3 hours later.

F block, main classroom.

"This is a classroom, not a hospital, just for future reference."

...

Well, we couldn't exactly counter his words, honestly.

"Just what the hell happened? All you idiots had to do was find a piece of gold. How did it escalate to that extent?"

I'm glad no one took Basara-sensei's question seriously.

"Aniki prop-"

"Kuzan, shut up!"

Shit, I forgot Kuzan was in this classroom for a second.

Not to mention, I had to shout back at with a loud tone of voice.

Everyone in the classroom immediately stared back at me.

The fuck are you all looking at me for?

"Well, regardless of that, congratulations. By clearing this recovery exam, none of you will get an additional 20 years added to your jail sentence. Rejoice!"

"Yey!"

It's amazing how Kuzan, the one who got slapped to the ninth realm by King George is this energetic. For the record, we all, the boys, except Hyunda, Susaga and Kawahara have wounds in several places.

Ryoken's the most worrying case. He has so many bandages all over his face. We all have bandages.

Bandages for everyone.

Also, I have no idea what King George did, but he managed to wake everyone up, even when they were knocked out cold.

In the end, the end goal was achieved. That's all it matters.

Hopefully, now, I can return to my not so average life. In comparison to that underground life, my school life from now on would surely be something to look forward to.

Of course, something to mention is that before getting to the classroom, I had to pass in the nurse's office.

No, there's no hot nurse, just an ugly old boomer.

Life's hard.

Something that was said to happen and didn't happen was King George's words. If I recall correctly, he said that there was more to just the Brachial stun.

Unfortunately, even though I was heavily curious, I had to go with a sword fight. That fight was decisive since it allowed us all to escape slavery and to escape to the surface earlier.

Right now, the class is proceeding just like normal.

I haven't forgotten how being in a classroom feels like but it feels somewhat refreshing to be here instead of digging the ground 24/7.

Also, it was February 19th today. It was official, I spend my birthday underground. I never actually celebrated my birthday on my own though. It was either friends or family that reminded me that on that certain day it was my birthday.

Nonetheless, as of now, I didn't bother to think much about things.

The exact time right now was 11 o'clock...

Wait, what the fuck?

I'm aware that we absolutely had no concept of time whatsoever back there but what sense does it make for the hour here to be at 11? Especially in the morning... Well, of course, it's in the morning.

My point was, we still had another hour of class before lunch.

Which reminded me...

How was Kuzan going to fulfill his deal with King George if he didn't leave the school at the end of the month...?

Although, realistically speaking, he just had to wait until the end of February, right? Even so, it sucks that you supposedly can't leave the school just because you missed the end of the month.

I say supposedly because I don't know for sure if that's true.

In addition, something else to mention is that the traitor, according to Hyunda, was not him nor Kawaraha and Susaga. Which means that the traitor participated in the tournament.

I will, without a doubt come back to this matter. It's just that...

I'm tired?

No.

I'm exhausted?

Yes, that's the correct one.

I had not gotten a wink of good sleep in more than two weeks. Nor have I slept in a comfortable place thus far.

Plus, all that physical work from King George and the fact that my left leg calf's broken isn't really helping.

Yeah, I did go to the nurse's office, but the bone will only be fully healed with time. Nothing that can be done about it.

Honestly, my physical situation isn't that bad when you compare it to Ryoken's. Or even Kan's.

Have I missed something that I was supposed to reflect on this?

Well, regardless if I did, all I want right now is to get a bit of rest. Therefore, I will resort to the good old sleeping in class tactic.

I'm pretty sure that Basara-sensei doesn't even care about people who sleep in class. After all, Kawahara is sleeping all the time in class.

He hasn't even noticed that we all came back to class.

"I guess I'll just..."

Then, as I was about to put the side of my head on the table, I had noticed that I was facing a certain person on my left side.

"..."

"..."

Our eyes met in that moment.

Her radiant green eyes would make your average teenager immediately look away.

Besides, she was looking at me as if she was hoping that I would look away.

She must be quite proud of her rare hair color to be showing it off like that.

"..."

We just kept looking at each other.

Again, something to not misunderstand is that there's nothing romantic involved.

This was a simple trade of glances that had extended itself for longer than usual.

Essentially, I was not going to look away.

Why?

Because I have never lost a single staredown match throughout my whole life.

It has always bothered me you see.

Why do we, men, not look at them in eyes for more than they do to us?

Is that not a sign of cowardice?

I can't comprehend why would a man just look away when a girl stares at you.

Are you afraid of what you have to show?

I'm not.

"..."

Impressive.

In the past, any girl that realized that she was hopeless against my soul stare soonly came to the conclusion that they had no chance of winning and thus, they would look away.

But, not her.

She has the same eyes as me.

......

Does she have experience in this?

Christ, look the fuck away already. Just let me rest!

...

Should I make her look away, then?

I mean, she's not budging in.

