Class
Class
The students who had been engrossed in the festival-like atmosphere while grandly welcoming Hero Siegfried belatedly came to their senses and began to grasp the situation. Actually, calling it grasping the situation was a rather pathetic act. Because at most, they stood blankly with their thoughts stalled, rubbed their eyes, and watched the unreserved conversation between Siegfried and Eldmia again.
It was only after Siegfried had protested his grievances for a long while and finally calmed down that their halted minds began to turn at the bizarre sight unfolding before their eyes. As Siegfried started snatching and eating the food Eldmia had brought in advance, huffing and puffing, Eldmia asked calmly.
"Don't you think it was a good idea to go?"
For words uttered so casually, it was a remark that greatly deviated from common sense. Siegfried was not someone who had just returned from sightseeing a tourist attraction; he was someone who had come back from a battle against a powerful demon that brought the risk of corruption to the deep layers of an order boasting a long history.
A demon was a demon no matter what anyone said. Even the most common goblin was a threat to people, and the danger of that evil creature that even defied the gods' will was not something you needed to see with your own eyes to know. From demons strong in actual might to those that threw you into chaos with wicked schemes and magic, not a single one was easy. What the battle at the Holy Light Cross Order headquarters was like was not yet known, but it must have certainly been enough to write a heroic epic.
To speak so lightly of a grueling battle that must have been filled with countless life-or-death crossroads was such an outrageous remark that you'd have nothing to say even if you got punched. Yet, unlike the students whose faces stiffened rapidly, Siegfried, chewing chicken with a sullen expression, nodded as if it really was no big deal.
"Yeah, fuck. Let's say comparisons come later. It was a good experience."
"The demon I faced had a knack for knocking people out semi-forcibly. It was an attack that the deeper your faith, the easier you fell victim. What was it like on your side, Hero?"
"He was a crazy bastard that thrust out filthy tentacles because he was so full of himself. They say that the higher the rank of a demon, the more they obsess over a humanoid body, and those that weren't like that were strong. The people from the order even knew its name, but it was a damned long and twisted name so I don't remember. It didn't have any mental attack like you said, but it was physically a pain in the ass."
The sight of the two conversing as naturally as if they had just returned from finishing work and were reviewing it was as alien as the content of their conversation. Among the students who had been stealthily moving with their trays as naturally as possible around Siegfried and Eldmia, one finally couldn't hold back and quietly asked their friend.
"A demon... wouldn't defeating one be enough to call it a lifetime achievement...?"
The students who caught that small murmur silently agreed, but the two who were actually talking seemed not to. Unlike their first encounter, the full-scale conversation continued very dryly, and as if it were truly no big deal. Just moments ago they had squabbled like children over whose byproduct was bigger, but now they were exchanging information with the most serious faces in the world, so even Sheryl and Griwills watching from the side were dumbfounded.
They couldn't tell if they were on good terms, pretending to be on good terms, or actually on very bad terms.
"Little brother, honestly, I’m damn curious how you caught that demon."
"Is that so."
"You realize that isn't something you can just brush off with a bland answer, don't you, little brother? To catch that bastard, my Dragon Slayer suddenly became the Holy Sword of the Holy Light Cross Order. Before it was consecrated, I don't know what trick that thing was using, but it dodged however the hell it pleased."
When Siegfried reached out his hand into the air, space split and a handle as thick as a giant club popped out. What was pulled out of space and into his hand was a greatsword of such a monstrous size that calling it a sword was too generous—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a giant lump of iron. Siegfried, handling the weapon that naturally drew admiration that 'if you slay a dragon, it would need to be this big' as lightly as a longsword, leaned it against the table and continued, still paying no attention to his surroundings and looking only at Eldmia.
"I’m so used to you being competent that I try not to be surprised anymore, but this one was impressive even by your standards. You caught it without even using that holy relic bomb or whatever the order gave you?"
"That's right. More precisely, I couldn't use it."
"How?"
Eldmia, who had answered with an attitude of simply stating the facts, merely continued eating with a nonchalant expression, not answering Siegfried's question. Even after a minute, two minutes passed, he just ate like someone with no intention of answering, staring blankly at Siegfried. The ambiguous atmosphere that filled the cafeteria broke, and cold sweat began to trickle down the backs of those who had been enjoying their meal while quietly trying to listen in on the two's conversation.
