Is that so?
So that was it?
But why had Long Yan done this? What was this child thinking? We were on the same team. Even if he did this—handed me the scroll and let everyone know it was with me, making me draw most of the fire—why?
This child...
No! Judging by Anna's expression, she supported Long Yan. Or rather, what exactly were these two children thinking? There was no point in doing this.
Not everyone was an idiot!
Looking at Gate No. 1 ahead, then at the teams behind them that had long vanished from sight, each heading toward their own entrance, leaving nothing but an empty stretch of yellow earth, Hada Ichiba could not help glancing at Hada Long Yan beside him, whose face clearly said he did not want to deal with anyone, as well as Hada Anna, who was imitating him despite the adorable innocence written all over her face. A faintly bitter smile tugged at his lips.
It seemed...
During the first exam, something he had said had stirred up Long Yan's fighting spirit in a strange direction.
That expression, based on experience, was not his usual look of finding me unpleasant. It was the look of competing with me?
After that glance, once he saw Hada Long Yan's expression, the bitterness at the corner of Hada Ichiba's mouth deepened.
At this moment, he could tell that although the child's expression looked no different from the way he had looked at him before, the meaning contained within it was entirely different.
Before, it had simply been dislike, annoyance, and unwillingness to deal with him. But now, he was clearly trying to compete.
"I'm saying... Long Yan, if you didn't want to accept that scroll, you could have thrown it to me behind the curtain.