Chapter 140 - cool off
The dwarf continued explaining the details of the tournament and the rewards.
The ten of us had earned the opportunity to enter the Secret Realm, along with another ten participants from our respective races.
Then he announced,
"From now on, only five days remain until the Secret Realm opens. Make sure you use that time to prepare yourselves."
He paused before continuing.
"That is all for today. You must all be tired after all the fighting, so go and get some proper rest. We expect great results from all of you in the Secret Realm."
We nodded.
I looked at Luna and then pointed toward Amy and Elena.
"Hey, let’s go see Amy and Elena."
Luna nodded, and we made our way toward them.
Amy noticed us approaching and immediately asked,
"So, how did the tournament go for you, Gray? Did anyone give you a hard time?"
I smiled.
"Oh, not much. Just a few lizards ganged up on me and Luna."
I shrugged.
"But we crushed them like the lizards they are."
Amy covered her mouth.
"Ah, Gray! Your mouth is so brutal. When did you learn to say things like that?"
I simply shrugged.
"So, how about you guys? How did the tournament go?"
Amy puffed out her chest proudly.
"Who are you looking down on, Gray? Of course I won."
I smiled.
Luna and Elena were having a similar conversation nearby.
Soon, we started talking about our fights, the difficult opponents we’d encountered, and the strategies we’d used.
I told them about the sneaky dragon attack and how I had fought the Dragon Prince and the other dragons.
Amy simply laughed while Elena listened carefully.
Luna, however, had something else to complain about.
"You know, Gray, you could have actually helped me instead of sitting there eating popcorn while I was fighting."
I looked away.
"Well... you were doing fine."
She gave me an annoyed look.
We continued talking as a group before eventually making our way toward my mother and the Empress.
But before we could reach them, the Dragon Prince stepped in front of us.
I looked at him.
My eyes narrowed.
"What do you want now? Isn’t it bad enough that you got beaten by me twice and humiliated yourself?"
He gritted his teeth.
"Okay. I admit it. You’re stronger than me."
I raised an eyebrow.
He took a breath before continuing.
"I’m sorry for looking down on you. I don’t like weaklings, and I now consider you someone stronger than me."
He paused.
"But don’t think I’m just giving up. I’ll defeat you someday and reclaim my honor."
My eyes widened slightly.
The coldness in my gaze softened.
"Okay, then. I’m waiting."
I smiled faintly.
"Don’t disappoint me."
He nodded.
"Fair warning. I’m not planning to slack off. I’ll do everything in my power to become stronger."
I waved at him.
"Good luck."
Then I left.
It takes real guts to admit when you’re wrong and apologize.
I respect that.
We continued toward my mother and the Empress.
Mom saw us approaching, and a smile appeared on her face.
"Hmm. You did well in the tournament, Gray. Amy, you both improved a lot."
I nodded happily.
A bright smile appeared on my face.
Getting one compliment from my mother is better than getting thousands from strangers.
The Empress finished talking with Luna and Elena before coming toward us.
"Hmm. I watched your matches. You two fought exceptionally well."
She looked around at the other participants.
"And I saw many other candidates who fought exceptionally well as well."
Then she looked at me and Amy.
"Alright. Take one day to rest. After that, we’ll travel to the entrance of the Secret Realm."
I nodded.
Luna looked at me, and we moved a little closer together to discuss what we wanted to do during our free day.
I immediately rejected one particular suggestion.
"No training."
I was completely against the idea of training on our only day off.
Luna thought for a moment.
"Then how about we go and explore the area? It’s somewhere neither of us has been before."
I thought about it for a moment.
My eyes immediately lit up.
"That sounds good."
Just then, Amy walked over and chimed in.
"Oh? Am I disturbing the two lovebirds?"
My face immediately burned with embarrassment.
I glared at her.
Luna became silent, her eyes turning slightly red.
After a moment, she giggled.
"How about we all go on a tour tomorrow?"
She then looked at us.
"But for now, let’s go to our rooms, take a shower, and get some sleep."
I nodded.
"That sounds like the most suitable thing to do right now."
The other races also began making their own plans and left with their respective groups.
The other human participants were guided away by the people assigned by the Empress.
I waved at Amy and Elena.
"Good night."
Then I turned toward Mom and the Empress.
"Good night, Mom. Good night, Aunt Aurelia."
After saying goodbye, I headed toward my room.
As usual, Luna followed along.
Her room was located close to mine, so we walked together while talking about all the fun things we could do tomorrow.
Our conversation flowed naturally, and before long, we reached our rooms.
I was already incredibly sleepy.
I waved at her.
"Good night, Evil Princess."
Luna smiled and waved back.
"Good night, Gray."
I took a step toward my room.
Then Luna suddenly froze.
Something felt wrong.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Evil Princess?
She finally realized what I’d called her.
But when she looked toward where I had been standing...
I was already gone.
I had sprinted into my room and slammed the door shut.
A small smile appeared on Luna’s face.
She shook her head before turning around and heading toward her own room.
Meanwhile, I quickly took a shower.
I hadn’t even had time to eat dinner today.
Thankfully, I’d eaten plenty during the tournament.
Still, I was hungry.
So I took out a hot dog from my Space Storage, added a few sauces, and ate it while it was still hot.
After finishing it, I collapsed onto my bed.
The moment my head touched the pillow, I fell asleep.
I slept like a log until morning.
Knock. Knock.
I heard knocking at my door.
Still half asleep, I dragged myself out of bed and walked toward it.
I opened the door with groggy eyes.
Luna was standing outside with a bright smile.
I blinked several times.
My brain was still trying to wake up.
Luna looked at me.
"Ah, you’re still sleeping? How can you sleep so much, Gray? It’s almost time for breakfast!"
She pointed toward me.
"Go take a shower, put on some nice clothes, and come out."
I blinked again.
My brain was still completely in sleep mode.
"What did you say? I didn’t quite get it."
Luna puffed out her cheeks.
Then she stepped closer.
A familiar icy aura gathered in her hand.
The moment I saw it, my sleepy brain instantly woke up.
I immediately took a step back.
"Okay, okay! Give me a moment. I’ll be ready in a minute!"
Luna looked at me, clearly not impressed.
I quickly straightened myself up and showed her that I was completely awake.
Then I waved at her.
"See? I’m awake."
I closed the door.
The moment the door shut, I immediately returned to my groggy state.
I started walking away from the door.
Luna was still standing outside.
She didn’t hear me walking away, so she called out,
"Gray! Don’t goof off!"
My eyes widened.
I immediately turned around and rushed toward the bathroom.
"Okay, okay! You’re the boss! I’ll be ready in one minute!"
I immediately took a shower and put on a nice set of clothes.
Before leaving, I looked at my messy bed.
I couldn’t just leave it like that.
So I immediately started making the bed.
Once I finished, I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself.
Perfect.
I was completely refreshed and back to my best condition.
I stepped out of my room and saw Luna waiting in the hallway.
She had her cheeks puffed out like an angry little hamster.
She must have been waiting for me for quite a while.
I immediately felt bad for keeping her waiting, so I walked over to her and apologized.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting. I fell into a really deep sleep, and when you knocked on my door, I had only just woken up. I was still completely groggy."
Luna looked at me for a moment.
She could tell I was genuinely apologizing.
After a few seconds, her puffed cheeks relaxed.
She finally decided to let me off.
A bright smile appeared on my face.
"Thanks!"
We then walked toward the dining hall together.
As we walked, Luna told me,
"Amy and her sister already went ahead."
"Oh, really?"
I looked toward the dining hall.
"Then let’s hurry before they finish everything."
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A/N :-
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