Chapter 11: Ames Alue
The cheers died down as Kaylus reached his starting position, and the old man left the stage.
Kaylus and the masked swordsman stared each other down without a word. Kaylus believed that the masked swordsman was waiting for him to make a move.
However, he had no such plans. Why would he repeat Nemo's mistakes? It was wiser to wait for his opponent to come to him instead.
In the next moment, the masked swordsman did something unexpected and asked Kaylus a question.
"Is it true?"
Hearing this, Kaylus raised an eyebrow, "Is what true? You're going to need to clarify. As far as I know, you could be asking me anything."
The masked swordsman gritted his teeth and gripped his sword harder, "The rumours. Are the rumours true?"
"Huh? What rumours? Today is the first time I've heard of there being any rumours. I've been a bit too busy for gossip the past week." Kaylus chuckled.
The masked swordsman loosened the grip on his weapon. 'Right, no way that the one in the centre of the rumours wouldn't know about them if they were true.'
He calmed himself down and once again clarified one of his questions.
"The rumours about you and Maya having something going on. Is there any truth to them?"
Kaylus frowned, "What is it to you? Why would you care if it's true or not? If anything, the only ones who should be concerned are those in said rumours."
Kaylus was never a fan of people sticking their noses in somebody else's business, but even then, he never felt as ticked off as he did at this particular moment.
Hearing that, the masked swordsman takes a moment and sighs.
"Haa"
"I guess it's time for me to introduce myself."
He reached for his mask and took it off, revealing a handsome face with short black hair and deep blue eyes.
He had a cold, indifferent expression on his face. He threw his mask away and slicked his hair back.
Kaylus blinked wide-eyed and looked around, confused at what was going on.
"Okaaay? So you took your mask off. It still doesn't answer who you are or why you'd care about the rumours that don't concern you."
"You might not know who I am, but Maya does."
Kaylus rubbed his temple, "Okay. Stop that already. You're starting to give me a migraine. Quit talking in riddles, and just tell me who you are. You're talking to me, not Maya."
"My name is Ames Alue[1] Maya, and I have known each other for a long time. In a way, you could call us childhood friends..."
"Just friends?" Kaylus smirked.
"I don't think our relationship concerns you." Ames scowled.
Ames getting angry at him for doing something similar to what he had done moments earlier made Kaylus quite happy.
"Ah, you're right. I apologise. It's not like I care anyway. Please continue." Grinned Kaylus
"I have known Maya for a long time, and I know she didn't want Nemo to win."
Kaylus simply listened and nodded along.
"I'm ready to bet that she felt desperate and asked you to join to help her. Why she specifically asked you, I have no clue."
"So far, you're correct." agreed Kaylus.
"I wish she had asked me to help her and join the tournament. I don't know why she didn't want to ask me for help and instead asked somebody she had known for just a week."
'Oh? Does he not know she wanted to ask him for help, but then I ruined the plan? Hahaha, this is going to be good.' Kaylus thought to himself.
Ames looked at Kaylus with a fierce gaze, "In the end, it doesn't matter. I was going to join the tournament for her no matter what. I wanted to give her a pleasant surprise when I won."
"A pleasant surprise?" asked Kaylus.
"Yes. Wouldn't she be happy when the mysterious stranger who won the tournament turned out to be her childhood friend?"
"Hmm, I guess I could see that being a possibility. But what do you want from me?"
Ames finally got to the point. "You joined the tournament just to help Maya, and as somebody very close to Maya, I appreciate it. But now that you know who I am, shouldn't you simply forfeit?"
"Huuuuh? Why should I forfeit?" Kaylus decided to irritate Ames as much as he could and drag the conversation along.
It reminded him of the drama surrounding competitive fights back in his old world, and he had to admit that he was having fun.
"Grrr, I already told you, didn't I? Maya and I have known each other for a long time. You know what the grand prize is, correct?" Growled Ames
Kaylus looked at Maya, who was watching the conversation, closed his eyes and nodded at Ames, indicating he knew.
"Then don't you think she'd prefer if I won? She would be happier with a lifelong friend than she ever could with some guy she picked up off the street."
'This is so good. I can't believe he is making this so easy. I am about to go for the kill shot. If he doesn't want to tear my head off after this, I might surrender like he wants me to.'
Kaylus did not want to lose this match. He made a promise to Maya, and not once did he have any thoughts of giving up, even if it got dangerous.
To make the fight easier for himself, Kaylus attempted to annoy Ames by getting under his skin. If he could do that, then Ames would become impulsive making the fight a cakewalk.
Or at least that was Kaylus's theory.
"No, you're not completely wrong…"
Ames smiled and became excited when he heard what Kaylus said, "Then does that mean you…"
But before he could finish his sentence, Kaylus interrupted him.
"Ahh, this is tough. What to do, what to do. I'm not sure I can do what you're asking me to." said Kaylus with a sullen expression as if he felt sorry for Ames.
This expression didn't escape Ames, so he had to ask.
"W-what do you mean? Why are you not sure you can do that? Don't you want Maya to be happy? Or were you just doing this to sate your greed?"
"Of course, I want Maya to be happy." Beamed Kaylus
"It should go without saying, but I can't surrender."
"Why not? Don't I deserve an answer?"
"It doesn't and shouldn't concern a third party. It is between Maya and me."
Ames was about to get angry. However, Kaylus continued.
"But, I guess she will tell you sooner or later. After all, you have been her closest friend if what you've said is to be believed. I am sure that sooner or later, she'd tell you all about the man…" Kaylus paused for dramatic effect.
"…that she gave her first time to." Kaylus sneered.
He kept the details of the first time as vague as possible, hoping Ames would misunderstand and get angrier than he should.
Kaylus could see the expression on Ames' face becoming more twisted and furious. He decided to drive the final nail in the misunderstanding coffin and have his opponent lose all reasoning.
"Either way, I can't surrender anymore. Not after I promised her I'd take responsibility for what happened that night."
When that last word hit Ames' ears, it was as if something had snapped. He drew his sword and rushed at Kaylus, prepared to kill the man he believed deflowered the girl he was in love with, unaware that they only kissed and had done nothing else.
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[1] "Ames" is a name of French origin meaning "friend", and "Alue" is Finnish for Zone. To put it simply, this character's name is quite literally Friend Zone.
A/N: Hey, thank you for reading. I hope this chapter was readable. I still have a fever, so I had to force myself to write it. I will do my best to fix any issues/mistakes in the future so I hope you gloss over them for now.
This chapter was a bit shorter than others I have done before so I apologize for that. In the next chapter we will have a fight and some drama and depending on how long the fight goes on for, the chapter might involve some steamy scenes.
If you enjoyed this chapter, then please make sure to vote with your power stones and add it to your collection if you don't want to miss any future chapters!
Also commenting and giving feedback helps a lot too (positive or negative) I want to use this novel as writing practice and it's hard to learn and improve if you don't know what mistakes you're making.
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