The Price of Distraction and a Precarious Game

Thanks to Prince Aoyama, Leidi and I had a relatively easy time at school afterward; the girls in our class didn’t bother us much.

However, the only ones who truly engaged with us were Takagi, Aki, and Ami.

Friendships among girls, when faced with a boy they admire, are truly as flimsy as tissue paper—or perhaps even rice paper.

After all, those three had been among the girls who were observing me earlier.

It was both amusing and chilling, and a wry, bitter smile involuntarily curved my lips.

Ah, truly…

“Thud!”

My thoughts were abruptly cut short by the dull thud of a hard object colliding with the wall, originating from my forehead.

“Oof—gah—”

Uttering a strange sound, I collapsed onto the floor from the impact of hitting the wall, rolling half a turn backward.

I was now in the awkward, four-limbed, upside-down position, with my legs over my shoulders.

Oh, for heaven’s sake… when did I reach the end of the track?

I blinked, staring blankly at the ceiling.

“Ahaha, how do you manage to zone out while running?”

Brother Mingdao, his expression a mix of amusement and helplessness, appeared in my inverted field of vision.

I mean… I know you didn’t mean it that way, but could you have waited until I changed my posture before coming over?

From this angle, you can definitely see my butt, right?

“It’s probably because the straightaway was too long, ha-ha-ha…”

Feeling embarrassed, I quickly rolled over and stood up, letting out a few awkward, feigned laughs.

Thankfully, my heart rate had exceeded one hundred thirty-five just now, otherwise my head would surely have cracked open.

“One of these days, you might just run yourself to sleep,” Brother Mingdao quipped, a smile playing on his lips, as he handed me a towel and water.

“Brother Mingdao, please don’t tease me so much, guh-hm~ guh-hm~”

Covering my sweat-drenched head with the towel, I began to rehydrate.

“Whew—” That felt amazing!

The sweet water quenched my parched throat, making me feel utterly reborn, though it was a pity it wasn’t chilled.

“That’s enough training for today; we need to progress gradually.”

Gathering the boxing gloves and weight plates from the floor, Brother Mingdao seemed ready to depart.

“Though I can’t feel it now that my body’s warmed up, this morning’s muscle soreness was truly agonizing…”

While I knew complaining wouldn’t reduce my training load, I still felt compelled to voice my grievances.

This morning had been absolutely dreadful.

“That’s precisely why I said to progress gradually.”

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back to my room.”

“Okay, goodbye.”

With his back to me, Brother Mingdao waved his hand and left the underground parking lot of the Chrysalis Hall.

As for me, I decided to rest a little longer.

As planned, Leidi and I only engaged in breakthrough training in Ruka sister’s ‘Corridor’ on Saturdays and Sundays.

On other days, after school, we performed simpler physical training in the mansion’s underground parking lot.

Of course… I was the only one who actually came to the underground parking lot for physical training.

Leidi would give up in less than half an hour.

However, her training, given her possession of the Gate, wasn’t actually meant to be these exercises.

Her brief half-hour of activity was merely to maintain her physical health.

She was probably stacking dice in her bedroom by now.

But for me, who possessed strength, it was different.

Parkour, boxing, and long-distance running—seemingly unrelated activities that were nonetheless incredibly taxing—constituted my daily training regimen.

Naturally… compared to the “mixed-doubles beginner-thrashing regimen” that Brother Mingdao and Ruka sister put me through on weekends, these daily exercises were considerably lighter.

Although it had only happened yesterday, it felt as though a long time had passed, so I might as well just refer to it as ‘that day.’

That day, I had reached my physical training limit based solely on the number of times I was struck.

Oh? You ask why only the number of times I was struck?

That’s too humiliating; you can just imagine it yourself…

“Ugh—”

A gust of wind, from an unknown direction, swept over my sweat-soaked sportswear, making me shiver unexpectedly.

I really should go take a shower quickly.

As I walked towards the exit, I surveyed the almost empty parking lot.

For a private parking lot, it was ridiculously huge.

Although no cars other than those belonging to the mansion were parked here, Leidi had mentioned that it was actually connected to the bustling underground commercial street near the Chrysalis Hall.

Hmph—I should’ve just taken this route for shopping back then; there wouldn’t have been any sun.

But wait, if there’s no one around, is it even considered shopping?

****

“Hey~ Leidi, dinner’s ready~”

“Kya! Eh?! It’s falling! It’s going to fall!!!”

Clad in a bathrobe, I pushed open the bedroom door with my foot, a smile playing on my lips.

The maid I’d encountered earlier had informed me that Leidi hadn’t had dinner yet.

Honestly, how could one train without eating properly?

Though, truth be told, her training didn’t require much physical exertion anyway.