Just what is so interesting about my black eyes?

"Look to your left side, please."

"No, you."

"I already am..."

I can't believe I'm being made to talk to a girl that doesn't even know how directions work!

"..."

She's starting to piss me off.

It's against the universal law of romance to be engaged in a staredown for this long and only feel the desire of absolutely wanting to win in a staredown match.

I'm starting to think that only psychopaths are capable of holding very long staredowns.

"I'm not going to look away..."

"Neither am I..."

............

The fuck is wrong with this bitch.

Are you this addicted to staring at people?

"Oi. You've been staring at me more than often. What do you want?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

It's truly impressive that her facial expression that has a poker face as a sleeve has not managed to change.

"Don't play dumb. I know."

"You know what...?"

"You have a crush on me, don't you?"

We were speaking to each other on almost a dead tone, but we could understand our own words, even in this almost silent conversation.

"You're ugly as shit."

"Shit can be cute sometimes though. Look at you for a second."

This took a weird turn for sure. We've gone from simple staring to staring and roasting.

Furthermore, this was also our second longest interaction.

I wasn't forcing this interaction. I wasn't going to lose this match, no matter what.

"Your words won't work. I know you don't mean them."

"Damn, you're right."

S-She managed to find out that I didn't mean my previous words? Could it be that she's evolving?

"Why are you staring at me...?"

"I've never lost a staredown match. Please don't misunderstand. I wouldn't want to have you think that there's something else involved."

I'm serious about this.

"...Really now...?"

"Yes. Against popular belief, I believe that staredown matches hold a far deeper meaning to what they initially suggest."

"Such as...?"

She's awfully curious about this for some reason.

"The common assumption that a staredown match has no meaning is wrong from the get-go. By engaging in one, you get to know just how strong you truly are. I'm not afraid of someone who has won a staredown match against the same person a million times, I am, instead, afraid of someone who has won a staredown match against a million different people a million times."

I'm not actually afraid, I'm just quoting Bruce Lee.

"There's more to that, actually... The loser loses its soul..."

N-NANI!?

"Don't screw around, this isn't the time for jokes like that."

She then puts up a grin against me.

"It's not a joke though. If I lose this match then I lose my soul. If you lose this then you lose yours."

"Oi, you're not making any sense. If you lose this then nothing will happen."

"Don't you believe in abnormal occurrences?"

"This has nothing to do with that, though."

"Except it has. What do you think happens once two people who are equally matched in a staredown match face each other?"

"We are not equally matched. I will win."

Can't let her get ahead of herself for absolutely no reason at all.

"We'll see about that. Either way... It's more than just a coincidence. Don't you think?"

"No, this is purely a coincidence. I happened to be tired and wanted to rest but our eyes met. That's about it."

"Now, why did that happen?"

Is she serious?

"It happened because I coincidentally turned around. I could've just turned to my right but I didn't think this would happen."

"It wasn't a coincidence. This was fate. We were meant to stare at each other at this exact time."

Seriously? I, from time to time, wondered what sort of person she was but it turns out that she is someone who believes in abnormalities?

"Whatever. So, what now?"

"What do you mean by 'what now?'?"

"Please just look away already. You're going to miss out on what Basara-sensei is teaching."

"Not to worry, I have already studied the current subject as a precaution measure."

Why are girls so fixated on studying? For what reason? Questions science can't answer.

"Also... I've never lost a single staredown match. Why else would I be talking to you in the first place?"

Ah, I see. So that's why. Her behavior was so out of character that it was bothering me.

"You're about to lose for the first time though."

"I never lose."

Famous last words.

1 hour later.

"And classroom dismissed. I'll resume classroom at 1 pm. Don't come late or I'll leash you."

I really want to scratch my cheek.

Alternatively, my eyes are feeling itchy.

At such times, parts of my body just so happen to feel that way.

"Go on. It's lunchtime for you."

"Fool. We boys only have breakfast and dinner. How naive of you to think that we would actually look forward to this time of the day!"

"Ara, my bad. I completely forgot how shit your lifestyle was."

'Ara' me again and I'll break your fucking hip.

"But, you surely are hungry, no? I mean, you girls do have lunch, right?"

"I'm on a diet."

How can she say that with such a petite body? You goddamn compulsive liar.

"You'll get fat from lying so much."

"Your retorts are really bad, you know?"

Her words aside, since we were close to the entrance door, everyone that was leaving the classroom would, before leaving the classroom, cast a quick stare at us.

Damn it, don't get the wrong idea!

"Here, I'll give you some money just so you can buy something to eat. I'm feeling extreme caring right now, you see."

"I see. Then, give me the money."

She then took out her purse without taking her eyes off my eyes.

Lastly, she pulled out a penny which she lifted up just so my eyes could see what it was.

Well, that certainly is enough to buy something, surely.

Ultimately, I extended my right palm fully open.

"Here. Eat well."

