"Sister, are you nervous?" Bry inquired, his gaze sweeping across the bustling venue, where people hurried about in anticipation. Hera felt his icy hand gripping hers, while his pallidplexion betrayed his anxiety. "Don’t worry, sister, you’ll be fine," he reassured, though his own nerves seemed palpable. Hera couldn’t help but chuckle at Bry’s obvious apprehension, unsure if he was trying tofort her or himself with those words.
"Don’t you trust us?" Zen chimed in suddenly from behind, yfully tousling Bry’s hair into a bird’s nest. Bry scrunched his nose in irritation and shot Zen an angry re as he attempted to fix his hair once more. At that moment, his earlier nervousness seemed to have vanishedpletely.
"Brother Zen, why did you mess up my hair? It took me a full 30 minutes to tame it, and now look at what you’ve done!" Bry eximed, clearly aggrieved by Zen’s actions. He then turned to Hera, silently conveying his frustration with Zen. Despite the yful banter, their interactions seemed so harmonious and lighthearted that they appeared more like spectators enjoying the event rather thanpetitors preparing topete.
"Alright, alright, no need to be angry," Zen said, cating Bry with a tap on the shoulder before continuing. "I’ll let you in on my secret for keeping hair as soft as mine." With a mischievous grin, Zen pulled out his secret weapon from his pocket, using it as a bribe to ease Bry’s frustration.
Hera watched with amusement as they goofed around together, chuckling at their antics. However, herughter faded as she remembered that Xavier had been in the restroom for quite some time. "Zen, do you think you should go check on Brother Xavier? What if he needs something?" she said, her tone tinged with concern.
"Hera, don’t worry. Xavier is a responsible adult, perhaps even more so than me," Zen reassured Hera.
"I’m d you’re aware." Xavier’s voice echoed yfully behind Zen who came from the opposite side of the restroom.
"Ah!" Zen eximed, leaping to the side as Xavier seemingly appeared out of thin air behind him. "You nearly scared me to death! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Zen eximed, clutching his chest dramatically with his right hand, as if genuinely startled.
Xavier ignored Zen’s dramatic antics and walked straight to Hera, "They are looking for us, they said we should go back and prepare."
"It’s that time already?" Hera straightened up, her smile poised and sincere as she addressed the camera. "Hello, everyone. We’re truly grateful for your presence here today. Thank you for joining us, and please continue to show your support." With a graceful turn on her heels, she departed alongside the others.
When they departed from the vige, the Director informed them that theirpetition would be streamed live, making it the highlight of the Variety Show. He exined that this was the sole reason he had agreed to Bry’s family’s request to include the three of them in the tournament.
With thepetition underway, the Director made the decision to bring all the participants to the venue to show support for Hera and the others taking part. However, due to the abundance of cameras already present, he opted to bring only two cameramen. One would be stationed at the finish line, while the other would capture footage of the remaining participants seated on the benches.