Alba Hunter, was it? I apologize for my rudeness.”

“Huh? I don’t really get it, but okay…?” Alba said, seemingly unsure.

‘He probably didn’t bat an eye on us and thought only Amakawa mattered here.’

“Thank you very much.” He continued. “Pleased to be your acquaintance. I’m looking forward to see your battles!”

“Oh, umm, likewise.”

Sigulf, meanwhile, said nothing and merely nodded.

“This school sure have some nice surprises in store.” He chuckled. “If only he could make it here…”

‘He? Could it be—‘

“Excuse me.” Sigulf spoke up. “Then, can I ask you back?”

Kouji looks surprised for a brief moment.

“I’m guessing it’s about our missing member?”

“Yes.”

“I see.” He laughed wryly. “Well it’s not like we’re trying to hide anything, so—“

“Sir.” Mei suddenly cut him off. “Allow me to explain in your stead.”

“…alright, then, if you will.”

Mei nodded and then turned to glare at Sigulf.

“First things first, while I… We don’t hate you guys on a personal level, that’s just for outside the ring. But inside… We’re here to fight. We won’t lose; we’ll win and prove that the Pacific is better.”

Her declaration made the whole café silent. Misha understandably looks uncomfortable, Reika and Anil returns to being tense, while Kouji can only sigh.

“I know.” Sigulf answered. “That goes for us too. Those words… We return it to you. WE will come out on top.”

For some reason, Mei seems pleased and gave a thin smile.

“Good. I see you’re talking my language.”

Chelsea sighed out of relief as the tension cools down.

“Now, back to topic at hand,” Mei continued. “Our number 1 freshman is, obviously, a very skilled fighter. As much as I don’t like it, he is better than me.”

“Hmm.”

“The problem is… Well, his personality. I did say that we have no hard feelings outside the arena, right?”

“Yeah…”

“But for him… Let’s just say he didn’t look at you all favorably and as a result, he refused to come, deeming it not worth it.”

“What!? How dare he!” Eurypha exploded before being restrained by Carmen.

“That’s not unusual, but I think I get it.”

“That’s not all though.”

“Eh?”

“In rage, he got into fights with some of our personnel, and even with outsiders. Thus, he had to be grounded by our Principal.”

Not even Sigulf was sure on what to say.

“And so, I will say this: If I have to apologize on behalf of his actions, then I will. But make no mistake, for our school, and for our personal glory, we won’t hold anything back.”

“You don’t have to tell me that again. And besides, it’s not even your fault in the first place.”

“Hah, you’re right. So what’s left for us is to clash blades, yeah?”

“Seriously, Mei-dono…” Reika complained. “You made a pleasant lunch into a stressful one.”

“What, I’d rather tell them the truth so we won’t have any misunderstandings later. Besides, it is his fault for being so… Unpleasant.”

“So even his own teammates have problem with it too.” Sigulf commented. “Care to give me a name?”

“Curious, huh? Then… Jack Ashfield. That’s his name. I heard he had experience in unsanctioned pit fights. A brawler through and through.”

“Jack Ashfield…”

An allegedly talented Duelist whose skill can only be matched by his own equally massive ego. Sigulf wonders what kind of man he actually is.