After convincing the maid, who kept politely refusing, I personally carried the plate upstairs.

However, it seemed I had just done something rather mischievous.

“Clatter clatter clatter—”

The dice structure, approximately half a meter tall, collapsed under Leidi’s helpless expression, which resembled Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream.’

“What are you doing?! I spent nearly four hours stacking those!”

Leidi angrily stomped her foot at me, a gesture that was surprisingly cute.

“At least eat dinner first, haha.”

I chuckled as I offered her the plate of food.

“I’m not hungry! I’m already full from being angry at you!!!”

Despite her words, her body obediently accepted the plate.

She’s such a tsundere, this one…

****

“You were doing this the whole time?”

As I tidied up the dice scattered across the carpet, I turned to ask her.

“What else was I supposed to be doing?!”

Leidi, still fuming, leaned against the round table, shoveling rice into her mouth.

“Still angry? Your movements aren’t very elegant anymore, young lady?”

This was a prime opportunity to tease her, and I certainly wouldn’t let it pass.

“Mmm… I know…”

Leidi glared at me like a cat, then deliberately slowed her movements.

It seemed my taunt had been quite effective.

“Heave-ho~ I didn’t expect it to be so heavy.”

I placed the large bag of collected dice into a nearby box.

Even with my heart rate back to normal, it had been quite a workout.

“Actually, couldn’t you have just called a maid to clean this up?

Hmm? Speaking of which, why are you the one bringing me food?”

She’s only just noticing now…

“It was just on my way.”

I waved a hand and sat down on the sofa next to Leidi.

“Maids aren’t hired just for show, you know.”

“You’re the one who needs to act more like a young lady, alright?”

I was glared at again…

“Aside from my appearance, what part of me still resembles a young lady…?”

Having been poor for so long, I simply couldn’t learn those ways; she might as well give up.

Of course, I couldn’t say that out loud.

“Right, can you set up the Jenga tower?”

“It’s in the box next to the dice.”

You want to practice more?

“I know, I know… By the way, your training mostly involves playing with toys, while I’m here working myself to death.”

As I meticulously stacked the blocks on the table according to the rules, I grumbled to Leidi.

“You think I’m not tired?”

“These things actually require unexpected patience and concentration.”

“I exhaust my mind, and you exhaust your body; we’re actually fifty-fifty.”

Wiping her mouth, Leidi set her plate aside, having apparently finished eating.

“I still feel like I’m getting the raw end of the deal…”

It’s definitely me who faces the enemies head-on, isn’t it?

****

“Shall I go first, then?”

“Mhm.”

You already threw the dice before I could even answer…

“Alright, block number one on the eleventh layer, right? Watch me~”

Leidi, propping her head with one hand, effortlessly pulled out the first block from the eleventh layer and set it aside.

“My turn.”

“Let’s see the numbers.”

“Number two on the second layer… This is quite challenging…”

I carefully poked at the block.

The lower the block, the harder it was to extract.

…

…

…

“Okay, your turn.”

Leidi watched me with an expectant gaze, as if certain I would lose.

The Jenga game was nearing its conclusion.

At this stage, the dice had been discarded, and two-thirds of the blocks had already been removed, leaving the remaining ones in incredibly tricky positions.

“What’s wrong? Do you want me to help you?”

Leidi tilted her head, her eyebrows dancing up and down mischievously, as she smiled and provoked me.

“Cut it out; it’s not over until it’s over.”

Despite my defiant tone, I hesitated, staring intently at the precarious block tower before me, unsure where to even begin.

Though it had only been two days, was Leidi bullying a novice?

“Hmm—hmm—here!”

Better a quick pain than a prolonged one; if it falls, it falls!

At least I wouldn’t lose my nerve!

With a swift, ‘whoosh’ sound, I rapidly pulled out a block from the middle.

Yes! It didn’t fall! There’s still a chan—

“Kya!”

My eyes widened, and I let out a small gasp.

My hand, having moved too quickly, had accidentally brushed against the backrest of the sofa.

The block, slipping from my grasp, bounced erratically towards me.

But then, such is the nature of coincidence.

“Thwack~~”

As if accompanied by that very sound effect, the block bounced off my chest—which my bathrobe couldn’t fully conceal—then spun and collided with the precarious tower of blocks before me.

“Clatter clatter—”

While the process was rather unconventional… there was no doubt… I had lost.

However…

“I’m going to take a shower to cool down…”

Leidi, her gaze unfocused and fixed on my chest, stood up with a deathly pale, soulless expression, then walked out of the room like a puppet with its strings cut.

It seemed I had defeated Leidi on a psychological level.

Should I be happy about this?

A little conflicted…