Chapter 90: I Hate Losing
"… What are you doing here?" Alice asked when she saw Nicole walking behind Ethan.
"I'm allowed to be here, of course," Nicole replied with a smile. "How about you? What are you doing here?"
"I have business with Mr. Gremory."
"Hoh~ Mr. Gremory? So, you don't call Ethan on a first name basis."
The pink-haired beauty smiled as she eyed the Cold Beauty of the Eques Manor.
Although both of them lived in the same dormitory, it was enough to tell with a glance that the two of them didn't get along.
"I understand that you came here because you want to talk to me." Ethan cleared his throat in order to get Alice's attention. "What can I do for you?"
Alice frowned before glancing at the three other girls, namely Chloe, Luna, and Nicole, who were also in the room with them.
"Can we speak in private?" Alice asked. "I don't want others to hear what I am going to tell you."
Chloe and Luna narrowed their eyes at the silver-haired beauty like mother hens protecting their chick.
Clearly, they didn't want Ethan to be alone with Alice, but they couldn't bring themselves to speak it out loud. This was a matter between her and Ethan, and they didn't have the right to get in her way.
Ethan glanced at the three girls behind his back before nodding his head.
"Let's go to my room," Ethan replied.
Alice nodded and followed Ethan towards his dormitory room.
Chloe and Luna both clicked their tongue, while Nicole simply smiled as her eyes followed Alice's back until it disappeared from her view.
A few minutes later, the blue-haired boy opened the door to his room and invited his guest inside it.
Alice entered and looked around the room with a calm expression on her face. This was the first time she had entered the room of a boy aside from her family, and she was quite curious about what it was like.
Ethan's room was a bit plain. Aside from a pile of books on the table, there was nothing noteworthy about it.
Alice soon lost interest and sat on a chair, without waiting to be invited to do so.
Ethan didn't mind Alice's action and sat across from her. The two then stared at each other for nearly half a minute before Alice broke the silence and spoke out her mind.
"The reason I came here today is to tell you something about Lily," Alice said. "She is not as docile as she looks, and her fighting ability is quite high. One mistake and it can end very badly for you."
Ethan smiled bitterly because he was well aware of this fact.
"Actually, I saw the two of you fight in the arena with the help of the Fairies," Ethan stated. "I saw how Lily transformed into a demi-wolf, and how she ended her battle with you."
Alice's expression turned to surprise after Ethan told her that he was able to see through the smokescreen that she created during her fight with Lily.
"… You saw everything?" Alice asked.
"Yes," Ethan replied. "Everything."
Alice didn't say anything else and simply gazed at Ethan's face. It was as if she was trying to see the tell-tale signs of a lie in order to confirm whether the boy in front of her was lying or not.
However, deep inside, she knew that Ethan wasn't lying. There was simply no way that he would say that Lily had transformed into a Demi-Wolf right off the bat, which was simply impossible for those who didn't witness her fight with the cute blonde girl of Jaeger Manor.
"What is that girl doing here?" Alice, who had remained silent for a few minutes, asked.
"Girl?" Ethan blinked. "Are you talking about Nicole?"
Alice nodded. "What is she doing here?"
"I asked her to help me train."
"Training, is it?"
Alice closed her eyes and pondered for a bit.
Seeing her like this, Ethan couldn't help but think that Alice was truly a beautiful girl.
The title of Ice Princess suited her well, and he had to agree that she lived up to her reputation.
'I wonder how many guys fantasize about breaking her icy attitude, and make her a warm and caring girl to become their lover,' Ethan mused. 'Is there someone in the Academy that can handle this cold beauty?'
Ethan pondered for a bit before shaking his head. He hadn't been in Brynhildr Academy long enough to know more about the students that studied inside it.
In fact, the School Year had just started, and he was just starting to learn the faces, and names of his classmates, who studied with him everyday.
"I'd like to observe your training with Nicole," Alice said after a few minutes. "I want to know if you have a chance of beating Lily in your magical duel."
Ethan didn't really mind if Alice watched him spar with Nicole. However, he still needed to ask the pink-haired beauty's permission first, to know if she would like to be watched by Alice as well.
"I'll ask Nicole after our talk if she wants you to watch our sparring match," Ethan replied after careful consideration. "If she refuses then I am sorry, but letting you watch is impossible."
"That's fine with me," Alice stated. "But, if she doesn't agree to let me see your sparring much, I want you to spar with me as well."
"Eh? Spar with you?"
"Yes."
The silver-haired beauty narrowed her gaze and eyed Ethan like a food aficionado, who had very high standards when it came to culinary dishes.
"Y-You're going to help me train?" Ethan asked to confirm if he heard Alice correctly.
Alice nodded. "I'm sure that Nicole is only doing Martial Training with you. She is fighting you as a Knight, and not as a Witch. That's fine, but I want to train you in dealing with offensive spells. Although you managed to win against Langston, that boy only boasts high magical power.
"His spell casting is not refined enough, and simply uses brute force in order to make his opponents submit. I, on the other hand, am confident with my spell control. I'm sure that you will learn a lot by sparring with me as well."
Ethan needed all the help he could get, so Alice's proposal was tempting to him. However, there was something that was bothering him, so he decided to ask this question to the silver-haired beauty in front of him.
"Why?" Ethan asked. "Why do you want to help me?"
"Because I hate losing," Alice replied in a heartbeat. "If Lily lost to you then her win against me doesn't count."
"Huh?" Ethan blinked once then twice because he clearly missed the logic in Alice's words.
How could winning against Lily make the silver-haired beauty's loss to the cute girl from Jaeger Manor invalid?
But before he could even say anything, Alice stood up from the chair and headed to the door of Ethan's room.
"Let's go," Alice stated. "Time waits for no one, and you only have a few days before your match with that vixen."
As soon as Alice finished speaking, she opened the door and immediately two girls fell on the floor in front of her with a huff.