Kazu laughed straight for nearly one minute before he calmed down somewhat.
"I am sorry about that." Kazu didn't meet the blonde's eyes. He felt too embarrassed to do that.
"It's fine. I am happy that my words caused somebody to laugh as if hearing the joke of the century." The sarcasm wasn't lost on him.
"I am sorry...It's been so long since somebody told me that...in such a situation. It just took me off guard."
Jenny stared at him for a few seconds. "Well, whatever. I will pretend that it never happened."
Just as Kazu was going to say anything, he looked at a figure approaching him. He turned in their direction.
"Salut." Sol greeted with a smile.
"Hello." Kazu returned the smile.
"Hi." Jenny didn't understand the words, so she mimicked Kazu.
"It's my pleasure to meet such young people here, especially you, Kazu-sama." He stretched his hand for a greeting.
Kazu stared at his hand for a moment before mimicking the gesture. "The pleasure is mine...I am sorry, but I don't know your name." He said with an embarrassed smile.
Sol's expression almost cracked, but he didn't show it.
"It's alright. I am just a nobody. I go by Sol. Please refer to me as Monsieur Sol."
Kazu smiled. "Monsieur Sol...What a nice ring to it. It suits you."
"Oh my. I don't deserve such praise." Sol beamed.
"Oh no. You must be jesting. I haven't seen somebody with a better title than yours." Kazu's smile stretched.
"Oh, stop it. How are you feeling about the match? You seem to be the likely candidate to win."
Kazu shook his head. "No way. There are so many strong people here. I would be lucky not to be eliminated first."
"Humble. It suits you. As much as I want to continue the conversation, it seems my guild master is calling me. I would need to go." Sol pointed at Jose.
Kazu glanced at him. "Very well. I won't stop you anymore then." He waved as Sol excused himself.
Kazu then turned back to Jenny, who was looking at him with a shocked expression.
"Oh my. Did my elegance catch another maiden's heart? It's a shame that a heart would be broken again." Kazu shook his head.
Jenny deadpanned. "Just what did I witness?"
"My greatness. I was born an actor."
"Right...Born actor indeed. I couldn't tell if it was your real personality or not." She scoffed.
"I know, I know. No need to point it out. I might grow arrogant if you praise me too much." He smirked.
"Okay, this is cringe. Stop."
Kazu shrugged. "Well, it seems it's almost starting. Good luck, miss whatever your name is."
"Good luck to you, too, mister whatever your name is."
---
"Did you succeed?" Jose asked Sol with a serious expression.
The latter shook his head. "He had a barrier covering his palm. Moreover, I don't know if he knew that my palm had poison or not."
Jose frowned. "Leave it. Don't think too much about it. The gap between you and him is not that wide." He patted Sol on the shoulder.
Sol nodded. He then saw the speaker motioning everyone to gather. "It seems I need to go now."
"All the best."
"Thank you."
Jose looked at Sol's retreating figure. 'It seems I might need to take action myself.' His eyes darkened as he shifted his gaze to Kazu. 'That boy is too dangerous to be left alone.'
---
"I know that most of you might not know each other, and the same is true for guild masters present here. So, I will reveal some basic knowledge about you that the council have on you. Nothing related to your magic or anything. Is that alright?"
None of the 7 contestants protested. Most of the information there was already public.
"Very well. Let's start." The speaker took out a bunch of papers.
"The first one we have is Lily Sky. She is 27 years old. Her danger rating is A-rank."
A purple-haired lady stepped up. She was wearing a one-piece that reached up to her thighs. She was stunning.
Several people whistled.
"It seems being A-rank is a big deal." Jenny raised a brow.
"I think the reason for whistling is something else." He glanced at the guild masters. Some of them had lecherous smiles.
He facepalmed. "These old perverts..."
"Isn't your guild master also one of them?" Jenny pointed at her finger at Makarov.
