The next morning, Aibar and Nikita both arrived at school early, right at dawn.
They encountered each other, and Nikita immediately looked at Aibar with an annoyed expression.
"Why did you come so early?"
Aibar calmly replied without emotion:
"I always come early and tidy up the classroom. Is that why you came too?"
Nikita looked displeased.
"Ugh... yeah..."
Aibar calmly said:
"Then let's get started together."
"Ugh..." Nikita sighed deeply.
"Fine..."
The two of them tidied up the classroom before anyone else arrived.
The classroom was still empty.
Nikita glanced at Aibar for a moment, then gave him a sly smile. Suddenly, he grinned and began speaking in Russian.
"Just because I helped you tidy the classroom doesn't mean I've acknowledged you."
Aibar remained emotionless.
"What's the matter? Just speak Kazakh."
Nikita became even more amused and switched back to Russian.
"Hahaha... I demand that you speak Russian with me."
Aibar calmly replied:
"You're in Kazakhstan."
Nikita, in Russian:
"In Kazakhstan, almost everyone speaks Russian. There's no law that says you have to speak Kazakh."
Aibar calmly said:
"Fine. I have to admit, there's no such law in Kazakhstan. Yes, there are people in Kazakhstan who speak Russian. However, not in our village, and not at our school. Even though some of us know Russian, we speak Kazakh at school. Do you know why?"
Aibar then switched to Russian:
"It's not that I don't know Russian. I do. But if I put the issue simply, I don't just speak Russian—I've learned many languages."
"Now, here's the thing. You want to defeat me and become the Guardian of Order. However, in this school... no, in this village, there are many people who don't know Russian at all. But everyone understands Kazakh. And you know Kazakh."
"Isn't that more practical? What I'm saying is, yes, we try to learn many languages, but... not everyone has the same social and economic opportunities."
Aibar continued:
"And besides... Southern Kazakhstan doesn't use Russian as much, because this region is farther away from Russia."
"And even if, for example, you defeated me and became the Guardian of Order, people and students might accuse you of disrespecting the Kazakh language and simply ignore what you say."
"So what would you do then? Think about it... especially when you already know Kazakh..."
Nikita, visibly irritated, interrupted him and switched back to Kazakh:
"Fine... Don't give me a lecture."
He continued speaking in Kazakh.
And so, the lessons began and ended, and time passed.
It was time for the final lesson of the day. The last class began: Physical Education.
All the students did some light exercises to warm up. After warming up, they decided to play football.
They divided themselves into teams as fairly as they could.
Aibar and Nikita were on separate teams.
Nikita's teammates looked at each other.
"We're doomed..."
They didn't even seem particularly interested in playing. No one even wanted to stand in goal because they were afraid of Aibar's devastating shots.
Nikita calmly looked at his teammates.
"Alright, alright... I'll be the goalkeeper."
He took the position in goal.
Seeing this, Aibar also switched positions and went into goal for his own team.
And so, the football match began.
Whenever Aibar's team tried to score, Nikita defended the goal like a solid wall, not letting a single shot through.
Nikita was incredibly fast.
With only ten minutes left before the lesson ended, the score was still 0–0.
Aibar's team passed the ball to their goalkeeper—Aibar.
Aibar then took a shot from his own goal, sending the ball toward Nikita's goal.
However, Nikita managed to stop Aibar's shot.
Nikita stood there in surprise and thought to himself:
"What a shot..."
Then Nikita placed the ball on the ground, left his goal, and began dribbling.
Using dribbles and feints, Nikita toyed with Aibar's teammates as if they were little children.
Aibar also left the goal and moved up to the defensive line.
A heated struggle for the ball broke out between Aibar and Nikita.
However, Aibar's foot suddenly slipped.
Aibar's foot slipped, and he fell on top of Nikita.
Aibar had noticed a sharp stone on the ground. As he was falling, he covered Nikita's head with his hands to protect him.
However, Aibar couldn't maintain his balance and ended up falling directly on top of Nikita.
Everyone stared at the two of them in complete shock.
Because Aibar and Nikita had accidentally kissed.
Nikita immediately turned bright red from embarrassment and pushed Aibar away.
Both of them got back to their feet.
Aibar stood up and said emotionlessly:
"Strawberry flavor."
