Luna tried to convey to Keith that it would be alright if he left everything to her and allowed her to be in a relationship with him. Luna was sure Keith's reply would be positive and would agree with her proposal.
Now, Luna was aware that she was not the most beautiful woman out there, but she was certain about her technique in bed.
And her companion also looked to be at the age where the looks of the female did not matter if he had a companion. So, Luna was certain that her partner would take her offer and-
"Nah, it does not matter. You did not force me into anything and it was a dire situation. Being in a relationship over this is not something we should consider if we both do not want it. And I do not want to be in a relationship right now."
Luna tried to hold her emotions back because she realized that Keith was right.
She did not want to be in a relationship. But 'being in a relationship' and 'being in a relationship with Noah' were different things. The second one was something Luna would be able to tolerate.
But her pride made Luna unable to say this.
In the end, she had to swallow her words and back down. She will get more chances to discover her feelings in the future.
[You all are doing your best. And seeing you all do your best; the organizers have decided to give you an extra half-hour to find the tickets. After that, you all would be taken to the site of the third match.]
The announcer was none other than the white-masked man. His voice sounded excited as it echoed through the forest.
Keith's body jolted as he was reminded of the reason, he had entered the hive in the first place. And he quickly took out the ticket in his pouch.
"So, it is still safe after all. I am so glad I did not lose it."
Especially after everything Keith and Luna had gone through to get this ticket, it would have been devastating for him to lose it.
Luna had brushed it off before, but she was now curious about the owner of this ticket. She wanted to know who the lucky person was.
"Hey Noah, did you even tell me the reason you wanted this extra ticket? I mean, you already have one and all."
Luna asked with a serious voice. She wanted to know why she had done all her dangerous acts.
"Oh, did I not mention why I wanted this ticket? You see, I have a companion I wanted to help. Amane is someone who has potential and she helped me out before. So, I guess I did not think much when it was my turn to help her out."
Keith spoke it very openly but he failed to notice the look of jealousy in Luna's eyes.
She had expected this ticket to be for someone else. But her jealousy sparked as soon as he heard a female name.
Remembering back, she could recall seeing one adult female and one child with Keith when she had first met him. But she had decided not to pay attention back then.
Now her jealousy was causing Luna to burn from the inside. This heat felt different from the last one and it was also more difficult to manage.
"I s-see. So, it was a gift for your 'special' friend? She must be dear for you to go through all this trouble on her behalf."
Luna tried not to force her words out with a bitter voice, but it was impossible for her. Her jealousy was sparkling clearly in her voice.
"Huh? I guess you can say that Amane is special in her way. But more than that, I need her to be in the last round because there is something I need her to do. Well then, I shall take my leave now."
Keith waved Luna off and Luna's mind asked her to stop Keith from going away. Even her heart begged her to follow Keith and figure out what she was feeling.
"N-Noah-"
Luna called out hesitantly, but her words were cut short in her throat as soon as her eyes met the pair of brilliant blue in front of her. Whatever she wanted to say was ripped out of her mouth by Keith's smile.
"Yes? Is there something you want to ask me?"
Keith's smooth voice caused Luna's hesitation and anger to fade away. Suddenly, she realized that she could not ask anything of Keith without sounding selfish.
And no one liked selfish people. So, she should tone her obsession down a little bit.
"No, it is nothing. I guess I just wanted to call your name once more. You should take care of yourself and good luck for the next round."
Luna had no choice but to back down after she was faced with that brilliant smile. She realized that she lost that gamble in front of her.
Keith smiled at Luna full of understanding and to make her heart skip a beat.
But despite this, she knew that Keith would not stop and look back for her. Keith had too much to worry about on his plate already.
........
Keith quickly made his way back to Amelia and Sara with his ticket. He was not sure if the other two had found something or not, but Keith was not about to have Amelia drop out here.
The silence around the female due in front of Keith was tense. It was clear to him that something had happened between them.
"So, were you able to find any ticket?"
Keith asked as he made his way toward the clearing. His words caused the tense silence to become even tenser.
Finally, it was Sara who broke the silence on this topic.
"Of course, we did. We found exactly one ticket. But did you know what this lady here did? She submitted that ticket on her own without waiting for me to accompany her. And now I am the only one who is left ticketless."
Sara complained but Amelia refused to look guilty.
Honestly, Keith was surprised when he heard this. Amelia was not someone to betray others this openly.
It would not be too far-fetched to say that Luna was the most honour-bound of the protagonists and hardly ever went out of her way to harm something.
So, to hear that she had 'betrayed' Sara was a big deal.
"It is not something I need to justify, Sara. You might be a friend but you are also my competition. And as Noah had said before, this is a competition and we are all competitors. I do not need to take pity on you."
Keith flinched as soon as he heard Amelia's words. She sounded serious when she said it. It was unlike her protagonist self who accepted everyone and everything.
He could see that even Sara was taken aback her Amelia's sudden approach.
'Well, looks like there was no need for me to go through the hive after all. So much effort was wasted by me in the end.'
Keith could not help but sigh. He decided not to bring up the extra ticket he had in his pocket.
"Ugh, this is not fair. Why do they both of you get to advance but I do not? Are you afraid that I will win this whole thing?"
Sara complained as she stomped her foot down.
Suddenly, Keith had a brilliant idea about how he could reduce this competition. He could make Sara a final constant and it would make the top 16, top 15 instead.
It was clear to him that Sara had no combat skills. She also seemed to have no extra powers. So, in terms of competition, she was the weakest one Keith could think of.
'Alright, so it seems like this ticket has not gone to waste. Instead of having someone extra strong in the top cut, it would be better to have Sara there.
With that in mind, Keith decided to bring his ticket out and hold it in front of Sara.
"Here, I found a ticket as well. You can use it instead since both myself and Amelia have tickets already."
Sara looked startled by Keith's kind gesture. She understood he did not like her and her attitude.
So, his sudden act of kindness was suspicious to her. She could not help but consider his every move.
"What are you playing at, Noah? What do you want from me? Is it some kind of help? I am sorry but I will not back down when it comes to the finals."
Sara reminded Keith as she snatched the ticket from him. She knew her luck would come in handy sooner or later. She just needed to be patient.
"I do not want anything from you. Look, I just decided to help you out so do not complain. You are lucky I even managed to find this ticket."
Keith reminded Sara and she fell quiet.
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