Chapter 54: Girl Talk

Variety was the spice of life.

Though duels traditionally took place between two individuals, the once personal event had evolved into a sport viewed by hundreds of millions worldwide. The audience relished the chaos of group and themed battles, so outside of matches to determine a person's official Rank, most modern duels pitted teams of five to fifteen against one another.

Similar to how the Hero King, Callum, led the world's forces against those of the Creator God, individual Duelist Teams were broken down into three groups of five. The first was a scouting party, representing those who had ventured into the very heart of enemy territory. The second was known as the Iron Wall, prioritizing defense and safeguarding various objectives and control points. As for the last, representing King Callum and his wives, the progenitors of the Four Great Constellations, their duty was to serve as a multi-purpose strike force. They were also the only ones who could claim objectives. And if the 'King' were eliminated, the match would be called in the enemy's favor...

...

"Are you nervous...?" asked Hyste, noticing that Madeen was even quieter than usual, seemingly lost in thought as she sat with the other members of the scouting party in their waiting room. They were only minutes from her first official match against a rival Academy's First-Year Deulist Team, so a bit of trepidation was to be expected.

"Why would I be nervous...?" asked Madeen, causing Hyste to exhale an awkward chuckle before remarking, "It just seems like you're not all here, you know? Want to talk about it?"

"..."

Had Hyste asked such a question three months prior, Madeen would have ignored her or told her to mind her own business. She still wasn't all that sociable, but as she spent more time with girls her age and people who seemed to genuinely care about her, she gradually lowered her defenses.

Averting her eyes, concealed by her visor, Madeen softly explained, "Will has been helping Aisha, a girl from our class, train..."

"Oh~?" hummed Hyste, a cat-like expression developing across her face as she drew nearer to ask, "Then, why are you acting all depressed? Get angry and then channel that anger into today's match!"

"I have no reason to be angry..." grumbled Madeen, her sulky tone and body language a stark contrast to her claim.

"You really like him, don't you?" asked Hyste, giving Madeen a bit of space and crossing her arms.

"Not that I can't understand," added Hyste. "He's tall, muscular, has a great background, and is a lot more mature than most boys our age. Have you tried asking him out?"

Contemplating her response, Madeen eventually answered, "Will doesn't have an interest in things like girls and romance. He says he wants to focus on his training..."

"Mmm...that does sound like something he'd say..." affirmed Hyste, raising her gaze to a spot above Madeen's head, recalling how relaxed, borderline 'casual' Will was around member of the opposite sex. Most boys got flustered or couldn't prevent their eyes from wandering, but Will always stared off into space or focused on whatever he was doing unless you said or did something to catch his attention. It made him easy to be around, but it was definitely strange...

"Hey, cut the chatter and get ready," said the de facto leader of the scouting party, a young boy with short brown hair, bright blue eyes, and a pair of bladed, shield-like gauntlets for weapons.

"Shove it up yer bum, Art. Your Rank might place you above us, but if you think that gives you the right to dictate when and what we talk about, you're delusional," countered Hyste, giving Art a three-fingered gesture with her index finger and thumb forming a loop, effectively telling him he could fuck off.

"I don't care what you talk about on your own time," contended Art. "But we nearly lost our last match against the Varne's Institute. If we don't remain focused, it isn't just our reputations that are on the line..."

"Yeah, yeah," responded Hyste, waving Art off before returning her attention to Madeen and stating, "Anyways, you should still try asking him out. If you think he'll refuse, tell him you feel like you've reached a bottleneck and ask him to help you overcome it. Will may act mature, but he's still a boy. If you can get him alone and act vulnerable, he should try to comfort you. If that doesn't work, you could try acting distant. If he cares about you, he'll take notice and come to ask if you're okay. That's when you lay things bare or pounce."

"Do things like that actually work...?" asked Madeen, having little knowledge of the intricacies of interpersonal relationships, much less romance.

"Well, I'm not exactly a love guru," replied Hyste, spreading her hands and shrugging. "But I was pretty popular among the boys I used to run around with back at my family's estate. In the end, just like you want Will to focus on and spend time with you, most guys just want attention, someone who can support them, or someone they can unwind with. If you can figure out what Will's missing and provide it, he'll be like putty in your hands."

"I don't know..." muttered Madeen, hanging her head and slumping her shoulders as she remarked, "I don't think Will is missing anything. And the only thing I'm good at is something he's much better at..."

'This girl has it down bad...' thought Hyste, scratching her head. She also felt that Will was a catch, but as she had no desire to become something like a Lady, she could never date him. Not seriously at least.

"Well, he sure as stool stinks isn't perfect," said Hyste. "I think the bigger issue is the number of girls who view him as a kind of jackpot in terms of marriageability. If I'm right, the main reason Will refuses to date anyone is because he doesn't want to hurt the feelings of his admirers. Then there's the fact that any girl he dates will become a target of ire for everyone who feels like he could have been theirs."

"Mmm..."

Though she was tempted to ask why Hyste presented everyone as being possessive, Madeen could vaguely comprehend why. She didn't feel that Will belonged to her, but if he dated another girl, she would likely resent and find all kinds of faults with them. It wasn't rational, but neither were the emotions she had been experiencing from the moment Will aided and subsequently ignored her...

...