The following morning, in the classroom…

“Eh? Misha is a boy!?”

“Kyaaa, so cute!”

“Your hair and skin looks silky smooth! What do you use for that?”

“U, umm, I use these brands…”

Most of the girls are positively fawning over him, leaving some of the boys, particularly Yuu and Walter, lamenting their situation.

“Oh come on! Even the guest got lucky!”

“I have to agree, Armstrong-kun. This doesn’t look good…”

“You know, you might fare better if you clean up your act.” Arthfael sighed.

“Shut up…”

Sigulf, meanwhile, observed silently from his desk.

“Thank goodness they took it nicely.” Minato spoke to him.

“Huh? Him? Yeah, I guess…”

For some reason, Minato didn’t say anything and simply stared at him.

“…what?”

“You know, sometimes I don’t get what you are thinking.”

“Why so sudden?”

“Eh? Well, how should I put this… I mean, I always see you being so stone-faced, but… You’re unexpectedly warmer than you look.”

Sigulf blinked, trying to comprehend what Minato just said.

“Oh, did you mean yesterday? That’s just coincidence since he was kinda stuck there.” he motioned with his chin towards Misha.

‘Plus, pretty sure I’m actually a fairly easy to read guy.’

“Ahahah… I guess so… But then again, you didn’t ignore him even if you could.”

“…chalk it up to personal policy.” Sigulf dismissed. “…well that, and my Master did send me here so I could interact with people. So I could be more of a man, and human, she said.”

“Oh? Your Master is a woman?” Minato got his interest piqued. “What kind of person is she?”

“Eeh, I wonder if could tell you about that…”

Without them realizing, Minato’s girls, and Alba to a lesser extent, were shocked by their interaction.

“They… Spoke normally…”

“Just like actual friends…”

“…I thought that Island Dog hated him?”

———

On the practice session, everyone goes to train with their partner, whoever the Randomizer chose in Sigulf and Minato’s group case. Still, Sigulf can’t help but notice that the air surrounding the Pacifics was a bit different since they started.

‘Maybe it’s just me… For now, let’s focus on her.’

Standing before him is an ecstatic Alba, happily swinging around her dummy weapon.

“Finally, we get to spar again!” she cheerfully said. “Want to see a sneak peek on how much I’ve grown?”

“Okay, let’s begin.”

“…boo, you’re not fun.” Alba pouted. “Why so lukewarm?”

“Err… I’m not. The atmosphere kinda forced me to be serious.”

As for Minato, he gets to face Walter.

“Armstrong-kun, let’s do our best!”

“Alright! My best, and my pent up anger, I’ll crash it all to you!”

“Let’s do this! …wait, what?”

Meanwhile, Yuu finally got paired with Reika.

“Yuu-dono… You feel a bit different…”

“Fufufu, and I still have even more, you know? Too bad this is not an actual duel.”

“Hmph, I wonder whether those will be enough to defeat me!”

Nearby, Carmen was waiting for Mei to finish her warm up stretches.

“Hmm… The Captain herself, I see… This will be interesting.”

“Captain, huh? That got a nice ring to it. And you’re… One of Sanada’s girls, aren’t you? …wait, will you too deny that?”

“Of course not!” Carmen stated. “And not just ‘one of’! I am his woman… And he is mine~!”

Her thinly disguised provocation earned a major reaction, Eurypha’s included.

“No, you’re damn not!” she barked. “Stop telling lies!”

The Greek then turned to face her sparring partner.

“…sheesh, seriously. Don’t listen and believe her, okay?”

“E, eh? Umm, sure…” Misha responded. “Then, can we begin?”

“Oh, right. Sorry about that. Come on…!”

And not far from them, Ilma was a bit puzzled, knowing she have to train with the ever-silent Anil.

“…”

“…”

“…say something, will ya?”

Anil shook his head.

“What, cat got your tongue? …wait, don’t tell me you’re mute for real?”

He simply tilted his head.

“…perkele, I hate people like this.”

———

With the 15th mock duel came to a close, Eliot goes to announce the end of this week’s class.

“Good job making it through, ladies and gents!” he congratulated. “I guess you’d rather I make this short and quick, am I right?”

The students sheepishly laughed at his jab.

“But before I dismiss you to another relaxing weekend, I believe our friends from the Pacific here have something to say.”

“…!”

“Thank you, Sir.” Mei thanked him, taking a step forward.

“I know some of you already can’t wait to call it a day, so I’m sorry for that.” She continued. “Since I’m not good at fancy words, I’ll get straight to the point. First, thank you for your hospitality and having us.”

She slightly bowed, followed by her teammates, and earning a round of applause from the Atlantics.

“…then, second and last,” Mei said, raising her face. “As the representative of the Pacific, I challenge your school to a team battle.”

Now this one got them a bigger reaction. Surprise, but also excitement.

“Ooh, they actually gone and said it!” Walter responded, getting pumped.

“Figures…” Sigulf muttered.

Everyone began talking to each other, but promptly silenced when Eliot spoke up.

“We don’t mind accepting your challenge, but would you mind to elaborate on that?”

