Chapter 140: The Room

Jim noticed the fiery gazes from his team towards the reporter while the girls just sneered and raised their chins high.

"C'mon, let our star have his moment," Rana pushed them like she was a hen pushing her chicks. They all glanced at Jim in envy while the reporter only smiled as she said:

"I'm Lara, a reporter for the local weekly magazine of the academy. I'm so honored to meet the one who revived the fairy pantheon and caused all this stir inside the academy. May I know how you feel about all this?"

Jim smiled as he said, "I'm proud of all that I have done so far."

"That's expected," the girl said while moving to the side while her hair shimmered in purple sparks once again like she was showing this off. "Your name was connected lately to the Twisex race and especially the two girls in your team. May you say a word to their fans and tell them if they are off limits or available?"

Jim felt weird about this question, and he only said, "No comment."

The girl's face changed slightly before returning to the joyful look she seemed to fake to an extreme degree. "What about the game? Inside you have your moments where you pull off strange moves. As a human it's something that would seem suspicious, so can you explain this to our audience?"

"Sorry I've to prepare for the next match," Jim excused himself as he didn't like her tone in questions or their hidden meaning. She glanced at him before sneering for a moment then she turned to the defeated team and ignored all before taking Pol and that dirty hitter to the side and started a long talk with them.

And Jim noticed this before catching up with his team.

"Oh, I thought you'd take her with you to your mansion," Rana laughed as she teased the girls around.

"Rana… stop these cheap moves," Mera stood up for her cheering squad girls, "my girls aren't any less than any ace beauty in the academy."

"I know, I know," Rana raised both hands as she acted innocent, "I was just trying to joke here."

"She was… rude," Jim ignored their remarks and said what he felt, "she seems to be here to belittle our victory."

"This…" Rick suddenly had a change in his face, "I should go and teach her a lesson then!"

"Stop yourself and don't fall for such a low trick," Rana shook her head, "that Pol… he never changes."

"Is this his doing as well?" Deno asked while clenching his fists.

"He is always like that," Mera sighed, "a very distasteful giant even when he was a disciple."

"You were with him?" Jenny couldn't help but ask.

"Me, Rana, and many others," Mera said like it was a known fact, "since he was a disciple with us and he was always the source of trouble and dirty schemes."

"He is just a jerk, that's all," Rana said, "now let's go to our room and wait for our turn."

"Room?" Kro asked in surprise, "do we really have a room here?"

"Of course, we have won one game and now we are a runner for the final tickets to the ace league," Rana chuckled, "follow me, I know whom to ask."

They followed her while she passed through some halls and corridors before finally ending in front of a Kroak master.

"You two did great in the game," this was the first the master said to Kro and Roo, "I'm proud of you two, and I believe if you manage to reach the ace league then you'll make the entire Kroaks clan proud."

"Thanks master," the two said in deep respect while Rana took him to the side and started a short discussion before he gave her a small bronze key and turned to Jim.

"You are a very good ace, keep impressing the audience like you did and you'll create a great name for yourself."

"Thanks master," Jim politely responded over the praise while Rana held the key the same way Jim was holding the ball of the match. "Follow me, thanks Remond."

"You're welcome."

She didn't forget to thank the master who patted on the shoulders of Kro and Roo in support before the team exited the hall and started to walk into a maze.

Yet Rana seemed to know where she was heading to.

"Enter here," she said after opening the door, "this will be our room from now on."

The room was spacious, unlike the feeling Jim and others got from the outside. "It's enchanted," Rana simply said before heading towards a round table and sat on a large seat there, "to accommodate the large number of teams playing here."

"Why do I feel like there is more to it?" Jim said while sitting beside her.

"What do you mean?" she said in a tone that told him he was right.

"I mean about this room… it seems it holds some meaning to you."

"Oh… it just brings back some old memories… that's all."

"She was first assigned to her first team before joining the queens," Mera said as she sat over another seat, "she wasn't part of the queen at first y'know."

"Oh, where is your old team then?" Rick asked with curiosity while the two Kroaks were much interested in hearing the story.

"They… got disbanded shortly after I left them," she sighed and said in a very depressed tone.

"She didn't want to join the queens, can you even believe it?" Mera laughed and the instant glance Rana gave to her as a warning explained a lot without saying a single word.

"Alright, let's rest here," Rana stretched her arms, "I'm really exhausted after all that useless debate with that jerk."

"I hope he won't join any team anymore," Kro said in some anger.

"He can't do that," Mera was the one to respond, "after all he had to wait until his team was expelled from the competition before joining another."

"Or he can sign a pro contract with another team," Rana softly muttered, "and I bet he will."

"But…" Mera paused before adding, "if he did that he had to stick with that team and not leave it until the end of the season."

"So he would choose a very hard rock to crack kind of a team," Rana said, "and we should be ready for that."

She suddenly stood up and moved towards the door. "Where are you going?" Jim asked with doubt.

"To get intel of course," she casually said before closing the door.

"Leave her alone for now," Mera advised, "let her vent the anger swelling inside over Pol instead of you."

And her words gained the agreement of all without exception.