"Don't remind me." Kazu put another hand on his face, not wanting to look.
Jenny shifted her attention to Lily.
She waved around, greeting the crowd.
"I am single." She suddenly said, causing everyone to pause.
Then the whistles increased with some cheers too.
"Fuck. If only I were 10 years older." Kazu frowned, regret laced in his voice.
"Weren't you just complaining about those old men just now?" Jenny deadpanned.
"This...is different. You won't understand it." Kazu shook his head.
"Next up is Sonic Drumstle. Age 24. Danger level A-rank."
A black-haired man stepped with a charming smile. He removed the robe that he was wearing. His toned physique revealed itself, and coupled with his pretty face, caught several people's attention.
"I think I am starting to understand it. If only I were 5 years older."
Kazu turned to Jenny with a surprised expression. "Oh...For real?"
"For real. Just look at him. He looks so dreamy. Directly from a movie or a fairy tale." Jenny nodded.
'Now that I think about it, I generally have these kinds of teenager conversations with Gray. Maybe, I will try to probe some others if the opportunity arises in the future.' Kazu made a mental note.
"Next, we have Yagami. 19 years old and a danger threat of B."
A guy with messy hair stepped forward. He was wearing a jacket. He waved around before stepping back.
"For a second, I thought he would remove his jacket and show us something," Kazu commented.
"I know, right?"
'Wait! When did this turn into a modelling kind of thing? This is all that nee-chan's fault.' He glanced at Lily, who caught him staring. She smiled at him.
Kazu averted his gaze. 'Actually, no. It's all these old guys' fault. If they hadn't created such an atmosphere. How unfitting for guild masters.'
"Next, we have Snow Red. 22 Years old with a danger rating of B-rank"
A white-haired girl stepped up with an unreadable expression. Despite being at a decent distance from her, everyone could feel the temperature drop. She seemed aloof from everything.
"That nee-chan is also not bad. She is like the personification of 'Ice Princess'. I won't be surprised if she claims that she hates men or something." Kazu chuckled.
"She does seem the type. But we shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Maybe she's just shy." Jenny commented.
"Maybe."
It was Sol's turn next.
"We have Sol next from Phantom Lord. Just 19 years old and A-rank." The speaker's voice sounded impressed. So was everyone else around. Most of them were already aware of him as Phantom Lord flaunted its top talents explicitly over the years.
Sol stepped up with a polite smile.
"That guy rubs me the wrong way." A chill crawled up Jenny's spine when she looked at Sol's face.
"Mhm."
"From Blue Pegasus, we have Jenny Realight. As you can see, she's just 13 years old and has a rating of B-rank. It hasn't even been a year since she started taking missions."
The crowd's reaction was wild.
"Damn, such a strong kid."
"No wonder Blue Pegasus is ranked in the top 5. With such talents, their future is bright."
"She might become an S-rank in the future."
Their reaction was understandable. Most of the guild masters present were of A-rank despite being over 30 years old. Seeing such a talent caused two of the reactions, jealousy or hope, especially the latter for people who had good connections with the Blue Pegasus guild.
By this point, Kazu felt like the old man had become some sort of commentator. He glanced at the guild masters, who had already started betting pools.
'Good that the betting is already one. We are going to make a fortune here.' A grin crept up his face as Kazu's eyes met Makarov's. He secretly gave thumbs-up to the old man, who did the same.
"Lastly, we have Kazu Sukehiro. He is also 13 years old and—" The speaker suddenly paused. He rubbed his eyes and brought the paper close to him, as if not believing what he was seeing.
His hands trembled as he turned to Kazu, who just gave him a closed-eyed smile. The speaker turned to Makarov, who was grinning ear-to-ear. The old man will be getting a fortune after this match.
"What's the rating?" The guild masters weren't able to hold their curiosity. Just what did the speaker see for him to react like this?
"Danger rating: S-rank."
***
50 Powerstones for Double Release
***
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