The Unexpected Announcement

It was the second day after the fateful selection match. Howard called everybody to the clubroom to announce who was going to play on the first string and who'll be a benchwarmer for the entire upcoming year.

In the end, Lars decided to sit this one out. He mulled over it for some time yesterday, but ultimately decided he didn't want to attend this meeting. It was a bit bratty of him, but Yuel understood the feeling all too well. Honestly, Yuel didn't want to go either.

The verdict was already set in stone for both of them. They lost the bet against Howard and Ellen, so they won't get the Support and Carry roles. Coming all the way to the clubroom just to get struck with that fact was like some sort of masochism.

Was there any chance they'll be assigned for some other roles? With Lars's mechanical skill, he could easily become a scary Mid Laner. However, his lack of experience was a glaring issue.

As for Yuel, there was no way he'd be valued over Roi as a Top Laner. So, no matter how Yuel looked at it, there won't be any surprises about him or Lars today.

In fact, will there be any surprises at all? Roi for Top, Dan for Jungler and Gilbert for Mid, that's the announcement everybody expected. It was odd for Howard to call a meeting over something so predictable. Then again, the guy seemed to like face-to-face meetings for some reason. [To each his own, I guess.]

Regardless of how predictable this meeting was going to be, Yuel had to attend as the vice-captain. He might not remain the vice-captain for long if he and Lars go through with the transfer plan but, for now, Yuel still had to act the part. It felt like he was coming to this meeting just to see Howard and Ellen boast about their victory but he had no choice.

[Maybe I should call in sick? But, I already came all the way up here...] Yuel dragged himself up the stairs. All he wanted right now was drop on the floor and lay there until the meeting ends.

[Ugh, I so don't want to be there...] The stairs went on forever, it was like climbing the Everest. Alas, no matter how hard Yuel's legs tried to delay the inevitable, he eventually reached the right floor. The clubroom was just a short walk away. Sigh.

At least, Yuel didn't run into anybody along the way. He willingly picked the longer route to avoid running into others. Thanks to that, he was going to reach the clubroom without stumbling into any awkward interactions... or so he thought.

Somebody was there. A fellow attendee who wanted to sneak into the meeting without running into anybody. A girl was hunched over as she peeked at the clubroom from behind a wall. It was Julia.

"What are you doing?"

"E-EEEEK!" Julia jumped like an exposed criminal and bumped her head into the wall behind her. "Aya!" She crouched forward. "W-What's wrong with you!? Don't sneak on people like that! Ouchie..."

"Sorry," Yuel said. [Though, you're the one who was sneaking around.] But, he kept that to himself. This was the first time they got to talk with each other after the selection match, so he didn't want to start on the wrong foot. Julia was probably still blaming herself for her performance in the selection match, even though she played so well in the third game.

"You okay?" Yuel asked.

"Could have been better if not for a certain idiot," Julia hissed. Great, this conversation has already started with so much positivity. It'll surely go smooth...

"You're still feeling down because of the match?"

"Hmph. Not your business, dumbass."

[I need a better approach here.] Yuel frowned. How should he make this conversation flow? He already got on Julia's bad side before even starting, so he needed to inject some positivity here. Knowing Julia, one idea came to mind.

"Lars was worried about you."

"Eh?" Julia glanced at him without turning to face him. "What did he say?"

"He said you played really well, so you shouldn't blame yourself that we lost."

"Really..." Julia mumbled. A faint smile of relief formed on her lips.

[Okay, this tactic is working.] Yuel nodded to himself. Maybe he'll be able to hold a proper conversation with her for a change.

"And you?" Julia asked out of the blue. "What do you think about my performance in the match?"

"I agree with Lars. You played the third game well."

"You only gonna mention the third game, huh." Julia shifted her eyes away. "What about the rest?"

"Do you really want to hear my honest opinion?"

"Probably not."

"So, let's leave it at that," Yuel said. "As far as the third game is concerned, nothing about that outcome was your fault."

"Then, who? Whose fault is it that we lost?" Julia's glare demanded an answer. It seemed she won't be satisfied until she learns who she could blame for that devastating defeat. If it wasn't her fault, there surely had to be somebody else to blame, right?

