Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

"That\'s where you are wrong."

Rudy let go of Rize and said, "I am seeing the new side of you. It\'s refreshing and interesting."

Rize pulled Rudy by his collar and kissed him for the last time, and after saying, "The same goes for you."

"I guess I will have to change my strategy to make you fall in love with me," he chuckled. "I will have to be a little more aggressive since a normal approach won\'t work on you."

"You know I can hear you, right?"

"That\'s why I am saying it out loud. I am giving you an opportunity to guard your heart well, because I am dead set on stealing it and making it mine."

Rudy and Rize left the classroom and hastily walked through the hallway. Rize was walking behind Rudy on purpose, as she didn\'t want Rudy to tackle her again from behind.

Suddenly, Rudy stopped, and so did Rize.

He turned around and said, "You will either say yes or no to my confession. But regardless of your answer, you will still let me practice on you, right?"

Rize couldn\'t help but grin after hearing that.

"I will take that look as a yes."

"Does my answer to your love confession even matter if we are going to continue our fling anyway?" Rize asked curiously.

"Yes, it helps our heart and consciousness."

After leaving the school building, they went to the playground, where various sports activities were happening. At the entrance, there was a big board with a schedule poster pinned on it that showed the name and time of the sports.

Rudy glanced at Rize and asked, "So I can select any activity, right?"

"As long as you come first in any of them," Rize nodded.

\'It\'s an easy task, but…\'

As Rudy was pondering, Eric called him out from a distance.

"Hey! You are here!" he shouted.

Rudy signaled Eric to come over to him as he was the best person who had knowledge about the sports.

"I need to be on stage with other teachers, so I have to go. But best of luck to you. And don\'t try super hard, okay? I don\'t want you to get injured."

"Yes."

Rize moved her hand forward and said, "Give me your bag. I will hold onto it for you."

Rudy handed his school bag to Rize while saying, "Is this your way to look into my bag?"

"Maybe?" she shrugged with a grin.

"Don\'t freak out if you find something you weren\'t expecting."

"As long as there are no weapons or drugs inside, you are good."

After saying that, Rize left.

"..." Rudy raised his brow and muttered, "I am not sure if she was being serious or sarcastic."

"What\'s up?" Eric asked as he placed his hand over Rudy\'s shoulder.

"I have to participate in at least one of the activities, so can you tell me which one is the easiest and least time-consuming?"

"Every sport is easy for me, though," Eric responded with a smug look on his face.

"That\'s not helping."

"I don\'t know, dude. There are no shortcuts when it comes to success in winning. Yes, some may find quick success, but that stays temporary."

"As much as I appreciate that amazing thought, which you learned from your mother, help me out now."

"How did you know mom told me that?" Eric raised a brow.

"Isn\'t it obvious?"

"What do you mean?"

"There is no way you can think that of yourself, so obviously, you learned it from someone smart around you, which is your mother," Rudy scoffed.

"Ouch. That hurts."

"So…? Any easy sports activity from the list?"

"The second one, but you can\'t do it now because the first three activities on the list have already been finished," Eric stated.

"Oh? Who won?"

Eric simply smirked at Rudy in response. Seemingly, he had won in all three of them.

"Why did I even bother asking you," he sighed. "You know, you are so good at sports, ever thought of joining a sports league in the future as your career?"

"Nope."

"Why? They do pay well, actually. Although it requires talent and years of hard work, I am sure you can achieve that easily. Also, sports are one of the easiest ways to gain fame. A normal job won\'t give you anything in return except money," Rudy chuckled bitterly.

Rudy felt a sting in his heart as he said that because he said the exact opposite of what he said to Eric in his past life— when Eric came to Rudy for career advice, Rudy asked him to leave the sports dream behind.

\'One of the biggest mistakes of my life. I hope I can change it now.\'

Eric was athletic, but he was academically brilliant too. It wasn\'t as though Eric wholly followed Rudy\'s advice. He chose his career by himself and never once regretted it. He had become richer than Elenor and also met the love of his life because of that.

"Most of the sports are group activities—Football, cricket, baseball, volleyball, hockey, basketball, and many more. I know I am great, but I can\'t expect the same from my teammates. I can win a match because of them, or I can lose.

But I don\'t want to lose when I try my best; I would obviously blame my other team members even if they weren\'t at fault. Sure, there are other sports for individuals but let\'s be honest… They are all boring. No one cares that much about them, and the fan following, fame, and money is not much."

"I understand your concerns, and you made a valid point, but are you okay with those reasons letting you down? The Eric I know never backs down from a challenge and gives his best even if others never take it seriously."

"Heh!" Eric scoffed softly and jokingly said, "What are you, my dad?"