章 36: A New Turn [4]
Each and every step felt heavy as I attempted to do my morning run, but realistically, it was more of a jog at this point. The weights on my wrists and ankles were pushing me down to the point where I felt three times heavier.
That still didn't mean that I would skip out on roadwork in the mornings, even if I did follow Ms. Sterling's advice and did some lighter calisthenics work yesterday instead of lifting weights in the gym. Although it was debatable whether it was lighter or not, as the weights that were stuck to my body made a lot more difficult than a normal workout.
'But this time, I won't fall...'
I knew that if I kept going like this, I would inevitably find myself in a hospital bed again, so therefore I was already prepared to make some concessions. I would never sacrifice my morning roadwork, nor would I skip any of the course lectures. However, I was preparing myself to skip some of the evening workouts if needed and instead use that time for other things, like using my phone to learn more about this world.
'Hmm?'
A presence suddenly closed in on me, dragging me out of my own thoughts.
"Hey... why are you running so slowly?"
"No reason."
Wearing a gray hoodie and a pair of dark tights that accentuated her thighs, Celine was for some reason now running next to me. Although she wasn't looking at me, I could somehow sense that she was forcing herself to speak to me, very likely as she wanted to make sure that I was okay after last week.
"Do you always run in the mornings?"
"Yep."
"...don't you get enough training from QCQ? Do you really need to train before and after school?"
"I don't. And yes, I do."
"...am I bothering you?"
It couldn't be helped that I kept my answers curt and succinct, as even if I was jogging slowly, it was still taking quite a toll on my body due to the weights. Honestly, talking while jogging did make things a bit more difficult but when asked if she was a bother, the answer was clear.
"No. It's nice to talk to someone."
"I see..."
Unfortunately, as my gaze was still focused straight ahead, I wasn't able to see the slightly reddened cheeks on Celine's face as we kept jogging in silence.
****
[Celine's POV]
'What am I doing...'
Running next to Ray, I had no idea how I ended up here. Having been inspired by seeing him run in the mornings, I had also decided to go out for a run today before getting my morning coffee as it felt like a good way to kickstart the day.
However, somehow, when I saw him jog past the central administrative building in the middle of campus, I couldn't stop myself from talking to him. There had been no way for me to fight the meddling voice in my head that forced me to check up on him, still a bit worried after seeing him pass out last week.
And now, we were here.
At first, I was frustrated as Ray appeared to be very annoyed that I talked to him. Thoughts like 'he should be happy that he even gets to talk to me' had filled my mind, but after explicitly asking him what he thought, I couldn't be angry anymore.
'-It's nice to talk to someone.'
It hurt. It hurt because somehow I knew that those were his honest thoughts, that even the small experience of talking to someone honestly meant a lot to him. Or rather, having someone by his side, as we were now running in silence.
That was until...
"Hey, you!"
... someone shouted across campus, making Ray and me stop in our tracks to see what was going on.
'That's... George Strad!'
Like most students, I was acutely aware of who the blonde man was. The heir to the famous Strad company, one of the largest weapon dealers in the world. And this man was for some reason now staring daggers at Ray, who in turn was as expressionless as ever, with a tinge of annoyance.
"Yes?"
"What do you mean, yes?! Have you already forgotten how you embarrassed me yesterday?!"
'Ray did what?!'
Right now, I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but I could also very easily imagine that Ray had done something stupid to piss off George yesterday. Because that was more or less his signature feature at this point.
Looking up at the black-haired man, I could sort of tell from his dark eyes that he wasn't sure what exactly he had done, but he also didn't seem surprised enough to prove that he didn't do something.
"Therefore, I will now make an official dueling request! It doesn't matter to me whether you are a freshman or not, I will still not tolerate your acts of disrespect!"
"A duel? So... a match, I guess?"
Once again Ray surprised us by showing just how little common knowledge he appeared to have, as he didn't even seem to fully know what a duel was. As he guessed, a duel was a one-on-one match between two students, but what made duels a serious matter was the fact that there were always stakes.
George still didn't let it get to him as he pushed the challenge once again.
"Yes, it's a match! So, do you accept...freshman?!"
"My name is Ray. But sure? I guess I accept the duel?"
'This idiot!'
I knew that I had nothing to do with this, that this was none of my business. But I still couldn't help trying to stop Ray from doing something stupid. He had already done enough stupid things as it were.
"Ray! Don't just accept without thinking things through!"
"Huh? But, it's just a match though? Isn't it a good opportunity for me to learn a lot from an upperclassman?"
"It's not just a match!"
"Hmm? Is that so?"
Scratching his head, it was crystal clear that he had absolutely no idea whatsoever about what a duel actually entailed.
Unfortunately, it was already too late as George had already heard him accepting the duel.
"Good! Then I will talk to a teacher who will supervise the duel! Prepare yourself... Ray!"
Walking away with a slimy grin, George quickly left me and the still-confused Ray alone.
"What were you thinking?! Don't you realize that there is no way you can decline the duel now if someone like George pulls some strings?!"
"Someone like George? Is he someone famous?"
"Yes!"
"Oh, I see. But does that matter? Isn't everyone equal in the academy no matter their background?"
'This man... doesn't know shit!'
It was extremely aggravating, the way Ray just went along with everything that happened around him without seemingly thinking at all. All the thoughts I used to have about him being calculating and meticulous had now vanished, leaving only the impression of him being an absolute moron.
"Haa... at least he was the one who challenged you, which means that you get to decide the stakes."
"Well, I do like ribeyes a lot. But do I have to cook them as well? Hehe!"
"...do you think you're funny?"
From not wanting to speak more than a few words to now making atrociously bad jokes with a straight face, I had no idea what to make of him anymore.
"Well, what's done is done. And if I get to decide the stakes, then it doesn't matter, right?"
"It does matter! Duels are so rare that the entire school will watch! Everyone will see you getting beat up!"
Suddenly, his eyes got sharper.
"Me getting beat up? Perhaps. But I also have no intentions of losing."
"Ray..."
Right now, he looked a lot like Cerus often did. Putting on a strong face despite putting insane expectations on themselves.
What was weird about that was that for Cerus, it was understandable as he was constantly pressured by his surroundings to perform. For Ray, however... he had no one, at least as far as I could tell.
Ray was putting all this pressure on himself all on his own, to the point where he passed out while pushing himself to train.
He was an idiot, there was no doubt about it, but there was also no way he didn't have an idea about what was going on around him. If that was the case, there's no way he would be accepted into AH.
'It's frustrating...'
Gripping the fabric of my tights, my head slumped down as my stomach twisted in angst.
"Why... why do you keep doing this to yourself? Can't you just live normally without torturing yourself all the time?"
"Hmm? Torturing myself?"
"You know what I mean! You are always doing things that makes people think badly of you and hurting yourself!"
"That's impossible for me. For me, this is the only way to survive. However..."
"However, what?!"
"It honestly have nothing to do with you, does it? We barely know each other, after all."
"Ah...!"
His words woke me up from the tv-drama scene that I had created inside my own head, making me realize just how embarrassing this truly was. Because just like he said, we barely even knew each other.
"I-i-i... damn it! You're such an idiot! I don't care!"
Feeling my cheeks heating up like two ovens, I ran away, as I couldn't look at him anymore without feeling sick with shame for behaving like a character out if a teenage drama.
'I'm such an idiot!'
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