Chapter 36 : Chapter 36
Episode 36 : Friend
When Sal turned around, Divinity was looking at him with a relieved expression.
He was still linking arms with Hannah, and that fact seemed to have clearly registered in Divinity's eyes.
Sal expected her to give a sarcastic smirk or throw a playful joke, but Divinity turned her gaze back to Melanie without any such reaction.
While the confrontation with the second-years was taking place, many first-years seemed to have come down from the stands and approached the stage area.
Amidst the cheers for free drinks, Sal could barely hear what Hannah was saying to him.
Wincing slightly at the ear-piercing shouts, he pointed toward the nearest spectator seats, and Hannah walked in step with him.
He also looked back toward Divinity and pointed in the direction they were heading, and Divinity nodded, signaling she understood.
But before they had taken even two steps, someone grabbed his elbow.
It didn't feel aggressive, but it was a gesture he couldn't just ignore and walk past.
Turning his head, Sal was slightly surprised to see Dave standing there unexpectedly.
"You two, were you a thing? Wow, why didn't you tell me!"
Dave scratched his head and laughed sheepishly, while Hannah looked at Sal with a surprised face.
She tilted her head as if it were ridiculous, but Sal just shrugged and smiled it off.
Dave pointed at the stage with his thumb.
"I saw everything earlier! I thought you would just knock him out right there! Like in combat class."
Dave shook his head regretfully, then pointed to another spot in the crowd.
"Dominic is over there. We talked briefly earlier, and he says he wants to meet you sometime in a quiet place. He said he didn't even get to shake hands after the match back then."
Sal was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected words.
A small suspicion raised its head in his mind that Dominic might be trying to trick him for revenge, but he decided to dismiss such useless thoughts.
Hannah looked at Sal with a face of disbelief.
"You knocked out 'Earth Shield'?"
Before Sal could even ask about the nickname, Dave interjected enthusiastically.
Excited by the fact that he knew something Hannah didn't, he began to rattle off an explanation from start to finish that Sal would have skipped if he had the choice.
Sal had to admit it.
The commentary Dave provided was far more exaggerated than the actual situation he remembered.
Hannah looked like she was about to snort and tell him to stop spouting nonsense, when Victoria appeared from behind with a laugh.
"It's all true. You should have seen it! He was like a man possessed. I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't stepped in?"
Victoria's gaze slid toward Hannah's hand, which was holding Sal's arm.
However, Victoria didn't let it slide quietly like Divinity.
She immediately added a meaningful remark.
"Are you two an official couple now? I asked Sal if I could order a custom gauntlet, you see? But if you guys have an exclusive contract... I guess I'll have to look for another Crafter?"
Her playful lips pouted slightly, but there was a subtle edge to her tone.
Hannah looked at Victoria and slowly removed her hand from Sal's arm.
She sent Sal an apologetic look and opened her mouth.
"We... aren't exclusive or anything like that. We're just friends!"
Hannah nodded, then tilted her head slightly and added cautiously.
"...But maybe really close ones?"
At those words, Dave's eyes flashed toward Sal, and his hand shot up like lightning.
Sal instinctively thought he needed to defend himself, but the hand was just waiting for a high-five.
Sal shook his head slightly, but Dave's smile didn't fade.
Instead, as if understanding that Sal didn't want to boast in front of people, he clapped Sal on the shoulder as a gesture of congratulation.
Hannah looked back and forth between the two with a confused expression.
"Since when did you two get so close?"
Victoria cut in.
"Then he won't get mad if I ask him to make something for me, right?"
Her gaze pierced deep into Hannah, and Hannah couldn't hide her discomfort.
At that moment, Sal stepped in front of her gaze and moved toward Victoria.
"I'll handle that. I'm not taking orders for the time being. I have some personal projects I want to work on right now, so I don't plan on accepting new commissions."
Sal pointed toward the stage and said.
"Thanks for your help. Though your method was a bit... terrifying."
Victoria seemed to take it as a compliment and smiled slightly, but the overall atmosphere remained tense.
It was then.
With a blinding flash, another male student suddenly appeared beside them.
Sal reflexively stepped back in surprise, and the newcomer politely apologized.
"Sorry, I'm Seth. Everyone calls me 'Volt'."
He looked at Victoria with an anxious expression and continued.
"The guy making drinks says he's quitting. Apparently, the guys who got stripped naked just now were his friends or something."
Victoria gritted her teeth and frowned briefly, then sighed and waved her hand.
"Let's talk later. I need to manage the party right now!"
She shot a sharp glance at Hannah and left.
Only then did Sal feel the tension release.
He was flustered by the fact that Victoria affected him this much.
Sal wondered if that anxiety came from the feeling that he wouldn't be able to stop her if she used her ability.
Soon, Sal turned his gaze to Hannah, intending to bring up the gauntlet, but her expression was complicated.
Their eyes met, and Hannah squeezed his hand slightly with an apologetic look.
