Chapter 43: Accepting Talia's Challenge
"What do you want, Nyla?" He frowned and stopped in his tracks.
He wanted to go back to the land of Asura as soon as possible and didn't want to get dragged by Nyla. He was feeling bad for not responding to her text but he saw it late which wasn't in his control.
He thought inwardly, "She didn't wear a revealing dress but her charm only enhanced. She deserved to be in the top 3 beauties of the new generation as the students were talking."
"Your heart but I know you won't give me that easily so let's have lunch for now." She said with a cheerful smile.
'I get to know you, Rio. I'm studying you closely. You're my favorite subject. You might try to push me away so I don't catch feelings for you but you're way too nice and don't wanna be rude.
How can I let go of such a sweet guy? Feelings can be developed slowly but being good friends with each other is the first step to building any good relationship.'
She knew she was shameless to him when it comes to teasing him and said things boldly.
However, she was doing things to weave a good bonding between them. If they spend more time together they would have this opportunity.
So, she had made plans to find him outside the teaching class as she knew about his schedule and had a classmate's sibling in his class. When his battle training ended, she came right away to ask him to go for lunch with her.
Rio was about to answer her but another girl appeared near them and her voice sounded beside him, "Hey, you should be careful of this girl. I'm warning you as a good classmate. She caused her own mother to die when she was born."
Talia was standing beside him and acted as if she knew him. Her tone indicated she was saving someone from a monster.
Nyla's face lost all its happiness as she heard such provocative comments about her. She thought he might misunderstand her and believe Talia's words.
Before Rio could respond to this newly arrived human, Talia said in a hushed voice, "Do you know her mother was a bit*h? Dad doesn't even think she is his daughter. You wouldn't wanna befriend a girl like her."
Nyla, who was standing in front of him, had her eyes filled with tears after hearing a curse towards her late mother. She turned around and left with a rushed step while wiping her face with the white sleeves of her cloth.
Rio's heart ached to see the cheerful girl cry and leave. He even replied to her coldly when she greeted him first in the morning that nicely.
He felt as if anger engulfed him and turned his head to look at Talia with coldness flickering in his eyes.
"I don't even know you and you came to bother us. Who do you think you are? Why do you have to put your nose between other people's business where it doesn't even belong?
What's your problem? Do you have some screws loose in your head? Why did you have to talk badly about your own sister? I didn't know the youngest daughter of the mailon family has such a wicked heart." His loud voice was heard by other students and they started looking at the duo.
Talia was unprepared and never thought this boy would snap at her because she warned him about Nyla. Nobody had talked to her this harshly.
She had everything power, money, and beauty. She was not used to getting berated by others. Boys would talk sweetly to get her favor as she was from one of the strongest families in the federation.
Her face became red from anger and she gritted her teeth.
"You're really a 'trash' as the classmates were saying. You can't even fight a yellow stage beast but you have the guts to talk to me like that. If you're daring enough then show me in the battle arena." She said with a hatred-filled voice and glared at the boy in front of her.
She knew he wouldn't accept her challenge so she talked about the battle arena. Besides, even if he accepts he wouldn't be in the purple stage like her who had a great family background. She knew this guy got his golden spoon two months ago.
She was planning to go after Rio and seduce him as he was the only son of the havenglow family. Even if he was an adopted son, his value was shown yesterday morning when his second mother came to leave him at school.
She didn't get a chance in the class as there were many students and she wanted to do it outside the classroom.
She found a good chance when she saw Nyla and him talking and he was cold towards her step-sister which indicated he didn't like her. So she came to add fuel to the fire.
She thought he might like it as Nyla's engagement was recently broken with him and he didn't like his ex-fiance.
But she was wrong, for Rio, Nyla was his first friend and it angered him when she talked bad about her.
"I don't have time to waste on someone like you who runs around insulting others." He said with dreary eyes.
Hearing his reply, a smile was forming on Talia's face as she was going to insult him more as she thought he feard accepting the challenge but his next reply caused her blissful moment to vanish.
"However, I'll fight with you in the battle arena but what benefit is there for the winner?" He said to her with an amused expression on his face and coldness glinting in his eye, making the audience stare at him as if he was okay in his mind.