Intervention
(Aria’s POV)
I pushed open the washroom door and stiffened at the sight that greeted me.
Two bodies lay on the floor. One was Ethan, the guy who'd tried talking to me earlier in the main hall. He clutched his side like he'd taken a solid hit.
The other was a boy with messy black hair, academy uniform torn at the shoulder, face bruised and swelling. He was obviously in much worse shape than Ethan, breathing hard, hands trembling.
I realized it was the main character.
Near.
My eyes darted around as I tried to piece together what had happened.
A fight? Obviously. But why were they both down?
Wasn't Ethan supposed to handle the main character in one punch?
Don't tell me Near used his power.
My gaze flickered toward him. That would make sense, if he'd managed to land a hit with Acceleration, even Ethan wouldn't have seen it coming.
But what should I do about this mess?
I sighed, then moved forward.
First one to respond was Ethan. He stirred, then his eyes found me. "Aria?"
Hearing my name roll off his tongue made me want to step on his face. Maybe it was because he'd annoyed me earlier, or maybe I just hated this dude's face in general.
"What's going on here?" I asked him.
Maybe he was too confused to see me here that he couldn't even let out words. I shook my head, then checked on Near. Aside from his condition, he was breathing slowly, he had fainted, probably due to his use of power.
His power, Acceleration, allows him to increase his speed as the name suggests, but him probably being F-rank burned through all his stamina.
Clicking my tongue, I went toward the sink and grabbed a handful of water before splashing it on his face.
Near jolted awake with a gasp. "W-What?!" Water dripped down his face as his eyes darted around wildly before landing on me, then toward Ethan.
"You—" He lunged toward Ethan, but all he met was a kick to his stomach before he was licking the floor again.
I stared down at him. Okay, maybe I put too much force, he was coughing way too loudly, hacking up saliva, practically convulsing on the tiles. Even Ethan was startled, his eyes wide.
What? Why are you looking at me like that? I wanted to say. Weren't you beating him up just a minute ago? If I do it, what's the difference?
I shot Ethan a cold look. He quickly looked away, suddenly very interested in the floor. Good. At least he had some survival instincts.
After that little rebellion, both of them sat down on their knees facing the floor like good boys as I eyed them and asked, "So, who is going to explain to me what's going on here?"
Near kept his head down, still catching his breath. So Ethan did the honors and opened his mouth.
"This guy is a F-rank Bast—"
SLAP.
The sound echoed through the washroom.
Ethan's head whipped to the side, his cheek instantly reddening. He stared at me in shock, hand slowly rising to his face.
I lowered my hand calmly. "Can't you stop letting gutter come out of your mouth?"
"I... what?"
"Explain," I said coldly. "Without the profanity, like a civilized person.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. Then tried again. "He's... an F-rank. He shouldn't be here at the academy. I was just... questioning how he got in.”
"By beating him half to death?"
Ethan had no answer to that.
I had a headache. In the original novel, Aria was just supposed to stop Near and Ethan's fight one time, and they would continue this whole cat-and-mouse game of fighting each other.
It’s not like now. I've done this, I can back out halfheartedly.
"Both of you, stand up.”
They scrambled to their feet, Near swaying slightly.
"Ethan." I fixed him with a cold stare. "Whether he's F-rank or SSS-rank isn't your concern. The academy admitted him. That means he earned his place here, whatever you think about it."
Ethan's jaw clenched, but he nodded stiffly.
Turning toward Near I said. "And you. Stop picking fights you can't win."
"But I didn't—" he started.
I raised my hand shutting him up
"I don't care who started it. You're both students here now. Act like it." I glanced between them. "If I catch either of you fighting again, I'll report it to the student council."
They both stiffened. The student council was very intolerant toward this kind of thing, they could very well be suspended if they got caught.
“Now I would be going.”
I stepped out of the washroom with light steps. What I did today, I genuinely felt was for the best. And wasn't the aim of the mission to reach best possible outcome?
As I thought that.
Ding!
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[QUEST COMPLETED]
Quest: Guide the First Episode
Status: COMPLETED
Calculating appropriate reward...
Reward: +1 Free Status Point
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