This Is an Order

Not bad. For some reason, though the words were perfectly polite, Karei felt a fire burning inside him, one he could neither vent nor suppress.

This pent-up feeling was unbearable.

"What card did Caroso even use...?"

"No idea."

"Wasn't that way too powerful?"

"The card Caroso used is a new card that has not appeared before. If you possess that same spirit of research, you too can make a name for yourselves in a single battle." The Vice Principal swept her gaze over the crowd and left.

Once the Vice Principal had left, quite a few people followed suit. In the end, Karei was left standing alone on the stage.

Karei carefully reflected on the first half of his life. He did not seem to have done anything excessively outrageous, did he?

At most, he had knocked up a few girls, and when drunk, he liked smashing up shops and beating people. But he had paid for all the damages.

What had caused today's conflict...

I said he was being rude, and then he challenged me to a duel.

Because of Elena? You had only just met!

He just stole a woman from me, right in front of me. How could he be so overbearing?

If there was a problem, everyone could have sat down and talked it out. Going straight to a duel was too much. Was Caroso some kind of barbarian?

There had never been any conflict between Gao Yan Province and Azure Wolf Province!

Could it be that he simply wanted to step on me?

The more Karei thought about it, the angrier he became. No matter how he considered it, the most likely possibility was that Caroso simply wanted to use him as a stepping stone.

Now Karei had become famous throughout the academy. A third-year student had been defeated by a first-year student—what a humiliation!

"Caroso..." Karei clenched his fists.

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Next time, I'll definitely win back my pride!

Thinking of Caroso's indifferent gaze only made Karei burn with greater rage.

Those eyes of yours—I'll gouge them out while you're fully awake, so you'll never be able to look at me again!

"Brother, you must be tired, right?" Nimel took out a bottle of water and handed it to Caroso. "A third-rank defeating a fourth-rank—so amazing."

"If you cultivate properly, you can do it too." Caroso accepted the water and gulped it down. The bottle was quickly emptied.

"Brother, can you tell me why you dueled?" Nimel asked curiously.

"I didn't like the look of him." Caroso casually made up an excuse.

Nimel opened her mouth. Brother must have had some reason that forced him to act, right? He had not been like this before...

[Boss Caro, mighty!]

[Didn't like the look of him. Great reason.]

[Come to think of it, I think Boss Caro's personality can be pretty good sometimes. At least it's satisfying to watch!]

[When words failed, he just threw down the glove. That was insanely cool.]

[Why the hell whitewash him? There's no need to whitewash him!]

[Yeah, persuade him when he should change. When he shouldn't change, there's no need to persuade him.]

[We need to raise a Boss Caro with his own personality!]

[Speaking of which, what if he happened not to draw the set? There are people with that kind of terrible luck.]

"I'll use my own cards," Caroso replied. "I still won't lose."

"Brother, what did you say?"

"Nothing."

"Then, what are you going to do now, Brother?"

"Eat. I'm hungry."

Before long, Caroso brought Nimel to the cafeteria.

He swiped his own magic crystal card and bought a lavish dinner.

Right after that, Nimel bought herself a meal behind Caroso, using her own magic crystal card.

Compared to Caroso's meal, hers was nowhere near as lavish.

[Wait, Boss Caro, you don't pay when you go out with a girl?]

"Nimel is capable of taking care of herself," Caroso replied.

[Shit, you can't treat her like that!]

[That's right. Didn't you say you wanted to repay us? Be nicer to Nimel from now on, you bastard!]

[I'm pulling my hair out while helping you build decks over here. From now on, you have to pay for Nimel's meals and make sure she eats well!]

"Fine," Caroso agreed.

When he turned around, he saw that Nimel's food was all cost-effective fare. There was nothing she particularly liked.

Seeing this, Caroso set down his tray and went to buy another one.

Nimel did not think much of it. She assumed Caroso had been too exhausted from earlier and needed to replenish a great deal of energy.

Clack!

But Caroso placed the newly bought tray directly in front of Nimel.

"Brother, this is..." Nimel blinked.

"You don't like what you got. Eat this." Caroso sat down.

"Huh?" Nimel froze.

That sudden concern again...

What has been going on with Brother lately? Sometimes he's especially cold, and sometimes he cares about me...

Caroso's changes left Nimel completely at a loss.

"From now on, eat with me. I'll pay for whatever we eat. You are not allowed to eat poorly." Caroso's words were extremely domineering.

"Is that an order..." Nimel asked softly.

"Yes," Caroso replied casually.

"Okay." Nimel smiled faintly, sweetness filling her heart.

After Caroso returned to his dormitory, he explained to the comments why he had gone to see Elena. Only then were they reassured.

Just as Caroso was making preparations, someone knocked on his door again.

Caroso opened the door and saw...

"Ta-da!" Elena appeared before Caroso, carrying a huge pile of materials, with Rayne following behind her.

"Come in." Caroso let the two of them inside.

"Your room still hasn't been decorated. I think it could use some proper furnishing." Rayne glanced around Caroso's plain room. "You've been busy all day, so you haven't had much time, right?"

"I don't need decorations." Caroso sat in his seat and brewed a pot of coffee for them. "I was interrupted during the day, so I didn't explain clearly. What I need is not materials, but a list of materials, including those available from the school and those I can buy."

"Why talk about buying them? I can just give them to Brother!" Elena wore an innocent smile.

"No need. It's not as if I can't afford materials." Caroso said, "Don't forget, we'll still be opponents in the future."

"Hehe, can't opponents also be friends?" Elena winked at Caroso.

"Elena, stop fooling around. Since Caroso doesn't want us to give them to him, we'll just help him get the material list." Rayne smiled, then said to Caroso, "What card did you use today? It was incredible!"

"I... created that card myself." Caroso blushed slightly as he said it.

"Can you tell us about it?" Elena placed both hands on Caroso's legs.

She was very close, her bright eyes full of curiosity.

"Regarding that card, I think we can cooperate." This time, Caroso was not swayed.

Karei sat beside Elena with a look of infatuation on his face. He had seen it all.

Though he had not initially been sure whether what the Netizens said was true, once a seed of suspicion had been planted in his heart, seeing even the slightest hint would allow that seed to take root and sprout.