The simple, yet terrifying aftermath of success (3)

"I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about." 

I stood in front of the girls who had surrounded me and were giving me strange looks. As if I was extremely sick. 

"Are you really fine? Why can't I see that? To me, it seems like you've lost it." 

Mia moved up to me and pressed her hand against my forehead. 

Not far from her, Dean nodded his head. 

"How's the temperature? He's sick, isn't he?" 

"Hmm. It looks fine." 

"Tsk." 

Dean clicked his tongue. 

"I don't believe that." 

"I'm fine. Stop being so dramatic." 

I pushed Mia's hand away from my forehead. 

"What's so difficult about accepting the fact that I rejected 'Tears of the Wild'?" 

"You really did?" 

"Yeah." 

When I nodded my head, Mia turned to look toward the other girls. She looked extremely worried. 

"What do we do? I think he's really lost it." 

I took in the sight of the girls staring at me with weird looks on their faces. Even Sarah, who I usually had a hard time understanding what kind of expression she was making was easy to read at the moment. 

Surprise. 

They were all looking at me in what seemed to be surprise. 

With a sigh, I was about to explain myself when Mia spoke again, 

"I'm going to ask again. I'm still having trouble understanding the situation, but did you really reject a Tier 4 group for us...?" 

"...The proof is in the news." 

"Do you even know what a Tier 4 group means?" 

"I know." 

"And...?" 

"I still rejected them." 

"Th-at. Just managing a Tier 4 for a couple of weeks can build up your CV to the moon, and even knowing that you'd-ha! He's totally lost it! He's lost it!" 

Mia covered her head with both hands and ruffled them into a mess. 

"Hey, watch it. You're going to ruin your hair like that." 

I tried to stop her but I was promptly shut off by her. 

"The last thing you need to worry about is my damn hair!" 

"Wh—" 

"Were you afraid we'd think of you as a traitor if you had left us? Was that why you rejected them? You don't have to think about us! You need to think about yourself too!" 

"I am, though."

When I tried to defend myself, Mia ruffled her hair even more. 

"Agh. No matter how much I think about it, I really think you've lost it. You've totally lost it!" 

"I'm of the same opinion."

Dean added from the side, completely ignoring my glare. 

"I've been receiving calls left and right asking me if he was okay. I even had some people tell me that the news was true. This guy really rejected 'Tears of the Wild' for you." 

"Manager, quickly go! Go back and tell them you changed your mind. If it's us you're worried about, then you don't have to worry. Things have been looking up for us. We can do this!" 

Mia clenched her fist with determination. 

Beside her, Joana nodded her head in agreement. 

"If you're worried about us, don't. Like she said, things have been looking up for us. You don't need to worry about us anymore. Think about yourself for once." 

"Mhm." 

Even Olivia seemed of the same opinion as she nodded her head. 

But that was as far as their agreement went. 

"No." 

Sarah, who had remained quiet throughout the entire time, suddenly shook her head and voiced her objection. 

The girls looked at her in surprise. 

"Sarah?"

"Wait, Sarah, don't you know how big of an opportunity this is for him?" 

"Think things through." 

Despite the words the girls were saying, Sarah's attention was solely fixed on me. 

"You can't leave." 

She said, her voice firm. 

Mia, who was standing beside her, grasped her shoulders and shook her. 

"Sarah! Think about our manager! We can't have him stuck with us! You of all people should know the difference between a Tier 1 and a Tier 4 group!"

"So?" 

Sarah's attention finally shifted to Mia. 

"What do you mean so? Did you not hear what said?" 

"I did." 

"And...?" 

"Tier 4. Not much." 

"What?" 

The girls all looked at Sarah with worried looks. Just before they could voice out their concerns, Sarah cut them off. 

"We can do it." 

There, the entire room turned quiet. 

I found myself the center of attention again when Sarah turned to look at me and said, 

"He rejected them because he thinks we can do it. Isn't that right, manager?" 

I was a bit taken aback by her question, but when I glanced back into her eyes and saw the conviction in them, I nodded my head. 

"Yeah. She's right. Not only Tier 4, I believe you will all be able to achieve more than that. I didn't reject them because I was worried about you girls. I rejected them because I have more faith in you girls than them." 

The room turned quiet again. 

"Nutjob." 

Dean was the one who broke the silence. Despite that, his face carried a hint of a smile in it as he continued to curse me out. 

"You're totally crazy, and I won't stop saying this until the day I will retire." 

"So I've got a couple of years of curses?" 

"At this rate? It could just stop tomorrow." 

"Manager, is... are you sure?" 

"I'm sure." 

Finally understanding that my mind had already been made up, Mia slumped down on the floor. She joined Dean and started cursing me with him. They were soon followed by Joana and Olivia and then Lyla, who joined in because she thought it was fun. 

'Nutjob, crazy, madman...'

Lyla learned a lot of new words in the session. 

The only one who hadn't joined them was Sarah, who moved closer to me. 

"...You can't leave." 

