I walked through the crowd. It was definitely like a festival. The only difference here was that instead of seeing too many couples, I saw too many group friends: definitely not a great way to feel great about myself.

Most of the stalls were just food stalls. I did see a few primitive game stalls but I didn’t really have time for those games. After all, I could basically win without even batting an eye in most of them. And hence why guys who had radiation as a power- guys like me- were banned from such games universally. I get that these games were for primitive humans but really?

It was like a festival, which meant there were other attractions too. Namely puppet shows and actual dramas: these were pretty much extinct everywhere else these days. So festivals always felt fresh. I didn’t see anything like this mentioned in the leaflet but at this point, the leaflet was nothing but a useless piece of scrap anyway.

The crowd was large but it didn’t really bother me all that much, as no one had bumped into me, yet. But it also made me feel a little lonely. I was a loner but even so, at the end of the day, my mother and sister were always there for me. Yes, they were nagging and kind of always getting on my nerves, but they were always there for me. They were my support and I had to admit it.

I sighed and just walked. After a while, I called it quits. I did buy a stick of grilled corn though.

Think I’ll head back now.

The corn was warm and it was eight. This festival-like atmosphere only made me feel worse about myself.

One bite, two-bite, and then ten. I was almost out of the festival and almost out of corn. It didn’t taste that good and it was also mostly burnt on one side and undercooked on the other. But I still ate it anyway.

“Huh? What are you? A hairless monkey! Even a monkey has more brains than you!” Suddenly there were screams. It was coming from behind me.

Now what?

A small crowd had surrounded two girls who were supposedly fighting. Even a minute ago, it wasn’t the case.

Better not get involved.

“Take that back! Take it back!” There was another scream: the voice shivered. I recognized the voice.

I shoved myself through the spectators and tried to pass through. I didn’t know what I was doing anymore. I thought I wouldn’t get involved but I found myself moving despite thinking that.

And when I finally made it two the center I saw two girls. Both the same age: at least two my thinking. And as expected, I knew one of them: Marg. She was literally on the verge of tears.

On the other hand, there was a girl, a girl who had the ears like small bird wings. She was holding onto a single-edged sword and her eyes were literally on fire. “I’ll say it again, you’re lesser than a monkey and your mother is a whore!”

I hadn’t seen a real sword since my third birthday. The same day when my gramps eradicated, I mean mistakenly, fried half of a particular country.

Marg tried her best to conceal her tears when she saw me. “YOU-”

“Excuse me? Instead of drawing a crowd like this, can’t you two settle this quietly by an alley or something? I’m sure you have your reasons but could you please refrain from saying things like that in public?” I addressed the girl with the sword. She seemed furious but I thought I could get through to her. Besides, she seemed like she was from a decent family at least clothes-wise.

I didn’t know what Marg did or what brought up this situation, but one thing was for certain. This situation wasn’t pleasant for anyone involved.

“Mind your own business cat. I don’t time to listen to freshmen.” Apparently, she was a senior and she took pride in it. Of course, she was justified to do so. But I didn’t like that attitude.

“Good for you.” I grinned. “Marg, I seem to be lost. Could you give me a tour?”

In an instant, the sword was now pointed at me and it caught fire. The girl glanced at me with her peripherals. “What do you think you’re doing? You have no business with us. Leave us be.” For someone who had such murderous intent, she was being awfully polite.

“Of course I have no business with you. But you see, she kind of owes of me, so I thought I’d have her give me a tour so she’d get the chance to repay me.” I tried to keep my head calm. I knew nothing about the girl and if I could stall for enough time, surely the prefects would show up just like last time. At least I betted on that possibility.

“It would seem that I do have business with you.” She now turned to me, furious.

“Helio, please. This is between us,” Marg managed.

“Fine by me, but are you sure you want to do this? Wouldn’t it look bad for a senior to be whopped by a junior?” Of course, I tried to bluff. But maybe I taunted a bit too much.

“Oh don’t worry. You won’t have that haughty attitude for long.” Her blade lit fully on fire and turned red. She closed her eyes, opened them a second later and for a moment her red eyes showed off entrails: fast. “HAAAH!”

She swung her sword vertically without a warning and I dodged by jumping back. The crowd dispersed and made a bigger circle. Was this amusing? Maybe they thought this was part of the play too?

And what if I’d gotten hurt?

“Don’t blame me now,” I whispered as I fired off some gamma rays aimed at the blade. If I knew correctly, the blade was lit by plasma. It was a little different from lightsabers but maybe the same principle applied. If I could blow up a lightsaber then I could blow up this too. Of course, I had to control the quality of the explosion and that’s why I only fired a small amount of gamma.

The sword glowed even brighter and in pure blue. Both of us were shocked. Why? Shouldn’t it have exploded?

She didn’t just stand there and admire her sword: instead, she charged. She was fast and her swings were practiced. But I did work out a lot, so dodging wasn’t a problem. But at this rate, I’d lose whether I liked it or not. All I could do was dodge and she basically could do both. Besides, I didn’t have an attack that would not kill her on the spot if used incorrectly.

Maybe I should start a fusion reaction?

“Stop!” but before I could focus my energy a shout followed. “Enough!” Marg looked much fiercer than I thought was possible of her. “I want a duel!” She pointed a finger at the girl. “You will acknowledge me! I demand a duel! And you will take back what you said!” She almost looked like a different person now.

“Then win the newcomer’s tournament. I’m pretty sure you’ve been taught how to use a lightsaber, so-” The girl glanced at me. “What do you say? If you should win, you can very well achieve what you were aiming to too?” Surprisingly the girl was talking to me.

“Excuse me?” I didn’t really have a goal in this fight other than to just stop it. “Besides, I don’t have any interest.”

More like I couldn’t go near lightsabers, anyway.

“She’s my older half-sister.” Marg looked away.

So this was a family bout, to begin with.

I sighed. I might have screwed up big time.

“Sister?” The girl snorted. “You’re nothing to-” She paused and sheathed her sword. She was looking somewhere else.

I tracked her sight and in the sky, there was one person floating around.

“Bye, bye, playboy.” The girl waved at me and then ran off.

What just happened?

And why on earth would Marg’s sister call me a playboy?