READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 24 - Meal (3)
✦ Chapter 24 – Meal (3) ✦
「Translator – Creator」
𒋝𒋝𒋝𒋝𒋝
I could feel the students’ eyes on me from the moment I entered the cafeteria; they glanced at me and then started whispering among themselves while eating their meals.
I didn’t bother trying to hide my eavesdropping. Their conversations were easily within earshot.
“Hey, look over there.”
“Why? Are you trying to distract me to steal my side dish again? Not falling for that this time.”
“For crying out loud, it was just that one time. Hurry up and turn around.”
“Why are you making such a fuss? Fine, fine, I’m turning.”
Apart from the freshmen, not many had seen me. Besides the professors and club representatives who had watched the monitor during the entrance ceremony in the auditorium, very few people had seen me in person.
“That’s the guy I was telling you about. The one with the unique magic.”
“Yeah, but… why is Johanna with…”
“Is he even allowed to wear a mask like that?”
“You’re wearing a necklace, aren’t you?”
“That’s different.”
It was easy to tell who was seeing me for the first time. They were the ones whispering about my mask. I suppose it was understandable. They’d probably never seen an academy student wearing such a… unique mask before.
The only thing missing was them gushing over my handsome face hidden beneath the mask. But I guess it was too embarrassing to express their admiration out loud, right?
“There’s no need to be shy. You can compliment me out loud, you know?” I muttered to myself.
“Compliment you? About what?”
Johanna tilted her head in curiosity as she asked, hearing me mumble to myself. Her blue eyes fixed on me, filled with curiosity and interest.
“Why is she even with a guy like that?”
“I know, right?”
Those who had met me before weren’t focused on my mask; they were focused on my dining companion. On the fact that I was having lunch with Lady Johanna. It was less curiosity and more… jealousy.
The glares I was receiving from many of the upperclassmen spoke volumes. They clearly weren’t thrilled about a first-year like me having lunch with their idol.
I suppose it was unusual. Then again, the fact that most of the students in the special class hadn’t recognized Johanna in the first place spoke volumes about their observational skills.
Even as we sat down with our trays, the stares didn’t let up. If anything, they intensified.
“He’s going to take off that mask now, right?”
“Of course! How’s he going to eat with that thing on?”
To their dismay, I ignored the students’ expectations and continued eating with my mask on.
“The food at the academy is indeed delicious!” I proclaimed.
I could sense a wave of disappointment wash over everyone as I ate without taking off my mask. Even Johanna looked at me with a hint of disappointment in her eyes.
However, some students were more interested in the mask itself than in the fact that I ate without removing it.
“I wonder what that mask is.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Maybe it’s an artifact?”
“Think he’d let me borrow it?”
They stared as food seemingly passed through the mask and into my mouth.
As I enjoyed my lunch, I noticed Sepia sitting alone at a distant table. Our eyes met for a brief moment, and she quickly turned away, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks; the spirits surrounding her tried their best to cheer her up, fluttering around her playfully.
A boy, emboldened by Sepia’s solitary state, got up from his table, tray in hand, and approached her.
I couldn’t hear their conversation from this distance. But judging by the boy’s dejected expression and flushed face as he returned to his table, I guessed things hadn’t gone as he’d hoped.
My gaze then drifted towards Lucas, who was having lunch with the other Special Class students. He seemed to be getting along with them quite well. It seemed he’d made some progress in his socialization efforts.
Some other students, hoping to befriend the Hero Candidate, tried to approach him. However, they all seemed hesitant to interrupt his meal, offering him brief greetings before retreating to their own tables.
Amidst eating and observing everyone, my vision suddenly went dark.
And before I could piece together what was happening, my sight returned.
Standing before me, holding my red cloak, was Clara.
She had apparently blocked my view with it moments before.
“What’s this?”
“It’s my cloak!”
My cheerful response was met with an exasperated sigh from Clara.
“Do you think I’m an idiot? I know it’s your cloak! I’m asking why I have your cloak,” she said, her brow furrowed in annoyance.