Nikita became even more embarrassed, his face turning even redder. He bent down toward the ground and began spitting.
"Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo..."
Nikita raised his head. His face was red with both anger and embarrassment.
"What are you... gay?"
He looked at Aibar with disgust.
Aibar calmly replied:
"What are you talking about? I'm not like that. Did you... eat strawberries for breakfast?"
Nikita was angry, but he was also embarrassed, his face bright red.
"What...? You, you... What are you even saying? You, you... agh... I'm about to die of embarrassment here. And you, you..."
Aibar replied calmly:
"Who is there to be embarrassed in front of? I don't see any reason for it. It was an accident."
Meanwhile, the other students began whispering to each other and laughing.
"They actually look really good together."
"Enemies to lovers... Something like that... Hehe..."
"They make such a good couple..."
Their jokes and laughter slowly became more noticeable.
However, Aibar gave them a stern look.
His eyes began glowing red.
A faint red aura started emanating from him. His glowing crimson eyes silently intimidated the students who were whispering.
The students immediately fell silent out of fear.
Ding, ding, ding...
The bell rang.
All the students headed to the locker room to change back into their school uniforms.
Aibar suppressed his anger, looked at Nikita, and calmly said:
"Don't worry. They won't make fun of you. And I won't let them."
Nikita's face turned even redder. He angrily replied:
"Idiot! They're not the problem... You are! You bastard, you stole my first kiss. Because of you... no girl is ever going to date me now..."
But by the time he finished speaking, Aibar had already left for the locker room.
Nikita calmed himself down and went to the locker room as well, where he waited for the other students to finish changing.
The other boys joked with him:
"What, are you a girl or something? Just change with us without being embarrassed..."
Bakhzhan calmly stepped forward and spoke to Nikita in a warm voice:
"Seriously, Nikita... you've never changed your PE uniform with the other boys. Every PE class, you wait until everyone else is gone and then change by yourself. That looks pretty suspicious."
Aibar grabbed Bakhzhan by the T-shirt and pulled him back.
Then Aibar walked toward Nikita emotionlessly until he had him backed against the wall.
Aibar placed one hand against the wall beside Nikita and stood face-to-face with him.
Nikita began blushing from embarrassment.
The other boys stared in surprise.
Aibar then removed his hand from the wall, stepped back, and continued changing his clothes.
After quickly changing, Aibar looked at the boys with his glowing red eyes and calmly said:
"Change your clothes quickly, then get your asses home."
Nikita remained silent, staring at Aibar in astonishment.
Aibar looked back at him and calmly said:
"Don't take it the wrong way. I just wanted to take a good look at your face. Your eyes are red too, and they really do look almost like mine. But yours are a darker shade of red than mine."
All the boys finish changing, and they all head home. As Aibar turns around and is about to leave, he slightly turns his head and glances at Nikita from the corner of his eye.
Aibar calmly says, "Don't worry. I won't peek. Go ahead and change. I'll keep watch at the door myself. I won't let anyone in until you're finished changing."
Nikita nods in agreement, and Aibar walks outside and closes the door.
Nikita changes his clothes. Meanwhile, just as he promised, Aibar stands guard by the door.
A few minutes later, Nikita finishes changing and comes outside. The two of them then head home.
Aibar arrives home and immediately gets to work on his usual daily routine—training, work, chores, and everything else he has to take care of. In short, Aibar has absolutely no free time.
Nikita also enters his house.
Dead silence.
Nikita: "Ugh..."
Nikita throws something onto the floor. Hair? No... Something that looks like hair.
Alexei gives a slight smile.
"Welcome home..."
Nikita begins speaking angrily.
"Damn that Aibar..."
Alexei looks pleased.
"My dear little sister."
He gives a small smile.
"That bastard... Did he do something again today?"
At that moment, Nikita's true appearance is revealed.
Long, snow-white hair, tied up; crimson-red eyes; and a black mole near the outer corner beneath her right eye. She has an extremely attractive appearance.
Nikita is only her false name.
Her real name is Maria.
Maria enters her room and changes her clothes. She removes the layers of fabric and bandages wrapped tightly around her body to flatten her figure and make it resemble a boy's body, then changes into her usual feminine clothes.
