"It’s been a while, Elena! You doing okay?"
"I'm great! It's so good to see you looking healthy, Yugo!"
"Is it true you're actually attending Luminous Academy starting today? Isn't that a bit sudden?"
"Yeah! My papa told me I should see more of the wide world, so he handled all the paperwork for me. I really wanted to see everyone again anyway, so the timing was perfect!"
Several hours after Marcos’s initial run-in with Elena, the group gathered during their break. They were all delighted to be reunited with her; it felt like ages had passed, yet at the same time, it felt as if they had never been apart.
Seeing Elena in a school uniform was a fresh change from the revealing clothes she had worn on Wind Island. It served as a vivid reminder that she really had transferred to the same academy they attended.
While everyone else was busy celebrating the arrival of their new companion, Marcos—who still looked a bit worn out from their earlier meeting—directed a question her way.
"By the way, what happened to Poruru? I don’t see him anywhere."
"Poruru is staying behind on Shandia! His shell finally finished growing, so I think he’s right in the middle of his Rite of Adulthood now!"
"I see... So that little crab isn't with you," Fee remarked, looking a bit let down.
"Sorry, Fee-kun! But he’s planning to come join us once the ritual is over. Just bear with it for a little longer, okay?"
"That’s well and good," Marcos interjected, "but are you going to be alright? You’ll be living in a foreign land, separated from your family."
"I’ll be fine! Since I have you and everyone else here, I won't be lonely at all!"
It seemed that Poruru, who had been like family to Elena since childhood, remained on Shandia Island for the time being.
Though a reunion was planned for later, Marcos had asked his question with a mix of twenty percent teasing and eighty percent genuine worry. Elena gave him a bright smile in return, then flipped the script on him.
"Hey, hey, Marcos! Are you happy to see me again? Did you miss me while we were apart?"
"Wh—what kind of question is that?"
"Come on, just tell me!"
"Setting aside whether I was lonely or not... I suppose I am pleased that we ended up at the same academy."
"Yay! I knew it!"
When Marcos gave his stiff response to her sudden, nonsensical interrogation, Elena began bouncing up and down with excitement.
Marcos was about to warn her that she was wearing a skirt now—and that it was highly unrefined and dangerous to jump like that when she was wearing standard underwear instead of a swimsuit—but then he noticed several sharp gazes pinning him from his right. He turned to look.
"Yikes... That was definitely the wrong answer, Marcos," Melt muttered.
"Wh—what is it? What’s with those looks? What are you all trying to say!?"
Marcos panicked as the girls stared at him with pity, and his alarm only grew when Melt let out a long, weary sigh.
Once she started, the other girls joined in with a relentless string of critiques.
"I know you’re not a bad guy, but your phrasing is just exquisitely terrible," Melt said.
"Instead of saying you're glad she's at the academy, you should have just said you were happy to see her again," Claire added.
"Indeed, that preface regarding your loneliness was quite uncalled for," Raiha noted.
"B-But surely he couldn't say something so bold in front of all of us!" Precia tried to defend him. "It’s only natural for Marcos-san to speak like that to hide his embarrassment..."
"No, you’re being too soft, Raiha," Melt countered. "Marcos is the type who says far too much of the unnecessary stuff and none of the important things. Whether we were here or not, I doubt his answer would have changed."
"You all have a wretched opinion of me! What on earth do you take me for!?"
"I’m afraid I generally agree as well," Yui added. "Since this is your big reunion with Elena-san, wouldn't it have been better to just tell her how you felt directly?"
Marcos tried to protest against the women who were so accurately dismantling his social failings, but when even the much younger Yui piled on, he could only sink into a state of total defeat.
As Marcos agonized over whether his words had really been that problematic, Yugo—feeling a surge of pity for his best friend—stepped in to back him up.
"Hey, come on. Elena looks happy, so who cares? It’s not like Marcos said anything actually weird. They’ve got plenty of time ahead of them! Just look at the bright side!"
"But you know," Melt said, "there’s a very real possibility that this is exactly why he isn’t popular. While Yugo and Ryuga were being chased by a literal army of girls, Marcos was left completely alone, wasn't he?"
"Wait... what? What does that mean?" Marcos stammered. "Are you implying that I’m being avoided by the opposite sex? Is that it?"
"It is less of an implication and more of a documented fact," Raiha observed.
It was a very fresh memory for all of them. Just a short while ago, the way Yugo and the others were being hunted was nothing short of legendary. Girls who had become fans and nobles seeking powerful sons-in-law had swarmed the dormitories, and a massive crowd would form the moment they stepped outside.
Ryuga and even Fee had been dealing with similar chaos... yet, for some reason, Marcos had remained entirely untouched by the frenzy.
While one might have considered that a blessing, Marcos found the realization deeply wounding. As he slumped in dejection, Fee tried to offer a more logical consolation.
"It’s only because the people stalking my brother and Ryuga-san were trying to marry them into their own families! Marcos-san is already the heir to his house, so they can’t exactly scout you to take over theirs. That’s the only reason you weren't a target! It definitely isn't that you aren't popular... probably."
"Fee... I appreciate the sentiment, but I really wish you could have said that without the 'probably' at the end. Besides, I happen to know that even you were being targeted quite a bit!"
"Being realistic," Melt said flatly, "Fee-kun is just more popular than you are. Period."
"Guh!"
Hit by the blunt hammer of reality, Marcos collapsed onto the table.
As the brothers looked on at his pathetic, slumped form with a mixture of pity and amusement, the previously silent Ryuga finally spoke up.