Won't show up

"Congratulations on your discharge!"

*Cheers!*

"Cheers..."

Having been dragged out in the wild once again, I felt as if my earlier thought that socializing might not be so bad had been naïve. Right now, there was no enjoyment to be had while sitting at the crowded table in the bar.

With the week having passed in the blink of an eye, with today being Friday yet again, we went out to celebrate Arthur getting out of the infirmary, but also my victory in the competition.

Somehow, I had been able to pull off the greatest trick so far, a trick that was so great that it might even go down in the history of man; Tricking myself into thinking that it might be fun.

"Thanks, guys! Man, I thought I would go insane from being stuck in that bed for an entire week. Even when I tried to sneak out, that scary nurse would somehow always stand outside my door, wearing a super creepy smile..."

The man in question seemed to be happy to be back, going back to illuminate the room with his shining smile. Still, there was something different about his aura, as if he wasn't quite the same person that he was before the excursion.

"Isn't it natural? She probably already assumed that you were the kind of idiot that would be desperate to start training again, even though your body was completely wrecked. Thinking about it, aren't I surrounded by training junkies? Even Sarah has joined the dark side..."

Anna didn't like the fact that all of her friends were spending almost all their free time training, and now that Sarah had also started doing so, she was the outlier. Or at least she would have been if not for the fact that the private detective was also here.

"Isn't that a good thing, Anna? After all, the duty of a student is to improve."

Wearing an incredibly beautiful smile, there was no doubt in my mind that she could probably make most men fall for her.

"Tsk! At least you aren't one of them."

"I would if I had the chance to. Unfortunately, I have to spend a lot of time creating diplomatic ties between our countries, so currently, it's impossible."

"Hahaha! It seems like you are the only lazy one here, Anna!"

I didn't know when or how, but somehow the banter between Sophie's role of bantering with Anna had been given to Arthur, who was no slouch in dishing out punches. So not only had Sarah grown a bit of thick skin, the golden boy had too, which was natural as they spent a lot of time around Anna, who never missed an opening.

'Ah, I wonder what my main body is doing right now... Oh right, I'm meditating... How nice...'

Something weird had been happening with my clone and me, as it almost had been starting to feel as if we were truly different persons. Although I knew that this wasn't the case, it was as if the split-up parts of my conscious had grown further apart the more I used [Double Trouble].

Taking a swig of my whiskey, I felt my head grow heavy listening to my friends happily chatting away, unconsciously putting up an invisible bubble around me to shield me from the noise. However, it didn't take long until the amazon smashed it like the hulk she was.

"So, James, how did you manage to win the competition? Surely it wasn't thanks to the bit... to Bellatrix. You also seemed to know everything about the place before we even went there."

Looking up at the girl next to me, whose softness I had been feeling all night because of how close we had to be to fit around the table, I resisted the urge to put up my finger. I didn't want to risk losing it, after all.

"I just read about the place on forums online, didn't you? I mean, all the information about the topography and the safe spots were available with just a simple Gooble search."

{Yes, I also truly hate the alternate name I chose for the popular search engine. But you know what? It's hard to come up with something better, so sue me!}

Somehow, it seemed like she was actually surprised by the obvious fact that we had all the information available to us prior to the excursion, "Oh, right, I guess we could do that..."

"Also, now that we are talking, could you move away a bit? Though I don't hate feeling your chest on my shoulder, it's getting a bit heavy."

"Sorry, but I can't. It's pretty cramped."

She didn't blush, panic, or get angry at me when I called out the fact that one of her breasts was literally using my shoulder as a platform to rest on, showing that she truly didn't care.

It was a bit sad to realize that she didn't regard me as a man worth her time, as she otherwise would have been at least a bit flustered, but at the same time, it was fair. As a man, I wasn't interested in her either, we just weren't suited for each other. With that being said, I wouldn't say no to letting her pet Bobby some more in the future.

"But aren't you amazing, James? Somehow, you have managed to not only win the survival event by yourself, but now you even went ahead and won the hunting competition with a landslide. That's pretty incredible."

'Is she already a bit drunk? She has only had one glass of wine so far!"

Adriana had made her move, but it was so incredibly sloppy for being her that I had no choice but to attribute it to the alcohol. It was clear that she wanted to plant some seeds of doubt in my friends about my origin, trying to subtly ask the question of 'how'?

Sadly, she hadn't been subtle at all about it, which for some reason greatly disappointed me. It was no fun if she didn't at least make it a little bit troublesome for me. So, I crushed her.

"Well, everyone already knows about my mist element, right? So what happens if someone has already researched the area and can create optimal situations for an archer to freely snipe her targets from afar?"

As it was all merely hypothetical, there was no meaning in my words other than to give a very reasonable explanation as to why my group performed well, while simultaneously insinuating that Bellatrix had been a part of the success.

So, either she accepted my somewhat logical walkthrough of what could have gone down, or she had to push more aggressively, which would immediately make her look suspicious.

From the start, she had been the underdog in this battle, as the people around us regarded me as a friend, therefore they would subconsciously be more inclined to believe my words.

If two friends in a clique were arguing, the rest of the people would automatically try and bail out the one they felt was attacked, as long as they were both of equal social standing.

Noticing the predicament she was put in, she found her reason and backed off for now, "That does make sense, I guess. But then, shouldn't we invite Bellatrix too, as she was a part of your success?"

'What is she doing? There is no way she doesn't what Sophie thinks about that girl. How drunk is she to resort to this suicide mission?!'

This was true terror, the beautiful face of a girl who had a drink too much, with that being the only drink she had, and was already prepared to make the ship implode just to pressure me.

"Haha, maybe we should, but it's already late and all, and I don't think..."

"Do it. Please invite her, James. After all, she was one of the reasons why you managed to win, right?"

'What are you doing, you stupid dragon?!'

Sophie had turned her head to me, her eyes burning with determination, showing me that she was completely serious about what she had said. "But, wouldn't it be better if..."

Putting her arm around my shoulder, which reached almost all the way to my lap, as she smiled, it probably looked like she was just acting friendly with me. Unbeknownst to the others, I had a clear sense of danger knowing that she was purposefully telling me that she knew something was up.

"... I'll text her... But I don't think she will show up..."

==========

'WHY DID YOU SHOW UP?! YOU STUPID WOMAN!'

Having switched tables to a bigger one, that luckily opened up just as Bellatrix arrived at the scene, the seats had been somewhat changed.

As I was the one who had grouped up with Bellatrix, it was natural for us to sit next to each other. However, almost as if she had been jealous of the fact that I had been getting a feel for Sophie's softness this entire night, Sarah had quickly stolen the other seat next to me.

So now I was sandwiched between a bitch and a princess. 'Theia, please... Send help.'