Episodes 82. Sorrowful Queen of Fighter Pt.4

"Our eyes locked in frozen gazes, none of us daring to move. Yet, amidst the stillness, her short green hair continued to flutter in the breeze from the nearby fan.

"Mr. Rasyid... Uh..." Moka's voice trembled as she spoke, her words coming out in stuttered fragments.

She seemed terribly embarrassed to meet her teacher in a place like this.

"Moka?" Erika tried to melt the cold atmosphere between us.

But instead of a normal response, something else came out.

"Uh- no! I don't work at nightclubs or anything! So...! I'm still pure and haven't done anything like that! Please, let me continue working here!" Moka replied in panic evident in her hurried response to her teacher's brief question.

"Ayooo(surprised)...! Calm down, I would never do such a thing!" (Erika)

"Then, why are you here?!" She glanced subtly in my direction.

For some reason, I didn't like the look at this vegetable lady was giving me. Immediately, I had to meet her gaze with empty eyes, and if I could withstand her stare, maybe she would stop staring.

STARE~!

Unintentionally, we both ended up staring foolishly at each other.

Erika and the other customers began to wear melancholic expressions as they observed our odd interaction.

"Rasyid... Moka... What are you two doing?" Erika brought me and Moka back.

"It's nothing... I-I was just worried..." Moka straightened her back and crossed her arms.

"Worried about what?" (Erika)

"Teacher... Have you forgotten...?" Moka wore a lifeless expression directed at her teacher.

"Well, you see, when a person already has a partner and is out walking at night with someone who isn't their partner...! Isn't that strange?!" (Moka)

Hearing Moka's explanation, it seemed Erika was still blank and didn't grasp her meaning.

"Ha... (sighs) Still not getting it, a man and a woman, the man wearing a plain t-shirt, and the woman in a beautiful dress... Don't you two look like you're on a date?"

Listening to this, Erika blushed, her body temperature rising.

"Ahh...?" Erika was too flustered to respond.

Come to think of it, Erika didn't change her clothes before leaving earlier.

She was too rushed, forgetting such an important detail.

'So... these massive men think I'm just showing off a girlfriend, huh?'

Such a nuisance...

......

Not long after, one of the massive men who had been staring at the three of us dared to interrupt.

"Excuse me, sorry to intrude..." he said politely.

Whoa, for a macho and muscular guy, he's quite polite.

Erika was still too heated to respond to this man's greeting, so I had to answer him now.

He looked me down in real meaning because of how tall he was. I looked back up at the man.

"What's your business with this girl?!" He said it loudly, like a block of stone.

His arms crossed, revealing muscles that could leave someone breathless just by being squeezed by them.

"This is not the right place for you to dare to disturb our queen!" Another street fighter approached us.

The atmosphere became more chaotic, and I couldn't talk too much because this wasn't my business.

"Um..." Moka, who had been silent all this time, now tried to calm the tension that was rising here.

"I'm sorry, Gido, but the person in front of you right now is my teacher," the girl said as she walked out of her stall.

"Your teacher?!"

They both were surprised, and not long after, they both knelt to apologize to us.

"Forgive us..."

This atmosphere... It's really awkward, I can't say anything other than holding back the embarrassment of being treated like this.

"Yeah... It's not a problem..." I scratched my head like a fool while putting on a raw smile.

......

The tense atmosphere had now returned to normal, and Moka, Erika, and I were now sitting at the same table, facing each other.

"So... What are you two doing here?!" Moka asked both of us, but for some reason, she seemed to be aiming more at me.

"We're looking for someone..." (Erika)

"Someone...?" Moka tilted her head.

"Yeah... If I remember correctly, his name is Tesi Alamsyah."

"Tesi... Alamsyah...?"

"You don't know him?" Erika's hope diminished as Moka struggled to recognize the name of the person she was looking for.

"Well... how should I put it...?" Moka struggled to phrase her words.

She knew the person, but she found it difficult to describe him, more or less like that...

"Is he a dangerous person?" I interrupted them.

Moka widened her eyes at me, her pupils smalling.

So...

I asked at the wrong time.

Realizing his presence, I turned behind me and looked up to see the true face of that person.

Wounded, that's what I saw all over his body from head to toe...

