NOVEL NEXT Chapter 23 - Meal (2)
✦ Chapter 23 – Meal (2) ✦
「Translator – Creator」
𒋝𒋝𒋝𒋝𒋝
“Loki, some woman is here to see you!”
Kuran’s voice echoed through the classroom, loud enough for everyone to hear. All eyes were on me – or rather, on the classroom door.
I hadn’t seen or heard anyone, but I had a pretty good idea who it was. Besides my classmates, there weren’t many people who would visit me here. And if it were a professor, Kuran would have said so.
And Kuran had specifically said it was a woman, which narrowed it down to just one person.
A head peeked into the classroom. Platinum blonde hair neatly tied back, blue eyes scanning the room until they found me and stopped.
“Senior Johanna!” I exclaimed, running towards her as soon as I spotted her.
She raised her hand in a small wave, greeting me.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Senior Johanna. What brings you here?” I asked.
“Lunch, remember?”
Oh, right. I had completely forgotten about our lunch plans. Though I’d assumed we were meeting at the cafeteria, not that she would personally seek me out.
“Lady Freya?”
Three other students recognized her—
Lucas Leonheart, heir to the imperial family,
Clara Adellion, hailing from a ducal house,
And Sepia Leviathan, daughter of a marquis.
Considering their high statuses, their recognition of Johanna was to be expected.
Sepia was the first to speak up, “What, Loki? You already planned to have lunch with Lady Freya?”
She had somehow moved next to me without my noticing. She tried to sound casual, but her disappointment was evident in her tone and expression. The spirits, who clung to Sepia and seemed unwilling to leave her side, also clung to me, trying to dissuade me from leaving.
“Spirits…” Johanna mumbled, eyes glued to the spirits fluttering around me. She had never seen anything like it.
Even though there were a few second and third-years who specialized in spirit magic, seeing actual spirits was a rare occurrence. Most spirits chose to lend their power from the comfort of the spirit realm.
Sepia’s spirits, comfortable existing in the physical world for extended periods, were truly unique. If the spirit realm was like a peaceful countryside, the human world was a polluted, crowded city. The fact that Sepia’s spirits chose to stay with her spoke volumes about their bond.
The only reason the spirits had held back from attacking Professor Elysia earlier was because it was their first time encountering a dragon. Given a little more time, they would follow Sepia’s commands to attack her.
Even the most experienced spirit summoner currently at the academy would risk a backlash – potentially even a broken contract – if they dared to order their spirits to attack Professor Elysia.
“Senior Johanna? Are you alright?” I asked, noticing she was frozen in place.
Well, not exactly frozen… her hand was slowly inching towards me.
“Wait, are you trying to touch the spirits?” I blurted out.
Johanna instantly withdrew her hand, a blush creeping up her neck. Even the spirits seemed to shrink back, hiding behind my legs. The moment they were out of sight, Johanna glared at me.
“Senior Johanna, how is that my fault?”
Johanna was sulking about missing her chance to touch a spirit, while Sepia was upset that I already had lunch plans.
As I struggled to find a solution, a brilliant idea struck me. “Why don’t we all have lunch together?” I suggested, hoping to please everyone. It would give Sepia a chance to have lunch with me, and Johanna could observe the spirits to her heart’s content.
“That’s not possible,” Johanna quickly responded before Sepia could say anything.
Sepia looked visibly annoyed and stormed out of the classroom without another word.
“Hmph! I prefer to eat alone, anyway!”
Her spirits nuzzled against me one last time before chasing after her, leaving a faint trail of sparkling dust. Johanna watched them go, disappointment etched across her face.
“Shall we go now?” Johanna asked, looking at me. Her firm rejection had caught me off guard, but I didn’t let it show.
“Yes, of course!”
As we were leaving, I called out to my classmates. “Enjoy your lunch, everyone!”
The others, oblivious to Johanna’s identity, just stared at us blankly.
