"I can't believe that driver just kicked us off the bus! Tch!" Yanis fumed, kicking a branch on the ground in frustration.
"If you hadn't picked a fight, this wouldn't have happened," Marlene said with a pout, clearly annoyed.
"Oy, that guy started it, Marlene. He was trying to hit on you," Yanis retorted, pointing at Nyrel, who was walking ahead with Ephera.
"He wasn't hitting on me, and you know that, Yanis," Marlene countered, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, come on!" Yanis exclaimed.
"This is why Mr. Marron keeps kicking you out of class," Marlene complained.
"That guy can't believe I'm doing well without his damn classes." Yanis scoffed.
"Mr. Marron? You mean Professor Marron?" Ephera suddenly turned around, her face a mix of surprise and shock.
"Yeah, you know him?" Marlene asked, curious.
"Yeah, he's our marketing teacher," Ephera replied, piecing things together. "You guys go to the same school as us?"
"No way, you seem like the type who would study literature," Yanis said, dumbfounded.
Ephera laughed. "And you're the last one I'd expect to study at an IT school."
"Don't judge a book by its cover. I'm smarter than both of you combined," Yanis retorted, smirking.
Marlene shook her head with a smile. "Yeah, right, Yanis. Keep telling yourself that."
"Must be hard for you. He doesn't even know the road ahead. It's a must for a boyfriend," Ephera giggled, tapping Nyrel's shoulder with a proud smile.
"I am not your boyfriend, though?" Nyrel responded, slightly confused.
"Yeah, yeah, keep advancing, Nyr!" Ephera ignored him, still smiling.
"Ah? I know the way exactly! You guys are just following us," Yanis snorted.
"We're following you from ahead of you?" Ephera laughed but abruptly stopped as her nose collided with Nyrel's shoulder.
"Nyr? You hurt me…" Ephera rubbed her nose with teary eyes.
But Nyrel's gaze was fixed ahead.
"Don't tell me you're seeing someone else again?" Ephera asked, following Nyrel's gaze but quickly understood why he stopped.
A group of men, clearly delinquents and some visibly drunk, were walking toward them while laughing among themselves.
"Great, just what we needed," Marlene muttered under her breath.
Yanis stepped forward, trying to look confident. "Alright, let's just walk past them. They're probably just passing through."
Nyrel remained still, his eyes narrowing. "Stay behind me," he instructed Ephera, his voice calm but firm.
Ephera glanced at him, then at the approaching group, feeling a mix of apprehension and curiosity. "Do you think they'll cause trouble?"
Nyrel didn't answer immediately, his focus entirely on the men. "Just be ready for anything."
Any group of men drunk like that wouldn't spell anything good if they met another group of sober boys and girls who were younger. Moreover Ephera and Marlene were really beautiful. It was like an intuition for Nyrel.
The group of delinquents noticed them and started jeering. One of them, a tall man with a scruffy beard, called out, "Hey, where do you think you're going? Got any spare cash?"
"Just keep walking," Nyrel said quietly to just Ephera, moving forward with a steady pace but Marlene also followed his cue holding Yanis' arm who was clearly the most likely to snap. Yanis clenched his fists already glaring. Marlene and Ephera followed Nyrel's lead, their expressions wary.
The delinquents moved to block their path, and the scruffy bearded man stepped closer, grinning menacingly. "I said, got any spare cash?"
Nyrel stepped forward, standing between Ephera and the delinquents. "We don't want any trouble. Let us pass."
The man laughed, a harsh, unpleasant sound. "Trouble? Who said anything about trouble? We're just being friendly. Isn't that right, boys?"
"And girls with it ahahaha!"
"Yeah come with us! We will show what a real man is!"
The other delinquents laughed and jeered, closing in.
Yanis, unable to contain his frustration, snapped, "Get out of our way fuckers!"
The atmosphere grew tense as the group faced off. Nyrel remained calm, his eyes locked on the leader. "This is your last warning. Let us pass."
For a moment, there was silence. Then, the leader lunged forward, attempting to grab Nyrel.
In a swift, fluid motion, Nyrel sidestepped and deflected the man's arm, sending him stumbling past. "I warned you."
Nyrel swiftly kicked the leader in the back, sending him crashing to the ground with a thud. He didn't hold back at all, and the leader's head collided forcefully with the solid earth.
Ephera watched in awe, her eyes wide with excitement. "He's... amazing," she whispered, her voice filled with admiration.
"Um... Ephera?" Marlena called out timidly.
"Shut it, fuckers!" The other three were about to pounce on Nyrel, but Yanis intervened, landing a powerful punch on the first attacker and breaking his nose in the process.
Nyrel walked past Yanis and grabbed the drunken, trembling man. Without hesitation, he punched him square in the face.
"I said let us pass, didn't I?"
"Did I say it or not?"
Nyrel continued to punch the man, who had already lost consciousness, each blow landing with a sickening thud.
"Hey, stop. He's out," Yanis said, grabbing Nyrel's arm to halt his assault.
Nyrel tried to pull free, but Yanis's grip was strong.
"Nyr, please," Ephera said softly, patting Nyrel's back to calm him.
