As I wandered around the party room filled with various foods, old memories suddenly flooded back to me.
Honestly, without the fun of eating, what was there in that boring time from my past life without electronic devices?
Since I was destined to be chased forever, I would often find solace in seeking out local delicacies.
Those were the days.
I returned to my seat, barely sitting down on the chair, feeling frustrated.
“Haa… Delicious food, grand orchestras, art deco, it’s all great.”
“Hmm, what’s missing?”
“Can’t you tell, Love Unni? This is totally a youth club vibe.”
Instead of champagne, we had cola, instead of vodka, we had Fanta.
I even reflected on whether thinking that the lack of alcohol diminished the event’s dignity was too medieval-minded of me.
“We’re teenagers! But this cherry juice is sweet and tasty.”
“Umm…”
I rested one arm on the dining table.
A girl pulled up a chair and naturally joined us.
“Hey, Name No! You didn’t forget me, did you?”
“Oh, Cecilia. Long time no see. You look great.”
She seemed to have just returned from somewhere sunny; her tanned skin looked very healthy.
“Name! You’re quite popular today. I saw you all just giving each other side-eye, so I rushed over first, ha ha ha.”
I casually scanned the party room after hearing her words.
I was used to excessive stares.
As we shared updates, we started talking about the National Exchange Tournament.
“Name, those Yankee guys are so individualistic. It’s so frustrating training together. You want to hear my sad story?”
Cecilia, who participated as an American, was already dishing out gossip about her teammates.
“I’ll pass.”
“Aww, why, why!”
“Because your friends just showed up behind you.”
“Huh? Kya-ha!”
Two sturdy men stomped over and picked up Cecilia by the arms.
It was hard to believe they were both 16 years old given their physiques.
“Nice to meet you, Name. I am Nathan Chen, representing the United States. It’s an honor to meet a hero of humanity.”
Nathan Chen resembled a certain actor from the movie “Top Gun 3.” His buttery voice gave me the chills as he mentioned being a hero of humanity.
“This is Levi Huning Jr.! We’re both in Group I, right? I commend your challenge but don’t get too scared, ha ha!”
A black boy with reggae hair offered me a handshake.
He squeezed my hand tightly as if he was showing off his strength, leaving my fingers tingling.
Now I understood why Cecilia said group training was tough.
Both of them had a wild glint in their eyes that made them appear far from normal.
“Hey, you guys think just because you’re tall, you’re all that? One hit from my super hyper ultra cybernetic explosion and you’re done, punks!”
“Don’t make too much noise in the party room.”
“Did you see how thin that guy’s arm was, Chen? I thought it would burst from how tightly I squeezed it!”
“No! Let me down! I like Name better than the sweaty you guys!”
Cecilia snapped her teeth, sounding like a Chihuahua barking at a large dog.
Once the American friends cleared out, more people started to gather.
Finally, I could see some friends who looked more like sixteen-year-olds.
Shy friends who hadn’t completely shed their childishness approached to shake my hand.
“I’m Bruno Miguel—”
“Angola’s national representative, right?”
“Uh, yes, that’s right.”
“You’ve got a lot of calluses on your hands. I hope you achieve good results from all your hard work. Let’s do our best together.”
While geniuses were great, I never held back on complimenting participants who showed traces of hard effort.
When Miguel mentioned his sister was a fan of my broadcasts, I even made sure to give him an autograph.
While I was busy signing, a hush fell over the noisy party room.
The crowd parted like the Red Sea.
A boy and girl, both dressed in pure white uniforms, walked straight toward us.
Love Kim crossed her arms and intentionally turned her head to avoid eye contact.
“I knew it was you. Your popularity hasn’t waned, huh?”
The previous year’s champion, Katsuhata Emika, said with a faint smile.
‘Kids really do grow up fast…’
In just one year, she had shed her baby fat and returned as a lovely young lady.
Even her mannerisms were calm and exuded confidence.
Meanwhile, the long-haired boy with a wolf cut beside Emika seemed to be gazing off into another world.
Stuffing his hands into his pockets might have annoyed Love’s temper.
Love glanced at the boy and reluctantly spoke up.
“Why do you have bangs that look like curtains? Can you even fight properly like that?”
“…? Hmph.”
“What’s with that smirk? What does it mean?”
Narita Hiroyuki snickered, refusing to respond at all.
Love Kim was a girl with a temper.
She slammed her fist on the table, glaring daggers at the boy.
“Can you answer me? I’m asking politely and you’re just ignoring me!”
“Pfft, hrrk.”
“?”
“Leave me alone, annoying girl.”
Hiroyuki took it further by boldly spitting into her glass.
I questioned my own eyes and ears.
‘What is this, a painful practical joke? Or a script?’
I thought I was the only one feeling this way, but the other participants looked just as dumbfounded.
It was only then that I realized.
Ah, this person is ‘real.’
What a weirdo.
“Hiroyuki! Have you already forgotten the fervent warnings from our lord?”
A girl dressed in the same uniform as Hiroyuki rushed in, panting.
She must be from the Narita Sect as well.
I decided to stop paying attention to them.
Fine, you all can fight it out.
I’ll just have a nice catch-up talk with our lovely Sister Emika.
“Didn’t you have a hard time preparing for the tournament this year? Your teammate seems… off.”
“Hard time, hard time… Uh, I don’t think so. My teammates are all nice and listen well.”
“What?”
I could hear ‘Bagayaroro’ and ‘bread’ alternating behind me.
