In the noisy, packed crowd, Amano Joji was surrounded right in the middle.
"Joji-sama! You're here! Quick, please sit!"
"Ah—Joji-sama, long time no see!"
"Just look at Joji-sama and you can tell you've got today's match in the bag!"
"As if there's any doubt—Joji-sama is going to completely crush it!"
"..."
Around Joji was a pile of enthusiastic greetings and shameless flattery.
A satisfied smile hung on his face.
Clearly, he enjoyed being fawned over.
As he was ushered into a seat, Joji smiled and waved in greeting to the circle of bootlickers around him.
His gaze swept across the surroundings.
Hm?
That is—
Joji caught sight of a beautiful young girl with a curvy figure and a high ponytail.
Isobe Himeko!
Two months without seeing her, and that iceberg-goddess aura of hers seemed even stronger now!
Not bad!
A woman like this—
was even more worth conquering!
Joji stuck out his tongue and licked the corner of his mouth.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
A lewd expression surfaced on his face.
Joji stood up.
He straightened his clothes.
Then—
he put on what he thought was a handsome smile,
and walked toward Himeko.
Joji's movement naturally drew everyone's attention.
His reputation among this year's rookie Trainers was the biggest of all.
On one hand,
it was because the Amano family was a prestigious, powerful clan in all of Wintergreen City.
On the other hand,
it was because two months ago,
Joji had secured that Dratini Pokémon Egg at the Pokémon Breeding Center.
With such a strong Pokémon in hand,
Joji was already recognized as the number one of this year's class.
There were even rumors going around—
that enrollment directors from various Pokémon universities had already contacted him ahead of time,
offering extremely generous terms and fighting to get him to join.
All of that
naturally made everyone present
burn with jealousy and envy toward Joji.
"Himeko, long time no see!"
Joji leaned in front of Himeko,
putting on an act of familiarity as he greeted her.
The people sitting near Himeko,
the moment they saw Joji,
immediately lowered their heads
and quickly gave up their seats, clearing the area in an instant.
Joji sat down right next to Himeko.
The way these onlookers "knew their place"
made him feel extremely proud.
Himeko kept her face cold,
treating Joji like he was nothing but air.
"How about it—do you feel confident about today's assessment?"
Seeing that Himeko didn't respond,
Joji's smile stiffened for an instant,
but he kept going anyway.
As he spoke,
he even slid one arm behind her,
trying to pull her into a side hug.
Himeko's expression turned even colder.
She turned her head,
looked at Joji with contempt, and sneered.
Then—
she shifted her seat, moving far away from him.
The hand Joji had stretched out
was now stuck in an awkward spot—he couldn't pull it back cleanly, and he couldn't leave it there naturally either.
In the end,
he could only rest it awkwardly on the back of the chair where Himeko had been sitting a moment ago.
When the others present saw this,
it immediately set off a wave of discussion.
Damn!
Himeko really isn't giving Joji any face at all!
If it were any other girl,
even if she didn't like Joji,
she wouldn't dare show rejection and disgust so openly!
After all—
who would want to offend a Trainer who was extremely likely to step into Elite Four-level in the future?
This Himeko really is a hardheaded one!
The crowd whispered to each other.
Some were laughing at Joji getting shut down.
Others were sneering at Himeko for being arrogant and putting on airs!
"You…"
Joji stared at Himeko's profile,
and his expression flared with anger.
Twice!
This woman had already humiliated him in public for the second time!
What a filthy bitch!
So ungrateful!
Raging flames rose in Joji's eyes.
The tiny fragments of conversation from the people around him
sounded especially piercing.
He suddenly stood up!
His eyes locked onto Himeko!
As the atmosphere abruptly started to feel wrong,
everyone present fell silent.
Oh no!
Was Joji-sama really angry?
Was he going to make a move on Himeko right here?
That thought flashed through the heads of the spectators.
Himeko too.
Her beautiful brows furrowed tightly,
and she stared coldly at Joji.
"Hmph!"
At the critical moment,
Joji still managed to suppress the anger in his chest.
After snorting,
he shot Himeko a disdainful look,
then turned and left without looking back.
That's it?
The surrounding audience seemed a little disappointed by how things turned out.
They'd thought they were about to see an unbelievably exciting show!
Right at that moment,
the ten enormous battle arenas below
suddenly lit up with blazing lights.
In an instant, everyone's attention was drawn over.
(End of Chapter)
If I see that this fanfic has support, I will upload 20+ chapters to Patreon!!
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]