Rafka shot the musclehead man a furious glare. "Get your damn hand off her," he growled, his left fist clenching so tightly a faint crimson glow began to flicker around it.
The anger he had been trying to suppress started rising to the surface after hearing the man's harsh words.
"Whoa, whoa!" Kenny quickly grabbed his shoulder. "Easy, dude. It'll only get worse if you lose your temper too."
Things escalated almost instantly.
Several participants standing closest to them immediately backed away. An empty circle slowly formed around them. No one wanted to get caught in the middle of a conflict between a Mythical Armor wielder and a selection exam participant.
The thug was still standing there with a fistful of Ayu's hair in his hand. "Well?! What happened? Cat got your tongue?!"
Ayu clicked her tongue. "Oh?" She tilted her head slightly, as if genuinely disappointed by what she was seeing.
With a sharp motion, she slapped his hand away from the girl's hair. "You think you belong in ARMOR?" she said, her voice calm, but cutting. "That's funny. Did those useless muscles convince you you're special?"
Her lips curled into a faint, cold smile.
"How disgusting."
It was like looking at a completely different Ayu. Normally, she spoke in a flat tone and rarely displayed her emotions openly.
But now her eyes were sharp, her voice had risen, and her entire body radiated anger that was impossible to hide.
The man, however, looked completely unapologetic. There was only arrogance and anger.
"That's enough!" A deep, authoritative voice suddenly echoed throughout the arena.
Everyone immediately turned toward the source.
Captain Rangga was walking toward them.
"Ayu, please don't interfere with the examination," he said to Ayu before turning his gaze toward the man. "And you. What's your name? Ah, never mind. You're disqualified."
The arena, which had been noisy moments ago, suddenly fell silent. Several participants even exchanged looks of disbelief.
The man stormed toward the Captain, his face red with rage, veins bulging in his neck.
"The hell is that supposed to mean?! I got the highest score out here!"
Captain Rangga didn't so much as blink. "So?" The single word hit harder than a shout
The man froze for a fraction of a second.
Captain Rangga turned his gaze toward the orange-ribboned girl, who had already been helped back to her feet. "I saw what happened."
His voice remained calm. "You knocked her down on purpose." The Captain's eyes narrowed slightly. "Then you walked away."
His expression now hardened. "You didn't help her up. You didn't even look back."
The arena had gone completely silent.
"A Knight's duty is to protect people." Captain Rangga took a step forward. "If you're willing to hurt someone weaker than you just to get ahead, then you have no place in ARMOR."
The man's face twisted. "That's bullshit!"
"No." The Captain's voice cut through the arena like a blade. "What's bullshit is you thinking your score matters more than your character." He pointed toward the exit. "You're done here."
The man's eyes widened.
"Get off my field." The Captain's gaze turned cold. "I won't allow someone like you anywhere near my unit!"
The man's face grew even redder. His jaw tightened so hard that the strained veins on his face became even more pronounced.
Then, in frustration, he kicked the ground, sending a thin cloud of dust into the air. After that, he turned around and stormed off the field, continuing to curse both the Captain and Ayu as he left.
The participants standing in his path immediately stepped aside and made way for him.
Not a single person tried to stop him.
One or two participants whispered quietly among themselves, commenting on the Captain's decision and claiming he was merely defending his own subordinates.
Captain Rangga raised a hand. "Enough. Show's over."
Instantly, every conversation died.
"Back to your positions." His tone left no room for argument. "We're continuing right now."
The crowd dispersed without much additional noise.
They returned to their respective places while the staff prepared to continue the interrupted test.
On the other side of the field, Ayu approached the orange-ribboned girl.
The little girl's clothes were slightly dirty from dust. Parts of her skirt and sleeves still looked dull from hitting the ground.
"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" Ayu asked, looking her over.
The orange-ribboned girl visibly jumped when Ayu suddenly addressed her. "No, I'm okay!" the girl stammered, shaking her head so quickly that her orange ribbons bounced along with the motion.
She lowered her head into a hurried bow. "Thank you for worrying about me." Her fingers fidgeted nervously with the edge of her sleeve. 'Um ... I should probably get back now."
After one last awkward bow, she quickly hurried back toward the other participants.
The whistle sounded once more, the participants moved again, and the arena returned to its previous bustle.
"You three. Didn't I tell you not to use your armor? Was I not clear?"
All three of them immediately stiffened.
The Captain stood before them with a gaze far more terrifying than usual. His face looked incredibly frightening, even twice as frightening as normal.
Big Sis Narrator wasn't exaggerating! Captain Rangga's face really is terrifying right now! If this scene had an illustration, you'd understand!
