"Kusanagi Sora, I challenge you to a duel!"
Leaving a trail of dust, Ren Elsie Jewelria, wearing a girl's short skirt, ran up to him. The corner of Sora's mouth twitched violently, and he turned his head away.
He felt like his eyes had just been violated…
"Hahaha… Run-chan turned into Ren-chan again!"
"A boy… Run-chan turned into a boy!"
"Th-this is terrible! Run-san turned into a boy! This is a disaster!"
"Who is that guy? Why is he wearing a girl's skirt? Is he a pervert?"
Lala, Risa, and Mio chased after him, and a large crowd of boys and girls gathered around, pointing and whispering.
Ren finally realized he was still wearing Run's skirt. His face flushed red, and he quickly used the transformation bracelet Sora had given Run to change into a boy's outfit, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Ahem… everyone, please don't worry. This is a characteristic of Memorzorians. He is not Run, but Ren Elsie Jewelria, who shares a body with her," Sora explained simply, then turned to Ren.
"Ren-kun, what did you say just now? You want to duel me? Why?" he asked, trying to suppress a laugh.
"Yes, I want to duel you, Kusanagi Sora!"
"Let's compete to see who is more manly. The loser will voluntarily leave Lala-chan. Only the winner will have the right to be her fiancé. How about it?"
Having been bullied and tormented by Lala since childhood and developing a case of Stockholm syndrome, even though he knew Sora was her fiancé and they had already done everything, Ren couldn't just give up.
"Compete to see who is more manly? How?" Sora asked, his expression strange.
"Er… we can compete to see who can run faster, who is more popular with girls… anything that can prove who is more manly, we can compete in it!" Ren replied after a moment's thought, seeming quite confident.
"Heehee… this sounds like fun! Sora, Sora, you should compete with Ren-chan!" Lala, ever the troublemaker, bounced around, clinging to his arm and egging him on.
"You silly girl, settle down!" Sora said, tapping her on the head.
"If Ren-kun wants to compete, then let's compete. But let's skip the 'who is more popular with girls' part," Sora said.
Since he had nothing better to do, he didn't mind playing along. But this poor kid was already pitiful enough; he didn't want to crush him too badly.
"Alright! Then let's compete to see who can run faster first!" Ren said happily, as if afraid he would change his mind.
Sora shrugged. Though he didn't want to bully this poor kid, it was a good opportunity to extinguish his hopes for Lala once and for all.
Surrounded by a crowd of curious onlookers, they went to the starting line on the track.
"Contestants, please take your marks. Are you ready? The race is about to begin," Lala said, having changed into a referee's outfit. She put on a serious expression, looking quite official.
"I'm ready," Sora and Ren said in unison.
"Lala-chan, wait for me! I will definitely make you acknowledge my manliness!" Ren thought to himself, filled with excitement, already imagining himself trampling Sora underfoot, winning Lala's approval, and getting the girl.
As for Sora, he just yawned, looking bored and lazy.
"On your marks… 3… 2… 1… GO!"
Lala fired an energy blast into the sky, signaling the start.
"Aaaargh…"
Like a wild horse, Ren shot off, leaving a trail of dust, his speed astonishing.
Though not as powerful as a Devilukean, the harsh environment of their home planet had made Memorzorians physically superior to humans. And Ren had been training specifically to win Lala's approval, so he was quite impressive.
Well, of course, in Sora's eyes, he was just "not bad."
"Lala, what do you want for dinner tonight?"
To everyone's astonishment, Ren was already halfway around the track, but Sora hadn't even started. He was casually chatting with Lala about dinner…
"Sora-san…" Haruna, holding Rhea in the crowd, had a worried expression. She knew he was strong, but was it really okay for him not to start when the other guy was already almost done?
"He won't lose," Rhea said flatly, nibbling on her snack as she glanced at the worried Haruna.
Though she hated that wicked, detestable bastard to the bone, she had to admit his strength. The man who had defeated her couldn't possibly lose.
As for that Memorzorian kid, he was just a pitiful fool trying to reach for the stars, being toyed with by that demon.
"Mmm…"
Slightly taken aback, Haruna nodded lightly.
That's right, how could Sora-san lose?
Looking at him, still chatting and laughing with Lala, her heart was filled with a complex mix of envy and disappointment.
First it was Lala-san, now it's Run-san, and there were rumors about Tenjōin-senpai and the others. There were more and more girls around him, but as for her…
The girl's heart was filled with confusion…
"I guess I should start now."
Seeing Ren was almost back at the starting line, Sora stopped talking to Lala and got ready.
He took a starting stance, and with a roar, a gust of wind erupted as he shot forward, leaving the onlookers stunned.
"Almost there… Almost there…"
Seeing Sora just starting, Ren was a little angry. Was that Kusanagi Sora looking down on him? But besides anger, he was more excited. Since he was being so arrogant, this was his win for sure!
He pushed himself to his limits, about to cross the finish line and shout "I won!" to Lala, but just then—
"Yo, Ren-kun, you're still here?"
He felt a pat on his shoulder. He instinctively turned his head and saw a sight that made him look like he'd seen a ghost.
"Y-you…"
He was too shocked to speak. How could Sora, who had just started, have already caught up to him?!
"Though you're trying very hard, Ren-kun, I'm sorry, but I'm the winner of this race."
With a playful smile, Sora suddenly accelerated, crossing the finish line one step ahead of him.
"How could this be… how could this be…"
There were no cheers, no applause, and certainly no approval from Lala-chan. The crushed boy knelt on the ground, muttering to himself in disbelief.
"Hey, Ren-chan, are you okay? Don't be sad. There's no shame in losing to Sora," Lala said, after cheering for Sora for a while. She bounced over and crouched down, kindly comforting her childhood toy and friend.
"Waaah… Lala-chan…"
With tears streaming down his face, the poor kid was even more heartbroken by her comfort.
"This time doesn't count! Let's go again!"
Unwilling to accept defeat, Ren stood up and shouted at Sora.
"If you want, I'll play along," Sora replied with a playful smile. If the guy wanted to be abused, who was he to refuse?
The competition continued…
"Hah!!!"
With all his might, Ren threw a heavy shot put. It flew in a long arc and landed dozens of meters away, drawing gasps from the crowd.
"My turn."
With a faint smile, Sora walked up to the line, tossed the shot put in his hand a few times, and then casually threw it.
Zzzzt… As everyone stared in disbelief, the shot put shot into the sky like a meteor, leaving a trail of fire as it disappeared from sight.
"Er… I threw it off the planet," Sora said with a helpless expression, as if to say, I didn't mean to.
"This time doesn't count! Again!"
For the sake of winning Lala's approval, the brave and persistent boy had gone all out, challenging Sora again.
Swimming, high jump, weightlifting… they competed in every event he could think of, but the result was always the same. The tragic boy was completely and utterly dominated by the great demon king, time and time again.
Boom…
With a loud explosion, half of the tennis court was blown away. Lying in the rubble, Ren's eyes were spinning. He weakly raised a hand.
"A… gain…"
His voice was hoarse. But this time, the persistent boy didn't get up. He rolled his eyes and fainted.
Putting away his racket and hugging the cheering Lala, the great demon king had an expression of regret.
"Poor boy. I really didn't want to bully you…"