The Author's POV

Ci Clank—!

Closing the door behind him, Kevin got out of his apartment. Taking a deep breath, he stared at the scenery before him with lethargic eyes.

Closing his eyes for a brief moment of time, he soon opened them again and proceeded to head down.

"There you are, Kevin."

Waiting for him below was Emma who waved her hand in his direction.

Kevin's feet came to a pause. Staring at Emma who was waiting for him from below, Kevin's unfocused eyes became a little bit more focused.

'Emma...she's alive.'

Faint fragments of the vision replayed in his mind as he stared at her. Each time recollection resulted in a stinging sensation inside of his heart.

Smiling weakly, he nodded his head and greeted her back.

"Yeah...I'm here."

His voice was rather weak, but it was loud enough for Emma to hear. Of course, Emma was able to notice that something was wrong as her brows knit together.

"What is up with you? Are you okay?"

"...I'm good."

Kevin gave a short reply. Then, placing his hand on the handrail, he walked down the stairs of the building.

Not convinced by Kevin's words, Emma leaned forward. A worried look flashed across her face.

"…You don't seem to be okay? Should we have you checked?"

"I'm really fine."

Kevin raised his head and met Emma's eyes. They stared off for a good minute before Emma eventually relented.

"Alright, if you say so."

Staring into the distance, she flipped her hat backward.

"Let's go then. The others are probably already waiting for us."

Rummaging through her pockets, Emma took out a pack of gums. Taking one of the gums she placed it in her mouth and started chewing.

"Munch…munch…want one?"

Extending her hand, she offered one to Kevin. Raising his hand, Kevin politely refused.

"No thank you."

"Munch…munch…suit yourself."

Putting the pack of gums away, Emma blew a bubble gum and proceeded to head towards the center of the Issanor.

Pop—

"Ukeh!"

But just as she took two steps, her bubble burst apart and the gum splattered all over her face.

***

Today was the day of the conference tournament.

As the sun slowly rose from the horizon the atmosphere in Issanor became extremely lively and filled with excitement.

This was the event that everyone was eagerly awaiting.

Not just for the prizes, but for its meaning as well. It was the event that decided the fate of the alliance between the three races.

When I arrived at the main tournament square, the place was already boiling with noise.

orcs, and humans alike gathered in groups as they chatted

expression of nervousness and excitement. This was understandable however as the tournament held a lot more meaning to them than the other

they are

the distance, I caught a glimpse of Amanda,

They looked like famous celebrities surrounded by a bunch of fans,

understandable, however. After all, not only were they extremely good-looking, but their talents and achievements at their

a doubt, they were

on my lips as I witnessed this

just

I had seen it multiple times

all grown up and were entirely different people from the past, their shine never

now...where are the

I glanced around the crowd and looked for Waylan and the

skip my training session I decided to just go

stereotype of girls being slow

'I see them.'

the far corner of the human section I caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. It was Douglas. Behind him were

was currently not wearing a

Waylan and me. The others not so much.

my clothes, I headed in their

"You're finally here."

arriving, I was immediately greeted by Douglas who had a

a

fine. We're not in

the

Leopold, Smallsnake, and Ryan who weren't planning on participating, Ava and Hein had nervous looks on

too long ago they were brimming with confidence. But as they stared at the

all, there were a lot of talented people present today, and everyone here

me as

aiming for the

costs. It was the item that only the winner could get and with it, I would have no trouble breaking through to rank in half of the

"…hm?"

raising my head, I suddenly noticed Melissa and the others heading in my direction. I deeply sighed at

definitely

just how much I hated attention, and she was definitely coming to me knowing that it would attract the attention of the

right in front of me. As they stopped, I suddenly felt hundreds of eyes directed in my direction and

I asked in

doing this

voice as I tried to make

"…Doing what?"

ignorance and pretended to not have understood the

"Here."

her head,

don't think you will need it, I believe that your

was obviously referring to Hein

you

turning around,

but Ava didn't so I spent the next couple of minutes explaining to them how the cards worked. Once I was done, the both of them looked at Melissa

behind Melissa and the others,

guys seen Kevin

really the type to be

absence kind of felt weird. Or maybe I was just overthinking things? Could just be that he was hanging out with

"They're over there."

was wondering about Kevin's whereabouts, Amanda suddenly spoke as she pointed towards

"Where?"

"There."

direction of where she pointed, but my vision wasn't as good as hers so it took me a while

long for me to finally

"Oh, I see them."

self, but Kevin looked a bit different than usual. There was this

he sick

hair was disheveled and his overall complexion looked extremely pale. The current Kevin looked to be in no state to participate in the

was looking at Kevin in the distance, seemingly having noticed my stare, Kevin raised his head and

"…hm?"