"It's because of me that they were forced to use their armor." Ayu stepped forward and stood before the Captain. "So it's all my fault. I'm sorry, Captain. I'm ready to accept punishment."
The Captain folded his arms. "You may have had your reasons. That doesn't change the fact that I gave an order, and the three of you broke it."
He swept his gaze across the three of them. "Starting tomorrow, you're all on punishment duty for three days is administrative work and toilet cleaning."
***
Rafka immediately let out a long breath after the Captain finally walked away. "My heart's been through enough for one day," he complained while clutching his chest.
Kenny casually draped an arm over Rafka's shoulders. "Well, that was exciting. Now I'm hungry. Cafeteria?"
A second later, he added, "Man, now I want rendang. You thing the cafeteria has any?"
Rafla stared at him. "You know? It's actually kind of impressive how nothing ever seems to scare you."
***
It was now noon, lunchtime and break time for the examination participants.
The cafeteria, which had been nearly empty that morning, was suddenly flooded by dozens of hungry and thirsty participants who had just completed the physical examinations.
The sounds of conversation mixed with the clinking of utensils filled the room. Long lines had already begun forming in front of the food stalls.
Having already finished eating, Rafka, Ayu, and Kenny decided to leave before the crowd became even worse.
After only a few steps away from the cafeteria, a voice stopped them. "Excuse me," she said.
The three of them turned around simultaneously.
It was the orange-ribboned girl they had seen earlier in the training arena.
"Oh, the participant from before," said Rafka.
The girl looked nervous. Her left hand covered part of her slightly reddened face, while her right hand clutched a plastic bag.
"You!" Ayu immediately grabbed the girl's shoulders. "Who hurt you now? Point them out."
"No." The girl hurriedly shook her head. The two orange ribbons in her hair bounced along with the motion. "No one hurt me."
She took a small breath before continuing,
"I was wondering ....." She lowered her head and clutched the plastic bag in both hands.
For a few seconds, she seemed to be gathering every ounce of courage she had.
Then she finally looked up. "I was wondering if you'd ... like to have lunch with me." Her voice grew quieter with every word.
Rafka, Ayu, and Kenny exchanged glances.
"You all helped me earlier, and I never properly thanked you." She nervously lifted the plastic bag and opened it just enough to reveal a lunchbox inside.
"I made some snacks myself." The tips of her ears gradually turned red. "They're probably not very good, though ...."
As if embarrassed by her own words, she quickly raised the lunchbox until it covered the lower half of her face.
Only her eyes remained visible above it, darting nervously from side to side. "But if you don't mind ...," she mumbled. "I'd really like it if you three joined me."
"Sure!" Before she could finish her sentence, Ayu had already nodded firmly and grabbed the girl's hand, pulling her away from the cafeteria. "Let's go."
"Eh?" The girl managed only a confused sound before being dragged away. "Ehhh?"
Rafka and Kenny exchanged looks before jogging after them.
Kenny watched the two of them for a moment before laughing softly. "Those two are already acting like friends." He grinned. "I'd hate to see her fail after that."
***
Ayu led the orange-ribboned girl to the spectator stands overlooking the training arena because, according to her, it was much more comfortable than the overcrowded cafeteria.
Besides, nearly all the participants were gathered in the cafeteria, making the stands extremely quiet.
"Here." The girl opened the plastic bag she had been carrying.
Inside was a lunchbox filled with homemade traditional pastries.
They immediately spotted green rolls of dadar gulung, coconut-covered klepon, soft apem cakes, neatly wrapped lemper, and colorful pieces of cenil.
They were the kind of old-fashioned market snacks people didn't see very often anymore nowadays.
"Wow," Kenny said, his eyes lighting up. "It's been ages since I've had traditional market snacks like these." Without hesitation, he immediately grabbed a piece of apem cake.
Rafka took one as well, though much more cautiously than Kenny.
"By the way, what's your name?" Ayu asked while tilting her head slightly. "We haven't introduced ourselves yet."
She pointed at herself. "My name is Ayu." Then she pointed at Rafka. "He's Rafka."
Then she pointed at Kenny, who was busy chewing. "And that shameless bottomless pit over there is Kenny."
Kenny simply gave a thumbs-up without looking offended in the slightest. "Yep! I'm Kenny Erlangga!"
The girl smiled faintly. "I'm Liyanna. Liyanna ... Anggraini," she said shyly. "Nice to meet you."
After that, the conversation flowed naturally.
They chatted, joked around, and enjoyed Liyanna's homemade snacks together.
Before long, the atmosphere became so comfortable that it felt like they had been friends for years.
Because of that, Rafka secretly began hoping she would pass the selection exam.
