Harem System In A fantasy World - Chapter 112: Bruised Ego

Chapter 112: Bruised Ego

None of Tessa’s movements was wasted.

This was Tessa in her flow state. Under normal circumstances, she would have crushed him by now, but this time, Elion had grown stronger, so the fight went on.

They traded again, arms crossing in defense, forearms colliding with dull, meaty thuds. Elion took another heavy blow to the chest and rolled with it, then answered with a clean strike that snapped Tessa’s head to the side. She grinned through her exhaustion and came back twice as fierce.

Eventually, Tessa’s breathing grew heavy, her chest rising and falling as sweat clung to her skin. She straightened slightly and looked at Elion, who was pushing himself up from the ground once more.

His breath was a bit uneven too, and his body showed the marks of far more hits, yet somehow he still looked like he had more energy to spare. Elion, on the other hand, was smiling, a wide and genuine grin spreading across his face—this was the longest he had ever lasted against this battle maniac.

At some point, no one could say when, the rest of the class had stopped what they were doing. Even Professor Selene had gone quiet, her eyes wide as she watched the spar unfold. Elion and Tessa had completely lost themselves in the fight, and their exchange had drawn everyone’s attention simply because it was too good to look away from.

Finally, Tessa relaxed her body and stepped back, raising both hands in surrender. “I give up,” she said, exhaling deeply. Now she understood that no matter what she did, this monster would be the one still standing in the end. Elion walked over with an easy smile, and the two of them shook hands.

“Good fight,” he said, and she smiled back without hesitation.

“Your first win,” she added, making his grin widen even further.

“One of many more to come.”

“You wish,” Tessa laughed.

A round of applause broke out from the students around them. Elion and Tessa stood there, basking in it without a hint of embarrassment, while off to the side, William and his group could only glare at them in silence.

That should be meee!

…

“How is our new recruit doing?” Evander asked Liora, who was lounging lazily. She was as relaxed as ever, sitting in a chair inside the DC with her legs propped up on the immaculate table, looking completely at ease.

“Oh, you know, he’s decent enough,” she continued casually. “There haven’t really been any incidents serious enough to truly test him yet, but he’s got a good head on his shoulders.”

Evander nodded in agreement. He had thought as much himself, having kept an eye on Elion’s record so far. However, his eyebrow twitched when he noticed Liora’s sitting position, his gaze flicking briefly to the table beneath her boots.

Do you know how expensive the material that the table is made out of? He thought irritably, though he kept the complaint to himself.

He forced himself to act like the calm gentleman he was expected to be. “Do you think he’s good enough to patrol on the second-year floors yet?” Evander asked after a moment.

“Yeah, definitely,” Liora replied without hesitation. “He’s already as strong as your average second-year. I’m sure you’ve heard about his level by now.”

Evander nodded grimly at that. He truly hadn’t expected Elion to turn out to be such a wildcard, especially not so quickly.

It seems I underestimated him, he admitted silently, the realization leaving a faint sour taste in his mouth.

“How are things going with Celeste?” Liora asked suddenly, her tone light but curious. The calm expression on Evander’s face cracked for just a fraction of a second before he cleared his throat.

“Fine,” he said simply.

“Really?” Liora pressed, getting up and sitting closer to him.

Evander turned his head away slightly. “Nothing special.”

While Liora had told Elion that she stopped partnering with Celeste because she was bored of spending time with the cold vampire girl, the truth was very different.

The decision had been Evander’s, not hers. Just a month ago, Evander had received a message from his father, the head of the Kletis clan, informing him that he was to be officially engaged to Celeste in the near future.

Celeste had received a similar letter from her own father around the same time. Of course, Evander could only accept the arrangement. Well… who was he kidding? Anyone would kill to have someone as talented and beautiful as Celeste as their future wife.

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little excited about it. His father had also urged him to try and get closer to her, mentioning that Celeste’s father would not force the engagement if his daughter strongly opposed it.

Unfortunately, things were not going well at all.

Before Evander could even bring up the subject properly, Celeste had looked him straight in the eyes and shut him down with two simple words.

“Not a chance.” That was all she said before walking away, leaving him standing there in silence.

Of course, since he was five years her senior, Evander knew he could bend the rules to his advantage regardless of her feelings. Even if she wanted nothing to do with him, if he played his cards well, the engagement could still move forward.

That was why he had asked Liora to partner with Elion instead, then quietly rearranged things so that Celeste would work directly under him as his secretary. Anyone with eyes could tell what he was trying to do.

And yet, Celeste allowed it.

The reason was simple. She hated patrol duty, and if she could take advantage of Evander’s delusions to slack off, then all the better. Evander, however, completely misunderstood the situation.

He couldn’t comprehend why things were turning out this way. He was ranked among the top three strongest of his peers, good-looking, well-mannered, and, as far as he knew, always polite to everyone.

Because of Celeste’s status, he had been especially nice to her ever since they met. So why the outright rejection?

What kind of pride does this woman have? he thought bitterly. She thinks she’s above everyone else. I doubt she’ll ever find a better husband than me. He reassured himself, quietly stroking his own wounded ego.

Liora could tell that Evander was completely lost in his thoughts, so she stopped teasing him. Honestly, considering Celeste’s personality, she could already guess how the past few weeks had gone. Poor guy, she thought with a silent chuckle. He’s in for a real mess.

She had already seen plenty of men from her class and even upperclassmen approach Celeste, only to be rejected outright.

Some had even been brutally insulted when they refused to back off. Liora would need at least two more pairs of hands to count how many men Celeste had turned down so far—and Evander was just the latest in a very long line.