Chapter 2 : The noise hit first. Then the smell.

Orion Mall – Third Floor

The noise hit first. Then the smell.

Ruri stopped walking, her stylish boots squeaking against the polished mall tile. “…Oh.”

I blinked, taking a shallow breath. “…Oh.”

The scent of concentrated humanity wrapped around us like an aggressive hug. It was a suffocating mix of energy drinks, instant noodles, pure determination, and at least three different brands of questionable body spray entirely failing their mission.

“It’s the crowd,” Ruri muttered, waving a manicured hand in front of her face. “Ahhhhhh. Smell like Onions”

“I Should bring mask.” I whispered, shrinking back slightly.

“Agreed.”

What place is this?

The open event space had been transformed into a claustrophobic, makeshift arena. Neon LED lights flickered across the walls, and a massive banner hung from the ceiling, aggressively declaring: MOB LEGENDS CITY CUP.

A massive, shouting crowd was packed tightly around the main stage. And right there, sitting under the harsh stage lights, leaning forward in his gaming chair—

Satono.

He had a massive, noise-canceling tournament headset clamped over his ears. His back was perfectly straight. His eyes were sharp, darting across the screen of his phone, tracking cooldowns and enemy positions with terrifying speed.

He didn’t look lazy. He didn’t look goofy.

He looked… locked in.

“Wait,” Ruri murmured, lowering her sunglasses to get a better look. “…He actually looks cool.”

I didn’t respond. Because he did.

His thumbs flew across the glass of his phone in a blur of rapid-fire taps.

I can read his lips movement, like i can clearly hear what he shout, even in this crowd.

“Hold. Don’t engage yet,” his voice barked out, completely stripped of its usual chaotic humor. It was sharp. Commanding. “Wait for my signal.”

The entire team tensed on stage, their screens reflecting in their eyes.

“Now. Go. Dive the backline!”

The main screen above them exploded in a flurry of digital spell effects.

“TRIPLE KILL!” the announcer's voice boomed through the speakers.

The crowd erupted. Someone directly behind us screamed with enough force to rattle my teeth. I flinched, covering my ear, but up on stage, Satono didn’t even flinch. He didn't celebrate.

“Push mid,” he ordered, his thumbs never stopping. “End it right now.”

On the massive overhead screen, the enemy’s final crystal shattered into a million glowing pieces. Victory.

The team stood up. The crowd roared again.

And then—Satono ripped off his headset.

“LET’S GOOOOO, YOU ABSOLUTE NOOBS!” celebrate SIUUU in front of his enemy.

There it is.

He pointed a dramatic, accusing finger at the teammate standing next to him. “WHO DOUBTED MY BUILD? WHO?!”

“You almost threw at early game!” the teammate yelled back, adjusting his glasses defensively.

“THAT WAS CALCULATED!”

“That was a ZERO GAME SENSE!”

“That was--ACCORDING TO PLANI!”

Airi was laughing beside him, unplugging her phone from the audio splitter. The entire team started arguing loudly, in full public display, completely ignoring the cheering crowd around them.

Ruri crossed her arms, a disappointed smirk forming on her lips. “The cool phase lasted exactly twelve seconds.”

“…Twelve is generous,” I replied, finally exhaling.

Then—one of the teammates noticed us.

Mid-rant, he froze. The argument died in his throat. He stared past Satono’s shoulder, his eyes going wide. “…Wait.”

The guy next to him followed his gaze, his jaw dropping. “…WAIT.”

By the time the third teammate turned, the entire roster had formed a paralyzed wall of awe. “…NO WAY.”

Why are they staring?!

Before I could take a step back, all three of them practically tripped over their thick charging cables to rush to the edge of the stage.

“You’re Nao, right?!” the first one blurted, looking like he was about to ask for an autograph.

I adjusted my glasses nervously. “…Yes?”

“The Nao?”

“…There are multiple Naos.”

“The Impossible Queen Yama Nao?!”

I blinked. “…Excuse me?”

On stage, Satono choked on his own spit. “WAIT, DON’T CALL HER THAT HERE—”

Too late. One of the teammates clasped his hands together in dramatic reverence. “She’s the one who never answers any confessions, right?! Every guy who confesses… before she even says a word, they just start crying and run away.”

