Leon had no desire to go back to school. Since his meeting with God, he had felt pretty confident about himself. He managed to negotiate with the duchess in Tales Eternal, he fought a bear and he had just saved the world but he just couldn't get rid of his anxiety now that he was going back to school.
He was lucky enough to not meet Connor on his way to his locker. He shuffled around to find the books he would need for the day while trying to make himself as small as he could.
' Nothing changed, huh?'
He had a small smile as he said that, he was stronger now so there was no reason for him to be like this. He straightened himself as he closed his locker. He turned around, ready to face any problem that would come his way.
Sadly for him, trouble came faster than he thought. Before he was fully turned around somebody slammed their arm on the locker beside him, a solid *bang* resonated in Leon's ears. He jumped at the sound which caused him to drop his books.
" Sup."
A feminine voice greeted him, she was clearly holding a laugh. Leon recognized her, her name was Serah. She had long blonde hair that was messily tied into a ponytail. Her clothes were just as messy, revealing her curvy body without a care.
She was a head taller than Leon so she was looking down at him with a big smile, a lollipop sticking out of her mouth. Leon didn't exactly consider her a bully but she did make his life harder by constantly picking on him in weird ways, similar to what she just did.
" Not gonna pick those up?"
Serah glanced at the books on the ground while saying that. Leon nervously crouched down to pick his stuff up.
" Trying to sneak a peek, aren't you? It's gonna cost you another lunch."
Serah was wearing a skirt which she slightly lifted as Leon crouched down. This was her way of extorting him, even if he had no intention to do it he still ended up getting a glance of her pink panties. He hastily picked up the rest of his books to stand back up.
He was really bad at dealing with this girl. Unlike Connor, he couldn't exactly fight back since she never hit him.
' If I had to choose I prefer dealing with her instead of Connor but that's not saying much.'
" Did you need something Serah?"
The delinquent girl took a second to think while licking her lollipop.
" You… Play Tales Eternal right?"
Serah's smile turned a bit stiffer, her cheeks also turned a bit red.
' It barely came out this morning, how does she know?'
He did nothing special so it was probably a guess on her part. He was afraid that she would try and mess with him in the game too. Since each world had hundreds of tales it would be easy for her to pick one that was close to his tale just to make his life harder.
" I do, why?"
In the end, Leon knew that it was better to be straightforward in these situations. If she wanted to mess with him he would just deal with it.
" You are the one selling that sword, Bone S, right?"
Leon frowned, not really sure how she found out about that. He did post a video of himself swinging the sword but he didn't think it was special enough that it would be found by people in his school. He was so focused on trying to find out what Serah's objective was that he didn't notice her embarrassment.
" Why are you asking?"
Leon couldn't help but become defensive, Serah never tried to take his money before but that didn't mean he trusted her.
" Argh! I am bad with this type of stuff so I'll just say it! Maria is about to buy that sword and she wanted to team up with you."
Serah suddenly started to yell things that didn't make any sense to Leon. He didn't even know who Maria was nor did he know why she wanted to be on his team.
"… What?"
That was the only answer he could give her. Serah brought her face closer, she was now completely red. Leon was certain that she was about to punch him in anger so he prepared himself to run away.
" Like. I. Said. Please let us be in your party!"
" Who is 'us'?"
Why would Serah want to team up with him after spending a full year making fun of him? She even tried to be polite in her own way.
' Would it be better than just being alone?'
The answer was unclear. he was comfortable with being alone but if she truly planned on being helpful he was ready to at least give her a chance.
" Maria is that girl over here. You wouldn't refuse the request of such a cute girl, right?"
As Serah said that, she pulled a girl from behind herself in a rough manner. The girl that appeared was a bit smaller than Leon with long, dark brown hair. She had a few freckles on her cheeks which fitted well with her innocent, round face. Her green eyes had a certain shine to them as she nervously glanced at Leon.
She was wearing a black dress with a black shawl to cover her shoulders, both of which looked incredibly expensive. The girl named Maria did a quick wave as a greeting before looking at the ground.
' Isn't this dress overkill for school clothes? Is she a student here? I never saw her before but it would be hard to miss someone as beautiful as her.'
Serah placed her arm around Maria's shoulders in a proud manner while giving Leon a victorious smile.
" Class is about to start, I will think about it."
Leon decided to make a strategic retreat for now as he slipped past Serah.
" I will see you at lunch to take my food and talk about this then!"
Serah's voice sounded so hyped up, she clearly didn't think that Leon would refuse her request. While Leon was in class he couldn't help but think of Maria. She looked like a high-class lady and she was incredibly gorgeous but that wasn't what concerned him.
From the way Serah had to pull her, there was a chance that she was currently being bullied.
' She seemed shy so did Serah do this just to embarrass her?'
It was very likely considering that most of her harassment toward Leon was very similar. School continued while he was trying to think of how to deal with all of this.
In the end, he couldn't understand Serah's motive.
' I will try and talk to Maria alone, if she really wants to be in my party then I will give them a chance.'
That was the decision that he came to just before lunchtime. He made his way to the cafeteria, not looking forward to meeting Serah. The lunch he 'owed' her was her main method of picking on him. He ordered a meal from the lunch lady and before he could even sit down Serah was already waiting for him.
She brought him to a table where Maria was also waiting then without asking for permission she took Leon's plate and exchanged it with a box that she had with her.
' God, I know you are real so please don't let it be the weird stew she brought with her last time.'
Owing her a meal meant that Leon had to exchange an edible meal for whatever Serah usually ate. As much as he hated eating her food it was still better than being hungry. He could refuse her but in reality, he did feel a little bad that someone had to eat what Serah ate every day so that's why he had put up with it until now.
He braced himself to open the box, it had been a few weeks since he had to eat one of those meals so he was ready for anything.