Blade of Ruin- Aspiration to the Heavens: Becoming the Supreme Mage Vol 3

Episode 59: Oddball

[Meanwhile, over in Sefa]

I rubbed my arms as I stepped out of the apartment. A cold breeze had blown in from the mountains in the west, enveloping the region's countries in a blanket of sleet.

"Hey, Uli!" Arima yelled, running over to me. Aban followed close behind.

"Hey," I said, waving at them.

"Where's Alto?" Aban asked, glancing around.

"I saw him jogging awhile ago," I said, rubbing my hands together to warm them up.

Arima put a hand on her hip. "I see. He's been doing that since vacation began. Even before, he wouldn't stop training."

"I think that the games made him realize how much a gap there is between him and those on top." I lowered my gaze. The same went for me. Most of the time, I would end up joining Alto in his runs.

"Are you sure it's just that?" Aban asked, crossing his arms.

"Would there be another reason?" Arima asked, glancing at him.

"Can't say for sure, but my gut tells me that he's still suffering from heartbreak."

I lowered my head. Alto had avoided his brother since we returned. When Zydeco invited him to go with him on vacation, he declined with a simple 'no' and walked out. Zydeco seemed hurt over the entire thing but tried to put on a smile.

Arima sighed. "Did he really fall for our teacher?" she asked, looking down at the ice-covered street.

"Are you jealous?" Aban asked, frowning.

Arima's cheeks reddened a little. "What? No! I'm worried about him as a friend! Seriously, I thought that Iah was just kidding when he teased him over that crush."

Aban stepped forward. "Well, I'm sure that he'll get over it eventually."

"Are you sure? Alto's been close to Zydeco since as far as I can remember. For him to give his brother the cold shoulder..." I said, curling my hands into fists. I didn't want to see their bond disappear. That Alto, he was being childish about the whole thing.

"Yeah, I've never seen Alto hung up over something to this extent," Arima said, putting a hand against her left cheek. "Seems that I'll need to give him a thorough talk."

"Let me do it," I said.

Aban smiled. "You're volunteering? That's rare."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You usually stay on the sidelines. When we were kids, you would rarely take the initiative."

I laughed. "I guess that's true. I usually did just follow you three, huh?" Maybe it was because Alto was my best friend, or perhaps I had started to change. My best was on the former.