Love makes people do stupid things.
The lovestruck had a bad habit of jumping right into fanciful dreams of their future before they’d even bothered confirming whether their love interest actually liked them in return.
Things were only amplified if it was someone’s first love. Exchanging just a few words with their crush was enough to make them positively ecstatic, and if their love interest talked to them more than once in a day, they were convinced they were getting closer.
It would never occur to them that they might’ve misread the situation.
Sometimes, these kinds of people could leap to some extreme conclusions, like thinking they knew their love interest better than anyone else, or genuinely believing that nobody in the universe could love their soon-to-be lover as much as they did—all without any confirmation that their attraction was mutual.
A lot of those people turned into stalkers.
Unfortunately, Yui and Uru were both included among this lot. On the bright side, if you could call it that, at least Yui’s love for Ado was mutual.
Yui might’ve had something of a jealous streak, but she was devoted to Ado and over the moon to be bearing his child.
You couldn’t have said the same of Uru, though. He’d always been pretty straitlaced, diligently applying himself to learning magic and alchemy since the day he’d knocked on the door of the Istol Academy of Magic.
Of course, he had the same interest in women as your average young man. He’d tabled all that, though, to reach ever higher heights in his studies. He hadn’t gone on a single date in his time at the academy.
After graduation, he hadn’t been able to find a steady job, no matter how hard he tried. Eventually, his only option had been to start his own alchemy business. He’d done pretty well at it too.
While he’d occasionally return to Hasam to visit family, he spent most of his time traveling from town to town, selling potions and herbal remedies, staying at inns, and gradually building a customer base. It was an honest living.
One day, he returned to Hasam to find a young, pregnant woman he’d never met before. Uru’s grandfather told him they’d found her unconscious just outside the village. Naturally, he and the other villagers couldn’t have just left her there on the side of the road.
After asking some questions, Uru had discovered that nobody knew where the woman’s husband was. She’d wanted to search for him herself, but she knew she couldn’t be so rash with a baby on the way. It frustrated her.
In addition, Uru learned that a friend of the woman’s husband had stopped by and helped the village solve its faerie problem. He’d said he’d get in touch if he found the man in question.
The entire situation had enraged Uru. He’d told himself that any man who’d abandon his own pregnant wife like that must be an irredeemable piece of shit.
Of course, Ado hadn’t actually abandoned Yui. Uru’s anger was founded on faulty assumptions, but his reaction made sense for someone who didn’t know the full picture.
For the next month, Uru’s life had been bliss. He hadn’t been sure how to react to the whole situation at first, but as the days passed and they got to know one another, he’d started falling for Yui.
Sometimes, she’d lie in the sunlight and gently stroke her stomach as she murmured softly to her unborn child. Watching her, Uru saw her as something like the Virgin Mary, and he was overcome by her beauty.
Before Uru knew it, he was head over heels.
Unfortunately, the good times weren’t going to last forever.
After Uru’s grandfather—the mayor of Hasam—strained his chronically bad back and left for treatment, Uru had secretly been thankful. Actually, no—he’d positively rejoiced. He’d been so ecstatic, in fact, that he’d felt like breaking into dance right there in the middle of his room. He’d started off with a spin, slipped into a moonwalk, done a backflip, and then landed in a cool pose with a “Booyah!”
In short, he’d felt like he’d lost his mind—like he’d been possessed.
He’d been so caught up in his fantasies that he’d thought that maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to seal the deal with Yui while his grandfather was away.
But then, out of nowhere, Yui and Ado had been reunited.
Uru had felt an intense loathing toward Zelos, the man who’d brought Ado. Somehow, he’d managed to put up the friendly face of a merchant instead, but hiding his hatred for Ado had been another matter entirely. After all, Ado was Yui’s husband—and yet he’d shown up with two other women by his side. Seeing that had made Uru just as mad as Yui, even if the underlying reasons were a little different.
He’d already viewed Ado as a lowlife who abandoned his pregnant wife, but now the man had the gall to bring his mistresses to his visit with his wife. He was utterly shameless!
