My Seven Wives in One Body and Me, her Manager-Chapter 79: Break Time Before Round Two

After that, both teams were given twenty minutes to rest before the start of the second round, which was to capture the flag from each team’s respective base. On the three-dimensional map appearing above the arena, a city was displayed with a straight road and two tall buildings in the west and east, serving as the bases for both teams. There were no crawlers in the arena, making it a pure head-on confrontation; however, the city serving as the arena featured several buildings that looked accessible for hiding and launching surprise attacks.

Gary and Olivia invited Dennis, Daisy, Jason, Kimberly, Rika, and Elisa to head down and meet Ivan’s team, who were resting in their private locker room. Everyone immediately stood up and walked downstairs. Dennis noticed many hunters in the left wing heading out, as well as many students from other schools in the right wing who were also stepping out, likely to return once the second round began. Once they reached the lower level, they headed straight to their school’s locker room.

When they entered, they saw Steve giving instructions to Ivan and the others, who were listening intently and nodding along to everything Steve said. It seemed they were discussing the strategy for round two and how to handle Rachel’s team from Willow once the match started. Dennis, Daisy, and the others just stood quietly by the door, not daring to move or interrupt since Steve’s voice was quite loud. Suddenly, Sasha tilted her head, looking past Steve, and immediately waved at Dennis, Daisy, and the others who were standing frozen by the door.

Steve turned around, and everyone saw the new core team at the entrance, along with Rika and Elisa. Steve smiled and turned back to Ivan and the others.

"Alright, that’s enough for now. I’m confident you can make quick decisions. I have to go back and meet with the Willow teachers and the hunter guild staff," Steve said.

"Understood, sir," Ivan, Sasha, Brad, Hyunjin, Minji, and Akira replied.

Steve turned and left. As he passed Gary, Olivia, Dennis, Daisy, Jason, and Kimberly, he smiled and squeezed each of their shoulders one by one before exiting. Once the door closed, Rika and Elisa immediately approached Akira and Brad. Gary, Dennis, and Jason were shocked to see Brad looking so cheerful, with his arm around Elisa’s waist, while Elisa wrapped her arms around Brad’s neck.

Without delay, Gary and Jason stepped forward and pulled Brad toward Dennis, while Daisy, Olivia, and Kimberly talked with Sasha and Minji. Ivan and Hyunjin also walked over to join Gary, Jason, Dennis, and Brad by the door, leaving Elisa to chat with Rika and Akira.

"Whoa... aren’t you moving a bit too fast finding a replacement?" Gary asked.

"Yeah, seriously man. She isn’t just a rebound because you didn’t want to be alone, right?" Jason added.

"I don’t think I even need to add to that question," Dennis joined in.

"No way. I know it seems too fast since my divorce isn’t even finalized yet, but Elisa also got divorced last month. When Sasha introduced us, we just clicked. Everything feels easy with her. To be honest, I don’t know where this relationship is headed, but so far, it feels positive," Brad replied.

"It’s only been a few days, right?" Dennis asked, looking confused.

"I was introduced to Elisa last month, but we really only clicked over the last week and a half. She... understands what I’m going through because it turns out she’s in the same boat. Her ex-husband was from another school and he cheated on her with a classmate; she gets how I feel," Brad answered.

"Hmm... are you sure it’s not just because you both went through something similar and now you’re just trauma bonding?" Gary asked again.

"I don’t know for sure. I just know that being with her feels comfortable and easy. Besides, we’re still living apart; we haven’t moved in together. We plan to take things slow at our own pace, and Elisa definitely isn’t a rebound because she made it clear from the start that she didn’t want to be one," Brad said reassuringly.

"I see. I just hope you don’t end up disappointed again. I’m just shocked; you moved on so fast," Jason said.

"Thanks, man," Brad said.

"Hey... drop it. The important thing is he’s focused on his job again, and the results are good, right? No need to keep interrogating him," Ivan interjected.

"True. I know you guys are surprised, but... whatever. As long as things are going well," Hyunjin added.

"Well... just don’t let it end up like last time. Just a reminder," Gary replied.

"We all saw how he was a total mess and moped around, didn’t we?" Dennis added, pointing at Brad.

"Yeah, sorry about all that before. Anyway, what did you guys think of our performance just now?" Brad asked, changing the subject.

"It was cool. The six of us definitely have a lot to learn from your squad," Gary answered.

