There is a lot of pageantry. Each league has a herald, and as it’s the opening games of tournament season, they go all-out with their performances, introducing each player and their history and strengths.

When it’s time for Rafe’s match—against a muscly Sophist who looks fully double his size—the cheers increase tenfold. It feels like the whole island has come to watch.

The Bio’s herald begins with a flourish. “Honorable Makers, it is my privilege and pleasure to introduce, for his very first tournament on a Genesis league, Prince Raphael Vanguard.”

The crowd’s cheers are deafening.

“… captain of the Blood Science league in Avant for two years, and to this day he remains undefeated!”

The green ribbon on his wrist stands out in sharp contrast to the amber of the rest of his armor. I hear the people near me whispering about how he’s never worn someone’s favor before, speculating about whose it is.

And then he turns to me and winks, and the speculation stops. And so does my heart as I perish from embarrassment.

But luckily the gong begins the match, and no one is looking at me anymore.

Rafe is quite simply… magnificent. Like, now I get it. He plays the game like it’s an art, and he is a master.

He trounces his opponent in the first two rounds, but the second time the Sophist is downed, he has trouble getting back up. It’s clear at the start of their third round that the Sophist is injured and is in for a humiliating and painful defeat.

Except he’s not.

As the two approach the center, Rafe lifts his lance upward, and the two pass each other without impact.

The third round is a draw.

Rafe could have easily made that strike for a few more points to influence his rank—and I hear a few boos from members of his team who clearly wish he’d done so—but instead he let his opponent end with dignity and without the risk of further injury.

That was so… honorable, and the crowd agrees. They’re all on their feet celebrating and cheering, “Honor a Maker!”

It makes me proud to play the role of doting girlfriend and flurry over to congratulate him.

Instead of hugging me, he lifts me up and does a little spin. He should not be able to accomplish this so easily as I am not a light person, but I guess there’s more to those ridiculous muscles than how good they look because he sure makes me feel light. He also makes me feel like a real girlfriend, the way he’s smiling at me with the genuine joy of the game, as if I’m really the one he would want to celebrate this moment with.

It occurs to me that if we were really together, this is when he would kiss me.

Oh no.