Chapter 24: Cafeteria 3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 24: Cafeteria 3
The moment I stepped into the cafeteria, I felt every eye in the room lock onto me. Students stole glances, then immediately turned back to their friends to whisper.
They didn't even bother to hide it; I could hear every word of their conversation.
"Hey, look over there."
"Look where? If you're trying to swipe my side dishes again, forget it. I’m not falling for it."
"Dammit, I only did that once! Just turn around and look, quick."
"What’s all the fuss about? Fine, I’m looking."
Aside from the freshmen, few people had actually seen me. Unless they were a professor or a club representative who had watched the auditorium monitors on orientation day, they wouldn't know who I was.
"That’s the guy I was talking about. The one with the Innate Magic."
"You're right. But why is Johanna next to him...?"
It was easy to distinguish the students seeing me for the first time from those who weren't.
"Is he even allowed to wear a mask like that?"
"You’re wearing a necklace, aren't you?"
"That and this are completely different things."
Those seeing me for the first time gossiped about the mask. It was understandable; they’d probably never seen an Academy student walking around in something so ridiculous.
If I had one grievance, it was the lack of praise for my handsome face. Then again, I suppose it would be embarrassing to say something like that out loud.
"You know, you don't have to be shy. You can say it out loud," I muttered.
"What are you talking about?"
When I started mumbling to myself, Johanna tilted her head. Her sapphire-blue eyes, fixed intently on me, were filled with curiosity and wonder.
"Why is Johanna with a guy like that?"
"I know, right?"
Students who had seen me before weren't questioning the mask; they were questioning why Johanna was sticking so close to me. Actually, it wasn't so much a question as it was pure jealousy.
Perhaps they didn't like a freshman like me eating with Johanna, because I felt a barrage of hostile glares directed my way.
Well, this was the normal reaction. The fact that most of the students in the Special Class didn't recognize Johanna just proved they weren't normal.
Even after we got our food and sat down, the stares didn't diminish; if anything, they intensified.
"He’s going to take the mask off now, right?"
"Obviously. How else is he going to eat?"
Ignoring the expectations that I would unmask, I proceeded to eat with the mask still on.
"As expected, Academy food is delicious!"
As I continued to eat without removing the mask, a wave of disappointment swept through the room. Even Johanna watched me with a look of regret as I ate through the fabric.
However, some students were more interested in the mask itself than the fact that I hadn't taken it off.
"What exactly is that mask?"
"I've never heard of a mask like that."
"Could it be an artifact?"
"Should I ask to borrow it later?"
They stared in fascination as the food passed right through the mask and into my mouth.
As I ate under their scrutiny, I spotted Sepia eating alone in the distance. Our eyes met, as if she had been watching me too.
Realizing I had noticed her, Sepia haughtily turned her head away. Her spirits hovered around her, acting cute in an attempt to cheer her up.
Perhaps because Sepia was eating alone, a man stood up with his tray and approached her. He struck up a conversation. I couldn't hear them from this distance, but he was likely asking if he could join her.
I couldn't hear Sepia's response either, but the man's face turned bright red as he retreated to his original seat, making the outcome obvious.
I turned my head to look elsewhere. There, I saw Lucas eating with the other Special Class students. He seemed to have already befriended them, as they were chatting quite naturally.
A few other students approached Lucas, clearly wanting to get close to him. However, not wanting to disturb his meal, they all headed back after a few brief words.
While I was watching them and eating, my vision suddenly went dark. Before I could even process what was happening, my sight returned.
Clara was standing in front of me, holding my red cloak. The sudden darkness had been caused by her shoving the fabric right in front of my eyes.
"What is this?"
"It's my cloak!"
Hearing my bright response, Clara spoke as if she found me absurd.
"Do you think I'm asking because I don't know what it is? I'm asking why your cloak was with me."
"That’s because I draped it over you before I left."
"So that's why... Haa, forget it."
Realizing that continuing the conversation would only exhaust her, Clara let out a short sigh and handed the cloak back. The moment it touched my hand, it equipped itself onto me automatically.
Johanna’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at the self-equipping cloak, while Clara looked on with an "I knew it" expression, having already suspected as much.
"That’s an artifact, isn't it?"
"Yes! As expected of a mage of your caliber, Clara, you noticed immediately."
If it was Clara, she would have known the moment she touched it.
"How can you be so reckless with an artifact? Are you out of your mind?"
Clara spoke in a scolding tone. She was right; handing over an artifact so carelessly was indeed a lapse in judgment.
"Ayy~ Still, you're much more important than an artifact, Clara."
"......W-what?"
At my words, Clara’s face turned beet red, and she practically fled the scene. What was with her?
"I wonder why she’s like that?"
".................."
For some reason, Johanna’s expression had soured ever since my conversation with Clara.
"Senior, are you feeling sick?"
"......No."
As I continued eating with Johanna in silence, someone spoke to her.
"Well, this is rare. You, eating alone?"
Behind the man who approached were about ten others who looked like his lackeys. Leading the group, the man spoke to his subordinates as if issuing an order.
"You guys eat elsewhere. I’m going to eat with Johanna, just the two of us."
It was a blatant dismissal of my presence. Johanna looked at him with a face full of loathing and said a single word.
"Get lost."
"Don't be so cold. Have you thought about my proposal? About the engagement?"
Johanna ignored him as if he wasn't even worth the effort and continued eating. When she ignored him, the man turned his gaze toward me.
"You rejected my offer to eat together, yet you're eating with a guy like this?"
The man looked at my mask and sneered.
"Besides, you should take off your mask when you're talking to a senior!"
With those words, he reached for my mask. He applied force, trying to rip it off, but the mask didn't budge an inch.
"W-what? Why won't this thing move?"
I didn't turn my head; I simply shifted my eyes to look at the Vermin struggling to remove my mask.
Should I kill him?
Considering the trouble this Vermin would cause later, it might actually be better to kill him now. When the mask wouldn't come off, the Vermin even began using mana to reinforce his body, trying to force it.
Yet, the mask remained perfectly still. The surrounding students, sensing the commotion, began to look over one by one.
When the Vermin continued to be ignored, one of his subordinates even drew a sword.
"Take it off yourself while your seniors are being nice."
Drawing a sword in a place crowded with people... As expected of a Vermin's lackey, this guy was a piece of trash too.
"I don't recall you being particularly 'nice' up until now," I said, my voice laced with mockery.
The subordinate, seemingly enraged, pressed the blade against my neck. How could someone make such a stupid decision?
With the blade at my throat, Johanna reinforced her body, ready to knock the subordinate unconscious instantly—but the hand holding the sword froze over even faster.
"Aaaaaagh!!"
"Who was that?!"
The subordinate screamed as his hand froze, and his friend shouted, looking for the culprit.
"I did it."
The answer came from further away than expected. It was a voice so cold it felt chilling. From the voice alone, I could tell it was a man. There weren't many people who could cast magic from that distance.
The man walked forward slowly, and the students parted for him as if it were only natural. He walked with a measured pace, as if he expected the path to clear for him.
Following behind him were more than twenty students, every single one of them with a golden badge pinned to their uniform. In the Academy, a golden badge signified only one thing: the Student Council.
And the man who had frozen the subordinate's hand...
The man who appeared leading the entire Student Council...
Joden Adelian.
The Student Council President.
The man universally recognized as the strongest student in the Academy spoke to the frozen man and his friends.
"Weren't you looking for who did it? It was me."
As he stepped forward, the Vermin and his lackeys stood frozen, unable to utter a single word.