(… Eh?)

"— — A total of 16 contestants from the above four groups have entered the finals!"

(What … happened …?)

"Ladies and gentlemen, please take a break first. After the lunch break, the top 16 will bring you more exciting battles — —"

(Impossible …)

She looked up in disbelief, her eyes frantically searching for a certain boy. Finally, she saw the figure she expected not far from the exit.

The boy glanced at her from across the field, then turned around indifferently and disappeared into the exit without looking back.

It was noon. The crowd that had watched the two events all morning had left their seats, leaving only a few spectators in the stands. The contestants who had been tired all morning had left early. Sunny Day and Misako walked to the exit tunnel and realized something was wrong. She hurriedly looked back and found the person she was looking for in the center of the field.

Qian Qi stood there for a long time. His back was ramrod straight, but his face was submerged in the shadow of his drooping hair. There wasn't a trace of joy from advancing to the top 16. He just stood there.

Sunny Day subconsciously grabbed Midaya who was walking in front of her. The two looked at each other, then turned around and ran back to the field.

"Chisaki classmate!"

"Setsuna …"

As he got closer, he could feel the abnormality in her. She was completely different from her usual gentle and elegant appearance. In comparison, she was lively when she quarreled with Boisterous Tycoon a few days ago. Midaya was secretly shocked. He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Chisaki classmate …"

"Midaya Kun."

Her voice seemed to float from the sky, softly interrupting him.

"I won't be going to lunch today. I have to submit an application. Sorry."

"Eh?

… Then, do you want me to bring you some portable food or something? "Even Sunny Day, who was usually calm, was a little flustered. She opened her mouth and wanted to ask something, but she didn't know where to start. In the end, she went back to the surface." There's a 1v1 event in the afternoon … "

"… Well, yes. Then I'll leave it to Misako."

It was still the same empty voice. Midaya was even more worried. "Is it really okay? Chisaki classmate, I …"

"It's okay."

Setsuna finally raised her head. Her expression was normal, but there was some kind of anger hidden in it.

"I'll take care of it."

She said, as if to answer, but also as if she was saying it to herself.

…

…

…

"Setsuna?"

The man paused and thought for a moment while holding his lunch tray. Then, he showed an expression of realization. "So, that person is also here today."

"'That person'?"

Smelling the scent of gossip, Sunny Day pulled herself together. She wanted to ask Midaya, who was said to be from the same country, but remembered that he had been kicked out. She could only ask Erlang. "What's going on?"

Erlang was a little hesitant. After all, it was a friend's privacy, and she didn't know how to go about it. So she sat down at the table and slowly said, "I don't know, but in today's top 16, wasn't there a general subject called Mind Manipulator?"

"Well …"

Sunny Day searched her memory for a while and finally remembered this person. She tapped her palm and said, "That purple-haired boy?

Just now, I seemed to have seen Cha Na in the same group as him during the horse riding battle. Her movements were super fast. She even formed the group before Chujiu-kun and I found her … So, did they know each other before?

“

"They said they knew each other … As far as I know, they were quite close. Are they friends?"

With mixed feelings, Erlang couldn't help but fiddle with the earphone cord. "But I think they had a fight during the Sunyoung exam. They haven't contacted each other for a long time."

"Eh???!" Sunny Day was a little surprised. "Then why are you still …"

"Who knows."

Erlang suddenly lost his appetite for lunch after hearing this. He pushed his plate away, crossed his arms, and leaned back in his chair.

"Something must have happened …"

She glanced to the side and muttered.

With such an impression, the lunch ended in a gloomy atmosphere. Erlang went to the stands first. Sunny Day searched the backstage lounge with her portable food but didn't find the person she was looking for. She felt uneasy and worried. Although Setsuna was usually a steady and calm person, what she saw this afternoon was not "the usual Setsuna". Besides, the information provided by Erlang only made her more anxious.

But no matter how anxious she was, it was useless. Setsuna seemed to have disappeared from the stadium temporarily. Her phone was also not connected and she couldn't be contacted at all. In the end, when Sunny Day hurriedly passed by the afternoon match list and saw a familiar name, she instantly stopped what she was doing.

"… It can't be …"

On the 16 sheets of white paper, the words were clearly printed in black.

[First Match: Worrying About Others — Senzaki Setsuna]

…

…

…

Worrying About Others felt a tinge of regret the moment he saw the match list. It was similar to the feeling of defeat brought by a strategic mistake of revealing one's trump card in advance to one's opponent.

Senzaki Setsuna was indeed an extremely defenseless person. But no matter how naive she was, she wouldn't fall into a trap in the afternoon after suffering a loss in the morning.

(That girl is usually a little slow, but her IQ is not a problem.)

He stood outside the contestant lounge and pondered for two seconds before pushing the door open.

(Should I try brainwashing her outside the arena …)

As he thought this, he saw the girl sitting at the table with her head lowered behind the slowly opening door. Her long bangs hung down and covered the expression on her face.

"…"

He unconsciously moved his fingers on the doorknob.

"… Good afternoon," he said.

Setsuna raised her head. Her usually gentle eyes were now as hard as some kind of inorganic substance. Her pursed lips indicated that she was in an extremely bad mood. She glanced at him, stood up from the table, and brushed past him without saying a word.

(Should I say … I brought this upon myself?)

Watching her back disappear around the corner, he raised his hand to ruffle his hair. In the past, Senzaki Setsuna never doubted his words. As long as he opened his mouth, he would get a reply without hesitation. Like an idiot, she always trusted this man who could control others with his voice.

So he couldn't say that he didn't feel that it was a pity at all. It was just that there was one less person in the world who was willing to talk to him without hesitation. He touched his chest and felt that there was something empty there.

But.

(For someone whose goal is to become a hero, it's better to throw away this gullibility.)