To Survive A Harem System - Lucas Owens' Edition

17 - The Gravity Of The Truth

Another day, another lunch...

This time, they finally got an order of fruit snacks. At long last, I can have a little treat for my efforts.

"You love fruit snacks don't you?" Aqua commented, staring at my plastic tray.

"Yeah. It's a staple of my childhood." I replied. "They still taste as good as I remember them being."

"You have three packs of them..." Aqua pointed out.

"So?" I replied, opening another pack.

"Hey guys!" I heard Ruby greet, walking over.

I looked over and something in my gut twisted.

She had someone with her and, upon seeing them, Aqua growled a little under her breath.

"This is my boyfriend. Damian, these are some of my other friends." Ruby stated, smiling with her arms wrapped around him.

Ugh... This the worst possibility! Her boyfriend is DAMIAN!? How can I beat the living hell out of this guy when he's the boyfriend of one of my friends!?

I saw everybody else's jaw drop except for Aqua.

Suddenly, John appears behind the two of them and put his arm on Damian's shoulder.

"Well, Damian. It's been a while, huh?" John said. "You've certainly gotten more popular since we last met..."

I saw Damian freeze and his facade of confidence breaks for a second before putting his mask back on. The satisfaction I gained from that was better than I had expected.

Wait- When did John appear behind them? He was just right next to me.

"Johnson... You're back. W-what do you want?" Damian asked, his voice a little shaky.

John smiled before walking back his his seat.

"Just greeting a familiar face. That's all." John replied.

This is way too damn weird!

"Ho-" I said before I was cut off.

"How do you guys know each other? I heard that this guy's the strongest student in the school!" El asked, intrigued of the little conversation between them just now.

"Oh that. When you stayed up in the Earth Realm, I visited mom now and then. I had access to the school. That's where I met Damian." John explained.

"Then what's with the tension here?" A question slipped out unconsciously.

"Oh, I roughed him up a little. I beat him in a duel and he was being a sore loser back then!" John reminisced. "Ah... Good times."

Wait... So that was also true!?

"What's with that look?" John asked, noticing the look on my face.

"Johnson Cloud, the former strongest in the school. That's who he is." Ruby spoke up. "News spread around like wildfire, making John out to be clawing his way back to the top and the rankings got a little switched. Like during Lucas and Aqua's match where she was demoted to third."

"This guy!? Really!?" El spoke up. "I knew he was stronger than me... But strongest of the entire school!?"

"That's... right." Damian muttered.

"So, John. You're going to take your rank back?" Damian added, chuckling.

I felt the act behind that laugh. He was really worried about losing his rank, his prestige.

"Nah." John smiled. "Keeping up with ranks is too bothersome! Some people just go too far with ranks."

"Well, it was nice meeting you all." Damian smiled at us.