By Zephyria Leonardo couldn’t understand this situation at all, where they were all sitting together so harmoniously after attacking at full speed just moments ago. He awkwardly shook Orka’s hand, pulling his neck back and mumbling a reply.
“Uh, uh… Nice to meet you. But how did this guy join us?”
He turned to Ero, asking the question. Ero, rising from his seat, grabbed Orka’s shoulder and guided him back, as if directing traffic. His smiling face was so affable that it didn’t feel rude.
“When the sand exploded, we got caught in the whirlpool together, and that’s when Orka saved me. Actually, I was prepared to be eliminated. But he suddenly appeared and put me on his Divine Beast, so I was surprised. Well, technically, he swallowed me….”
In the moment when the sandstorm raged, the orca appeared like a hero and protected Ero from the fiercely flying fragments. After hearing the whole story, Leonardo gave him, who had only been a burden, a look of surprise.
“Saved you? Why?”
Orka, regretting the loss of contact, clenched and unclenched his hand, where warmth remained. Soon, he returned to his seat and sat upright, opening his mouth in a serious voice.
“The heart of one who tries to save a comrade is noble. If Joker is eliminated, Ryan will be sad. I liked the Lion, so I thought that helping Joker would win the Lion’s favor.”
A moment of silence flowed. Leonardo raised his eyebrows as if to say, ‘What does that mean?’
Gillian was the first to speak in the situation where question marks were floating around.
“You said you were trying to win his favor, but is it okay to say it so openly like this? What if we think you have ulterior motives?”
“It doesn’t matter since we’re on the same team now. And I don’t have any ulterior motives.”
“How can we believe that?”
“It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not. I just liked the Lion. And I liked you guys too, for cooperating to help the Lion.”
“Hmph, simple. I don’t hate that. And you’re quite handsome.”
Beatrice scanned Orka as if she were appraising him. Seeing the picky young lady wearing a satisfied smile, it was clear that she was enjoying the situation. More precisely, his appearance.
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Even to the seemingly rude evaluation, Orka only gave a dry bow. Leonardo, who had been watching, interjected in an absurd tone.
“No, but―. Why would I be sad if Joker is eliminated? I have nothing to do with….”
He trailed off. All four of his teammates were staring intently at him.
Orka continued in an obvious tone.
“Because you tried to protect Joker? Didn’t you draw attention to protect him from the ghost?”
It was clear without further explanation that the ‘ghost’ he was referring to was Asher. Gillian and Beatrice, except for Orka, nodded in agreement with his words. Leonardo was dumbfounded and laughed in disbelief at the sight of even the soulless Morbuan nodding as if he knew something. Ero, with tearful eyes, pouted his lower lip and mumbled.
“Brother, I didn’t know you thought of me that way…. I’ll say it again, I will continue to be loyal!”
“No, I get it. Ha… So, you were trying to win my favor when you bought me time? When my foot got stuck in the sand pit.”
“That’s right.”
Leonardo’s brow furrowed at the answer that came out so easily.
“Why are you so confident and honest?”
“Isn’t it good to be confident and honest?”
“Why do you want to win my favor? Why do you like me?”
“It’s natural for the strong to be drawn to the strong. When you blocked me to protect Joker, I felt excitement and tension that I had never experienced before. I want to properly confirm what that feeling is. If we’re on the same team, I’ll have more opportunities to confirm it since I can be close to you.”
His black eyes shone quietly. His white eyelashes, contrasting with them, created a subtle harmony. Along with his wave-like robe, he created a mysterious atmosphere.
At that moment, Gillian, who had emptied her wine glass and was chugging from the bottle, roughly wiped her mouth and summarized the situation.
“So, to sum it up, you’ve fallen for Ryan, haven’t you?”
“Huh?”
Ero was the one who was surprised by those words.
“No… why does it turn out that way?”
“Maybe. Our tribe has lived, sharing our territory with orcas, regarding them as sacred beings since ancient times. And we’ve gradually come to resemble their habits. For orcas, homosexual relationships are social bonds. Being drawn to a strong male in the group is instinct.”
Silence flowed again at Orka’s calm answer. Ero, who hadn’t expected the situation to unfold like this, opened and closed his mouth, then cautiously moved and sat next to Leonardo. It was an attempt to create distance by squeezing in between the two.
