Meanwhile, Agata wiped the sweat on her forehead and walked to Alea, the person who just defeated her. She extended her hand with a smile. "I guess I understand the reason why you're the team leader…"
Diego stared at Agata with a mysterious gaze as the latter noticed Alea's state and assured, "Don't worry. The effect will be gone in ten to fifteen minutes. As long as you're in the waiting room with your teammates, you won't attack a random person. Besides, it's not like you're going to do it with your boy—Ahem, teammate, right?"
Alea took a deep breath and shook her head, only to find her senses were greatly enhanced as her mind became fuzzy.
"Well, you can also seek professional help, but my skill won't leave a permanent effect, especially to a person with a strong mentality like you." Agata then turned to Diego. "I believe this is fine, right?"
"If the effect disappears within fifteen minutes, yes. If not, we will need to seek professional help along with some penalty to the entire team." Diego nodded with a calm expression then looked at Alea. "Will that be alright?"
Alea nodded her head timidly as she just wanted to hide right now.
As Alea was about to turn around, Agata hugged her while whispering something to her before leaving the arena with a smile.
Alea's face was red as she couldn't bear it anymore. She quickly ran to the waiting room, which was right after the gate.
Upon entering the room, Alea quickly leaped to Ellen and hugged her waist, burying her face on her lap.
"Wha—" Ellen was surprised because she didn't have time to congratulate her. "Alea, what's wrong?"
Alea didn't answer her. No, she couldn't reply unless she wanted others to see her expression.
Ellen was a bit worried about her, but Phyrill stated, "I think it's some sort of aftereffect of the enemy skill or the drawback of her own skill. According to the rule book, if it's the former and the effect lasts longer than thirty minutes, hindering someone from participating in the next round, our enemy will be disqualified. The home country will also need to make sure she recovers while receiving some punishment. Seeing the entire situation is not that bad, I think it will be gone sooner or later."
"Is that so?" Ellen was still a bit worried, but she decided to trust him. "I understand. If you need anything, please tell me, okay, Alea?"
Alea slightly nodded her head and kept her face down.
Phyrill then turned to Theo. "So, what's our plan for the next one? Will you and I go out this time?"
"I have two scenarios. The first scenario requires a sacrifice from Ellen and Sihan."
"Us?" Ellen widened her eyes while glancing over Sihan.
"Yes. You will be the one fighting in the next round. You can think of it as us throwing the match or concealing your skill for the next round. That's up to you. If you can't accept this, I and Phyrill will need to go forward, even if it means lowering the chance for us to win."
Ellen furrowed her eyebrows as no one liked to be a sacrifice for the team. Still, Ellen agreed with one question. "I can accept that condition, but I want to know how slim our winning chance is if it's the latter?"
"Thirty percent. The former is eighty percent."
"I understand. My side is fine, but I don't know if…" Ellen took a peek at Sihan's face, who happened to nod his head.
"We shall be today's sacrifices. As long as we keep winning, the chance is there. If we lose, it's over."
"Thanks." Theo smiled and continued, "For now, just rest for a little longer. You can only come out right before the time limit."
"Why?"
"They will be panicking right now and without any guarantee, Ignazio will surely send either himself or Enrica to ensure their second win. Unless he is someone who likes to gamble in overwhelming odds, they won't be together. After all, there will be me or Phyrill who can close this battle."
"I see. There's no hard feeling then." Ellen smiled. "Even so, we will try our best to win this competition for us."
"That's also the biggest respect we can give." Theo agreed without hesitation.
After the discussion, Ellen and Sihan waited for a while before leaving the room. Alea was reluctant to let her go, but she ended up letting her go. Her hair was a mess as she tried to hide her face by using her hair before walking to Theo.
"…" Theo raised his eyebrows and wondered what she needed from him.
Without saying a single word, Alea sat next to him. Since the chair was a long bench for everyone to use, she lifted her body to the bench, lying down with her head on top of Theo's lap.
"Hmm?" Theo was confused by her action and asked, "Do you need anything?"
Alea chose Theo because he was the closest to her aside from Ellen.
Alea gently shook her head and looked down, avoiding anyone from seeing her expression. At the same time, she remembered Agata's words before leaving the arena.
She said, "My Sexual Desire Skill is only reinforcing one's personal desire. If you don't have any desire at all, there won't be a single illusion. It means you have some sort of feeling for him and you have denied it the whole time.
"I just want you to know that I have never lied a single time since the competition. After knowing this and you still don't want him, I will visit Thersland and snatch him for myself and my country. That's all, see you later at the next banquet."
She asked for Ellen's help earlier because she couldn't face Theo. She had been telling everyone that she had no personal feelings for Theo since their relationship was simply a partnership.
With Ellen leaving, she wanted to go to the corner, but her body was more honest and came to Theo. Luckily, She didn't let anyone see her face to avoid anyone noticing her red face coming.
Whether she would be conscious of that feeling or ignoring it in the future, only Alea knew about it.
However, she currently blamed the skill effect for this predicament.