"Sorry, Sal. I have to help Victoria. We prepared this party together, so if I make her work alone, I'll get an earful later."
Sal blinked and nodded.
"Yeah, I understand. But can we talk later?"
Hannah gave a mischievous smile and squeezed his hand a bit tighter.
"I'll stop by your room."
So Sal was left standing alone with Dave.
He looked up toward the seats he had pointed out earlier.
Divinity was sitting there, seemingly having waited so as not to interrupt their conversation.
Sal was grateful to her.
Thanks to her, a more dramatic situation hadn't occurred.
As Sal started to climb the stairs, Dave whispered slightly from behind.
"Hey, are you friends with that beauty in the leather jacket? Introduce me!"
Sal laughed and shrugged.
"No problem. But she probably already knows all your info."
He looked at Dave, but Dave was already staring intently at Divinity.
"Is that girl in our cohort too? I've never seen a goth before."
Melanie was still next to Divinity, and the two were conversing quite actively.
Sal was glad that they had become this close.
Maybe that fourth disaster could be avoided.
As the two approached, before Sal could even offer a greeting, Dave extended his hand to Divinity.
"I'm Dave Delgado! Rank 669."
He smiled brightly with a wink, and the sight was oddly funny to Sal.
Divinity nodded lightly to Dave and said.
"This might sound offensive, but there is no chance I will ever like you romantically in any way. I'm saying this because you'll overinterpret every little thing I do. Don't take anything I do in that way, ever."
Sal blinked and looked at Divinity, while Dave just laughed.
"We'll see. Eventually, you won't be able to resist the Delgado charm!"
Divinity shook her head.
"That won't happen. The moment you stop will be when you realize I'm Rank 2 Divinity Khan, the student famous for her spinning kicks."
She spoke calmly, as if explaining an obvious fact to a child.
At those words, Dave made a blank face like a child, and Sal and Melanie could watch the process of him realizing reality live.
Dave's eyes grew wider and wider, until finally he pointed at her and shouted.
"Damn! It was you! The girl who sees the future!"
Dave looked at Sal with awe-filled eyes, and only then did Sal realize anew that there were two types of 'people who arrived late to the party.'
And he was relieved that he was a different type from Dave.
"I'm Melanie."
Melanie shrugged nonchalantly and raised her hand to point at herself, gesturing 'Aren't you going to introduce me?'
And typical of Dave, he glanced at Melanie once and then turned his gaze back to Divinity.
Sal whistled and leaned slightly toward Dave.
"Didn't you say you respect strength and skill?"
Sal whispered deliberately loud, and Divinity gave a sly smile as if she understood.
Dave pressed his thumb against Sal's chest and exclaimed.
"That is exactly the quality of a true hero!"
Sal glanced at the finger, nodded, and pointed toward Divinity.
"Well, that girl who sees the future said... Melanie is going to become the strongest hero in this entire academy."
Melanie gave an elegant bow like in a play while remaining seated.
"Re... really?"
Seeing Dave's face suddenly turn dumb, Sal and his friends burst into laughter.
Melanie raised her plastic cup as if proposing a toast, then took a cheerful sip.
The atmosphere lightened up again.
"In another future, I kill everyone. Because no one wanted to be my friend."
Divinity's gaze pierced Dave straight on, and Sal almost had to cover his mouth to suppress his laughter.
Divinity, as if bound by no such constraints, let out a chuckle.
"Then, we must be friends. I'm Dave Delgado. Nice to meet you!"
Sal laughed and plopped down in the empty seat next to Divinity.
"Were you having fun?"
He leaned back against the seat, realizing only then how tense he had been.
Divinity's smile faded faintly.
"It's not always fun, seeing the future... because it means some things don't actually happen."
She lowered her gaze and continued carefully.
"There was a future where you fought those guys earlier. You erased their abilities."
Sal's eyes widened.
He didn't know the extent of what his ability could do, but if he could neutralize other people's abilities, that was huge.
He wanted to ask Divinity this and that right away, but stopped the moment he saw her expression.
Divinity looked hurt.
"I tried to go up on stage to help, but one of them hit me. And then you erased their abilities. You... were really scary. And after we learned about the disasters, I wondered if maybe you would become one of them..."
Divinity flushed and turned away, flustered.
Sal felt like she had let that last part slip out by mistake.
He looked at the stage and spoke quietly.
"At first, I thought that was far from me, but hearing that you got hit... honestly, you're right. Someone hit you? Then I deserve to do something like that."
Divinity pointed toward Hannah, who was arguing with Victoria.
"How is that different from what just happened?"
Sal shook his head.
"Completely different. With Hannah... I don't really know what we are, and there are things we need to resolve. But you're my best friend."
Sal turned his head to meet her eyes and said.
"Honestly speaking, I'm actually surprised that I only erased their abilities and stopped there."
A brief silence flowed between them, and then Divinity slowly leaned her head on Sal's shoulder.
"You're my best friend too."