The War Between Women

Gion emerged from behind Zephyr with her hands clasped behind her back, smiling brightly as she greeted everyone below.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Gion. I had a bit of an unpleasant incident with a few classmates here a few days ago, so please don't take it to heart. I hope we can get along well from now on~"

The crowd below exchanged looks. The female cadets fell silent, and Jessica even looked at Gion with a hint of hostility.

The male cadets did not react much either. Momonga and the others instinctively looked toward Gigue, making the atmosphere awkward for a moment.

Zephyr could not help but feel a headache coming on. To be honest, if Tsuru had not personally approached him, he would never have wanted Gion to enter the Marine Academy.

He knew perfectly well what the cadets in this class were like. Ginny was practically the darling of the female cadets, while among the male cadets, there was no need to even mention it—they were completely centered around Gigue.

Although Gigue was the youngest of them all, aside from Akainu and Kizaru, he had already left everyone else far behind in terms of strength.

With such power, coupled with a composure that did not match his age, there were practically no male cadets who did not respect him.

And Gion had happened to offend both of them. Honestly, even Zephyr had no idea how she was supposed to get by at the academy from now on.

As for Gion, she seemed completely unaware that anything was wrong with the atmosphere. Or rather, perhaps she had noticed the others' resistance toward her, but simply did not care.

From beginning to end, her gaze remained fixed on Gigue, who stood at the front. A captivating light shimmered in her large, peach-colored eyes.

Jessica nudged Ginny with her elbow and whispered,

"Ginny, that Gion keeps looking at Gigue. I have a feeling her motives for coming to the academy aren't exactly pure!"

Ginny furrowed her lovely brows. Naturally, she had noticed it as well, but Gion had already apologized that day. The matter was over.

She was not the petty sort, nor did she want to lead the others into isolating Gion over that fight. She disdained doing something like that.

So, even though Gion's behavior made her feel somewhat uncomfortable, she still said,

"Alright. No matter what, she'll be our classmate from now on. If we keep giving her no response, it'll seem rather rude."

With that, Ginny took the lead in applauding. Once she made her stance clear, the other girls followed suit and began clapping as well.

Watching Ginny clap enthusiastically over there, Gigue could not help shaking his head with a soft laugh. He gave a token round of applause as well.

His influence was far greater than Ginny's. The scattered applause instantly became much more vigorous, with Kashou clapping the hardest of all.

Gion tilted her head, and the smile on her face grew even brighter.

Zephyr finally relaxed. After giving Gion a few instructions, he directly announced the start of formal training.

Everyone scattered. Gigue remained where he was with Akainu and the others, exchanging insights from their recent training.

Gion stood there alone. No one came to speak with her. There was none of the star-like treatment she had received at the branch, nor was Tokikake, her devoted admirer, there to pester her.

Yet she did not seem disappointed. She lightly kicked away a pebble near her feet and gracefully headed toward Gigue.

However, after taking only a few steps, Ginny flashed in front of her again. Wearing a friendly smile, she said,

"Gion, where are you going? The girls are all over there. Since you've just arrived, I'll take you to meet them first."

Before Gion could respond, Ginny grabbed her hand and pulled her briskly in the direction opposite from Gigue. Gion did not resist and simply let Ginny lead her away.

Seeing Ginny's slightly anxious manner, an amused look appeared on Gion's face. She chuckled and said,

"Ginny, slow down a little. I'm wearing high heels, so it's not very convenient."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. But weren't you wearing high heels when you fought too? Doesn't that make it easier to move around? You're quite tall already, so I think you shouldn't wear shoes like these in the future. They're too inconvenient!"

"Hehe, I think girls should wear high heels. That's what makes them look feminine. Let me tell you, they're incredibly lethal against men!"

"Hm? Really?"

Ginny's ears twitched, and she stopped walking. Lowering her head, she examined Gion's black high heels. Framed by the shoes, the exposed tops of Gion's feet looked fair, tender, and flawless.

Then she looked at her own plain white training shoes and could not help asking,

"What do you mean by lethal?"

Gion smiled with pursed lips. Ginny was still far beneath her level in this sort of thing. She leaned close to Ginny's ear and parted her red lips.

"Of course they make kicking people hurt more. What were you thinking, Ginny~?"

Ginny's pretty face instantly flushed red. It was impossible to tell whether it was from embarrassment or ticklishness. Realizing how she had lost her composure, she buried her head between her ample breasts like an ostrich and did not say a word for a long while.

Gion looked down at Ginny's pink little head, a victorious smile appearing on her face.

Not far away, Jessica saw Ginny's state and assumed Gion had bullied her. She immediately ran over in a rage, stepped in front of Ginny, and glared at Gion.

"Hey! What did you just do to Ginny? Let me remind you, Gigue is standing right over there. He hates seeing Ginny get bullied the most!"

Gion could not help turning around to glance toward Gigue. He was passionately trading blows with a long sword against the light sword Kizaru had formed, completely unaware of what was happening here.

After admiring Gigue's fight for a moment, Gion slowly turned back around. One hand rested on her hip as she smiled.

"I think you've misunderstood something, classmate. Ginny and I were having a very pleasant conversation just now. If you don't believe me, ask her."

"Hmph! It had better be that way. If you dare bully Ginny, even if she doesn't say anything, I'll tell Gigue and have him deal with you!"

"Oh? Then what exactly is your relationship with Gigue? Are you childhood sweethearts too?"

"I... What relationship could Gigue and I possibly have? We're just ordinary classmates!"

"Is that so? But hearing you say Gigue's name over and over, I thought you two were very close..."

Jessica's expression stiffened. She hurriedly looked back at Ginny, and only secretly breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that Ginny had no reaction.

Then an inexplicable fury rose in her heart. She grabbed Gion by the collar, exposing a large expanse of snowy-white skin. Fortunately, there were no male cadets nearby, or there might have been quite a spectacle of spurting nosebleeds.

Jessica stared directly into Gion's eyes and said coldly,

"Stop spouting nonsense here. No matter what, Gigue and I are much closer than you are, and I'm only worried about Ginny. That's all!"