Shuri had liked Neil a little, but ever since he'd taken it upon himself to promise her to an ugly guy, that little bit of goodwill had vanished completely.
Shuri was a lively, well-mannered girl. She would never judge Richard by his looks; otherwise, even with Alita bringing her along, she wouldn't have been able to join this little circle.
Honestly, putting his looks aside, Richard's bearing was every bit as impressive as anyone else's. But if someone said Shuri would give herself to him...
An ugly guy who'd only just started high school? Yeah, that was absolutely impossible!
Still, in a way, every word Neil said right now was "Destiny"—or maybe "Natural Selection."
One moment, Richard and Shuri had nothing to do with each other. The next, they'd already left a deep impression on one another.
No one could say whether what happened between them was "meant to be," or whether Neil's arrival had caused the first spark.
Shuri was putting on a tough front for now, but once she got to know Richard better, she'd understand what kind of person he was.
The scar on Richard's face was a "mark" he'd deliberately kept. It reminded him of the pain he'd once endured—and of the sweet girl who'd comforted him when he'd been at his most lost.
The Richard who'd slimmed down was nothing like his dad. He was Steve's apprentice, and someone Mjolnir had acknowledged.
The Knight's Aura he carried was enough to overshadow the scar on his face.
Watching Shuri's retreating figure as she ran off, Richard looked at Neil with a bitter smile and said, "Dude, you've gotten me into a huge mess!
I really don't think I have anything in common with that Shuri..."
Neil, playing the fortune-teller, shrugged indifferently and said, "Then just assume