“Hmm… That’s right. Normally, 5 single matches would be ideal, but considering the absence of one of our fighters, we’ll make it 2 singles and a tag duel.”

“Wait, are you sure, Mei-dono? We haven’t done them before…”

“It’s alright, just think of it as a single match in a narrow space.”

“…”

“I see,” Eliot responded. “Houjou doesn’t take a part.”

“Unfortunately, no. He’s here as our supervisor.”

“Very well. How about the time and place?”

“5:30. Is the central park good enough?”

“Of course. A spacious enough outdoor area. It will surely attract onlookers.”

“Then…!”

“We accept your challenge.” Eliot confirmed before turning to face his students. “You heard them. Get yourselves ready.”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Alright! With that, it’s time to end today’s class for good! Everyone, you’re dismissed!”

———

The sudden declaration of Pacific’s challenge sent everyone abuzz. Almost all student excitedly wondering how it will go, with some hoping they would be chosen to represent the Atlantic. Except…

“Hmm…”

“Umm, Sigulf?”

“Yes?”

“Are you sure you should be here helping us, instead of… You know.” Chelsea asked.

“It’s alright, they did gave us until 5:30, after all. I think they took Amakawa’s schedule into consideration.”

“Well, that, and I would advise against heavy exercise before it anyway.” Celina added. “Though, you still could slip few light stretches in-between.”

“Will do. I’ll finish this quickly first.”

“You sure are diligent in the unexpected places.” She laughed.

Sigulf tried to look away, scratching his cheek. “…I did say I wanted to help, so…”

“I know. That’s why allow me to help with something too in return.”

“Eh? But you two already did. What’s with the usual weekend practice…”

“Outside of that, I mean.” Celina clarified. “…speaking of which, you might end up getting another duel before our next practice.”

“Is there any problem with that? I mean, versus Pacific or not, I’d still up for it.”

“Oh no, no problem at all. It’s just… I’m thinking maybe we should practice normally just for tomorrow.”

“Eh? Is it because of today?”

“A bit of that and… Would you mind getting rewarded if you end up fighting and winning?”

Sigulf and Chelsea went momentarily silent.

“”Eeeeeeh!?””

“…w, what? And why did you react too?”

“I appreciate it, really. But it’s not like—“

“So you don’t mind, I hear you.” Celina quickly concluded.

‘She didn’t even give me a chance to be humble…’

“C, Cel? You might want to reconsider…”

“Hm? Don’t worry, I set limits.”

“…ah! Of course you would! What am I thinking… Ahahahah…”

‘That goes without saying. Still… Now that I remember, what’s with her?’

“So, is there anything you want?” she said to Sigulf. “Or… Do you have any ideas on what we should present to him, Chel?”

“E, eh? Why me?”

“Umm, I kind of thought you understand boys better.”

“Compared to you, yeah, at least. Oh well, let me think…”

“Err, can’t I politely refuse here? I don’t want to burden you two…”

“And that’s why. Knowing you, I believe it will be within the realm of possibility. So, please, don’t hold back and tell us.”

‘…she trusts me that much even though I joined the council to court her. Gah, I’m so ashamed of myself…’

“Now that you mention it… Yeah, it’s not like you would ask her for a date out of the blue, right?”

Chelsea instantly regretted it and covered her mouth as Celina suddenly went silent.

“…umm, Cel? Hello?”

“D, date…!?” Celina went red.

“I, it’s alright!” Sigulf tried to reassure her. “I know that’s a bit too farfetched…”

Celina calmed down a bit and looked at the boy in the eyes.

“…you know, if by ‘date’ you mean a lunch like before, then I wouldn’t mind…”

“…eh?”

“I mean, you’ll be coming along, right?” she turned towards Chelsea.

“Me? I wonder about that…” she gave a wry smile.

“O, oh, you’re not up to it? Then—“

Celina shifted her attention back to Sigulf.

“I’m sorry, but since Chelsea seems reluctant, would it be alright if you go on a date just with me?”

“Eh!? Why—“

“Yes, please!” Chelsea tried to say something, but Sigulf quickly answered. “…ah.”

‘…damn, I responded on impulse.’

Sigulf was worried on how she would react, but to his relief, Celina chuckled instead.

“If you fight and win, that is.”

He finally managed to muster his confidence and returns a smile.

“Yeah.”

Celina extended her hand which Sigulf gladly accepted.

“Then you shall have my words.”

“Right. I’ll win, and then… Let’s go on a date, Celina.”

“I prefer it to be called a fancy lunch.” She teased.

“Ahahah…”

They shook hands, and Sigulf could feel himself getting fired up.

‘Funny, I don’t even know whether I would be considered, but… I feel like I can do it…!’

“Ah-hem.” Chelsea cleared her throat, surprising the two. “I’m glad you two have come to an agreement, but let’s not forget our work at hand first.”

“I’m sorry, you are right.” Celina laughed wryly. “Alright, let’s finish this as soon as possible. You might need a few coaching before the fight.”

“Roger!”

The three of them quickly returned to their paperwork. Chelsea, though, doesn’t actually feel content and stole a glance at Celina.

‘Oh, Cel… Will you really be alright like that?’