Escaping Won't Solve Anything

"Why are they fighting again?"

Noer looked at Yzak, who was being held down by everyone, and couldn't help but feel speechless.

Why "again"?

It was simple: Athrun and Yzak seemed to have a grudge from a past life. If those two were together for less than twenty minutes, they would absolutely start arguing.

If they weren't separated within half an hour, they would definitely throw punches.

However, most of the time, Athrun would back down. But once Athrun got angry, Yzak would most likely get beaten up unilaterally.

Noer admired Yzak's courage to keep fighting despite repeated failures. After all, someone who lost ten times out of ten but still dared to bare his teeth and charge forward was, by all accounts, a...

"Tap, tap~"

Just as Noer was wondering what kind of beating Yzak would receive this time, footsteps sounded nearby.

A woman with neat white hair quickly walked over to Yzak and the others.

"Diakka, let me go..."

"Yzak!"

"..."

Yzak looked up when he heard the voice, then pouted and turned his head away, remaining silent.

"Councilor Essalia."

Diakka and the others saw Yzak's mother suddenly appear and quickly and sheepishly let go of Yzak.

Yzak silently got up from the ground, but his neck seemed to be injured, as his head was constantly tilted to the side, looking behind him.

"Yzak!" Councilor Essalia emphasized.

"Tsk~"

Yzak smacked his lips, and his head turned slightly towards her.

"Athrun, I'm truly sorry."

Councilor Essalia looked at Yzak's unruly behavior and shook her head helplessly. She had no solution for Yzak's personality.

"Councilor Essalia is too kind."

Athrun said, tidying his clothes and bowing to Councilor Essalia. "I was also at fault. I sincerely apologize!"

"..."

Councilor Essalia looked at Athrun's actions and couldn't help but shake her head and sigh. She said to Yzak, "Yzak! Apologize!"

"Huh? Why should I..."

"Yzak!"

"I'm sorry!"

Yzak said, turning to face Athrun directly with his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.

"...Heh."

Athrun froze for a moment, then seemed to recall something and let out a bitter smile. "It's okay. My tone was a bit harsh just now. I apologize!"

"It's good that you know that--"

Yzak pouted and turned his head, his tsundere nature evident.

"Pfft-haha!"

Just as Athrun was rendered speechless by Yzak's words, Diakka beside him suddenly couldn't help but laugh.

"Diakka, what are you laughing at!"

Yzak turned and glared at him, feeling that this guy was laughing at him!

"No, it's nothing. I just suddenly remembered how it used to be with you two. Both the one who hit and the one who got hit had to apologize. It looked quite pitiful."

"Hmm, hehe—"

Nicol also seemed to recall something and couldn't help but turn his head and laugh.

"Nicol!"

"Sorry, I just suddenly remembered something funny."

"..."

"Are you envious of them?"

Just as Noer was quietly watching Athrun and the others, Cruze suddenly appeared behind him and said this.

Noer's eyes narrowed slightly at the remark, and he didn't refute it.

"If it weren't for the Junius incident, you would also be with them..."

"Cruze..."

Before Cruze could finish, Noer interrupted him.

"Hmm?" Cruze looked at Noer.

"When are you going to stop picking at old wounds?"

Honestly, Noer hadn't felt bothered before, but ever since he started interacting with Cruze, Noer had really gotten a headache from Cruze's sharp tongue.

It wasn't that Cruze talked a lot, but his words always hit the mark, easily causing emotional fluctuations.

What's more, Cruze's tone was pleasant, making it easy to remember what he said.

Most people really couldn't handle it.

The most troublesome part was that every time he chatted with Cruze, even if the conversation wasn't long, the topic would inexplicably drift towards bad memories.

There was no awkwardness when Cruze changed the subject, it was as if it was meant to be, and you couldn't find any fault with it.

So, to prevent being manipulated by Cruze, Noer would always review their conversation afterward.

But the second time they met, things were still the same; he still got led astray. This overwhelming conversational skill made Noer give up completely.

Later, Noer simply decided to flip the table. Once he noticed the conversation heading in the wrong direction, he'd shut it down!

"What are you running away from?"

Just as Noer thought the topic would end there, Cruze suddenly changed direction again.

"Running away? Am I?"

Noer retorted. Which eye of yours saw me running away?

Cruze didn't speak, merely tilting his head to look at Noer.

"Fine, if you say I'm running away, then I am. Thanks for the medicine, bye."

Noer said and immediately slipped away. Although he couldn't see Cruze's eyes clearly because of the eyepatch, Noer felt a chill down his spine.

"Running away won't solve anything, Noel Cassia."

Cruze didn't stop Noer from leaving. After observing him for a while, he had a rough idea of Noer's weak spot.

Moreover, he basically had ideas and plans targeting Noer.