Chapter 161: 161 Jin wanted a change.

As the conclusion of the battle unfolds before his eyes, Jin, who stands still, moves his stiff legs, walking under the heavy silence that enveloped the coliseum.

Meanwhile, the girl with red hair descended on the ground, and her orange eyes glanced upon the unconscious Allen.

The girl’s body flinched, stopping midway after she looked at Jin’s approaching figure.

“Why are you hesitating?”.

Jin asked, his steps halted a few meters before Allen. His emerald eyes scanned the girl’s surfaces.

Her rough and violent tendencies came from her fiery attitude. But, who knows, maybe she was a pretty calm person, just like his mother.

Silence hung between the two, and then the girl snorted while turning her body hundred eighty.

“Hmph, it’s none of your business”.

The girl walked off, leaving Jin, who couldn’t help but giggle behind his palm.

’Typical girl with fiery attitude’. Jin laughed off the girl’s violent affection toward Allen and crouched beside him.

He slipped his hands under the boy’s back and knees, pulling the snow-haired boy up effortlessly and putting him on his shoulder.

’He is lighter than expected’.

Jin stood and swept his eyes over the crowds; some of them whistled in, and some clapped as Jin pulled his responsibilities as the team leader.

His gaze stopped at the commentator’s seat where Selene was present.

Beside the girl was a familiar man who tended to slack off when meeting the right person for the right job.

In this tournament also, he didn’t say a single word aside from informing Selene who were the next candidates that entered the arena.

Jin gazed at the old man’s trembling eyes and pushed his chin elsewhere, gesturing to the man to follow him.

Dannan, who caught the messages, nodded furiously and stood up from his seat, talking briefly with Selene.

His huge figure bolted out from the seat, attracting the crowd’s gaze in wonder.

Jin was not finished. Within this ocean of people, his emerald eyes busily swam over, searching for the girl he needed, no, Allen needed.

A moment passed, and then Jin’s eyes met with Lily, who waved her hands furiously, telling him where she was.

The girl was agitated, with tears glittering in her large eyes. Her pink hair fluttered gently in the wind, pulling all the male eyes toward her cute reaction.

He lifted the unconscious boy, prompting the flustered girl to nod, and darted away from the seat, leaving a lingering bittersweet moment.

Jin walked to the tunnel, recalling the earlier match.

’I’m glad Allen’s power could manifest early, unlike in the story’.

In the original timeline, Allen would awaken his power when he tried to stop one of the nobles in the Eira Kingdom from wreaking havoc.

That scene would happen in the Summer after the tournament, also the time when Jin fell completely into the hand of Thypon.

Thanks to Jin’s second encounter with Kenji, he was able to extract more information about the plot and important events that would happen in the future.

However, all of that was irrelevant to him as Jin still had the lingering nightmare that still haunted him, in minus detail.

“How was he, Jin?”.

Silvia’s soothing voice broke Jin from his thoughts, and he turned to his side.

“He was asleep, there is nothing to be worried about”.

Jin noticed the twinkling stars in their eyes, feeling curious as to what power Allen unleashed earlier.

As the boy in mention was knocked out, they swallowed back their tongue and held the questions for later.

“I see, then what are you waiting for!”. Iris’ sharp tone shattered the awkward silence in the tunnel. “Hurry and bring him into the infirmary”.

“I will. Take care of the group when I’m out, Silvia”.

“Alright”.

After seeing Silvia nod firmly, Jin walked off, but a cheerful voice that echoed in the place halted his steps.

“Then, darling can I come with you, please~”.

Lucya raised her hand high, stretching her toes to get a better presence from others.

Jin shifted at the girl; her large blue eyes gleamed with sparkles. “…Sure”.

“Yaay~. See you later”. Lucya glanced at Silvia and Iris.

Both girls stared with half-opened eyes, exasperated by the princess’s whim that had gotten shameless since the incident of the monster wave.

Lucya was born new, stripped from her old shell. The once princess, with dignity, now was nothing but a spoiled girl who wanted affection from her partner.

Silvia and Iris understand that feeling, but they tend to preserve the affection in public and do it at their own pace.

Jin, who saw Lucya, stood next to him; her smile bloomed like a flower in the spring, filled with life.

He was helpless before that smile. “Let’s go, I already called teacher Dannan and Lily earlier”.

“Okay~”.

While walking in the tunnel, hearing his bouncing steps echoed through the end. Jin peeked to his side, watching the girl matching his pace.

Usually, at this time, the boy was the one who should be slowed down, but with the situation they were in, that was practically impossible.

With the silence and cheer from the arena, Jin looked straight ahead, recalling to himself that he never told the girl how he was feeling.

He was indeed fond of them being near him.

It would be a lie if Jin didn’t want a change in their relationship status.

And in his birthday party, Jin conveyed how happy he was by giving the girls kisses on the forehead.

A symbol of deep affection and care. But Jin wondered if the meaning was conveyed properly.

’Right, I should be front with my feelings for them’.

Jin exhaled sharply, washing away the hesitation that lingered in his heart.

’The moment I cleared the World Quest. Then that time, …I can tell them my feelings’.

Warm light filtered through the translucent windows stretched on the sides, casting a long shadow behind Jin as he walked in silence.

The cheer from the crowds faded as he could only hear his pounding heart, glancing at the girl beside him who hummed in a melodious tune.

But then, a faint whisper carried by the wind entered his ears, rocking his calm soul.

“…Jin, I love you…”.

The memories stuck in his mind like a cancer, gnawing at his consciousness with warmth.

Jin could almost see her silhouette sitting on that chair, holding a book with a sweet fragrance coming from the cookies she had baked.

’…Athena’. Jin muttered, his voice laced with deep sorrow. ’I will come for you…’.

“Hmm, what’s the matter, darling?”.

Lucya’s sweet voice broke the fragments, shattering his hazy mind.

Jin shook his head, telling himself to focus on the matter at hand.

“I’m thinking of something”.

“Hmm, is that so?”. Lucya leaned forward, her large blue eyes flashed in weird glint, probing the boy’s true emotions.

She didn’t want to pry deeper and instead tugged the boy’s sleeves with the flirty tone Lucya spoke.

“Hey darling, can you give me some tips?”.

“What tips?”. Jin tilted his head, staring at Lucya with a deep wrinkle on her face.

“It is about the match with that flame girl…”.

“Oh… Let me hear it”.

Lucya started to ramble along the way. Her energetic voice and her demeanor scream happiness, chasing away the black cloud enveloping Jin’s chest.

The two shadows gently merged into each other with silly laughter from the girl, easing the boy’s mental state, who carried a severe burden that weighed him down to an unavoidable fate.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep