Chapter 21

“Don’t talk trash about Erto! He’s such a good guy!”

“You’re still living in a delusion! Next!”

Tirisia put her hand on her chest, trying to defend my battered self, but Seldienne just transferred her fan to Rusika.

“Come on, give it a shot♡”

Rusika wiggled her fingers and struck a mock aggressive pose.

“With all the elegance of a pathetic backwater noble who doesn’t even know where they’re rolling around, your words and actions are unbelievably frivolous! Honestly, it’d suit you better to think of yourself as a commoner! Plus, you even defend the relationship between Bruerd and commoners! How could a noble have such a mentality?!”

At those words, Rusika giggled and shook her head.

“Aha♡ It’s the same old flavor, isn’t it? Got anything new? How boring♡”

“See? Nobles with the brains of commoners just don’t get it! Next!”

This time, the fan pointed not at my face… but slightly off, more towards my back.

There was a large body with its head buried there, and I felt it tense up! It shivered.

“H-hii! Is, is this little me…?”

Seldienne made a disgusted face and snapped back curtly.

“There’s no need for words for such a pathetic sight! You’re out of the picture! Next!”

“Hiii…!”

Finally, the fan arrived at my face.

“A commoner! An utterly lowly commoner casually sitting among nobles, how shameless! There’s a limit to ignorance!”

“Uh, yes…”

“Now, if you have a mouth, try arguing back! Oh-hohohoho!”

“I understand, so this way… huh?”

My gaze, which was languidly focused on the wicked noblewoman who was cackling loudly, shifted behind her.

There stood a female student who had flown in from the air and landed silently.

“Hee—? So can I not be here?”

“Huh…?”

A voice as cold as steel.

The laughter ceased from Seldienne, who turned to see a girl with short blue hair tightly pressed against her back.

She grinned, exposing canines that gleamed with magical power from her blue eyes.

“Aang? You asking me to back off?”

“Y-you’re the Swordmaster…!”

“Kyaaa!”

“Hieeek!”

Seldienne and her minions backed away in horror toward us.

The last member summoned to the stage, Academy’s official ranking second, Perjena-senpai, raised her palm and threatened the three dingbats.

“Pfft, these dimwits aren’t making any progress. Just kick them out!”

“Ugh…!”

“How about we settle it with a little scrap since we’re seeing each other’s faces?”

“E-Elconja!?”

“What should we do…!”

Miu and Jury panicked, grabbing Seldienne’s arm.

And from the crowd, whispers began to arise.

“W-wait, the Swordmaster…!”

“With Bruerd, Elconja, and even the Swordmaster?”

“What on earth is happening today?”

The peaceful lunch hour had long vanished, and the students gathered at the stage were trembling, worried about becoming innocent bystanders in whatever was about to happen.

“No, seriously!”

Perjena-senpai, her cheeks slightly reddened, shouted as she looked around.

“Swordmaster, it’s so noisy! My name is Perjena! Don’t call me by that filthy nickname!”

“Aaaah! I’m gonna be killed by the Swordmaster!”

“Mom! I’m sorry! I’m targeted by the Swordmaster!”

“I’m gonna be torn into eight pieces…!”

…At this point, aren’t they just pulling our legs?

“Damn it, this is why I didn’t want to come to a crowded place.”

Perjena-senpai scratched the back of her head while clicking her tongue, and I waved at her.

“Welcome, senpai. Please, sit.”

“Yeah, but I have to finish what I started first.”

“Oh dear.”

Perjena-senpai shot a fierce glance at Seldienne again.

“Hey, shellhead.”

“W-what did you just say…?! Shell?”

“Would you rather sit quietly if summoned by my disciple, or should I just smash your face into the ground? Choose.”

“Hmph…!”

Second and third.

The gap between the two wasn’t huge, but it was definitely there.

“Fine then…!”

However, Seldienne couldn’t bend her noble pride to obey a commoner’s order, so she ignited golden magic power from her body and stepped forward toward Perjena-senpai.

Gooooo—!

“Elconja! Is this really happening?!”

“W-we need to get out of here…!”

Perjena-senpai stepped forward facing Seldienne as well.

“Yeah, that’s how it should be.”

Bang!

The blue magic power budding from her body was absorbed back beneath her skin with heavy pressure.

Craaaaack—

The golden crystal magic and extreme physical boosting magic resonated through the air, showcasing their presence.

Just as the two intent faces were about to enter each other’s range,

“Ahem, everyone pay attention.”

The words of Tirisia echoed in everyone’s head.

“Aang?”

“Cheh!”

The two people on the verge of clashing, along with everyone else, stopped what they were doing and stared at the silver-haired girl sitting cross-legged on the mat.

With a compassionate smile, she said,

“Everyone, Erto has something to say. Would you listen?”

“That loser?”

“Is that, is that Lord Erto?”

“How dare you use a word like that in her mind…!”

“Shut up and listen, shellhead.”

This time, all eyes turned to me.

Looking at Tirisia, she smiled and nodded her head.

I nodded back to express my gratitude, then opened my mouth to say what I intended.

“Let’s eat first.”

“…”

Everyone’s expressions fell flat.

They must have all forgotten, but it’s lunchtime right now.

We gathered here to have a meal together.

“Today, I packed a generous lunch for us to eat together. Wouldn’t you like to join?”

As I smiled, suggesting for them to calm down, Perjena-senpai sighed and came onto the mat.

“Ah, I’m hungry. Hey, disciple, give me food.”

“Hiiiii… Is it okay for me to eat behind that tree…?”

“Ahahaha♡ Absolutely not♡ Heidi, you’ll feed me from the side♡”

“What new form of harassment is this?”

“Why, Heidi is okay with it♡ But of course, there are eggs, right? Haggard loser♡”

“Yes, yes…”

As Seldienne looked at the dissipating tension, she cleared her throat behind her fan.

“Ahem! It seems you’re a little too excited. Miu, Jury! Sit down.”

“Yes, yes! Elconja!”

“You were impressive! Elconja!”

With that, the eight of us sat together on the mat, and our prepared lunches started to line up.

Among them, the luxurious and large platter set down by Seldienne and her lackeys stood out.

“What’s this? Seldienne, did you prepare something too?”

“If you’re invited to a feast, it’s only proper to bring something that matches the occasion! I merely did what’s expected, so don’t mistake it for any goodwill!”

“Yeah, I won’t mistake that.”

“Hey, shellhead. Today, I’ll let you pass for looking at my disciple and her girlfriend. If our gazes meet again next time, there’ll be no mercy.”

“Hmph, saying whatever you want!”

The peace treaty between the two who had been growling at each other was established, and finally, the most ordinary lunch time began.

“What’s going on…? Why is that member having lunch with us…?”

“Does that even make sense…?”

“This itself might be an incident…”

After a while, the students who had been whispering in the crowd realized that nothing was happening in this meeting and diverted their interest away from us.

“Everyone, enjoy your meal!”

After that, it was just an ordinary meal filled with idle chatter.

*

The meal finished.

“I ate well, Erto.”

Tirisia, neatly wiping her mouth with a handkerchief, smiled at me.

“Our loser may not know much, but she sure has cooking skills♡ At least that much♡”

“Why are you repeating yourself?!”

“Ahahaha♡”

As I shouted back, Rusika laughed, covering her mouth.

“L-Lord Erto… I managed to win… over Raphis…”

“You worked the hardest today, Haidiera.”

“Hehe…”

When I patted her head as she giggled, the hulking girl shrunk her shoulders and let out a sinister laugh.

“Where have all the praises for the fine meal you treated gone?”

“Aah, it was so good! Seldienne!”

“Praise me more! Commoner!”

“This was the best food here, Elconja!”

“You lot, how ridiculous.”

When Perjena-senpai raised her palm, Miu and Jury’s mouths shut with a snap.

“Y-you guys ate well again today, disciple.”

“I’m glad, Master.”

This time, the senpai patted my head, and the meal concluded just like that.

“Erto.”

“Yeah.”

Now that everything settled down, Tirisia looked into my eyes.

We understood each other without having to say a word, and as I nodded, she did the same.

Shall we slowly start talking?

“Well, everyone.”

I cleared my throat, taking a moment to glance around at everyone seated on the mat, then stated the reason I gathered them.

“Thank you for coming at my request, and the reason I called you here today is none other than…”

“Huh?”

As I launched into the main subject, everyone looked at me with bewildered expressions.

I spoke to them without infusing any particular emotions.

“We broke up.”

―

In an instant, everyone froze in shock.

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