True God In Another World (Tensura x Tbate)

Chapter 72 - The final match

Arthur Leywin POV

Can't go five steps without hearing someone talking about the upcoming Sylvia vs. Stefan match. Not that I blame them - both of them put on quite a show in their previous fights. Stefan's gravity magic during his match with Loid? That was something else. The way he bent space itself had even the professors looking impressed.

And Sylvia... well, her match against Lucas was basically an art performance. The way she handles multiple elements? It's like watching someone conduct an orchestra, except the orchestra is made of fire, water, and wind.

But, despite the atmosphere around me, something's been bugging me. You know that feeling when you walk into a room and can tell something's off, but can't quite put your finger on it? That's what it's like watching Rimuru and Sylvia these days.

Just yesterday, I was helping set up the main hall when I saw it happen again. Sylvia walked in with some paperwork, saw Rimuru by the stage, and did this weird little pause thing. Then she just... handed her papers to Claire and left. No explanation, no nothing.

The thing is, I remember how they used to be. Like that time they spent an entire afternoon trying to teach the first-years basic shield spells, cracking jokes and finishing each other's sentences. Now they've got this whole elaborate dance going where they somehow manage to never be in the same place at the same time.

"You're overthinking it," Ciel told me the other day, but even she looked concerned. And when Ciel's concerned about something..... well, that's when you know it's serious.

I'd tried approaching Sylvia about it, carefully dancing around the subject during training sessions. "Everything's fine, Arthur," she'd say, with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Just busy with festival preparations." But I'd seen her handle pressure before - this was different.

Tried to talk to Rimuru about it too. You know what he did? Started critiquing my stance during yesterday's training session. Classic Rimuru deflection technique - when in doubt, turn into a teacher.

Real smooth, brother. Real smooth.

The weird part is watching them both try to act normal and... kind of failing at it? Like during lunch last week- Rimuru walked into the dining hall, saw Sylvia at our usual table, and suddenly remembered some "urgent paperwork." The guy didn't even grab food. And this is my brother we're talking about - Mr. "Never Skip Meals, Arthur."

Sometimes I catch Rimuru just... staring into space when he thinks no one's looking. Got this expression I've never seen before - kind of makes me want to punch something, you know? Or someone. Still figuring that part out.

I'm starting to wonder if I should do something. Say something. But what? "Hey, bro, notice you've been acting weird lately. Want to talk about why you and Sylvia are avoiding each other like one of you caught the plague?"

Yeah, that'd go over well.

At least the festival's been a success. Their planning was perfect - gotta give them that. Even with... whatever this is going on, they managed to pull off something amazing. Just wish they could actually enjoy it together instead of this weird shadow dance they're doing.

Maybe after the final match...

Who am I kidding? When did my brother ever make things easy?

I've tried everything short of locking them in a room together. Casual chats? Check. Dropping hints to Tess? Check. Even tried getting Claire to spill something during training. Nothing. Either everyone's clueless or they're keeping secrets better than the royal treasury.