[It's not that simple.] Yuel frowned. In a team vs. team game, it wasn't so easy to pin the blame on one specific player.

Everybody had their ups and downs. Julia played well in her Attack Mode, but she was beaten in the end. Lars put on a strong performance as Seraph and pushed many objectives, but he was baited to his death by Ellen at the end. Roi and Dan overall played fine, though their performance felt lackluster compared to their usual selves.

All in all, everybody had their ups and downs. If Julia had to blame somebody no matter what, then...

"You can blame me," Yuel glanced away. "I made many bad calls and they cost us the game. I was the shot-caller, so I was supposed to guide you better during the decisive moments. But, I was greedy with some of my decisions and, as a result, you and Lars died. So yeah, you can pin everything on me."

"I knew it!" Julia jumped on her feet. "We lost because of your shitty shot-calls! Because of you, Lars won't play on the first string next year!"

[And I won't play either.] Yuel pursed his lips. If only he was less greedy back then. If only he was more assertive. If only he stopped Lars from chasing. If only he ordered Julia to retreat. If only. If only. If only.

"Hmph, this is stupid," Julia crossed her arms. "I knew Lars shouldn't pair up with you. You're just dragging him down."

"That's not really..."

"You always act like a know-it-all but then fuck up when it matters most. I should've known from the beginning we gonna lose that stupid match with you in charge. I'm not even surprised. Howard is a way better captain than a dumbass like you. If Lars played with Howard instead, I'm sure they would have become the strongest duo in the country. No, in the whole world even!"

"Hey now," Yuel clenched his fists. That was going too far. Did she seriously claim that Lars would have been better off playing with Howard? That's some bullshit right there. Yuel and Lars had great teamwork in that game. Out of all the things Julia could complain about, this was the dumbest.

"For your information," Yuel said. "Lars and I held the upper hand in Bot during the first two games. In the last one, we had to sacrifice some lane control because Lars was playing Seraph, but we still did perfectly fine."

"Oh, you did? Then how the fuck did we lose these games, genius? If you really had Bot under control in the second game, you should've been able to push for the win."

"It just wasn't enough. In the second game, we did great in Bot but the rest of the team couldn't gain an advantage in other lanes."

"Oh, so now it's not your fault but everybody else's, huh? Wasn't it your job to organize the team, 'cap'?"

"I can't solve everything myself," Yuel jerked. This was getting dumber and dumber. "For example, what do you expect me to do when a certain somebody is doing a terrible job gaining an advantage in Mid? That was one of the biggest issues we had in the second game."

"Wha-!?" Julia's face twisted like that of a demon. "You fucker! You gonna blame everything on me after all!?"

"I didn't say EVERYTHING was your fault," Yuel's tone raised. "I'd just appreciate it if you stop talking shit about me and Lars. Yes, we weren't perfect. Nobody was. But, compared to your expensive turtling in the first two games, our teamwork was a hundred times more useful to the team. It actually helped the team push forward instead of dragging it down!"

"What did you-!?" Julia shook like a bomb that was about to go off. "Okay, screw it! I'm done!" Julia stomped toward Yuel and passes by him.

"Where are you going?"

"Not your damn business!"

"Wait, what about the meeting-"

"Don't touch me!" Julia slapped Yuel's hand away. Her eyes were filled with murderous intent, but they seemed a little teary. Did Yuel go too far?

"My, my, my," Ellen waltzed into the scene out of nowhere. "What's going on here? A lovers' quarrel~?"

"Yeah, right," Julia grimaced as if she wanted to puke from the mere suggestion of that.

"....." Yuel just averted his eyes and remained quiet.

"My," Ellen tilted her head from side to side as she checked both of them. After a few seconds, she nodded to herself as if she reached some conclusion. "I see, I see. Yuyu is bullying you, isn't he?" Ellen wrapped herself around Julia and patted Julia's head.

"I didn't really..." Yuel's words trailed off. He felt like anything he says will be used against him.

"Yuyu is just terrible, isn't he?" Ellen went on with her baseless accusations while patting Julia.