Finally, they began discussing the first round that had just ended. According to Ivan, it was actually their first time fighting a Chimaera Beetle as well. They had simply spent their time discussing the monster’s abilities and figuring out how to counter them, truly making the most of the five minutes provided to talk strategy and refine their offensive plan. Dennis, Gary, and Jason listened to the explanations from Ivan, Brad, and Hyunjin, and they continued to chat casually.

***

Meanwhile, on the other side, Daisy, Olivia, and Kimberly were chatting with Sasha and Minji, apparently talking about the girls from the Willow team.

"Beat that Brigitte girl down, okay? If I could go down there myself, I’d handle her personally. The nerve of her, trying to move in on my husband," Olivia muttered.

"But Gary didn’t react to her, right?" Sasha asked.

"No, but she kept pushing and even challenged us at first, betting that if we lost, we’d have to hand our husbands over to them. Such total trash, right?" Olivia answered.

"Hmm... true. During the negotiations, they mentioned wanting to fight you because it turns out you’ve been famous ever since you defeated those crawlers on the train tracks and closed the dimensional rift there... it seems those girls have been targeting Gary, Dennis, and Jason since they saw that footage," Minji mused.

"That’s just it. When we met at the restaurant, they recognized us instantly and even pushed their table against ours just to be near Dennis... that girl named Natasha treated me like I was just a third wheel. It really ticked me off," Daisy replied irritably, folding her arms across her chest.

"Exactly. That girl Harumi was waving at Jason non-stop and wouldn’t stop staring at him. She even pulled out her smartphone and pointed at it while looking right at Jason, clearly asking for his number even though I was standing right next to him. They seriously have a death wish," Kimberly muttered, adding to the frustration.

"Oh, no wonder you guys asked us to crush them. I heard from Mr. Steve that you even asked to swap places with us. Why didn’t you tell us the whole story yesterday instead of just giving the order?" Sasha asked, finally seeing the full picture.

"We were embarrassed to talk about it," Olivia said.

"True," Daisy and Kimberly added in unison. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Relax, we can definitely handle them. Honestly, we were going to give you guys a shot at first, but when we heard they were trying to make a bet, the rest of us stepped up immediately because we weren’t having any of that. Even if they claim they’re just following their school rules, just wait... they’re strong, I’ll admit, but they are still incredibly green, right Sasha?" Minji said, turning to look at Sasha beside her.

"Yep, exactly. It’s clear they’ve never handled a real-world situation or felt what it’s like to be a genuine hunter. In fact, if you ask me, you guys actually have more experience than they do, so just leave it to me and Minji, okay?" Sasha said casually.

"Okay, we’ll leave it to you," Olivia replied with a smile.

"Right, we’ll be cheering you on from the stands," Daisy added, placing her hands on both of her seniors’ shoulders.

"Just don’t lose. I clearly trust you and believe in you; I’ll be praying hard that you don’t lose," Kimberly added while holding Sasha and Minji’s hands.

They finally chatted casually, then everyone joined in the conversation. Brad officially introduced Elisa to the others once again, and Sasha also introduced Elisa, who turned out to be her childhood friend. Dennis glanced at Elisa again, and this time he really took her in; Elisa seemed calm, more put-together and mature compared to Bella.

She looked independent and wasn’t shallow like his childhood friend, who was known for being a wild girl even if she hadn’t been caught yet. Then he also looked at Brad, who seemed relaxed, looking like his true self without any pretenses and at peace standing next to Elisa, it was so different from when he saw Brad with Bella, and it allowed him to see Brad in a completely different light,

"Well, at least this time he won’t get the wrong idea about me again, even if I still can’t quite call him a friend beyond just someone I know," Dennis muttered in his heart, refusing to admit that he was actually starting to see Brad as a friend because the sting of Brad’s past treatment still lingered in his soul.

They all sat relaxed on the locker room benches, sipping from their water bottles and chatting to pass the rest of the break. Once the time was up, the alarm sounded again. Ivan and his team immediately stood up and walked out of the locker room alongside Dennis, Daisy, Gary, Olivia, Jason, Kimberly, Rika, and Elisa. Once they were out front, Ivan turned to look at his juniors and thrust his fist forward.

"Leave it to us. We’re heading out now," Ivan said, smiling.

"Yeah," Dennis, Daisy, Gary, Olivia, Jason, and Kimberly replied, bumping their fists against Ivan’s.

Then Brad, Hyunjin, Minji, Sasha, and Akira bumped fists too, followed by Rika and Elisa. After that, the two groups turned and walked in opposite directions down the corridor—Ivan and his team heading back into the arena, while Dennis, Daisy, and the others walked back toward the spectator seats.