The Empire's Hero Siegfried was also famous for his shitty personality. Setting aside the heroic achievements he made, the general evaluation around him was that he was an extreme 'one-man army' who did as he pleased. The eccentricities of that man, whose mood swung back and forth by utterly unpredictable standards like a ball that could bounce anywhere, had spread to some degree, if not entirely.
But the person who happened to be across from him, refusing to answer and blankly continuing his meal, was Eldmia. The living, breathing typhoon and guillotine who had recently shaken the capital of Itisel. A man whose standards and lines were not only extremely clear, but also possessed the skill to not have to bend those firm standards—no matter how positively one tried to think, he did not have good compatibility with Siegfried.
Hadn't it even been said that Hero had already lost once in the Empire? It wouldn't be strange if they got on each other's nerves and had a rematch right here and now.
"Just eat your meal."
The problem was, if that happened, there was no one who could stop it.
"Ah, fuck. Are you serious?"
Thus, when Siegfried grumbled, a heavy silence fell over the cafeteria once again.
At the very least, if Eldmia had pretended to be friendly by mimicking a knight as he had done in the Empire, the misunderstanding wouldn't have occurred, but Eldmia had no intention of being considerate of those around him, nor of breaking the concept he maintained.
"You know I would have said it earlier if it would have helped."
"What the hell is it that you're hiding so tightly? I'm really curious."
"A hidden card isn't something you reveal to just anyone."
That was the end of it. Siegfried made all sorts of faces as if dying of curiosity, but in the end he didn't ask further.
Griwills watched Sheryl's lips twitch upward as though she were suppressing a smile at Eldmia's answer, finding it strange. When the conversation between the two reached a natural lull, he smoothly joined in.
"I thought Teaching Assistant Ega's stiff attitude was meant to keep the students on their toes, but perhaps that wasn't all there was to it. Since we've finally got a chance to sit together, how about someone who already knows us makes the introductions?"
The students sitting nearby who had been listening to the two's conversation all, without exception, admired Griwills's courage. At that level, it wasn't just impudence—it was truly courageous. If it were them, they would have carefully picked up their trays and left, but instead he stepped forward! Siegfried, who had been staring blankly at Griwills's smiling face, opened his mouth.
"I'm really sorry to say this at first meeting, but you really look like a mastermind. Who are you?"
"Pardon? Uh, well, I'm Griwills, Hero. I'm the heir to a small trading company, and I'm currently studying at the Royal Academy."
"Is the name of the trading company a secret?"
"Pardon?"
At the bizarre question and conversation he had never experienced in his life, Griwills's always-smiling face was dyed with embarrassment, and Eldmia himself tore the bread he was eating and threw it at Siegfried.
At that utterly rude act, the atmosphere that had seemed to ease a little seemed to freeze again, and unlike the onlookers who couldn't even let out a breath, Siegfried lightly caught the piece of bread flying at him and giggled.
"What nonsense are you spouting now?"
"Ah, there's that thing. Physiognomically speaking, a friend like this turns out to be the mastermind behind the incident, you know?"
"Stop talking nonsense to a friend who is twice as diligent as you, Hero, and just eat your damn food."
"Oh! You remember food? Anyway, diligent? How do you know?"
"We had a brief spar because of class. His swordsmanship alone was so textbook that even you, Hero, should watch and learn. I repeat, to the extent that even you, Hero, should watch and learn."
"Ah, really. I've been diligently learning swordsmanship since then, I tell you!"
Only then did the students realize that the pressure they had felt was nothing more than an illusion. A sigh of relief escaped the students who discovered a human-like friendship between two figures who possessed such distant realms and fame. It seemed now at least the risk of indigestion from anxiety had disappeared.
"It's nice to see you full of confidence. Actually, I was thinking of taking a walk since I haven't been moving much lately—how about a post-meal exercise and a swordsmanship spar?"
"...No, well, I'm not quite at the level to proudly show it off yet..."
"You, Hero, have always been embarrassing no matter where you're put, so don't bother. It's grotesque at this point."
Nevertheless, they couldn't help but click their tongues at Eldmia's attitude of confidently engaging in such an unconventional conversation that transcended their common sense.