We're Soul Brothers, Aren't We!

“Ah, Ain... the truth always hurts the most. As someone who has been through it, how could I not understand what you're feeling right now?”

Emil let out a sigh, looking as though he truly felt sorry for Ain.

“Who hasn't fantasized about having a perfect campus romance?”

“Senior, I think you're misunderstanding—”

“Do you know why I call you my soul brother?”

Before Ain could even speak, Emil cut him off. Once again, his warm hands clamped onto Ain's shoulders as he leaned in slightly, his eyes filled with raw, undisguised sincerity.

“...Huh?”

“The very moment I laid eyes on you, I knew!”

“Look at you right now. Look at the sheer despair in your eyes... How could I not understand? We are cut from the same cloth—both of us are absolute losers!”

Lost in his own world, Emil's tone grew weary and weathered, as if he had lived through a lifetime of regrets.

“From the moment I stepped foot into this academy, I have been involved with dozens of beautiful girls.”

“Ah, look at that look on your face... tsk, tsk, tsk! Surprised, aren't you? Your senior here is actually quite the ladies' man.”

Ain was genuinely surprised. He really hadn't expected someone this absurd to have been in so many relationships.

“Then, Senior, what was the reason you broke up with all of them?”

“Oh, we didn't break up.”

Ain was stunned.

“They rejected me the moment I confessed.”

Ain's expression became incredibly strained.

“No need to be jealous, Ain. I can see it in your eyes—you yearn for it! You yearn to have a romance of your own!”

“Failure is merely a necessary stepping stone on the path to success! Sure, you might not be strong enough right now, you might lack charm, and you might have zero ambition...”

“But so what?! As men, the one thing we never lack is the courage to press forward! It is never too late to start trying! So what if you get rejected? So what if you can't have her? There will always be another girl waiting for you further down the road!”

“You can become better, you can become stronger! You should visualize yourself standing on a grand stage, basking in the admiring gazes of others! That is what we strive for!”

Ain's mouth fell open slightly.

“Do you understand, Ain?!”

“I-I understand...”

As if he had just dragged a lost soul back from the brink of self-abandonment, Emil let out a long, dramatic sigh of relief. A look of profound self-satisfaction and pride washed over his face.

“Don't worry, your senior is here for you! Not only will I pass down every ounce of dating experience I've gathered over my life, but I'll also break down and analyze my own irresistible charm to teach you step-by-step!”

“No, no, no, that really won't be necessary.”

Ain waved his hands dismissively, a helpless smile tugging at his lips.

“Don't be so distant, Ain! We're brothers, soul brothers!”

“Though neither of us has any girls who like us right now, and neither of us has found that beautiful romance... Still! We will never betray each other! And we will never abandon each other! Am I right?!”

Ain nodded.

Emil laughed and patted Ain on the shoulder, continuing to lead him toward the cafeteria.

“Oh, by the way, Ain, do you remember? Just a few nights ago, in the dead of night, some guy out of nowhere made some kind of passionate midnight confession, right?”

“A confession? Late at night? Who? I hadn't heard about that. Sounds like quite the romantic, though, pulling off something like that.”

Ain suddenly felt a spark of interest.

He wanted to hear some juicy gossip.

“You didn't know? It happened during the academy's crisis about ten days ago. I only heard about it recently myself. Weren't you at the academy back then? How could you not know?”

“The crisis?”

Ain felt a pang of irritation. While he had been risking his life fighting tooth and nail back then, someone else had actually been fooling around like that?

“The entire academy was busy putting out fires, and so many people were injured, yet that guy was thinking about some late-night confession? Is he out of his mind? What terrible timing.”

“Hmph, confessing without even reading the room? Honestly, if he didn't get slapped on the spot, the girl must have been incredibly patient.”

Emil shook his head with a slight chuckle, sighing as he spoke in a solemn, knowing tone.

“That's where you're wrong, Ain. That's the beauty of his strategy! We could study for half our lives and still not match his level of play.”

“He succeeded?”

“Succeeded? She threw herself right into his arms!”

Ain was dumbfounded.

“Holy crap! Those two must have already been together. Were they using the entire academy's crisis as part of their roleplay?!”

Ain felt a sudden urge to kick that guy right where it hurts!

“Roleplay? What does that mean?”

“Nothing, nothing. Just a figure of speech.”

Emil threw his arm around Ain's shoulder, his voice dripping with intense bitterness, as if some deeply hidden wound had been poked.

“I know, Ain, I know! You must be jealous too! A guy like that doesn't lift a finger when the academy is in danger, yet he has the leisure to pull off some romantic confession, and it actually worked...”

“I'm so jealous! I'm so incredibly jealous, Ain! What makes him so special?!”

“Exactly! What makes him so special?!”

“Just because he spoke up for that witch in front of the whole school? Ain, let me tell you, that guy has some terrifyingly deep schemes!”

“Exactly! That guy's schemes are—”

Ain froze.

“Senior, what did you just say? A witch?”

Emil still looked utterly devastated, tears practically welling in his eyes as he sighed dramatically.

“She was one of the victims of the crisis. Apparently, she carries the blood of a witch.”

“That guy chose the perfect moment to go against everyone else, pouring his heart out with a bunch of sweet talk to that witch! See? That's what you call a masterstroke! Standing up for her when she needed it most! Ain, that's what you call real boldness!”

“And get this, I heard that witch has been practically inseparable from him lately! Think about it—now that is a true master of romance! Ain, if you ever get the chance, you must study his techniques!”

Ain's mouth fell open once more.

A second later, Emil leaned in close with a highly secretive expression, whispering conspiratorially into Ain's ear.

“Ain, let me tell you, the story doesn't even end there.”

“It doesn't end there?”

Ain was completely flabbergasted.

“I heard that cozying up to the witch was only step one. His true ultimate goal is to make a move on her best friend!”

“Guess who it is? Hehehe... you'll never guess! The witch's best friend is none other than Erylin!”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. See that, Ain? Look! Your love rival has arrived!”

“Could you ever outplay a guy like that? Look at the moves he's making—he's playing chess while you're playing checkers!”

“He's been getting so close to Erylin lately that her fan club has blacklisted him on their 'Must-Kill List'! He is the first person in history to make that list!”

“But what does that prove? It proves the guy has real capability! To make so many people feel threatened is a massive achievement in itself!”

“Honestly, guys like him are absolutely detestable! All they care about is playing with girls' feelings! If I ever lay eyes on him, I'll beat the living crap out of him!”

Ain felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

“Senior...”

“What is it?”

Ain let out a stiff, awkward laugh.

“I... suddenly don't feel very hungry anymore.”

“Maybe we should skip the cafeteria?”

Emil gripped Ain's arm tightly, a massive grin plastered across his face. Without giving Ain a choice, he used his brute strength to drag him forward.

“Come on, just have a quick bite! What are you so afraid of? It's my treat!”

“We're brothers! Soul brothers! We should trust each other, right?”

“Do you remember the vow we just made?”

“Never betray, never abandon!”