The sun is still quite high even though it is still afternoon. The sweet warm breeze of the air blew on my face as I exited the cab. Saltside Hills is located at the easternmost place of the province, and it's nothing but green grass and some trees in here.
Not to mention that the ruined Treenity Village is just north of here.
I shortly trekked on a grassy slope and I saw a silhouette of a man. He's wearing a gray tuxedo, a red necktie, and spiky metallic gray hair. Even from a distance, I know that it was the Kaiser Champion Nigel, and he was looking at me.
"Over here!" Nigel shouted.
I hurriedly ran towards him until I exhausted myself. Nigel also went down and we met under the shade of a cherry tree.
"I thought you were not going to come. After that quarrel with your Gladiatrix, I suspected that you're just going to leave us hanging." Nigel said.
"It's an honor to meet a Kaiser Champion like you, Mister Nigel! You are the ones who invited me, so I will never let it pass!" I said with enthusiasm.
"Good. At least you still have that Kaiser spirit in you!" Nigel smiled. "Anyway, Auntie is still not here so we're going to wait for her a little bit."
"That's fine with me," I said.
Then there was an awkward silence.
I can feel the blank void between us like there's no topic to discuss. I know I'll be starstruck when talking to him, so I'm kind of shy to continue our conversation. Most of the time, it was the other person who would bring up a topic in me. But for some reason, Nigel did not say anything.
We just stared at the horizon, silently enjoying the view and bathing in the warm breeze.
"..."
"..."
I'm kind of pissed about the silence around us two, so I broke it.
"S-So, what's this Ultra Rare Card you're talking about?"
"Let's wait for auntie. My lips are sealed, and I don't know what she's planning."
"Oh, okay," I said.
Then there was this awkward silence again.
I heard last time that Nigel called his Gladiatrix Siferas his "auntie". It kind of baffles me that he calls her that since Siferas is kind of adorable and short. Most people, including me, would mistake her for a middle schooler. Is Siferas older than she looks? Maybe that's just Siferas' nickname?
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. After counting the seconds of silence in my mind, I decided to break the silence.
"Can I have a selfie with you?"
"Later. My lips are sealed. Let's wait for auntie first." Nigel replied like a robot.
Wait, what do his lips and his auntie have to do with me taking a selfie with him? What the heck is wrong with this guy?
"Hey-"
The moment I looked at him, I saw him pale and stiff. His sweat is also racing from his forehead down to his neck. Is he scared or nervous of me?
"M-My lips are sealed. A-Auntie will punish me if I talked, so don't talk to me. Let's just wait for them to come here." Nigel mumbled.
"O-Okay," I replied.
I think he's scared of his "auntie", and I am yet to find out why. I just scratched my head confused about this event.
Wait, did he just say "wait for them to come here?"
"Who else is coming besides Siferas?" I suddenly asked.
At that moment, a jolt of electricity seemed to strike his spine. Nigel went much paler than before. He looks like he's seen a ghost.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting!" It was a distant feminine voice.
When I turned around, I saw a petite girl in a black tuxedo waving her hand. Her silver hair danced as she ran closer to us. Her gray eyes are beautiful, but there is a hint of fierceness and cold-bloodedness in it. I guess it's just the default eyes of Siferas as she always looked so cool during Battle Fiestas.
"W-Wait, Miss Siferas!" Another feminine voice approached. And it was too familiar for me.
Long dark gray hair, purple eyes, and fair white skin. She's in her combat white frilly dress, the same as what we had during the Battle Fiesta Qualifiers.
"R-Raynevere!?" I muttered out loud.
"E-Eh!? M-Mister Elzane!?"