"Yeah, he's a total dumbass," Julia nodded. Her tone still had angst in it, but seemed like she calmed down a little.

"C'mon," Ellen said. "Let's forget about this bully and go to the meeting, shall we?"

"No, I..." Julia hung her head.

"You're too embarrassed to face Larsy?"

"N-No! I just..." Julia sighed in defeat.

Ellen's guess must have been spot on. Even though Julia lashed at Yuel a moment ago and tried to pin all the blame on him, deep down she must have still felt responsible for the defeat. So, she didn't know how to face Lars right now. In that case...

"Lars isn't coming," Yuel said.

"Eh?"

"He had some important business with his family today," Yuel lied. "So, he'll be skipping the meeting."

"Is that so..." Julia stared at the floor with a mixed expression.

"Alrighty then," Ellen gently pushed Julia's back. "C'mon, let's go to the clubroom."

"Do I have to?" Julia sighed.

"Yes, you DE-FI-NI-TE-LY have to. C'mon, you two are running late."

"Okay..." Julia answered half-heartedly and dragged herself toward the clubroom.

"C'mon," Ellen turned to Yuel. "Chop-chop."

"Right," Yuel followed them from afar. After this awkward exchange with Julia, he now had two reasons he wanted to skip this meeting. Just great. [Can I just go home? Pretty please? Sigh.]

"I know you're salty about losing," Ellen said as she walked beside Yuel. "But, don't take it out on July."

"That wasn't my intention," Yuel grumped. [Besides, she's the one who started it.]

"It was the first time she showed her aggressive side in front of Lars. It took her a lot of courage, you know? Just imagine how scary it was for her to use it for the first time and suddenly become the game-maker near the end. It's so much pressure and responsibility."

"I understand that. But, that doesn't give her an excuse to spout bullshit and blame others."

"My, how aggressive," Ellen covered her mouth. "If Yuyu got so mad, I guess July went out of line too. But, you're the boy here so play nice with her, will you?"

[How is that even related?] Yuel rolled his eyes.

It's true that Julia had to go through a lot in that match. During the most critical moments of the game, she was promoted into a Queen piece. She became the lynchpin, the game-maker, and the savior. That game was the first time she mustered the courage to show her Attack Mode in public, but tons of responsibilities were dumped on her right away as a result. The pressure must have been maddening.

Worst of all, she couldn't carry the team to victory. She was cast into the leading role of the show but couldn't get a happy ending. It's like everybody's expectations were riding on her and she failed them. It was an unfair role to dump on her, especially when she was still struggling with her inner demons due to the public debut of her Attack Mode.

Nevertheless, none of that excused Julia's trash talk about Yuel and Lars's performance as a Bot duo. It was one thing to complain about Yuel's subpar shot-calling, but it was another thing entirely to blame his teamwork with Lars and say that Yuel was dragging Lars down. That was unforgivable.

"My, such a scary face~" Ellen pinched Yuel's cheek. "I don't know what she said but you're the most mature in your gang, right?"

"I don't remember signing up to be anybody's babysitter."

"I know, I know. But, somebody has to play the adult here, right? I say you're the best man for the job~"

"Huh," Yuel made a face. Well, Ellen wasn't exactly wrong. Lars and Julia often turned to Yuel whenever they had questions or problems. In a sense, he was like the "consultant" of the trio, so perhaps it was reasonable to expect more maturity from him.

"Okay, I get it," Yuel sighed. "I'll do what I can."

"Yuyu is such a trustworthy boy~" Ellen patted Yuel's head like he was a kid.

"Cut it off," Yuel pulled aside to get away from that busybody. Ellen could get annoying with how she always stuck her nose everywhere but, this time, Yuel had to admit her intervention was for the best. Things would have gotten out of hand if the quarrel between Yuel and Julia escalated.

Yuel took a deep breath and entered the clubroom. It wasn't like he forgave Julia for her words, but he had to take into account she was a mess after the defeat in the selection match. In fact, all three of them were a mess. Lars didn't even want to show his face here today because of how frustrating it was going to be. Each of them blamed themselves and felt irritated, so Yuel had to give Julia a pass for her harsh words. That is, a kinder pass than usual.