“Well, because I draped it over you before I left?”
“You… you… oh, never mind.”
Clara sighed, probably realizing that any attempt at reasoning with me was futile. “Fine,” she muttered, handing me the cloak.
As I reached for it, the cloak seemingly moved on its own, wrapping itself neatly around my shoulders. Johanna, witnessing the cloak’s self-dressing capabilities, stared at me with wide, surprised eyes. Clara, on the other hand, simply nodded, a knowing look on her face.
“That’s an artifact, isn’t it?”
“Yes! As expected, someone of Clara’s caliber could recognize it right away.”
Clara must have felt the artifact’s magic just by touching the cloak.
“Your head must be screwed on wrong to hand over an artifact so carelessly,” Clara chided me. She was right; it was reckless to give away an artifact so nonchalantly.
“Aww, but Clara is more important than an artifact.”
“Wh-wha…?” Her face flushed crimson, and she practically fled the cafeteria.
Why did she react like that?
“Why is she acting like that?”
“…………….…”
For some reason, senior Johanna didn’t look pleased after my exchange with Clara.
“Are you feeling unwell, Senior?”
“…I’m fine.”
As she and I continued eating in silence, a voice interrupted us.
“What are you doing eating alone?”
The man who approached was flanked by about ten others who looked like his lackeys. He gave a curt order to them.
“You all eat elsewhere; I’ll dine with Johanna.”
His disregard for me was clear. Johanna looked at him with disgust and spoke tersely.
“Get lost.”
“Don’t be so cold. Have you thought about my proposal to get engaged?”
Johanna ignored him entirely, continuing to eat.
Seeing that she wouldn’t engage with him, he turned his attention to me.
“So you refuse to eat with me but sit with this guy?”
He noticed my mask and sneered.
“You know, you’re supposed to take off your mask when you’re talking to a senior.”
With that said, he reached for my mask, his fingers digging into the edges. He tried to yank it off, but the mask remained firmly in place.
“What the… Why won’t it budge?”
I turned my eyes, but not my head, to look at the worm trying to remove my mask.
‘Should I kill him?’
Considering the trouble this worm would cause later, maybe killing him now wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all. When simply pulling at it proved useless, the worm resorted to using mana, enhancing his physical strength in a desperate attempt to rip the mask off my face.
Still, the mask didn’t budge.
The commotion had started to attract attention.
Students nearby paused their meals, turning to watch the unfolding drama with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.
Seeing their leader struggling, one of the insect’s lackeys drew his sword, stepping menacingly towards me.
“After all these warnings, take off your mask yourself.”
Drawing a weapon in a crowded cafeteria? This one was clearly just as much of a worm as his leader.
“I don’t think you’ve been particularly polite so far,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
Infuriated, the lackey placed his blade at my neck. How idiotic could one be?
With the blade now at my throat, Johanna enhanced her body strength, ready to knock him out. But before she could act, the lackey’s hand, the one holding the sword, suddenly froze over with ice.
“Aaargh!!”
“Who did that?!”
The lackey screamed, and his friend bellowed, trying to find the perpetrator.
“I did.”
The voice, crisp and cold, cut through the air.
It was a man’s voice, and judging by the sheer power emanating from it, a powerful one. There weren’t many mages in the academy capable of casting a spell from such a distance.
A hush fell over the cafeteria as the man walked forward leisurely, and without hesitation, the students parted to make way for him.
He walked with a calm assurance, followed by over twenty students, all wearing uniforms adorned with gold badges.
Only one group in the academy wore such badges — the Student Council.
And the man leading them…
The one responsible for freezing the lackey’s hand…
Jorden Adellian.
President of the Student Council, and undeniably the strongest student in the academy.
He stopped before the frozen lackey and his goons, his expression cold and impassive.
“You were looking for the one responsible?” he asked, his gaze fixed on them, sending shivers down their spines. “It was me.”
Faced with Jorden’s overwhelming presence, the worms were struck speechless.
— End of Chapter —
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