An Awkward Moment In The Waiting Room

"W-what in the world…?"

Matt's jaws dropped in shock as he tried to make sense of what he had just seen.

His mouth was dry, and a bead of sweat trickled down his face. His heart raced, and the same chill from earlier coursed through his body. At the moment, he felt a myriad of emotions.

However, the most dominant one was AWE.

'H-he's so strong!' Matt thought, still dumbfounded by what he had just witnessed.

He had seen the performance of the other examinees and officials—and while many managed to impress him with their powers, this person on stage was the first to truly blow his mind away.

'Number 01, what a monster!' Matt watched him leave the stage as elegantly as he stepped onto it.

Matt wasn't bothered by his odd clothing choice any longer, nor did he have any criticism concerning his borderline theatrical display of 'coolness'. Instead, Matt was simply dazzled by the raw power that he just witnessed.

The chilling nature of Number 01's ice powers, and the way it was executed so skillfully—Matt couldn't take his eyes off it.

Before he knew it, a strange thought slowly began manifesting in his mind.

As his heart raced while witnessing the dissipation of the ice to mist, Matt found himself yearning for something he couldn't quite explain. It began as a little spark, but slowly the flames began to burn brightly.

The flames of rivalry.

Suddenly, he asked himself;

'His ice or my flames, which is stronger?' Matt was dying to know the answer.

This thought kept running through his mind as Number 01 walked past Matt's row and returned to his seat. He couldn't help it.

However, unknown to Matt, he wasn't the only one who had been awed by his power.

"D-did you see that?"

"Amazing! He exceeded the Magia limit!"

"What a monster! As expected of a genius!"

"So that is the eternal frost, eh? It's as impressive as they say. I wonder, though…"

The audience was caught in a dilemma. Of all the examinees thus far, two had managed to exceed the permissible limit.

One was a dark horse who wielded flames, and now the genius that had also achieved the same feat with ice. There was no way they could let go of such an interesting coincidence.

Everyone could not help but wonder which would prevail. Dark Flames or Eternal Frost!

*

*

*

The final contestant also lost like the other unremarkable examinees—a somewhat underwhelming end to the Chuunibyou Exams.

In the end, only three people won this time, all of whom were remarkable in their own right.

Number 07; wielder of the Dark Flames

Number 09; contractor of the deadly Teddy

Number 01; user of the Eternal Frost

These three were the newest rookies to be allowed into the Chuunibyou Society—the winners of the examinations!

Once their victory was announced, the three were directed to a separate room where they would be addressed by someone. A strange door suddenly appeared, and they were all ushered into it.

A blank, empty room.

With only three of them waiting there, they waited silently. However, the silence made things a little tense. Honestly…?

'This is a little awkward.'

*

*

*

"Hi, my name is Violet. Violet Myers! You were great out there!" A flustered Violet was trying her hardest to be friendly with the odd one out of the three.

After waiting in the boring room for a while, it seemed she couldn't take it anymore. Tee—her contracted being—was resting after the stunt they pulled in the exams, so it was currently unavailable.

She could have conversed with Matt, but even he was staring at the white-haired guy in an awkward way. He also seemed lost in thought.

Weighing her options, she decided to satisfy her curiosity. Violet approached Number 01 with her charming smile.

However…

"Hmph." He turned his face away, ignoring her completely.

This stone-cold rejection caused Violet's face to stiffen, and her heart to break. Usually, weird or not, she still attracted some form of attention. In addition, she was merely trying to be nice.

Yet, the guy completely snubbed her. It felt totally embarrassing, and she was unable to speak for some time. However, if there was one thing she was known for, it was her persistence.

"Hahaha. Don't be like that."

Violet was determined not to give up!

Once again, the white-haired boy ignored her words. She persistently moved to where he was facing, using all the tricks in the book to draw his attention—yet failing miserably every single time. It was painful to watch

Especially for the dark-haired guy who watched the whole exchange. He had a frown on his face, and his dissatisfied gaze was on the other guy.

"I can't stand this anymore."

*

*

*

'Violet, how can you stand all of this?' Matt thought to himself.

He had been watching as his former classmate—though he didn't know what their current relationship translated to—embarrassed herself before the boy. However, more than the pain he felt as he watched Violet's humiliation, he felt even more indignation toward the boy.

'At least give her a response, you idiot! She chose to talk to you, and yet…' After controlling himself for some time, he couldn't keep it in any longer.

He had to speak up.

"Hey! She's clearly talking to you. The least you can do is show her some courtesy!" Matt raised his voice, glaring at the white-haired snub.

Even though he had thought the boy was cool, acting all stuck-up made him scum in Matt's books. Did he really think he was too cool for interactions? Even if he was an introvert, his expression would at least display a measure of discomfort.

'But the way he refused to even look at Violet, it's like he doesn't even consider her worthy of his attention!'

"Courtesy?" Number 01 finally spoke, startling Matt.

His voice was so cool and composed that Matt felt swept away. It was also firm and cold, enough to remind him of the chills he had experienced before.

"Why should I show courtesy to those inferior to me?" He continued, his expression attesting to the fact that he meant every word he said.

The moment he heard Number 01 spout those words, Matt felt his heart tighten, and the mellow flames within him erupted. Veins appeared all over his face, and his eyes turned bloodshot. His anger was burning hot, the opposite of the cool guy in front of him.

"What the hell did you just say? Who are you calling inferior?!"