Fifteen minutes later, in the waiting room for victors, we were seated on a large sofa as we watched other squads compete on the screens set up around the room.
The door creaked open, and Ezekiel walked in, his usual stoic expression barely masking the excitement in his voice. "Good work, everyone."
Though his face was calm, the joy in his voice was unmistakable. It was hard not to feel joyful by his enthusiasm.
"Especially…" Ezekiel turned his gaze toward me and offered a thin smile, "Remillia. We were able to win thanks to her eliminating the enemy mage."
I waved my hand dismissively. "You shouldn't be praising me for disobeying your orders, Ezekiel. We already planned and yet I acted on my own."
Alena chimed in with a grin, "If you had failed, we might have called you an arrogant idiot. But since you succeeded, you're the MVP."
Ezekiel nodded in agreement. "Yes, well done for helping the squad."
"By the way, where's Joshua?" Alena asked, looking around the room.
