Class
Class
Nobles in this other world usually took their time with meals.
For commoners, eating was mostly just a matter of nutrient intake for survival, but nobles ate at a truly leisurely pace to flaunt the fact that they didn't live pressed for time like commoners. Thanks to the plausible yet utterly idiotic logic that being able to eat delicious food warm and for a long time was one of the proofs of nobility, the average meal time easily exceeded an hour, and as a result, they tended to have a great many conversations during that time. The fact that they wasted time like that even when they had nothing in particular to talk about was another thing that drove people to death by aneurysm... but anyway, that's how it was.
From my perspective, having finished meals in 15 minutes and gone straight for coffee back in the modern world, it was a culture I couldn't get used to no matter how many reincarnations I went through. Of course, that was me eating so fast it was unhealthy, so my eating habits had been fixed by now, but still, eating for over an hour was a hardship in many ways. Like other aura users, my metabolism wasn't normal, so even though I ate an obscene amount, I finished my meals in about 30 minutes.
"The best thing about the academy is that you don't have to drag out meals for no reason."
And Sheryl was the same.
Despite eating so much it was incomprehensible how all that food fit into her damn tiny body, she was like me in that she couldn't endure long meals. I wondered how someone with knight blood right down to the marrow could be like that, but once the hypothesis formed that she might have serious defects in her sense of taste, things started clicking into place and I began to understand.
For knights who held honor and restraint as virtues, gourmet food was one of the few pleasures they could enjoy without caring about others' eyes, but with a tongue like that, of course she'd hate it.
"Too bad that excellent period only has two years left."
"...I didn't attend the academy for the purpose of eating."
After exchanging a brief pointless joke, we started eating the generously piled food, and Griwills, who had hesitated for a moment, initially tried to match our pace but soon shook his head and gave up, clearing his throat and speaking to us.
"Teaching Assistant, you and Young Lady Ogatorf seem very close."
I tossed the deboned chicken meat to Laika, who was greedily eyeing the food despite not needing any, and gathered my thoughts for a moment. Appreciating the guy's effort to somehow keep the conversation going in a smooth atmosphere, I nodded appropriately and answered.
"For a relationship between employer and employee, we get along well enough."
The urge to list Sheryl's unjust acts of violence and make things awkward for her bubbled up, but I had to give it up since I'd already decided to maintain an aloof concept. If I brought up stories like that, I'd naturally end up teasing the kid.
"Honestly, it's fascinating. No matter how friendly I act, she's always so chilly toward me."
"You always seem like you've got some hidden agenda, so I don't feel like being friendly."
"She's always like this. I just want to foster good ties with a knight family as a weapon merchant's son, but it's utterly unjust."
Griwills gave an embarrassed laugh... but honestly, if I hadn't seen his swordsmanship, I probably would've pegged him as a shady schemer based on his looks, so it was very hard to take his side. Not that I could tell him the problem was that his entire existence and mannerisms were a cliche of the slit-eyed schemer character.
"Just think of it as the kid still being too young to have a good eye for people."
"......"
I made an effort to ignore Sheryl glaring daggers and Griwills shaking his head with a laugh, pretending to be nonchalant as I looked around the restaurant, which was overflowing with energy. The atmosphere I'd seen over the past few days had been full of enough student-like liveliness, but today the tension was cranked up to an almost excessive degree, whether it was the power of the ultra-luxurious buffet or the power of the Hero's appearance.
"This is practically on the level of a festival."
"Actually, wouldn't it be right to call it a festival? The demon that nearly shook an entire religious order has been subjugated, and the Hero's party is making a heroic return."
"...Now that you mention it, yeah?"
Maybe because my life had been passing by so spectacularly, almost day by day, until Griwills said it, it really felt like nothing much was going on besides the meal.
"I suppose my life has been so twisted that I didn't feel any particular sentiment."
"You've been through a lo... urk!"
A loud Thwack! burst out from under the table, piercing through the surrounding commotion. Turning my head, I saw Griwills clenching his teeth and Sheryl glaring at him, and I immediately understood exactly what she'd done.
"When have you ever seen me get worked up over something like that? Why hit an innocent kid."
"I didn't hit him. He probably bumped into the table on his own."
"At least wet your lips before you lie..."
As I clicked my tongue at the excessively shameless Sheryl, the surroundings suddenly started becoming twice as noisy. At the same time, students rushed en masse toward the restaurant entrance, and Sheryl, watching the scene, let out a scoff and said.
"Looks like your first day here all over again."
