Parallel Memory
chapter-168

[Lisa's POV]

I was heading towards the school gate with my friend Sylvia, only to discover that she had disappeared.

I looked around and she was there with Zero and Misha.

I also wanted to go there but seeing Zero, I felt a little awkward. I still don't know how to face Zero.

Her first impression was that he was blatantly pursuing her, which made her feel awkward. It would not be hard for her to talk to one of her pursuers but the reason why she didn't know how to face Zero was that he completely changed his attitude toward her.

His flirty attitude disappeared and he stopped to chase after her. It was not like she was depressed because of it, on the contrary, she felt a little relieved.

Focus on getting stronger should be the aim of every student or so she thought. She didn't want to focus on getting into a relationship or whatnot before ensuring she is strong.

However, Zero ignoring or not talking to her has caused a gap in their relationship. She didn't think she was close to Zero even when he was pursuing her but she didn't feel like a stranger since he was talking to her.

But right now, she felt like a stranger to him. It was not like Zero intentionally ignored her or held a grudge against her as she was once saved by Zero in the mid-term.

Therefore, she didn't feel very comfortable speaking with Zero.

She just continued to observe them from afar. They were talking to each other. With her sense, it was not very hard to eavesdrop on their conservation.

Though she thought it would be rude to listen to their conversation without their knowledge. She wanted to distract herself with other things when she heard,

'Zero, what is your rank?'

She heard Sylvia ask.

She instantly turned back and concentrated more on their conversation. Even if it was rude, she was curious about that so she continued to listen to their conversation.

Zero's rank might be one of Ace Academy's biggest secrets. Unlike other people, nobody knows what his rank is. She thought that maybe only Professor Mia knows.

He doesn't show or talk about his breakthrough. It also seemed like Zero did not bother updating his rank on his ID card.

She was naturally interested in knowing that. Zero is one of the strongest students of Ace Academy and even she was interested in his strength.

She also knows a little about Zero's history which is usually shared by Sylvia who seemed to get that information from Misha.

She knows that Zero had good talent in middle school but not to the degree shown nowadays. His rank went from triple-digit of First-year to number 2 of Ace Academy in less than one year.

Though she thought that he was a late bloomer, similar to Hiro. Hiro's talent was also not outstanding before entering the Ace Academy and he was considered quite ordinary in middle school.

Only after the Entrance Exam did he shine and become famous around the world. Zero was also like Hiro but only that Zero's strength was generally kept a secret.

Even if you know that he is strong, you don't know how strong. He was able to compete with Lisanna but three months have passed since then. Zero was not caught in school trouble like Hiro where he had to show his power every now and then.

There was always some student who seemed to be unsatisfied with Hiro. This could be because of his fame or maybe his handsome face that many people come to create problems for him.

During that time, Hiro had to subdue them forcefully. Hence, she can vaguely sense Hiro's strength and somewhat guess Hiro's strength.

But Zero was different. He didn't seem to fight even when a problem arose. He used to refrain from fighting with a weaker opponent during the first month when people like Erwin Flash were challenging him.

This was the time when he earned the nickname "Coward" which seemed to fit him at that time.

When he showed his strength, everyone realized how mistaken they were. He has surpassed many students of Ace Academy and even a second-ranked student of Ace Academy lost to him.

She listened carefully in anticipation of Zero's answer. Zero resisted for a bit and refused to answer Sylvia until he finally gave in.

Lisa involuntarily got closer to the three and carefully listened.

'I AM RANK-B'

( Rank-B!!! )

I was totally stunned. Rank-B!!! It was higher than the strongest person in the tournament, Omar Noel, who is apparently Rank-C +.

Rank-B, when he is just in first-year. It is really unfair. She was struck in Rank-D +, when someone of her age is already at Rank-B.

How could one be calm when confronted with such a big difference?

Lisa was shocked and felt somewhat depressed looking at her own progress. She, who is considered the princess of her guild, is left behind by a large margin.

'Did you two really think I would reach Rank-B? How old are you to believe that? 5-years? Haha…'

Zero laughed and was making fun of Sylvia.

-STOMP!

Lisa angrily stomped her feet. She can't believe that she was duped by Zero's word.

And while she knows that those words are not exactly aimed at her, she somewhat felt irritated by them. Like Sylvia, she also believed in his word, meaning that Zero indirectly mocked her with that statement.

If she was in Sylvia's position, she could not really control her anger. How can someone just lie like that?

While Zero laughed, Lisa glared at Zero. She also saw Sylvia looking at her for a bit and grinned.

( Was that my imagination? )

She definitely felt that Sylvia was grinning for a second.

'Zero, I didn't think that you would play with maiden hearts.'

Sylvia said that and then started acting pitiful. Zero, who was high over the moon and believed that Sylvia was very frustrated and didn't think she was currently acting.

'Haha… Serves you right! So what if I play with your heart?'

Zero continued. He was currently very satisfied.

Sylvia turned around and threw herself onto Lisa's hands.

"Lisa, you have to avenge me."

!!!

Zero also noticed Lisa and suddenly changed his attitude. He transitioned from acting like a hooligan to a gentleman. He kept his back straight and stopped laughing.

Knowing what Sylvia wanted to do, Lisa changed her expression from angry to calm.

Normally she would have scolded Sylvia for bringing her into her business but today she felt like playing along with her.

( Who told you to fool this lady? )

Lisa thought angrily/

"What happened?"

Lisa asked with genuine concern on her face.

She was acting like she didn't know what had happened to her. There was no way she would admit or let them know that she was listening to them.

"~Cry! Lisa, this bad guy dares to lie and not apologize to me. He was also making fun of me. ~WooooH!"

Sylvia truly acted like she had been wronged by Zero. If some guys were to see her, they would swear to kill Zero even if they have to sacrifice their life.

Under the gaze of others, Sylvia was smiling inside.

( I will let you know the price of making fun of me! Hehe…)

Sylvia thought.

[Zero's POV]

( Huh? I thought I was winning. Why did the role reverse? )

I had the perfect chance and I made fun of Sylvia for all the things that she did. Though I didn't expect her to run and get support from Lisa.

Lisa is the character who I should have courted and confessed to, though I threw those scripts in the dustbin a long time ago.

I was already courting her a bit and that made it rather awkward for me to get close to Lisa like Sylvia. If I tried to talk to her or approach her, others and the person herself will think that I was trying to make her like me.

To avoid that, I barely speak with her these days. I don't even approach or talk with the main characters due to this reason.

I don't want them to misunderstand my intention and that's why Sylvia is the only one from the main character's group that I am close with.

"What did you do to her?"

Lisa asked.

There was obvious anger in her voice.

( Goddess is really angry! )

Zero misunderstood the reason why Lisa was angry. From his point of view, Lisa was angry because the whole situation right now looks like he was bullying her friend. Though in reality, she was angry because she was also somewhat duped by him.

"Now, would you mind explaining to me?"

Lisa elegantly said.

Zero was definitely feeling the pressure right now.

( How come I, the overlord, am pressured by this little girl? )

Zero thought while feeling the need to explain himself.

"Ahem! Goddess Lisa, listen to me, I didn't really do anything to them."