Chapter 21: Quick, Do Something Before It Gets Out of Hand!

“I really don’t get you,” Fiora muttered, voice low and annoyed.

“You’ve got a horde of girls chasing after you, so why pull stunts like this? You that desperate to mess with me?”

Leon stayed quiet for a moment. Then, like he’d made up his mind, he said softly, “Actually… after sneaking in, I wasn’t even looking at anyone else.”

“It was just you I wanted to see.”

Fiora blinked. “Wait… what did you just say?”

Leon’s calm, straight-to-the-point confession left her completely frozen.

‘What does that mean?!’

‘Is he just bored of all the others and wanted to mess with someone different?’

‘Or is he… actually saying I’m the one he likes?’

Before she could sort through her spinning thoughts, Leon spoke again.

“Only you are special.”

That one line hit like a critical blow.

It was clearly a foul move—too direct, too sudden. Fiora instantly knew what he was implying.

But she didn’t know how to respond.

Is this where I’m supposed to accept it?

But this guy’s a walking hormone factory!

And this is my first time being confessed to! Isn’t this way too fast?!

Her head was spinning. She had zero experience with romance, and even less with someone as unpredictable as Leon. She didn’t know how to handle this kind of full-frontal assault.

In the tiny, cramped space, time slowed down. The only thing she could hear was both their hearts pounding against their chests.

Meanwhile, just outside the locker, a group of girls was still making a ruckus.

“I’m telling you, guys don’t like flat-chests~”

“Ugh, seriously? Don’t start with that again, you overgrown cow.”

“Huh? Struck a nerve, washboard? No wonder Ah Cheng said your attitude’s been nasty lately.”

“What did you say?! Ah Cheng told me yesterday he went to get his hair done—why was he with you?!”

“Oops~ Guess I let that one slip. Heh. Might as well be honest. He’s already planning to propose to me.”

“You b*tch! I’m gonna murder you!!”

BANG!

A loud thud shook the locker, snapping Fiora and Leon out of their moment.

Leon peered through a narrow crack in the door and winced.

“…Holy crap. Do all girl fights look like this?”

Fiora, who couldn’t see from her position, asked nervously,
“Leon? What’s going on?”

“Looks like a full-on fight broke out.”

THUD!

Something slammed into the locker again—and the whole thing tipped over.

The world spun upside down.

When Fiora opened her eyes, the locker had landed flat on the floor. Thankfully, they hadn’t been discovered.

Unfortunately…

Fiora couldn’t move.

“W-What the hell? How did I fall like this—”

Leon’s voice came from right above her.

Fiora’s eyes widened as she realized what kind of position they were in.

“EEEK!!”

Leon had landed right on top of her. She was completely pinned.

They looked like the characters in those racy little romance novels she pretended not to read.

Their robes were barely holding on. And worse—Leon’s hand was definitely somewhere it shouldn’t be.

“Ah… ahhh…!”

Fiora’s whole face flushed red. Her breath hitched. Her body stiffened.

“Wait! Fiora, don’t scream—!”

“You—you move that hand right now!!”

Leon finally realized the situation and yanked his hand back, looking at it like it had just betrayed him.

Fiora’s temper exploded.

‘This is it. I’m going to kill this damn protagonist. Right here, right now!’

She tried to shove him off—only to discover another problem.

The locker door was now face-down on the floor. They were trapped inside.

“…Don’t move around too much,” Leon muttered.

“What did you say?!”

“We’ll be heard if you start thrashing around.”

Fiora’s face went pale.

Trying to stop her from panicking, Leon pressed down a little more to keep her still.

And unfortunately… his hands got grabby again.

‘Y-You’ve got to be kidding me!!!’

Fiora’s entire world tilted.

She was this close to exploding.

“You pervert! You disgusting creep!”

“Shh! Just five more minutes! They’re about to leave—”

“I can’t take it anymore! Not one more second!”

Fiora’s vision blurred with rage. Magic power surged into her hands, cold and furious.

“Fiora—WAIT—!”

BOOM!

The locker exploded.

Her ice magic detonated inside the cramped space, blowing it to pieces. Fiora stumbled out of the wreckage, panting.

She looked back.

Leon was on his knees, the entire lower half of his body frozen solid, face pale as death.

“…Hehe. Serves you right,” she muttered, grinning as she collapsed on the floor, exhausted.

Plop.

Something cold hit her on the head.

She blinked and looked up.

Her stomach dropped.

Vivian.

There she stood, holding two ice cream bars. Her expression was terrifyingly blank.

“V-Vivian! H-How funny running into you here…”

Fiora’s legs went numb with panic.

Vivian took a slow bite of the remaining ice cream bar. Her voice was colder than Fiora’s ice magic.

“I was going to reward you for helping me so much lately, you little stray cat. But it looks like someone’s been sneaking around behind my back.”

“W-Wait! It’s not what it looks like! Leon, say something!!”

But Leon was completely frozen—literally and figuratively. He just kept trembling.

Vivian looked between the two of them.

“Brother. Fiora. I’ll be telling Mother about today.”

“When she finds out about your shameless little stunt… well, I don’t think she’ll take it lightly.”

“She never takes things lightly.”

Both Fiora and Leon went dead silent.

Heads hung in defeat, the two braced for the punishment ahead.

And so, the disaster of the day came to a close.