was the reason why the contempt and insults from Raios and Humbert had somewhat cooled down compared to the previous year. Kirito had emptied his cup, so Eugeo poured in another serving and his partner dribbled in a little milk before gently stirring it. It looked like he would still be wondering for a bit while skillfully spinning the silver teaspoon in his fingers, but he nodded once and spoke before long. "If they can't mess with our stuff, they can only go after us. In that case, the quick and easy way would be to challenge us to a first strike match and land a hit, but they've already tried that on you, Eugeo, and ended with a draw. Other than that, oh right, if I think about it... they could only bribe me with money to distance myself from Eugeo, I guess." "Eh..." Eugeo, who automatically let out that forlorn voice, was flustered and closed his mouth, but Kirito grinned and spoke pompously. "Don't you worry, kid. Big brother here won't just toss you aside." "I-I wasn't worrying about that! ...But putting money aside, what if they were to stack up those special meat buns from Gottlo's store?" "That might do the trick." After nodding with a deadpan expression at what Eugeo pointed out, he cheerfully laughed out loud. "Well, jokes aside, I don't think there's much cause for worry for anything aside from them messing with our property or us directly." But then, Kirito's expression tensed up and continued with a sober voice. "But if you were to turn that around, it wouldn't be strange for them to come up with anything as long as it doesn't touch on the Taboo Index or academy regulations. They likely don't have the slightest intention to surrender their positions as the head and second-ranked, after all... Eugeo, do try to think of anything we might have missed." "Yeah, I got it. There isn't even a month until the first official match. Let's both take care so that we can fight them in our best conditions." "Yeah. ...That said, it might just be a plan to make us worry by threatening us, huh. Let's not forget our composure and stay cool[2]."