Let me be a mob! - Chapter 99- Team leader?

“Seriously, it’s surprising how you guys can patch up so quickly. I mean, it’s a good thing but still, it’s too sudden.” Dia’s statement was mutually shared by everyone in the group except for the duo in question.

The cafeteria was now entirely empty with the two seniors who were awaiting any kind of altercation, now on their way to continue their training and daily work. Eimi looked, annoyed to the point she might have initiated a brawl, if not for her classmate keeping a watch on her as well.

The group of six settled down after arranging chairs around a table. Since Jin was famished after yesterday’s incident and spending that much energy, he brought four trays of food first. Two for himself and one for Dia and Fiona respectively. Rena and Silvie already had their platter, half-eaten.

“Truth be told, Dia, a part of me never considered yesterday’s battle, a proper fight at all.” Aiden’s casual remark was responded to with a brief gasp from Silvie and raised brows from Rena.

“What do you mean?” Stabbing her fork in the fruit tart, Dia asked the obvious.

Aiden sighed a bit before he slumped even deeper in his seat and confessed something his mind registered after calming down, this morning, “For someone who has seen Jin destroying a whole army of monsters single-handedly, I knew that I couldn’t win against him.”

…well, that was new for everyone present here except for, of course, the person in question.

They have heard that some monster attack occurred during their stay in Dungeon City which was handled by Aiden and Jin alone but they never received any details. Well, Fiona was the most informed about that happenstance yet still she didn’t know about this army confrontation and such.

‘Oh lord…she isn’t going to let it slide…’ Jin held a sigh as he continued eating his high protein-containing meal.

However, because of being overly conscious of Fiona, he didn’t notice how Dia was looking at him with a complicated expression as well.

“You mean…he held back yesterday?” Silvie strangely raised the query, even though she majorly remains silent during group discussions.

Even she was extremely astonished to hear that even though the battle shook the whole school and left so many remnants behind, now Aiden states that his rival actually never gave his all.

Truly dumbfounding.

Aiden smiled slightly at that before responding with his eyes staring at nothing particular, “The very moment, Jin would have decided to use his spirit-based attacks, I would have been done for. Even Excalibur couldn’t withstand that much firepower.”

“”…””

Utter silence.

It was a statement that sounded almost ridiculous to believe.

An attack that could render the legendary sword Excalibur, useless? It was not about whether someone believed Aiden’s words or not, but rather, whether there was such a spell in existence to rival that sentinel weapon?

“Amazing…” Rena could only mutter under her breath, just by assuming how deadly Jin could get when he fights at his best.

The tingling sensation at the base of her neck made Rena eager to have another battle with Jin as soon as she could.

“Okay, let’s stop now. Indeed, I was holding back but not much to call it a free pass to victory, alright. Let’s not dwell on that and focus on the work at hand.”

Jin off-handedly dismissed the topic since he was concerned about the test he had to undergo along with his team(which has yet to form).

The atmosphere calmed down and so did Fiona. Remembering yesterday, she has taken an oath to control her temper and think carefully about what she says around Jin.

“A party, is it? How come you are telling us about this examination now when there is only a week remaining?”

Rena was able to control her boiling blood as she asked in a flat tone while munching over the apple. There was a stark contrast between Dia and Fiona’s table manners compared to Rena’s. But no one seemed bothered about it.

“I mean, I have fought with you all before and know your strength more or less. Taking Aiden as the leader, it’s pretty simple to form a team.”

Before anyone could have properly comprehended his words, Aiden announced his confusion with his index finger raised, “Wait a minute…me? A leader? Are you being modest or just joking here?”

By this point, there was no one in the group who didn’t know the identity of the strongest first year. If what Aiden said earlier about Jin holding back was true then there was no doubt about Jin’s capabilities being superior to others.

However, Jin’s reasoning was something entirely out of the box.

“Am I the strongest in this group? Yes. But am I the most qualified to lead a team? No, absolutely not. And before anyone asks why I am saying such, I wanna ask you all…have you ever seen how I tend to be during an actual fight?”

Hearing his words, everyone turned silent and contemplative about the topic as they remembered all those incidents when they saw Jin in action.

The first one to speak was Fiona, “Determined and unwavering.” Jin raised his brows at that before bowing his head as a sign of gratitude

Fiona blushed, her previous concern dissipating.

“Hmm…savage?” Silvie’s addition broke Jin’s expression, much to Silvie’s panic. But he assured her that he didn’t mind it at all.

“Fearless.” Rena grinned at that, still remembering clearly the day she saw him bisecting that Illusion monkey.

“Umm…reliable and someone to be trusted on the battlefield?”

Jin was taken aback hearing the qualities Dia added, which he wasn’t expecting at all.

However, he didn’t continue thinking about it for long and soon turned toward Aiden and saw the guy was just blankly staring back at him.

“Your point?”

Jin shook his head upon hearing the lack of enthusiasm before replying in a matter-of-fact tone, “As you can see, everyone here except for Dia thinks that I am strong and fearless for my own good. I usually remain silent and in my own world while fighting…and communication in team battles is very crucial which you do excellently.”

Before anyone could raise their objection, Jin continued, “Believe it or not, Aiden works best as a captain and after today’s practice session, it would be proven.”

At that time, Jin just wanted to be free from any burden of a team but little did he know, how his team would have to work without him so Jin not volunteering as a leader was possibly the best decision for these six youngsters.

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A/N:- A major twist soon and I would finish this work within fifty to seventy chapters. We have come so far so please bear with me a little longer~