"Liyanna," Rafka called after a while, "may I ask why you're taking this selection exam?"
Liyanna turned toward him. "Eh?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean that in a bad way." He quickly waved his hands. "I just noticed you seemed to be struggling a little more than some of the others during the physical test."
The faint smile on Liyanna's face gradually faded. Slowly, she set down the pastry she had been eating. "My family runs a small tradisional snack shop."
Her voice dropped even lower, "It's just a small shop. We haven't had many customers lately, and my parents are having a hard time keeping things afloat."
She lowered her gaze. "Especially since my little sibling has been sick."
The atmosphere around them gradually quieted.
"My father ended up borrowing money from loan sharks," Liyanna continued softly. "The interest was ... really high."
Her fingers tightened together in her lap. "A few days ago, the repayment deadline came. But we still didn't have enough money. My parents begged them to give us more time."
She paused. Her eyes had begun to glisten. "They did ...," she said with a small nod. "but only for one week. If we can't pay everything back by then, they'll take our shop."
No one spoke.
Even Kenny stopped chewing.
Liyanna took a slow breath. "So ... I secretly signed up for ARMOR's selection exam."
She lowered her head again. "I was hoping I'd pass. And then ...," Her face gradually turned red, all the way to the tips of her ears.
"I know this probably sounds selfish ...," She let out a small, embarrassed laugh. "but I really need this."
Her fingers tightened around the edge of her skirt. "I ... wanted to ask for an advance on my first paycheck." The words came out so quietly they were almost a whisper.
"So I could pay off my family's debt ... and help cover my sibling's school expenses."
Silence followed.
Rafka and Ayu simply listened.
Neither of them had expected her reason to be this heavy.
Meanwhile, Kenny calmly reached for another pastry. "In that case," he said casually, as if discussing the weather, "I'll just pay it."
Three pairs of eyes immediately turned toward him.
Kenny blinked. "The debt, I mean. And your sibling's school expenses too." He popped the pastry into his mouth. "All the way through graduation, if needed."
The silence somehow became even heavier.
"What?" Kenny asked, looking back and forth between them with complete innocence. "Why are you all staring at me like that?"
Ayu immediately glared at him.
Rafka did exactly the same.
"And don't worry about it. No need to pay me back. Just think of it as helping each other," Kenny added casually.
Liyanna shook her head vigorously. "No! Please don't." She looked at Kenny seriously. "I want to help my parents with my own efforts. Even though they told me not to take this test."
The girl gave a faint smile. "If I fail, I'll look for another job. Maybe at a shop or convenience store."
Kenny nodded slowly. "Why not try applying for a government office job?"
Liyanna blinked. "Eh?"
"It may not be as cool as becoming a Knight." Kenny shrugged. "But it's stable work, and the paycheck arrives on time."
Liyanna let out a small laugh. "I ... don't have that kind of confidence."
"Then there's another option," Ayu said. "Apply for an administrative position in the Fourth Division. The pay isn't as good as a Knight's, but it's still a job."
Liyanna instinctively stared in confusion. "Administrative position?"
Ayu nodded. "Not everyone in ARMOR is a Knight. There are office staff, logistics personnel, finance staff, and many other departments."
"Wow ...," Liyanna looked genuinely surprised. "I never even thought about that."
"Being a Knight is definitely cool." A small smile appeared on Ayu's face. "But this organization couldn't function with only people who know how to fight."
Liyanna lowered her head again. "But I'm not actually smart." Both hands clenched against her knees. "People always say I'm slow to think and slow to act."
"That's fine," Ayu replied without hesitation. "Not everyone is great at everything." Then she glanced at Rafka. "For example, Rafka can't eat pickles at all."
One of Rafka's eyebrows immediately rose. "Do you always have to use me as an example?" He sigh. "Besides, everyone's allowed to like different foods."
Kenny laughed.
Liyanna laughed too, though still shyly.
Ayu gently patted Rafka's shoulder. "But I still think you're cool."
With an awkward, clumsy motion, Rafka brushed Ayu's hand away. "What was that for? You can't insult me and then compliment me right after."
The rest of their break passed peacefully, and before long, fifteen minutes had gone by.
Liyanna placed her lunchbox back into the plastic bag and stood up. "I should go back now." She gave a small bow. "See you later. And thank you very much again."
The three of them waved as the girl walked toward the other participants to prepare for the next examination.
Kenny watched her until her figure grew more distant. "She's tougher than she looks" he muttered with a grin. "It's rare to meet someone like her. Interesting."
"Hey, Food Vacuum." Rafka glanced at Kenny's hands, both still packed with Liyanna's snacks. "You really have no shame, huh?"