Even when the others had told him that Yui and Ado had been separated by the Four Gods, Uru couldn’t see that explanation as anything more than a load of bullshit. But it hadn’t taken long for him to realize that the other five—including Yui—saw things the same way.
For the first time, Uru had felt like Yui was slipping out of his grasp. The accompanying feelings of alienation, loneliness, and frustration had only brought his simmering jealousy to a boil.
Then, the others had started talking about taking Yui with them when they left, sending Uru deeper into panic.
I have to do something. Now. Or they’ll take her away from me, he’d thought.
Selfish as it might’ve been, Uru had started frantically trying to change their minds.
He’d even been pretty proud of coming up with his excuse, that Yui’s pregnancy meant she had to stay in the village for her own sake, on the spot.
But despite his protests, Yui had been intent on leaving with Ado, further enraging Uru.
Why?! Why aren’t you noticing how I feel?!
Then, finally, the dam had burst: Uru had made the reckless decision to challenge Ado to a duel.
“I’ll repeat myself: Duel me, Ado!” Uru said, desperate. “If I win, you leave Yui behind in this village. If I lose, you are free to do as you wish.”
“Uh... But why should I have to duel you in the first place?” Ado asked. “Not like I really get anything out of it...”
Zelos looked at Uru. “Nor do I think you’d get anything out of it. You wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Zelos and Ado had no interest in giving Uru his big moment. There was nothing in it for them.
Even if Ado were to accept the duel, the outcome was predetermined: Uru would get trounced. There was just no point in Ado complying with Uru’s request.
“Ado? Zelos? Why don’t you consider how he feels?” Lisa said.
“Mmm... Yeah. She has a point,” Shakti agreed. “When it comes to love, it doesn’t matter who’s known someone longer. Are you sure you can’t just fight him, Ado? It might give him closure, at least.”
“Huh? U-Uru? You’re in love with Toshi?!” Yui exclaimed. “B-But... But you’re both guys...”
“What gave you that idea?!” the other five shouted.
Yui was simply oblivious to Uru’s feelings.
You had to feel for the guy. His crush had basically admitted that she found it more likely that he was gay than into her.
Maybe the others were imagining it, but they wondered if Uru was on the brink of tears.
“He’s in love with you,” Shakti sighed. “How have you not noticed?”
“Huh? But didn’t you just say, ‘When it comes to love, it doesn’t matter who’s known someone longer’?”
“I did, but why’d you assume I was talking about who’s known Ado longer?! Is that head of yours capable of thinking about anything other than Ado?!”
“Nope. Toshi’s my whole world.”
Those were some heavy words.
“C’mon, man,” Ado said. “What’s dueling me going to change? All you’d get out of it is bruises.”
Zelos nodded. “Listen to the man. Ado could kill someone in the blink of an eye with beginner magic. Even calling him overpowered would be an understatement. Lisa, Shakti—are you really that desperate to see this guy die?”
“W-Well, if Ado dials it back, maybe—”
“Holding back is just an insult to your opponent,” Ado said. “Besides, I’m not sure you guys understand how potent Zenith Breaker is. Zelos and I are absolute juggernauts.”
“I... I guess you’re right,” Shakti conceded. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead...”
Ado had no problem accepting the duel, but he was strong enough to break every bone in Uru’s body with a few half-hearted punches—and that’s if Uru was lucky. Nine times out of ten, he’d just be killed.
The others could heal any injuries well enough, but nothing would help Uru if Ado outright killed him half a second into the fight.
In short, challenging Ado was a terrible idea.
“Aww... I was looking forward to telling you two not to fight over me!” Yui pouted. “I guess Toshi’s just too strong...”
“You... You wanted us to fight, Yui? Just to play out some dumb trope? That’d be unfair to Uru, since he doesn’t actually have a chance and all...” Ado said.
“Every girl dreams of being in the middle of a love triangle at least once in her life, you know?” Yui replied.