The two guys grinned foolishly in Croy's direction. He tried to ignore them but immediately regretted paying any attention to the scene at all and turned his gaze away. Unfortunately, he had no luck in disappearing unnoticed.
"Hey, you there."
A hand landed firmly on his shoulder.
Croy calmly took another sip of his beer — this stuff was awful — and closed his eyes for a moment in silent protest against the situation. But the hand on his shoulder pulled him back into the fray.
"The pretty lady here says you're quite the troublemaker," a voice whispered into his ear.
Sighing, Croy turned to the interrupter and looked directly into the face of the taller of the two guys who had been speaking with Princess Kadutor earlier. On closer inspection, he noticed the many gold piercings in the boy's nose and ears, which glittered conspicuously under the lights.
Croy glanced briefly at Princess Kadutor, who seemed to be watching the spectacle with amusement.
"Oh yeah? Did Bob say that?" Croy replied dryly, casting a glance in her direction.
The princess stifled a giggle and gave him a mischievous grin. The girl next to her tugged worriedly at her uniform and whispered.
"Ali... you can't just expose him like that...", but her voice was drowned out by the noise in the room, and Croy couldn't hear the rest of their exchange.
"Hey, hey," panted the guy with the piercings, leaning close enough that the smell of alcohol hit Croy's nose.
"What bad things have you done?"
'Is he doing this on purpose?' Croy wondered as he looked coolly into the boy's eyes. Was this a clumsy attempt to impress the two girls?
With a slight shove, Croy pushed the guy away from him.
"I haven't done anything. Her Highness over there is just spouting nonsense."
Princess Kadutor gave him an innocent but clearly amused look, as if she were having the time of her life.
If she wanted to play this game, Croy wouldn't just run away. But sadly, Croy didn't know that the Princess had been playing the game of the pretty lady for far too long.
She called out loudly across the bar.
"Don't believe him!" Then she furrowed her brow as if pondering something. "He's super scary! Uh, what was your name again?"
The guy with the piercings turned half-surprised, half-delighted toward her.
"Who, me?" he asked, a hint of hopeful excitement in his voice.
"Yes, you — the pincushion over there," the princess replied, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
The boy straightened up and gave a slight bow.
"My name is Leon von Arx, at your service."
'Great,' thought Croy. 'An aristocrat.'
He decided to seize this chance to slip away quickly. But just as he turned toward the door, he felt Leon's firm grip again, this time on his wrist. Croy growled softly.
"What's your deal?" he asked irritably.
Leon, evidently emboldened by the princess's attention and the alcohol, wouldn't let go.
"A knight must protect a lady from vile scoundrels," he declared in a mock-heroic tone.
"Yeah, you're doing a fantastic job!" Princess Kadutor called with a smile, barely able to contain her laughter.
'Does he not see she's about to burst out laughing?' Croy thought, exhaling in frustration.
The grip on his wrist tightened even more.
Leon had his eyes locked solely on him. His friend remained with the girls, now awkwardly scratching the back of his head. Gradually, some students began to watch the spectacle with curiosity.
Croy felt trapped. He didn't want to make a scene here.
"As you can see, oh great knight, you've driven off the wicked rascal. I flee in fear and terror," he said.
Unfortunately, he couldn't completely hide the mocking tone — perhaps he didn't want to. Either way, Leon didn't appreciate it, and he eyed Croy disdainfully.
"You're making fun of me, aren't you? Think you're better than me?"
'No, you idiot, just leave me alone!'
Croy had no desire to get into a confrontation with upperclassmen, especially not on unfamiliar turf. The boy was clearly an aristocrat; he might even belong to the student club.
Swallowing his rising anger, Croy tried to defuse the situation peacefully.
"Listen," he began quietly.
"Princess Kadutor is obviously the one mocking you. I have nothing to do with it."
Leon blinked in surprise.
"Princess Kadutor?"
"Yes, the pretty one with the auburn hair you were just trying to impress."
Leon looked in her direction, visibly puzzled, while Croy hoped he could finally get away... but instead, Leon's grip tightened even more, almost painfully.
Croy's body tensed. This was turning into more than a minor scuffle.
"How could I ever abandon a princess?" Leon's voice dripped with pride, though his words seemed more fueled by false chivalry and alcohol.
Croy couldn't fathom the boy's stubbornness any other way.
"If you put him in his place, I'll go on a date with you, pincushion," Princess Kadutor called over to Leon.
...Well, maybe Croy could think of another reason why Leon was so eager.
She smiled — a completely amused smile. Croy looked at her with pure exasperation. And anger.
The princess's smile was purely for entertainment — she was enjoying that something exciting was finally happening at this party. As if she knew Croy wouldn't tolerate this much longer.
Leon beamed and shouted loudly.
"Then watch me as I-"
"That's enough!" Croy abruptly pushed his arm aside and deftly twisted out of his grip.
He gave Leon a shove backward, hoping it would bring him to his senses. But like in a bad movie, Leon stepped directly onto a glass bottle on the floor, which crunched loudly and rolled aside as the aristocrat lost his balance and fell flat on his back like a slapstick character.
