Chapter 3// True Egoist

"Aoi san, may I sit here?"

***** looked down at Aoi who stopped munching on his deserts and looked towards him. His black and red eyes scrutinized him quietly. It seems as if those eyes can see deep inside his soul, what he is thinking and what he is plotting about.

Without averting eye contact, It felt like an eternity had passed under those eyes.

Just a moment, for just a moment, ***** felt like a devil from the abyss has gazed at him with the intent of dragging him to a place where the light doesn't exist.

Not to be confused, those eyes of his were incredibly pretty since it was not so often that you see a Japanese with heterochromia eyes. It definitely made people turn their heads, moreover, the one who possesses those eyes has delicate and gorgeous features that made him anhydrous beauty.

It was just that...those eyes were so unsettling that whenever he felt that gaze upon him it felt as if he was being hunted, naked, vulnerable under those eyes.

But it feels like no one but him noticed this strangeness of Arai Aoi.

It's been two days since that crazy entrance exam and that bout of action Aoi made during tag...those kinds of actions were not what someone with a sane mind would do.

Now, the two days passed and he can't find any hint of those initial madness on Aoi at all!

He was just like any regular person that can be found on the streets, which makes him even more irregular in a place a lot of egotists concentrated.

And his physical abilities are...so so poor, which raised the question, what was the initial show of strength on the first day about? Is it a one-time use? Or does it have a long cool-down time? Or there are some conditions and certain restrictions to be able to successfully pull it off? Or...was he pretending to be weak?

There are a lot of questions and no answer at all.

***** has been carefully watching Aoi to the point of developing an unhealthy obsession.

To summarize the results of his two-day stalking, Aoi was just like a delicate doll.

Without raising any questions or complaints, he did wherever Ego ordered or some jerks in his team bully him.

With a pretty smile ever-present on his face, he did the tasks even when he was in the blink of passing out just like a programmed AI. He stayed in a place where he was put and never fought back.

With never refusing anyone's orders, some people seem to develop ideas they shouldn't have. Luckily, Ego may be insane, but he protected the dignity of those while they were in Blue Lock.

But only Ego knows it was those players he was protecting Aoi from.

***** mused the only thing was, Aoi's eyes...never seems to smile. It doesn't look like the eyes of a living person at all.

One time he secretly gazed at Aoi when he was cornered by an unruly guy, his face is smiling yet his eyes seemed so chilling that, it gave ***** vibes that Aoi was looking at the dead person.

A thought suddenly popped into *****'s head.

'It was the eyes of the murderer.'

***** just remembered! Isn't Arai surname belong to that corrupted high-ranking official? It was just that Arai Group made some headlines when he was young so it took him quite a while to remember.

Ah...The head of the Arai group was seen found dead along with its family members! Only one sole child survived...Police believed that the child was present during the massacre but due to trauma, it seems there's no recollection of his parents dying. The boy seemed to believe that his parents are still with him, occasionally talking with air during interrogation.

With the boy's amnaesia, the only trace of the killer was lost and the preparator was still on loose today...

"..san, Ichida san, are you okay? You looked pale." Aoi asked him with a smile on his face. Ichida suddenly came back to reality and stammered, "A-ah, ye-yeah, what did you say A..oi san?"

Aoi chuckled good-naturedly, and repeated himself again, "You can sit here Ichida san. After all, it's a public space. And you can drop the san since I'm younger than you.."

Ichida's eyes widened and he whispered, "How do you..."

Aoi picked up the fork and stabbed at the strawberry on top of the cake and eye-smiled, "Don't worry about it."

Anri looked at the monitor displaying Aoi and Ichida's forms and worriedly spoke, "Ego san, are you sure it is right to invite Arai Aoi to Blue Lock since he...well..."

Ego spoke while mixing some strange sauce with dry noodles, "It's fine, Anri chan, he has the strength to back it up. And in Blue Lock, only mad egoists belong here. He'll fit right in."

Anri opened her mouth and closed. Ego stared at Anri without turning his head, "If you're talking about that matter. Don't worry about that either."

"We made a devil contract."

Ego grinned almost insanely, whoever had to lead those packs of crazy egoists had to be crazier than them.

.... After all, the one who broke their contract first has to pay with their life.

True egoists are most afraid of dying. This can be the motivation to keep on soughing their desire or the fatal chain that binds them to the ground.