In almost a whisper, she managed to say a couple of words. Surprised, I looked at her, only to find her squatting down and joining the other girls in their 'curse the poor manager' party. 

My eyes lingered over her back for a bit before I shook my head. 

'Never planned to.' 

The situation eventually calmed down, with Mia being the first one to stand up while mumbling something to herself. 

"I... I'm going to do my homework." 

She was followed by Olivia as the two of them made their way to their rooms. Just before they left, I just barely managed to hear Mia's mumbling as the door behind her closed, 

'We've got to try harder.' 

Joana followed after them, and before I knew it, the only ones left in the room were me and Dean. 

As he comfortably sat on the sofa, I asked, 

"Did you have fun cursing me?"

"You want me to tell the truth or lie?" 

"The truth." 

"I had the greatest time of my life." 

"Thought so." 

I could tell from how wide his smile had been for the past couple of minutes. 

He seemed even more refreshed than the time he managed to sleep a staggering six hours. 

"What are your plans now?" 

"Pardon?" 

I shifted my attention back to Dean.

"Although the girls aren't showing it, they're really happy with your decision. It might not seem like much, but they really are happy by the fact that you believe in them that much."

"Of course, that's—" 

"It's different." 

Dean interrupted me before I could even finish my sentence.

"You probably don't know because you weren't here, but you should be aware that you weren't their first manager, right?" 

"Yes...?"

Where was he going with this?

"Do you want to know why they quit?" 

"Ah..." 

It finally dawned on me. 

"...You won't amount to nothing. Staying with you will ruin my chances of going up in my career. My curriculum would look bad if I told them I used to manage a failed group. There's no future with them." 

My chest tingled hearing the words that were coming out of Dean's mouth. 

It felt stifling and uncomfortable. 

"None of their previous managers ever believed in them. Not even their instructors. Just take a look at Sarah. I know you've been messing with her training, so you should understand what was going on with her." 

I frowned at that.

"If you knew it was happening, why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I couldn't." 

With a bitter smile, Dean leaned back on the sofa. 

"What would the point be in antagonizing their instructors? The girls were already happy with the fact that someone was willing to coach them. And regarding the managers? Hahaha." 

He suddenly laughed out loud. 

"Why do you think we accepted you? Someone who isn't even qualified to be a manager? Do you think it's because we saw something in you or something? No, that's bullshit. The only reason we even accepted your application was because no one else was willing to work with them." 

Dean cleared his throat. 

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I regret choosing you. In fact, it was probably the best thing to have ever happened to the girls. Still, that doesn't change the fact that before you, no one ever believed in them."

Stretching his body, he stood up from the couch. 

"Actions speak louder than words. The fact that you rejected a Tier 4 group is enough to show them that you meant your words. They may not show it, but they're definitely touched, so..." 

As he passed me, I felt his hand press against my shoulder. 

"...Keep doing what you're doing. Maybe one day, they'll really become Tier 5." 

"Yeah." 

With a nod, I stared at his departing back. 

"I hope so." 

That day. I had a very good sleep. 

I felt extremely energized and my head wasn't as foggy as it usually felt in the morning. 

The morning breeze felt especially nice as I walked to the Guild. In a way, I felt even more reassured in my decision to stay with Blue Daisy instead of leaving for 'Tears of the Wild'. 

The reactions that the girls had shown me yesterday were all that I needed to know to prove to me that I had made the right choice. 

Plus, after hearing what Dean had told me, I felt even more motivated to make this work. 

'No future with them? I'll show those bastards...'

"Manager." 

A voice called out for me and I turned my head. Spotting the figure, I walked up to her. 

"Have you been waiting for long?" 

"No." 

Sarah shook her head as she stood in front of the Guild entrance. 

All eyes were focused on her. A sight I had now grown used to. There was no denying her looks. 

"Are you ready? Did you pack everything with you?" 

"Mhm." 

"Candy too?" 

"Oh." 

Sarah blinked a couple of times, her eyes slowly widening with each second. She was just about to turn back to head for the apartment when I grabbed her by the arm. 

"Wait." 

I then took out a pack of candy from my pocket and handed it to her. 

"Don't worry, I've come prepared." 

Only then did Sarah finally relax. 

"Thank you." 

"Don't eat too much."

"Okay." 

Receiving it, she started to eat the candy. 

'She's nervous.'

It was obvious from how she had forgotten her candy which was something that she typically never did. I couldn't blame her, though. 

Today was the first day of Clash of Swords. 

With the audition successful, it was now time for her to make her debut on the real stage. I believed that she'd do well on the show. We had trained endlessly for this. It was still a little early, but I knew she could do it. 

"I can do it right...?" 

Sarah mumbled through her half-filled mouth. 

There was no change in expression, and she seemed to be asking a simple question. But I knew just how nervous she was. 

So I nodded. 

"You can." 

"Really?" 

"Really." 

Her gaze bore down on me, carefully scrutinizing me for lies. 

This went on for a couple of seconds before she looked away from me. Only then, did she finally smile. 

"...Okay."