“I—what?! That is not my fault!”

“It’s the aura, girl with maximum social credit.” another teammate whispered loudly to the group.

“It’s the lookmaxxing.”

“It’s total T pose, pure dominance.”

“I just don’t know how to respond to them!” I snapped, my face burning.

They all stared at me like I had just confirmed an urban legend.

Beside me, Ruri burst out laughing. “It’s entirely true,” she said proudly, stepping into the spotlight. “She once made a third-year cry without saying a single word.”

“I did not!”

“You adjusted your glasses.”

“That’s normal!”

“It was terrifying.”

Satono buried his face in his hands. “Please stop guys, what the hell.”

One of the wide-eyed teammates turned his attention to Ruri. “…And you’re—”

“The Evil Goddess,” another finished in a hushed tone.

Ruri flipped her short hair casually, absolutely eating up the attention. “Yes. That would be me.”

“You rejected the student council president with ‘No thanks, I have better things to do,’ right?”

“I did.”

“And you called the track captain—”

“Filth,” Ruri said calmly. “He stink, confesses after he running like 10 kilos.”

The teammates stared at us in absolute awe.

“We’re actually blessed.”

“Two SS-tier girls came to our match.”

Nao the Impossible Queen. Ruri the Evil Goddess. I wanted the mall floor to open up and swallow me whole.

“You came to cheer for us?” one of them asked, eyes shining with hope.

“We were just nearby,” I replied coolly, crossing my arms.

Ruri beamed. “Of course we came to cheer.”

“I did not say that.”

“She reorganized her whole study schedule.”

“I did not.”

“She skipped a mock exam.”

“That’s complete misinformation!”

Satono looked between us, the tips of his ears slightly red. He shoved his phone into his pocket. “You didn’t have to come,” he muttered.

But he wasn’t looking at the crowd. He wasn’t looking at his screaming teammates. He was looking directly at me.

Ruri noticed.

Their eyes met briefly across the distance. A quiet, instantaneous exchange. Ruri tilted her head, her lips curling into a microscopic, razor-sharp smirk. both of their eyes like in the unseen fight.

Satono loses. He looked away first.

One of the teammates nudged Satono’s shoulder. “So this is why you’ve been carrying so hard this game.” then He looked at some of paper. "even though before you are feeding in last 2 match."

“last 2 game is hard! and now I had fourteen kills because I’m a pro!” Satono argued dramatically.

“Because The Impossible Queen was watching.”

“I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW SHE WAS HERE!”

“Her presence buffed you. It’s a passive skill.”

“That’s not a game mechanic!”

Ruri stepped forward, placing her hands on her hips. “My aura increases win rate by twenty percent.”

“TRUE!” one of the teammates shouted immediately.

“I hate all of you,” I muttered, staring at the floor.

“You’re smiling,” Ruri whispered in my ear.

“I am not.”

“You definitely are.”

I pushed my glasses up my nose. “…It’s loud in here.”

As if on cue, the crowd at the neighboring stage screamed. Someone bumped into a trash can, and the smell of artificial cheese dust intensified.

“Yeah, that’s definitely the crowd,” Ruri confirmed dryly.

Satono stepped closer to the edge of the stage, closing the distance between us. “If it’s too much, you don’t have to stay.”

His tone dropped its volume. It wasn't stupid. It wasn't loud. It was just honest.

I hesitated. I looked at him—really looked at him. He seemed so different up there on that stage. Focused. Reliable. Confident.

And now—

He grinned suddenly, the chaotic light returning to his eyes. “Next match is gonna be easy. I’m about to cook them so hard to make them uninstall the game, and asking what their life value.”

There he goes.

Airi laughed, wrapping up her earphone cord.

Ruri folded her arms, looking like a proud monarch overlooking her subjects. “Go on. Perform well. The Goddess and the Queen are watching.”

“I do not approve of that title,” I muttered.

One of the teammates gave us a perfectly serious, two-finger salute. “We will not disappoint, Your Majesties.”

Satono groaned, tipping his head back to stare at the mall ceiling. “Bruh... what happened here actually.”

But he was smiling.

And for some reason—even if I absolutely refused to admit it out loud—so was I.