Even with Anitya's protection, he didn't let wounds that tore his skin heal and disappear.

This person even seemed proud of it, even showing them off.

So this is the guy who called Fire Lion?

He exudes enough fear for anyone who sees him. Even the two men who had walked to protect Moka from us retreated slowly from his intimidating presence.

"Are you Tesi Alamsyah?" Not afraid of him, Erika, who was sitting next to me, asked calmly towards the man.

It's reasonable, she's the best fighter in the Nusantara, if there's anyone she's afraid of, then that title is just a lie.

"Hmm..." He nodded. "I am Tesi Alamsyah, or what these people..." He pointed to the chickened massive men with his thumb. "... call the Fire Lion."

"Why does the Queen of Fighters want to meet me...? If you want to fight me, then I'll face you, but with the rules of a street!" (Tesi)

"N-no, I'm not here for that!"

"Then what?!" A Hash(#) sign appeared on his forehead.

"I'm here...!" Erika stared at the man coldly, but I could easily see that she was stuttering at him. "... To ask about my mother, your wife!"

Although it looked loose, her words contained a high hope.

Hearing that, the man immediately rolled up his sleeves and turned around.

"Why do you ask about her?! You have no relation, do you?!"

Tesi knew who Erika really was, but he wanted his wife to forget her past and keep looking forward.

"Please!" Erika screamed, tears streaming down her face.

This was the most powerful move for men, the power of tears.

From what I saw, many of the people surrounding us now looked pityingly at the woman drowning in tears.

Where did she learn acting skills like this?! And moreover, it's so perfect?!

But instead of pity, the hash (#) sign on the man's forehead only grew thicker.

He turned around and walked, trembling the floor with every step he took.

It was like a small earthquake happening with each of his footsteps.

When he was in front of her, Erika still crying, tried to look up at the man's face.

But before she could finish looking, a surprising action was taken...

BRAKKK!

Tesi kicked Erika's chin with his knee.

Instantly, Erika was thrown backward, causing the tables in the stall to scatter as they were pushed by her body.

"Miss Erika! And my stall!" Moka, who had been frozen, finally stood up and looked at her stall, which was now scattered like it had been hit by a tornado in an instant.

But even so, she still ran to check on her teacher.

"Are you okay, miss?!"

The massive men who had been silent with fear now stepped forward to hold Tesi and protect their queen from any harm.

"Tesi! Where is your dignity?! You attacked a woman until she was thrown like that!" Someone called Gido scolded the man.

"She's no ordinary woman, she's the Queen of Fighters, she's the greatest fighter queen in this Nusantara!" (Tesi)

"I can't let her fool me with just her tears..." Tesi looked at the floor. "Especially since she's someone my wife shouldn't be meeting right now!"

"So! Get out of the way, let me give her a lesson, and make her not showing her face again here!" (Tesi)

Although shaken by the menacing gaze and the blazing fire in his neck and eyes, the street fighters still tried to protect their queen from any harm, no matter how small it was.

The situation would become even more chaotic if I remained silent, there must be a way...

As I recall, he wanted something earlier, right?

"Um..." I, who was casually sitting in my chair, finally stood up and raised my hand.

"Huh? What do you want, Champion?" He looked at me without turning his body.

I didn't expect my name to be so famous just by winning a Teacher Test back then.

"Are you a street fighter, you have an honor, right?"

"Then, do I have to let her go and meet my wife?! I won't allow it!"

"What about a bet?"

"A bet?"

"Yes, you (pointing to Tesi)... and Erika (pointing to Erika who was lying down)... fight in the arena below this flyover!"

The massive men looked confused at my proposal.

"So you mean I can ask for anything as long as I win?!"

"Yes! But if Erika wins, then you know..." I played with my fingers like a seductive woman.

I know I'm a man and it doesn't suit me, but sometimes I want to do it.

Tesi and the other muscular man crossed their arms, thinking about my offer.

But among all of them, Tesi was the one who answered the quickest.

"Alright, then I accept your offer... If I win, then I ask Erika to leave and not deal with her mother anymore!"

I didn't expect the stakes to be so small, it turns out Tesi has a good side too...

"It's decided, the fight will take place in a few minutes!"

I hope Erika doesn't mind, she's still unconscious and doesn't know about this at all."