After Stealing Hero's Mother, I Reincarnated in the Fantasy World!

A young man with brown hair appeared from nowhere, approaching Rain with a welcoming smile.

"Like I said, your fight was amazing. I haven't enjoyed watching it as much as I did this time in a long time."

Of course, despite his words, Rain couldn't remember his face among the audience.

The young man immediately introduced himself, extending his hand.

"I'm Gray."

His hand hung awkwardly in the air, not met by anything or anyone.

It went on like that for a few dozen more seconds and when his smile was ready to crack, Rain shook his hand back. He wondered how far Gray's acting would go.

"You can call me Rain."

"Rain?"

Pretending to appreciate the name, Gray added.

"I'll try to remember that well."

"Yeah, you better do that."

A smile appeared on his lips, though more ambiguous than Gray's.

But even after that, Gray didn't let go of his hand, pressing harder on it, still keeping his friendly smile on his face.

Rain didn't pay much attention to that, also tightening his grip. The next few seconds were spent in a 'friendly' competition of strength.

Eventually Gray was the first to pull out with slight reluctance, rubbing his arm.

"Haha... has anyone ever told you that your arms are pretty strong?"

"I hear that quite often from women."

Gray looked up at his answer, but soon dismissed the subject, regaining his confidence.

"Indeed, I couldn't expect less from someone like you! After all, you're right below me in the rankings."

He added encouragingly.

"Don't worry, this is already a great result. After all, I was the first one to defeat all my opponents."

When talking about rankings, he was referring to the ranking list of the tournament.

In an elimination battle system where wins and losses mean everything, this ranking meant nothing, but some people preferred to judge students' qualities by it.

And one of the criteria for this ranking was the speed of victory over the opponent.

Rain, on the other hand, was completely unhurried in his matches, preferring to focus on his goals. He was hardly aware of the existence of this ranking list, and was even less interested in checking it out.

'Is he really so obsessed with being first in everything and his reputation?'

"You must be proud of yourself."

"Haha, a little bit."

Gray scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Then he thought, and as if deciding something, he leaned on the window sill next to Rain in a friendly way.

"You might be wondering how I got this far."

Though Rain's expression didn't change, he continued.

"I have a quote that I always follow."

"Know your enemy and know yourself and you will win a hundred battles."

As he said this, he looked meaningfully at Rain. But it lasted only a moment before he went on, explaining.

"This is my credo in life, it helps me a lot in life as well as in battles. It's also the reason why I've been able to get this far and accomplish so much. It applies to this tournament as well."

At this moment, Rain was genuinely intrigued by his words.

"Credo? I think I have one too."

"Oh, you, too? What's the quote?"

Of course, Rain had never really thought about such things, but if he really had to pick one...

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant."

There was an peculiar gleam in his eyes as he pronounced the words 'seed' and 'plant'.

Gray looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to tell him the meaning of the quote, but Rain was unexpectedly silent, not explaining anything. So all that was left for Gray was to stare at him incomprehensibly, wondering if Rain was some kind of farmer. Eventually just deciding he was weird, he laughed awkwardly.

"Ha ha... what an unusual saying. Does it really help you in life? Or in battles?"

"Yes, especially in battles."

A real smile appeared on Rain's lips for the first time.

"You will soon see its effectiveness with your own eyes."

Gray unconsciously shuddered at his words. He didn't understand the reason himself, but he ended up writing it off to the effects of the previous fights.

He quickly returned to his previous attitude, smiling encouragingly.

"Ah, you're such a good guy, Rain...! I wish I could give in and give the victory to you, but I'm sorry, I can't lose."

His voice became lower and deeper.

"After all, your sister has so much faith in me..."

Gray stared at him, hoping for some kind of reaction. But even at the mention of his sister, Rain's expression remained unchanged, radiating cold calm.

And really, how could Rain fall for such a cheap provocation?

Eliana might have been a bitch, but she was his bitch. And he had no intention of changing that.

As for Gray's words?

They were as important to him as the words of a randomly picked rock on the side of the road.
Read exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire

"By the way, Gray, will your mother be cheering for you?"

Gray's facial expression froze, he seemed completely taken aback by the unexpected question. Barely smiling again, he said.

"...my mother? Probably. But may I ask why you're asking about her, Rain?"

"Just wanted to keep the conversation going."

Despite Rain's carefree answer, the uneasy feeling that something was wrong did not let go of Gray. He stared at him for a while longer, but without getting anywhere, he could only squeeze out his farewell, trying to speak as enthusiastically as before.

"Well, then we'll meet in the finals. I hope the best man wins!"

After walking a few steps, he stopped and turned around, adding.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful so you won't get hurt."

Seeing his honesty, Rain decided to do the same.

"Gray. I'll be careful too, but you could still get hurt."

Gray's smile stiffened before he laughed weakly.

"You have a great sense of humor, Rain."

With those last words, he finally withdrew.

Rain glanced his way, grinning to himself.

Initially, he wouldn't even bother defeating him. He had other goals, other priorities, which included his mother, not him.

Losing to Gray? So what?

Today I lost to you on the battlefield, and tomorrow your mother lost to me in bed. What's the difference? The outcome would have been the same.

He had clear priorities about what he wanted. Rather than playing in the sandbox with the Heroes, trying to humiliate and crush them, he preferred to build closer ties with their families.

But today... only today... he had a special desire to crush him in front of everyone, dropping him from his highest point into the abyss of despair.