[Okay, forget about it. Let's just get this meeting over with.] Yuel informed everybody that Lars won't be coming today due to "family business", so there was no need to wait anymore.

"Alright," Howard nodded. "Then, let's get started. Thanks for coming, everybody."

They all gathered in front of Howard. Yuel and Julia stood on opposite ends as if they were magnets that pushed each other away.

"First," Howard said. "Support and Carry will be me and Ellen." He threw a glance at Yuel.

[Of course.] Yuel averted his eyes. There was nothing he could say back. He and Lars lost fair and square in that selection match. Howard and Ellen won their spots so there was nothing to complain bout.

"Yay!" Ellen made a V sign and winked as if she didn't see this announcement coming. She was trying to rub salt on Yuel's wounds, wasn't she?

"Next,". Howard continued. "Top: Roi. Jungle: Dan."

"Okay, we made it!" Roi pumped a fist.

"Heh, of course." Dan shrugged with a smile.

Roi and Dan bumped fists to celebrate the occasion. It was the predictable lineup but it still must have felt good to be officially selected. Not that Yuel had any idea how that.

"Tch," Gregory shook his head. Apparently, he was expecting to be picked even though his chances were realistically zero.

Even if Howard didn't pick Roi for Top for whatever reason, the next candidate in line would have been Yuel. He didn't play Top nearly as often as Support, but he was confident he was at least better than Gregory. In fact, Top Laner was the only role Yuel could've realistically gotten today, but now that opportunity vanished. As expected, he didn't make it.

The only spot left was Mid Laner. It was Lars's second-best role, so there was a slim chance he'll make it. But, before that, there was Gilbert and Julia. The logical assumption would be that Gregory will retain his spot. However, Julia put on a strong performance during the third game of the selection match, so she had a chance. It wasn't high, but it was there.

"As for Mid," Howard smiled meaningfully. "Frankly, I couldn't decide. Gil and Julia are both great players and they have very distinct play styles. In some matchups, Gil's versatility would be more valuable, while in other matches I can see Julia's hyper-aggressiveness serving the team well."

[W-What!]? Julia jumped. Wait, was Howard seriously considering her for the first string!? Everybody's eyes turned on her. Gulp. Her heart beat faster and faster like it wanted to leap out of her chest. Was this really happening? Did she have a chance!?

This gotta be a dream, but pinching her cheek didn't wake her up. It was real life and she was just one step away from the first string. Will she make it!? [C'mon, Howard! Stop beating around the bush and tell us what you decided already!]

"So," Howard concluded. "After taking all that into account, I decided both Gil and Julia will be on the first string."

"N-No way..." Julia shook. S-She did it. It's not like she outright surpassed Gilbert, but she did it! She made it into the first string! [Oh my god! I can't believe it!]

"July~!" Ellen leaped on Julia and squeezed the girl. "Congratulations~!"

"T-Thanks," Julia would normally kick Ellen away, but right now she was too shocked to react. Most of the other members also gave her approving looks; it seemed the majority agreed that Julia deserved to be on the first string.

What was Yuel's reaction? Julia was curious but. at the same time. it felt awkward to face him. After all, that selection match was supposed to be for Yuel and Lars. Yet, they didn't make it into the first string while Julia somehow passed.

In the end, curiosity won and Julia glanced at Yuel. Well, that was disappointing. Yuel didn't show much of an expression. Or, at least, Julia couldn't read much from it. Yuel was wearing his usual difficult expression, which he probably thought made him look serious and smart. It was impossible to tell what he thought of this pick.

Their eyes met for a moment but Yuel instantly averted his gaze. Then, after a second, he turned to look at Julia again and gave her a small nod with a thumb up. Fortunately, he didn't seem angry over this announcement.

[Hmph, not only like I care how he feels about it.] Julia lifted her chin. [But, I rather not add fuel to the fire. We're still clubmates and all. Yeah, that's why.]

[So, she made it...] Yuel sighed and stared at the ceiling. This made the situation ten times more complicated. With Julia now on the first string, how was he supposed to bring up the topic of transferring schools? Oh, boy...