"Ah, thanks. But, I'll... pass!"

Of course, I threw the penny in the garbage can.

What the hell does this bitch take me for?

"...Rude."

"Oh, sorry about that. Here, I'll give you a penny in return. Extend your hand."

"Well, sure."

I did dive my right hand in my pocket which had some pennies. However, as I was about to take my hand off my pocket, I left without a single one.

I extended a fist, which would indicate that I would drop the penny onto her palm, yet as I opened it...

"Here."

"...I don't see a single penny."

Well, she's dumb as hell.

"That's because there's no penny there."

"I noticed..."

"Yeah, you sure did. You even looked at it to make absolute certainty that there was a penny missing in your right palm."

"Hm? Yeah, I di-"

It took her a while to realize it.

"You tricked me!"

"Oi, you started it! Don't put the blame onto me!"

"That's not how you play a staredown match! You are supposed to keep on staring until eventually one of us gives up! You just cheated!"

"We never established any rules, you bimbo! You're just using that for the sake of your convenience! I won't accept such a convenient logic!"

"You didn't win, then."

"What!? I literally just did! The match ends when one of us stopped staring at each other, right? You lost the moment you took your eyes off my eyes. Don't be salty and just accept your defeat!"

I was fine with shouting at her. After all, we were the only two left in class. Plus, Basara-sensei doesn't actually force anyone to leave the classroom even on breaks.

"I'm not salty! I'm just mad that you used a secondary method for this!"

"That's called being salty! You are mad that I outsmarted you! Get over it!"

"Never! I will not approve of this match. You're disqualified for cheating. I win."

The fuck!

"What the hell!? We never agreed to rules, you idiot! You can't just implement rules like that!

"Why not!? You cheated, right? Then, why can't I make up some rules on my own!?"

"Do you not realize that the result has been decided already?!"

"But it hasn't!"

"Yes, it has! You lost the moment you looked away! We've been staring at each other for a literal fucking hour! Don't come at me and say that load of bullshit, you!"

"It's not bullshit, you're bullshit!"

Why did I even bother with this bitch?

Didn't we have a somewhat similar argument before?

God, I hate people who are this spiteful.

Especially when they can't fucking recognize their own defeat.

"I don't care if you recognize my victory or not. The fact stands, you didn't win. I haven't stopped staring at you. You stopped for a moment, therefore we can both agree that I certainly didn't lose. You're not going to disagree on the premise of a staredown match, are you!?"

I'm pretty sure that our argument could have been heard all over the block. After all, we were communicating through shouts at this point.

"Yes, the premise of the staredown match is that the loser is the one who takes her/his eyes off her/his opponent."

"Then-"

"However! That's about it! That's literally about it! Nothing says that it should revolve around any more than that! Yet you went and manipulated me to look away!"

"You were aiming for the same thing, you vile bitch!"

"N-No I wasn't! After all, you were the one who committed the act. Therefore you are to blame!"

"What's your point even?"

"My point is, you can't be the winner! There's no official winner to this match!"

I wasn't actually going to argue here, simply because she forgot about something essential.

"Well, fine. I guess that's correct. I did commit the act of manipulation, even though you aimed for the same thing. But let's suppose that was not the case."

"That was not the case!"

"Aye, aye. So, we can agree that there's no winner to this match, right?"

"Oh? I'm glad you understand at last."

"But you know, despite whether or not there is a winner, the fact remains, you did take go back on the premise of a staredown match."

"N-No I didn't! I already told you, you didn't win!"

"Yes, I'm aware. But, you lost. For sure. Yep. Certainly. I mean, I didn't win because I went back on the premise and managed to manipulate you into looking away, but it's crystal clear that you did look away, right? Or are you going to deny something that actually happened?!"

There are times in life that the feeling of watching someone lose is far greater than seeing yourself winning. Because seeing others lose is the ultimate victory.

"...Well, I guess it did happen."

"Oh, great. Then, you admit of losing, loser?"

"Don't call me a loser!"

"Nope. You're a loser here. Loser, loser, loser, loser, loser, loser, loser, los-"

"Ahhhh!!! Stop it, stop it! Don't say it anymore! This never happened! Don't talk to me again!"

Angrily retorting at me like that, she grabs her school bag and takes off.

However----

"Wait! I need to tell you something, sorry."

"Didn't you hear what I just said? Don't talk to me!"

"But it's important! I know that you don't want me to talk to you, but please, just this one time!"

I was on my knees even. I had to make sure that she understood that I was truly desperate to get my wish granted.

"...What? Are you going to apologize for what you just called me?"

What? No way in hell.

"You're going to eat right now, right?"

"Yes, what of it?"

Well, I'm glad she is.

"Okay. So, when you are about to eat, can I ask you to do something?"

"I'll consider it if this is your way of apologizing."

She's really in high hopes, isn't she?

"Please make sure to add salt to your food."

She then slams the door and leaves.