Chapter 8: Unexpected weapon
Eiden sat at the classroom, sighing with the confirmation of a new hurdle that was just hard to imagine getting over. His head dropped down, and he looked up at the teacher, then looked down again. Then his eyes widened. "Wait a minute... doesn’t this mean Lyra is at 46%? Which is almost as good as done? Isn’t she too close to breaking it off with Ruel?!"
At first, Eiden thought 100% was the point where the relationship finally collapsed. But now that he knew the reality 50% was the true breaking point it meant he was just a nudge away from success. "So does that mean just a little push and... done?!". Ding! Affirmative, said System-chan in her usual robotic chirp.
Eiden’s mood, which had been dragging in the dust all morning, suddenly spiked up like a rocket. A spark of wicked satisfaction returned to his eyes. "Okay," he muttered to himself, "let’s just focus on the quest ahead, not this new one. I’ll let this quest be handled by future me. But for now, let’s concentrate on the more doable one." Now filled with a little more hope and renewed motivation, Eiden began to think through his plans for the quest ahead. The bell rang. The class ended.
And like a bullet, after the break, Eiden sprinted out the door and began looking for Lyra. He headed toward her class, weaving through the crowd. But then, he stopped midway.
He didn’t want it to seem like he was actively looking for her. That would be too obvious. Instead, he decided it would be better if they just happened to cross paths naturally. So he lingered casually near the hallway corner, leaning against a wall like he had no care in the world. After waiting for a while, he saw Lyra . He straightened his back and readied himself, calming his nerves, only to immediately freeze again as he spotted Linda the supposedly pretty girl who rejected him.
"Damn!! Linda!? Why is she with her now, of all times?!" He grimaced. "Well, it’s actually none of my business who hangs out with who... but still! I was this close!" He grit his teeth. His carefully thought-out plan instantly crumbled like dry paper in the rain. Eiden sighed and turned around, deciding to walk in the opposite direction, abandoning the plan entirely.
And then suddenly he felt a hand wrap tightly around his neck."Guh ! What the ?!"
Eiden coughed, startled, twisting his head back to see the familiar face of his close friend Deuel Shemen, who he had been friends with for over a year now.
Deuel was nearly the same height as Eiden. He had brown eyes and unkempt brown hair. He wasn’t exactly a head-turner just average-looking at best. A bit thinner than Eiden too. His father was a doctor, so the family was quite well-off. His mother was a housewife, and he had a younger brother, four years his junior.