Chapter 25: Breakfast

Approx. 4min reading time

They couldn't have this conversation yesterday because the teachers were completely overwhelmed by thousands of calls about the sudden appearance of the "powerless" and his incredible display of prowess. To be honest, everyone besides these two Rankers was completely exhausted.

[Claire: Then I guess that's it? That's right. Because many people do not believe that your power is real, I'd like to ask you to enter the 'Single Tournament - Lower Division' that starts next week. People need confirmation of your power.]

[Vorst: I don't really want to.]

[Claire: Fufu, there is a prize for 1st place. Besides credits, there is also a top-class Small Energy Core. With it, your bots' output can be greatly improved. The academy will also add two more if you win without using 'Psychic' and 'Runes.' How about it?]

...

[Vorst: Runes?]

[Claire: The power you used when you threw those two punches, of course. Did you think I didn't notice? I'm the Athena Institute Headmistress, after all. So do you agree?]

[Vorst: ... *nods*]

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That settled it.

***

[Mistglan: How was it?]

[Claire: ... I'm not sure... He's incredibly difficult to read.]

[Mistglan: ... That's the first time I've heard that from you.]

[Claire: It can't be helped. It's the first time I've encountered this too. Reading him is like wandering through a maze; it's hard to find a way through.]

[Mistglan: ... Power of that degree... Psychic and Runes... If it's misused...]

[Claire: ...]

[Mistglan: What now?]

[Claire: Power, glory, and respect are coming to him now. Let's observe him for a while and see how he reacts to it.]

[Mistglan: Understood.]

***

Vorst and Mersa continued their breakfast after the other two left. Vorst ate a lot, after all...

[Mersa: Vor-chan is strong now, right?]

[Vorst: Mhm. *nom nom nom*]

[Mersa: T-then if I were to fight Vor-chan right now, I'd probably lose, right?]

[Vorst: No, Mer-chan will probably win.]

[Mersa: W-wha? B-but Vor-chan beat that Red Bear so fast...]

[Vorst: That's because I'm bad at hitting Mer-chan. I'll beat everyone else but Mer-chan.]

[Mersa: Hehe~]

[Vorst: Mer-chan, after this, do you want to go hunting together with me?]

[Mersa: Hunt? Monsters?]

[Vorst: Yeah.]

[Mersa: But I thought Vor-chan had to give your M-Armor away yesterday for inspection.]

[Vorst: Yeah, but they should have finished by now.]

[Mersa: I see. Then let's go!]

And thus, the two of them went towards a cave full of monsters as if they were going there for a picnic.

***

[Mersa: Wow! Vor-chan's bots are amazing! Why didn't you use them yesterday?]

Two spheres floated around them, each with four blades protruding from them. The Neo-Aris shook his head.

[Vorst: I didn't need to. Besides, those spheres are moody; sometimes they don't want to fight.]

[Mersa: Moody? Wow. But they're so cute! *hugs*]

The Wolf Princess didn't understand everything, but the lines on the spheres made them very beautiful. As she hugged the spheres, her fingers traced the mysterious patterns. She didn't know that when those lines lit up, it meant either Calla or Lily was controlling the bots.

Both of them were leisurely chatting amid the corpses of monsters. The collection bots were busily working. Vorst had to agree that having another person with him increased the clearing speed tremendously, especially if that person was the energetic Mer-chan.

In the middle of it all, a campfire crackled as they roasted some monster meat for lunch.

[Mersa: I-I also brought a lunch for Vor-chan.]

With that, she took out the package from her PSpace. It was clumsily made, as expected from a 10-year-old, but it was the thought that counted. Vorst finished everything. There was no poison in it! Compared to the death-like cuisine made by Calla (after destroying two kitchens), it was heaven.

[--Calla--: I think m'lord just thought about something very offensive.]

[--Marc--: Not at all...]

***

A storm came.

There was a special party for both of the most prominent Cadet Schools after every Inter-school Battle Tournament. The participants from both schools would gather in one place to get to know their opponents a little better.

After this one, the most outstanding was obviously the Golden Knight (that's how the public started calling the Neo-Aris). A monster capable of completely reversing the whole flow of the battle.

[AN: I'll use English names for months because memorizing and typing the new ones will be both bothersome for me and you guys haha. 1 standard year = 12 standard months, 1 month = 35 days, 1 day = 24h]

A crowd of onlookers gathered to watch where the two rumored children were sitting. To be included in the 1000 participants, all of them were considered elite even among elites. But right now, both girls and boys were gossiping, not daring to disrupt the two 'lovebirds.'

[Oi, aren't they...?]

[It's the princess and her knight.]

[Yeah, did you see how he did us all in? Though it hurt, I'm a fan now.]

[Athena claims that he made that M-Armor by himself!]

[Isn't that amazing?]

[Damnit, not only an incredible knight, but also a great engineer.]

[The White Wolf Princess sure knows how to pick her knights.]

[Kyaaa~ they're so affectionate.]

[I'm so jealous, but I can't say anything... *sob*]

Just as they were halfway through their meal, another person appeared. It was the blonde-haired Celina. In the past, no one wanted to have anything to do with the 'powerless,' but now nobody dared to disrupt the time between the White Wolf Princess and her Golden Knight.

[Mersa: ...]

[Celina: ...]

[Vorst: ... Hello.]

[Celina: ... H-Hello.]

[Mersa: Hello, Celina-senpai. Do you need something?]

[Celina: W-well, I just thought I’d join you guys...]

Vorst remained silent; in this minefield of a situation, it was a wise decision.

[Mersa: I see...]

After that, the situation continued normally with Celina as a third wheel... Then...

[Celina: T-that looks fun. Can I try? Aaan?]

With that, she brought a bit of meat toward the Neo-Aris...

The air turned ice cold in an instant...

That was an obvious landmine. Vorst didn't dare to step on it.

[Mersa: N-NO!]

With an outburst, Mersa suddenly stood up and slammed the table with her little hands. That was the first time she had acted like this. Quickly regaining her composure, she looked at Vorst, then Celina, and then back to Vorst. Then she ran away.

Leaving the two stunned, she ran with all her might.

Back at the table, while Celina was still stunned, Vorst immediately stood up to chase after Mersa.

[Celina: S-sorry!]

Vorst only responded with a wave of his hand and disappeared from sight.

On the second floor, a pair of elvish eyes observed the scene very clearly.

[Claire: Haha, being popular sure is tough. It's so nice to be young.]

[Mistglan: Are you sure it'll be fine to leave it like this?]

[Claire: Young ones need to experience all kinds of troubles. We can't just put them on the shelf and lock them away to protect them.]

[Mistglan: What if, by any chance, he chooses Celina?]

[Claire: Are you saying we should restrict him and make him choose only Mersa?]

[Mistglan: ... *sigh* The Tournament is tomorrow.]

[Claire: Mhm, I'm looking forward to it.]