"Me? That doesn't seem appropriate..."
Marco hesitated.
Putting aside Ichiya's misunderstanding of him, no matter how you looked at it, he wasn't particularly close with Hibiki.
Comforting him shouldn't have been his responsibility.
"It's perfectly appropriate, because..."
However, facing Marco's hesitation, Ichiya wore a strange expression.
He spoke with absolute certainty, as if this matter had something to do with Marco.
"?"
Looking at Ichiya's odd expression, Marco was utterly confused.
Then he suddenly realized something, and his entire being was shocked.
"Wait a minute! Ichiya-san, this has nothing to do with me. I may know Karen, but I absolutely don't have any improper relationship with her."
Marco looked incredulous.
He felt his current state could be simply summarized as "sitting at home when disaster strikes from the sky."
The way Ichiya had just looked at him was as if he were seeing a "third party," which nearly made him lose his mind.
"Really? But Hibiki said..."
Seeing Marco's serious expression, Ichiya was also bewildered.
If what Marco said was true, then was Hibiki lying?
But... why? Why would he say this had something to do with Marco?
"Did Hibiki say this was related to me?" Marco frowned as he asked the question.
Now he had no choice but to get to the bottom of this.
He didn't want to inexplicably bear the label of a "homewrecker."
If he had actually done it, fine—but he wouldn't accept blame for something he hadn't done.
"Yes. When I asked Hibiki what was going on, he said it was because of you."
Ichiya nodded seriously, his expression turning grave.
If this were just a matter of emotions, even if it wasn't handled properly, outsiders shouldn't interfere too much...
But if Hibiki was falsely accusing Marco, that was a different story.
Such baseless slander was no small matter.
Marco wasn't some nobody—he definitely wouldn't swallow such an insult.
In comparison, Hibiki and Karen were the nobodies here.
Provoking Marco like this was like an egg striking a rock.
"Let's go and see."
Marco nodded and followed Ichiya back to the Blue Pegasus guild to find Hibiki.
He needed to get to the truth of the matter.
....
"Ichiya-sensei, Marco-san, what brings you here?"
Hibiki, who had been sitting in a corner of the guild looking as if his entire world had turned gray, was shocked to see Ichiya and Marco approaching—especially surprised by Marco's presence.
"Didn't Marco-san already leave Blue Pegasus?" Hibiki voiced his confusion.
"That's exactly what I should be asking you..." Marco replied, exasperated.
However, judging by Hibiki expression, Marco had a hunch that there might be some misunderstanding here.
The way Hibiki looked at him didn't resemble the gaze one would give a homewrecker—instead, it was filled with respect and a hint of resignation.
"Ask me?" Hibiki was baffled.
He glanced at Marco, then at Ichiya.
Under Ichiya's meaningful look, he suddenly understood.
"Oh! Ichiya-sensei misunderstood! I didn't mean to imply that Marco-san and Karen had that kind of improper relationship..."
Hibiki explained with a mix of amusement and frustration.
He suddenly realized that his earlier words to Ichiya could easily be misunderstood.
Saying he broke up because of Marco would naturally make people assume a certain kind of relationship.
Who would have guessed it was because Karen hated Marco, while he deeply respected him?
"Ha?!"
After hearing Hibiki's explanation, Ichiya was utterly shocked.
His eyes widened in disbelief, clearly struggling to comprehend.
"Tsk! This is really..."
Marco couldn't help but click his tongue, though he took the news better than Ichiya.
His impression of Karen was already terrible, so her pulling something like this wasn't all that surprising—after all, that woman wasn't exactly right in the head.
"Karen has gone too far!" Ichiya was furious.
He felt Karen had crossed the line, treating Hibiki as less than human.
This wasn't a proper relationship—it was downright unreasonable!
"Honestly, this is for the best. Karen's personality makes her a terrible partner. Breaking up early is a good thing for you. If you split because she hated me, you could've just as easily broken up over something else later. Better a short pain than a long one. Freeing yourself from her sooner means a fresh start sooner."
Marco patted Hibiki on the shoulder, speaking earnestly.
Finally, he could say what he truly thought without worrying about ruining someone else's relationship.
"There are plenty of fish in the sea—why cling to one branch?"
Marco's words seemed to carry a strange power as they reached Hibiki's ears, sending him into a frenzy of mental reflection.
"Now that everything's cleared up, I'll take my leave."
Seeing the renewed spark in Hibiki's eyes and the misunderstanding resolved, Marco didn't plan to stay longer.
"Really... I'm sorry for the trouble." Ichiya spoke apologetically.
Since Hibiki was still standing there dumbfounded, it fell to him to apologize on his behalf.
"No worries. As long as the misunderstanding's cleared up."
Marco waved it off, glancing at Hibiki.
He genuinely hoped the young man would move on.
Compared to Karen, he had far more faith in Hibiki's future potential.
Traditional Celestial Spirit Magic had its limits—nowhere near as promising as his 'Celestial spirit magic' approach, let alone Hibiki's "Database Magic."
And with Karen's temperament, she couldn't even master the basics of traditional Celestial Spirit Magic.
Marco and Ichiya walked away together, but they hadn't gone far when Hibiki suddenly shouted from behind.
"I've got it! I've got it!"
Hibiki's face was alight with excitement, as if he'd just grasped the meaning of life.
Everyone turned to look at him in curiosity.
Marco, too, glanced back—only for Hibiki to rush up to him.
The handsome man seized Marco's hands with fervor, gazing at him like a disciple beholding his master.
"Marco-san! I've got it! I've got it!"
Hibiki repeated feverishly, his eyes burning with conviction.
"Alright you beast, what exactly have you got?"
Marco reflexively fired back, barely stopping himself from smacking Hibiki upside the head.
"There are plenty of fish in the sea! Why cling to a single flower? Men like us should strive to bring sunshine to as many flowers as possible! We must never let ourselves be tied down by just one blossom!"
Marco watched as Hibiki Lettuce spoke these words with utmost seriousness.
Though spouting nonsense, his eyes burned with the conviction of someone ready to join the Communist Party, making Marco completely lose his composure.
What truly shattered Marco's restraint was when the 'Saint System' suddenly popped up, granting Hibiki Lettuce official recognition.
'Ding!'
'Detected potential student candidate. Register student information?'
Staring at the system notification, Marco was utterly dumbfounded.