Huh. So they pulled this shit that day too. As I held the impression that these kids just had too much damn energy to burn, I stared blankly at the crowd at the entrance that looked like it would never part, and before long, the students began clearing a path at a rapid pace, as if automatic doors were opening.
"Have you no shame before the Hero, you lot! Be quiet, quiet!"
Who was it again? I think he was the pure swordsmanship instructor, but I couldn't remember his name. Anyway, despite the professor's scolding, boasting an expression of extreme strictness that contrasted with his burly muscles, the students began cheering like mad.
"Hero! Hero! Hero!"
The shouts were loud enough to shake the academy's vast restaurant. I didn't know what kind of showmanship Siegfried had pulled, but a sudden wave of cheers rang out. It was a sensibility far removed from my own, but watching the students' excitement—obvious even from afar—left me with a strange new feeling.
As I tore into a chicken leg while watching a scene that suddenly made me realize anew that while Siegfried might just be a bit pitiful to me, to them he was a living, breathing miracle and hope, Sheryl, who had been watching the spectacle alongside me, turned her gaze to me and asked a question.
"Eldmia, was the Hero strong?"
It had been a long time since I'd told Sheryl about what happened in the Empire. She also knew that at the time, I'd won without much difficulty. So this question probably wasn't asking about a simple measure of martial strength.
But whether internal or external, the assessment I could give was the same.
"Immature in many ways... but strong, yes."
Even if he still needed time to become humanity's all-encompassing decisive battle weapon spanning swordsmanship, magic, and spirit arts, Siegfried's mental fortitude was indeed quite strong. If he'd been forcibly dragged here, he had plenty of reason to turn rotten, but he was holding up well, wasn't he? If it were me, Demon King or whatever, I'd have started looking for a way to grab the god by the throat first.
"Well, if he works hard, won't he become someone befitting a Hero?"
"Meaning he isn't one yet?"
"At least the last time I saw him, the kid was a bit lacking."
At the words I spoke with genuine sincerity and no sugarcoating, Griwills began looking back and forth between me and the Hero with an extremely troubled expression.
"Don't look at me like that. It's not that we're on bad terms..."
That sight was just like someone awkwardly caught between two friends and flustered after inadvertently hearing harsh words, so I opened my mouth to add an explanation and clear up any misunderstanding.
"Little brother! Your big brother has arrived!"
From far away, Siegfried spotted me and waved his hand, laughing very cheerfully. In an instant, everyone's eyes turned to me, but what actually caught my eye was nothing but the demon byproduct in the bastard's hand.
"...so it's not like that."
It wasn't small. But neither was it overwhelmingly larger than the byproduct I had sent.
"Hey! You see this! This right here is the byproduct left behind by the demon bastard that threw the Holy Light Cross Order into chaos!"
At Siegfried's unexpected move, the gazes of the people who had been spacing out turned in unison toward the byproduct he was holding. But Siegfried just beamed like he'd won and came running energetically. Most people were dumbfounded by that attitude lacking any sense of distance or courtesy, but to me and the bastard, none of that mattered in the slightest. He had no interest in the people fawning over him from the start, and I was currently standing at a crossroads far more important than the reactions of those around me.
I lightly raised my hand, and Siegfried sharply tossed the byproduct he'd been holding to me. A heavy, yet truly fucking disgusting sensation caught in my hand with a thunk. That texture was unmistakably a demon byproduct.
But.
"...Isn't this smaller than the one I sent?"
The moment I received it, I was certain. It wasn't particularly different from the byproduct I'd obtained.
At the same time, I realized. That the side that played politics first would win this. Sure enough, at my single remark, a spasm flickered across the face of Siegfried, who had been smiling wide enough to split his lips.
"What? No, no way. Don't talk shit, man. No matter how you look at it, that one's way bigger!"
"Did you injure one of your eyes while fighting the demon? Seems like you've lost your sense of depth."
If the difference had been undeniable, I would've had to endure all sorts of mockery and boasting during this brief encounter, but the sizes were so similar that you couldn't tell them apart without putting them on a scale side by side, so Siegfried clearly couldn't be sure either. Having quickly finished my judgment, I tossed the demon byproduct back to the bastard as if it were no big deal and decided to drive the nail in.
"If you don't like it, go ahead and compare them."
"No, that th...! I gave it to the First Princess!"
"You didn't bring it? What a shame. I'm certain the one I sent was bigger."
Under the gazes of Griwills, flustered like he had no idea what was going on, and Sheryl, scanning me and Siegfried with an odd look, Siegfried clutched his head and screamed.
"Ah!! Are your eyes busted or what!"
And I laughed inwardly as I watched Siegfried rage by himself, unable to find a rebuttal.