“How pure can they be without lying?”
“Yeah, it seems so. But skipping filters is the real problem.”
Having won the National Exchange Tournament, she returned as a sage in just a year.
Well, if Emika says so, then it must be true.
No need to dig too deep.
Above my head, cake pieces seemed to be flying around…
But I decided not to worry about it.
Since Emika was serving tea so calmly, if I reacted, it felt as if I would lose the mini-game for no reason.
Shoosh—
Strawberry and whipped cream cake exploded above my head like a three-stage rocket engine.
‘Ah, I can’t resist that.’
Just as I was seriously contemplating which one to catch, I spotted a strawberry coated in syrup.
I tilted my head to the left and popped the delectable strawberry into my mouth.
“Mmm. Mmm, sweet. Jackpot!”
—
[Nation Exchange Tournament Committee, ‘Kim Love · Narita Hiroyuki’ given a verbal warning]
[IEC Chairman Martin Therrier, “There must never be an incident like this again.”]
[The rumor that cakes were flying in the National Exchange Tournament party room? Witnesses shocked.]
Reports circulated that amidst the camaraderie and harmony, there was shouting and cursing as cakes flew around.
And ironically, it involved Korea and Japan peacefully coexisting.
Chairman Martin Therrier decided against releasing the video for the athletes’ protection.
In such a scandalous situation, raw criticism flooded in towards the athletes.
[Love Kim should really knock it off if she lacks skill.]
[Getting mad at the wrong place after losing in qualifiers, haha.]
[Why does Korea always have incidents when they just show up?]
[Love Kim’s skills have been exposed for a long time now. She must be getting nervous.]
But as evidence of a different level of villain emerged, public opinion shifted rapidly.
[Reconstruction of the flying cake incident.gufficial]
Kim Love initiated hostility with Hiroyuki’s head.
Hiroyuki did not respond (rumored to be mocking).
Kim Love, angry, slams the table.
Hiroyuki spat into Love’s glass ← ????? At this point, a million question marks appeared.
As they exchanged insults, Kim Love accidentally slammed a fork down.
Hiroyuki’s face was hit by a cream puff.
Hiroyuki got angry and threw an almond.
Kim Love retaliated by throwing a croissant.
And so it continued…
Are they performing a skit? Hahaha.
[Comments]
-It’s obvious Love Kim started it, but Hiroyuki had a freakout.
-It’s somewhat ambiguous whether you can call it starting it though, haha.
-Japanese people are in apology mode over on V-tube, hahaha.
-I believed in our Love!
-Hiroyuki is supposedly famous in Japan. Heard he has some mental issues.
└ Wasn’t he the successor of Narita Sect?
└ No, he’s being replaced by Narita Mei who was decided to take his position, I hear.
—
[Well, working with passionate kids can lead to accidents.]
Did you throw a fist because you didn’t like someone’s face?
Did you demean someone because they were white, calling them a cheese monkey or black people cotton slaves?
Or did you blow fireworks outside their lodgings in the middle of the night?
[Comments]
-Gasp!
-Kim Gun… Is that you again…
-Did Kim Gun really do that?
└ You don’t know?
└ Kim Gun is the one who brutally educated the ones who slipped in some racism.
-Is this the romanticized 40s?
-Comparing it to this makes it seem like child’s play, haha.
Miraculously, Love Kim resurrected from her downfall.
Conversely, the reputation of the Japanese government and Narita Sect plummeted.
People were left asking.
Who in their right mind elected such a person as a national representative?
[Narita Hiroyuki selected as representative—brief explanation.]
Japan selects three national representatives based on a point system.
The more prestigious Magic Battles one wins, the more points they earn.
However, last year’s emperor’s trophy saw Hiroyuki seize victory over Emika, who was experiencing conditioning issues.
Despite still having personal issues, his candidacy was put to a public vote.
So what was the outcome?
(Narita Hiroyuki national representative voting results.jpg)
Yeah, he was horrendously elected with 75.8%!
He was skilled and handsome, so not passing seemed out of the question! Haha.
(Na-me Na-meya gif.jpg)
Na-me, you can’t let this slide, right?
(Na-me gif displaying karate moves.gif)
Go and ask! Neuter him! Arghh!
(Na-me waving the Korean flag gif)
Never look down on Korea again!
[Comments]
-Top-notch gif selection, tsk tsk.
-Even if Na-me chooses to sue, you should just accept that the situation has escalated.
-Psychotic pretty boys have their demand…
-But if he beat Katsuhata and Love Kim in a duel, he must indeed have some skills.
└ You can’t ignore that!
└ Rumor has it, Japan was planning on sending two to quarterfinals, including him, months in advance.
-I hope Na-me thoroughly tramples and obliterates him. It’s not jealousy or anything.
—
A flock of global stars gathered in Paris, France, successfully wrapping up the opening ceremony.
And on the much-anticipated next day.
July 13, Sunday, 3 PM local time, 10 PM Korean time.
The Stade de France, with a capacity of 120,000, and the Stade de Pont-Pidou, with a capacity of 100,000, will hold eight matches in the round of 64.
[A Group: Alexandre Rochefort (France) vs Osman Ben Jafar (Tunisia) – Stade de France]
[I Group: Narita Hiroyuki (Japan) vs NoName (Korea) – Stade de Pont-Pidou]
With NoName’s appearance being announced for the first match, chicken shops across the nation went into emergency mode.