Of those who knew who she was, Lucas wore an amused smirk, while Clara had already returned to her nap, seemingly indifferent to the whole affair.
.
.
.
“Senior Johanna?”
I called out, hurrying after her. She had already left the classroom and was heading towards the cafeteria.
She turned around at the sound of my voice, her brow furrowed. “Where is it?”
“Where’s what?”
“Your cloak.”
I had forgotten I wasn’t wearing my usual red cloak. It made sense that she found my outfit strange without it.
“Ah, that. I lent it to someone who needs it more than I do right now. Anyway, It’s not important! Let’s grab some lunch!”
In truth, I had carefully draped the cloak over a slumbering Clara before leaving the classroom. It was incredibly lightweight yet surprisingly warm, perfect for a mid-class nap. And more importantly, it covered her… more revealing sleeping position.
Lucas, who saw me drape it over her, had an even more curious look, but I decided it wasn’t worth focusing on.
As thoughts of the cloak only brought back images of Clara’s form, I tried to walk faster to clear my head. “By the way, Senior Johanna,” I asked, suddenly remembering something, “why did you refuse to have lunch with Sepia and me?”
Johanna’s expression was downcast. Clearly, she was still lamenting the missed opportunity to befriend some spirits.
“Jenna told me to speak to you in private,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Jenna? About what?”
Johanna stopped walking and turned to face me, her blue eyes serious. “She wants you to join the Disciplinary Committee.”
“Again?”
She had asked me the same thing before, and I had politely but firmly declined.
This time, I wanted to say no right away, but something about her gaze made it difficult. If I joined, I’d get to see more of Senior Johanna, and life at the academy would definitely be easier.
“I apologize, Senior Johanna. As I said before…”
I steeled my resolve. I couldn’t join any clubs – not even the disciplinary committee – if I wanted to achieve my ultimate goal.
“You are really set on creating your own club, aren’t you?”
“Yes! I am not cut out to follow someone else’s rules! I’m going to be the one calling the shots!” I puffed out my chest, trying to appear confident.
“You know it’s not easy to start a club, right?”
“Yes! I understand that. But it’s a challenge I need to take on to achieve my goals.”
“I can help you. But in return, you have to join the disciplinary committee during the club trial period. Deal?”
She had probably known all along that I would refuse her offer. Perhaps this had been her plan from the very beginning.
I finally understood why Jenna had insisted Johanna speak to me privately.
The club trial period was a time for first-years to experience different clubs before committing. However, prestigious clubs like the disciplinary committee and the student council didn’t bother with such formalities. They were always flooded with applications.
Technically, there was nothing wrong with me joining the disciplinary committee for just the trial period.
However, the news would spread like wildfire, and I preferred to avoid attracting attention. Jenna, ever the strategist, had understood this perfectly.
“Alright,” I said. “I’ll join the disciplinary committee for the trial period.”
Besides, if the disciplinary committee was willing to help me create my own club, things would be much easier than I had anticipated.
Johanna’s face lit up. “Great!”
Lost in conversation, we didn’t even notice the time until we reached the cafeteria.
The academy boasted an impressive menu, befitting its status as the empire’s premier educational institution. It all looked incredibly delicious.
I loaded my tray with all my favorites, eager to dig in. But as Johanna and I sat down, I realized everyone in the cafeteria was staring at me.
“Senior Johanna,” I whispered, “I may be incredibly handsome, but it’s unusual to be stared at like this. Any idea why?”
“The mask.”
Ah, of course – everyone was staring because they thought I would have to remove the mask to eat.
To meet their anticipation without revealing my identity, I scooped up some warm soup with my spoon. Everyone watched, eager and swallowing hard, expecting the mask to come off.
I lifted the spoon towards my lips. Surely, this was it. This was the moment they had all been waiting for…
But the spoon simply passed through the mask, and I enjoyed the warm soup without revealing a thing.
“The food at the academy is indeed delicious!” I proclaimed.
They wouldn’t catch a glimpse of my face that easily.
— End of Chapter —
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