Ero, leaning his upper body sharply towards Leonardo, glanced sideways and whispered softly in his ear.
“Brother, I think I’ve misjudged this guy. Maybe we should persuade him to leave now….”
“Wait, let’s talk.”
Leonardo, interrupting, slowly rose from his seat. Then, he approached Beatrice and Gillian across from him.
Bending down to meet his fellow competitors’ eyes, he placed his hands next to Beatrice and Gillian’s heads, creating their own space. Morbuan, holding a kettle, blocked the front with his gestures. Then, he nonchalantly poured tea into Orka’s teacup. Orka, responding with a nod, quietly took a sip.
Ero, who was suddenly left alone, rolled his eyes around.
Leonardo, lowering his voice, whispered with his face close to his fellow competitors.
“What do we do, do we go with this? What’s the probability that he’s a spy or has other motives?”
“It can’t be helped even if he is, right? We can’t change the team that’s already been decided, and if he has other intentions, we can just use him too. And if he’s handsome, he’s usually nice.”
“You’re really going to get burned badly one day.”
“It’s better than getting burned by an ugly guy.”
Gillian chimed in at Beatrice’s unhelpful answer.
“Bell’s right, there’s nothing we can do right now. And looking at our team composition, we definitely need one more force that’s advantageous in aerial combat. He seems agile and has a high Divine Beast utilization rate, and he’s already proven his value as a supporter, right? Anyway, we have to be careful and wary of Joker too.”
Leonardo, who had been listening intently, quietly agreed. Then, he asked one more time.
“Um… but what I mean is, do those stalker-like remarks about liking me sound sincere? It’s too clumsy to be planned, and it’s too crazy to be real.”
“Sounds sincere to me? It’s not like you haven’t had stalkers before. And what’s important now is that whether it’s sincere or not, that guy is in a situation where he has to win your favor.”
At the simply drawn conclusion, Leonardo narrowed his eyes. Then, he straightened his back and sat back on the sofa as if throwing himself down.
Orka, putting down his teacup, looked up at him as if waiting for a verdict.
“Have you finished talking already?”
“Yeah, we’ve decided to go together.”
“Brother―!”
“Instead.”
Leonardo, stopping Ero from saying anything with his fingertips, added a condition.
“I’m not the type to trust people so easily. We’ve temporarily become a team, but you clearly tried to attack our team’s Joker earlier. I hope you’ll show a trustworthy side in the next match.”
“Hmm, I thought I cooperated enough in the previous match. In what way, exactly?”
“Well, anything. For example, becoming bait, or taking the lead. Of course, on the premise that you follow my instructions.”
Orka blinked a few times as if deep in thought, then readily agreed.
“In short, you’re saying I should show my abilities and woo you. I understand. It’s not easy to enter a new group in our society either.”
“…What the hell are you talking about?”
Leonardo retorted, dumbfounded. Beatrice, who had been unusually laughing, slapped Gillian’s arm.
“He’s really funny. He’s got charm.”
“What are you saying now?”
Leonardo showed an unfavorable reaction and glared at Beatrice. Then, he clearly conveyed to Orka.
“Sorry for interrupting, but could you not use words like ‘fallen for’ or ‘woo’ me? I know it’s not the meaning I’m thinking of, but it makes me feel bad to keep hearing it.”
Leonardo barely managed to say ‘it’s fucked up’ in a roundabout way. However, Orka tilted his head and replied.
“That’s exactly what it means. Didn’t I say earlier? It’s instinct to be drawn to a strong male.”
“No―.”
Leonardo barely managed to hold back the curse that was about to come out. Gillian was interestingly watching the animal farm being directed by the two men. Ero was looking back and forth between the two with an anxious expression.
Leonardo, closing his eyes tightly, organized his thoughts and opened his mouth.
“Haa…. I don’t know why I’m even having this conversation, but I’m saying this just in case. I have someone I’m seeing, so don’t hit on me or have any weird thoughts.”
It wasn’t just Ero who was surprised by the extremely personal remark. Gillian and Beatrice, who had been showing an amusing reaction, also widened their eyes for a moment. Morbuan, who had been pouring tea into an empty cup, also turned his head sharply.
However, Orka responded nonchalantly.
“That doesn’t matter. Orcas don’t only have relationships with one partner. If you want, we can have up to five at once.”
Leonardo was speechless at the quite serious answer.