Looking down at the man's disfigured face, Nyrel finally released his grip and let the man fall to the ground.
Yanis had already taken care of the other two, so now they could leave unimpeded.
"Look at your hand," Ephera sighed in exasperation, taking Nyrel's bloodied right hand and gently wiping it with a tissue.
"You are stronger than you appear, don't you?" Yanis said with a snort.
"Don't judge a book by its cover," Nyr replied, turning around to leave.
"Ah, he got you back, Yanis!" Marlene giggled.
"Tch." Yanis snorted in embarrassment.
"Finally!" Ephera exclaimed, feeling a mixture of exhaustion and excitement after half an hour of walking. Her face lit up with happiness as she stood in front of the gaming store.
"We should have been home already," Nyr muttered with a grimace, unable to comprehend Ephera's eagerness to buy whatever game it was that she desired.
Glancing behind him, still wearing a grimace, Nyr noticed Yanis and Marlene trailing behind them, their presence a reminder of their prolonged journey.
Seeing Nyr's expression, which clearly conveyed his thoughts, Marlene averted her gaze in embarrassment. "I-It's Yanis!" she stammered, attempting to justify their presence.
"I can't believe it! This store already has the new PlayStation available?!" Yanis exclaimed, his face pressed against the store window in excitement.
"Let's pick out your game quickly," Nyr urged Ephera, ushering her inside the store. Yanis eagerly followed, while Marlene trailed behind, her weariness evident.
As Nyr stepped into the store, he quickly noticed a girl's gaze fixed on him. He furrowed his brow, recognizing her as a new classmate, though her name escaped him. It wasn't the first time he had caught her observing him, but to encounter her here again was unexpected.
He didn't entertain the notion that he was being followed; it was surely just a coincidence. Still, it caught him off guard.
'Do girls really like games that much?'
"This is it!" Ephera's voice broke his train of thought as she raised a game, her smile filled with excitement.
"Princess and Dragon?" Nyr read the game's title, eyeing the various characters depicted on the cover. It was undoubtedly a fantasy game, given the character with literal blue hair gracing the front. However, the art style was surprisingly realistic, rather than the typical manga aesthetic.
"A dating sim game? Really, Ephera?" Nyr asked with a neutral stare.
"Yeah! Look at him! Doesn't he look like you?!" Ephera nodded, her grin radiant as she pointed to a grey-haired, fat man on the cover, sporting a wide smirk, his gaze below on the Heroine with blue hair.
"Okay, that's enough. I'm leaving," Nyr visibly upset, turning to exit but inadvertently colliding with Yanis.
"Oh! This is the new game! I heard about it! They said it's really gory and hardcore!" Yanis exclaimed, snatching the game from Ephera's hand and examining it with eager eyes.
"Right?!" Ephera chimed in with a giggle.
Nyr and Marlene exchanged a bewildered glance, clearly taken aback by the exchange.
"Is there anything else interesting here?" Nyr inquired as he scanned the store.
"I'm not sure... maybe these figurines?" Marlene suggested, holding up a rabbit figurine with a smile.
"Perhaps not..." Marlene chuckled, setting it back down.
While Nyr and Marlene browsed, Ephera and Yanis bombarded the clerk with questions about the game.
"I'm sorry about Yanis... he's just a bit quick to anger, but he's not a bad guy," Marlene apologized suddenly.
Nyr shrugged. "It was my fault to begin with. Don't worry about it."
Marlene smiled happily. "So, how long have you two been together?"
Nyrel was confused at first but then understood that she was speaking about him and Ephera.
"We're not together... she's just teasing me," Nyr clarified, shaking his head.
"Really? It doesn't seem like that..." Marlene replied, her tone curious.
Nyr didn't know how to respond. His relationship with Ephera was rather unique, after all.
"This girl..." Nyr's attention quickly shifted to the same girl who had locked eyes with him earlier before averting her gaze.
He approached her swiftly, halting in front of her.
"E-Excuse me..." She attempted to pass, but Nyr blocked her path.
"Who are you? Why do you keep looking at me, even in class and now here?" Nyr asked directly, his gaze cold and piercing.
"T-That's…" The young woman panicked a little before suddenly reaching out her hand behind Nyr, grabbing a game from a nearby box. "I-I just came to buy this game…" She held up the same game [Princess and Dragon] that Ephera and Yanis were excited about.
Nyrel frowned. "That doesn't answer my question—"
"Oh! You too, Gladys?!" Ephera interrupted, barging in with a bright grin as she called out to their classmate.
Gladys was taken aback but managed to respond shyly. "U-Um, yes…"
"Then you're one of us! Come on, let's buy it together. Yanis is holding the line for us," Ephera exclaimed, grabbing Gladys' arm and pulling her along.
"No need to be shy about it," Ephera giggled.
"..." Nyr watched the duo leave before turning to see Yanis glaring and intimidating the other clients to hold their place in line for him and Ephera.
"Is that really a good game?" Marlene asked, her expression serious as she picked up a copy of the game and scrutinized it with narrowed eyes.
"I don't know at all…" Nyrel replied, his gaze wandering to the game's cover, where the grey-haired man stared back at him.