A few onlookers suppressed giggles as Leon sat up, bewildered, and Croy shook his head in disbelief.
"Look, they're fighting over the princess's favor!"
"Hey, isn't that Leon? Doesn't he have a girlfriend? Who's the guy with the scar?"
"See that? He knocked him over!"
"Oh, show him, Lotto! Letto? Leon?"
That last comment came from Princess Kadutor. She had stepped away from the bar to stand in the front row. A circle of students had formed around Leon and Croy.
Just like during the duel with Jradan. Except this wasn't in the gym but at a party.
'This can't be happening...'
The whole commotion had even caught the DJ's attention.
'Someone should step in now to separate us and throw me out!'
By now, Leon was back on his feet. Croy almost wanted to apologize. But the aristocrat's face was red with rage, and he snorted loudly.
"You dare attack me?"
"You just fell like an idiot!" Now Croy had had enough. He was angry — not just at Leon but also at Princess Kadutor.
The charming girl wasn't done exploiting her allure.
"Fight! Don't let your honor as a man be stolen!"
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" the crowd chanted.
The DJ switched the music, and suddenly a tune played that Croy could only describe as classic bar fight music from old Western films. His eyes threatened to pop out of his head...
Croy glared darkly at Leon, his patience long gone. It should have been a warning, but Leon von Arx had no interest in reason.
With a grim expression, he charged at Croy, drawing back his fist, determined to put this insolent newcomer in his place.
But before he could strike, Croy caught his fist with his own hand, bracing his back foot against the bar while his free hand deflected Leon's other hand aimed at his throat.
"Last chance, you damn idiot!" Croy growled, pulling Leon close.
Instead of backing down, Leon spat in his face. Croy froze for a moment, but then something snapped in his mind.
Now he was truly furious.
With a resolute gaze, he delivered a solid headbutt to Leon, causing him to stagger back, dazed, while Croy still held onto him.
The onlookers murmured in surprise as Croy used the momentum of the stumbling aristocrat, moved under his center of gravity, and with a swift motion, hurled him directly over the bar.
Leon practically flew through the air before crashing onto the floor behind the counter.
The bartender shrieked but then laughed as she jumped aside, seeing that Leon was unhurt but visibly stunned on the floor. A murmur and amused cheers rippled through the crowd.
Croy even heard Princess Kadutor's voice from the background.
"Ooh, that was a good one! I mean, oh no!" she called out, clearly entertained.
Croy glared at her angrily and impulsively gave her the middle finger. She raised her hands to her cheeks with a grin and let out a mock scream.
"He wants me! Help!"
"Dammit, can you stop talking like that-"
A wild scream sounded behind him, and before Croy could dodge, Leon vaulted over the bar and lunged at him. They crashed to the ground, and Leon screamed like a madman.
"I'll kill you!"
Croy grimaced and shouted back.
"Your breath smells like shit!"
The two rolled on the floor, descending into a chaotic brawl. Leon was bigger and heavier, but Croy knew how to handle himself in a real fight.
He struck Leon with a solid elbow, hard enough that a tooth flew through the air. A girl in the crowd screamed and ducked as the tooth narrowly missed her.
Leon seemed momentarily dazed, and Croy seized the opportunity to pull away. He didn't want to inflict more harm than necessary, but no sooner had he stood up than Leon charged at him again.
If he hadn't had enough yet, so be it.
This time, Croy was ready. Without hesitation, he kicked Leon hard in the thigh, forcing him to his knees. Leon barely had time to react before Croy's fist connected squarely with his jaw.
The impact echoed through the room, and for a second, there was dead silence before the crowd erupted into thunderous applause.
Breathing heavily, Croy looked around as the students cheered and whistled. At the edge of the crowd stood Princess Kadutor, waving at him and then clapping enthusiastically.
At that moment, he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Croy! Dude, what are you doing?" Fredrik stood there, looking at him with wide eyes.
Croy glared at him.
"Where the hell were you? I was really in trouble here!"
Fredrik glanced at the groaning Leon on the floor and raised an amused eyebrow.
"Are you sure you were the one in trouble?"
Croy sighed, but before he could relax, he heard Leon's voice again — this time filled with even more than rage. Killing intent.
"Wind Demon!" Leon roared.
Croy reacted instinctively, shoving Fredrik aside to get him out of the line of fire — when suddenly Princess Kadutor stepped forward and delivered a hard, precise high roundhouse kick to Leon's face.
The blow disrupted the spell, and Leon fell backward, losing consciousness.
"Spells weren't allowed!" the princess called out with a laugh, signaling to her shocked friend.
"Come on, Emma, the party's over!"
She then ran over to Croy and gave him a firm slap on the chest, her face beaming with delight.
"Not bad! I like you!"
With that, the princess grabbed her friend's hand and pulled her, vanishing through the crowd.
Croy watched them leave with a tired expression before turning to Fredrik.
He wasn't done with this little she-devil yet. A final glance at Leon showed that people had already begun healing him with spells.
"Come on, Fredrik! After them!"