Afterward, she returns and sits across from Alexei.
Alexei calmly asks,
"Why are you so angry?"
Maria affectionately leans against her older brother while putting on an angry expression.
"That Aibar... Because of that bastard, I had to put up with so many difficulties. That bastard... I hate him, I hate him, I hate him..."
She keeps pretending to be angry.
Alexei rests his hand beneath his jaw, thinking for a moment. Then, in a calm voice, he says,
"The Guardian of Order... Did he do something?"
Maria angrily responds,
"That bastard..."
Her face turns red. She is angry, but there is also some embarrassment in her expression.
"That bastard... kissed me on the lips today..."
Alexei immediately becomes serious.
"What? That bastard... How dare he!"
As he says this, his anger begins to show clearly on his face.
Maria blushes, embarrassed, but then calms herself down.
"No... He didn't mean to..."
She then tells Alexei everything that happened today.
Alexei calms down, but his voice remains cold.
"Are you sure he did it accidentally? That bastard keeps calling himself the Guardian of Order, and he's starting to do whatever he pleases. And if he does anything to you... In that case, I won't be able to just stand by and watch. I won't show him any mercy..."
Maria calmly says,
"Brother, it's okay. Calm down. Nothing will happen. I understand that you're saying this because you're worried about me. Thank you so much for caring about me... However, neither of us may be strong enough to fight him face-to-face. But I won't give up. I'll show him. I'll humiliate him in front of the entire class, in front of the whole school, and surpass him."
Alexei gives a sly smile.
"Of course, of course. I'll always support you..."
Maria falls silent for a moment, thinking to herself.
I have to defeat him.
Aibar... I'll defeat you in the near future. I'll give everything I have to beat you.
The next day, as usual, Aibar and Nikita arrive early and start tidying up the classroom together. However, Nikita ignores him. Aibar tries to talk to him several times, but Nikita continues ignoring him throughout the entire day.
The subject before the final lesson is History.
The class has finished writing down a shortened version of the lesson the teacher explained in their notebooks. There are 20 minutes left until the end of the lesson.
The class is divided into four groups by drawing lots.
Symbat, Aibar, and Maria are each in separate groups.
The general rules of the game are as follows:
For the first five minutes, the students read through everything they wrote down during the lesson. Then, starting with the first group, the students take turns answering questions asked by the teacher. All questions are based on the topics covered in today's lesson.
The game begins with one student from the first group stepping forward. If they answer the question correctly, their group receives one point.
If they cannot answer, the same question is passed to the second group. If the second group cannot answer it either, it passes to the third group. If they also fail, it goes to the fourth group.
If the fourth group—or any other group—answers a question that the original group failed to answer, that group earns the one point that was at stake.
Meanwhile, the student from the original group who failed to answer must give up their chance to earn that point and return to their seat empty-handed.
Then the turn moves on to the second group, followed by the third, and so on. The game continues until the bell rings.
There is one important rule: once a student from any group has stepped forward, if their own group answers the question from their seats, their answer does not count. Instead, the question moves on to the next group.
In other words, answering from your seats is basically like handing the question over to the next group.
However, according to the rules, for example, if one student from the first group steps forward and fails to answer, and then the second, third, and fourth groups also fail to answer, the first group is allowed to answer the question that their own member failed to answer. This gives them a chance to keep the point within their own group after all.
The game is about to begin.
The first group consists of ordinary 9A students.
The second group's leader is Symbat.
The third group's leader is Aibar.
The fourth group's leader is Nikita.
The game begins.
It quickly becomes extremely intense, and the time passes so fast that no one even notices it.
The game is nearing its end.
The final question will decide everything.
Because there are few strong students in the first group, they repeatedly fail to answer the questions and pass them on.
The final decisive question reaches the second group—Symbat's group.
The score between Aibar's third group and Maria's fourth group is tied. Symbat's second group is only one point behind them.
Symbat knows the answer to the question.
If she answers it correctly, all three teams still have a chance to finish with the same score.
However, because of her feelings for Aibar, Symbat deliberately passes on the question, seemingly wanting Aibar to win.
Now Aibar has a chance to win.
But instead, he deliberately passes the question to Nikita's team.
Nikita happily answers the question.
And just like that, the fourth group takes first place.