"No," Lilia said immediately. "We need a moment."
Lilia did not step forward immediately.
After Shaia's disastrous attempt, she remained standing in place with her arms crossed, watching Theo as if he were no longer a man but a complicated mechanism she had to understand before taking action.
Lora, standing beside her, still looked faint.
"Senior Sister..." she whispered, "maybe we should just forfeit."
Lilia turned to her sharply. "No."
"But... I don't think this is our field."
"You should've thought about it before you agreed to everything Elara said," Lilia snapped. She then took a deep breath. "Sorry, I lost my cool. That's just how you are. Next time, wait before agreeing with an opponent. Anyway, humor is just another way of saying things."
"That is exactly why we must approach it properly," Lilia said, already thinking aloud. "Shaia failed because she relied on instinct and improvised. Humor clearly requires structure, timing, and mutual reinforcement."
