episode_0024

From the moment I arrived at the cafeteria, I felt the students’ gazes turn towards me. They glanced at me once, then whispered among themselves with the people they were eating with.

Perhaps they didn’t feel the need to hide it, as I could hear everything they were saying.

“Hey, hey, look over there.”

“Why over there? Are you going to try and steal my side dish again? I won’t fall for it this time.”

“Oh, come on, I only did that once. Quick, turn around and look at *that*.”

“What’s the big deal? Why are you making such a fuss? Alright, I’ll turn around.”

Not many people had seen me, aside from the freshmen. On the day of the entrance ceremony, if you exclude the professors or club representatives who saw the auditorium on a monitor, you could say almost no one had.

“That’s the guy I told you about. The one with that unique magic.”

“Yeah, but why is Johanna next to him…?”

It was easy to distinguish between the students who were seeing me for the first time and those who weren’t.

“Is he allowed to wear that mask?”

“You’re wearing a necklace too, aren’t you?”

“That and this are different.”

People who were seeing me for the first time today chattered about the mask I was wearing. It made sense they’d be talking, as they’d probably never seen an academy student walking around with such a ridiculous mask.

My only complaint was that I didn’t hear any voices talking about my handsome face, but then again, it would be embarrassing to talk about such things loudly.

“You don’t have to be shy about it, you can just say it out loud, you know.”

“What are you talking about?”

As I suddenly mumbled to myself, Johanna tilted her head and asked. Her blue eyes, staring intently at me, held feelings of curiosity and inquisitiveness.

“Why is Johanna with a guy like that?”

“Exactly.”

If they weren’t students seeing me for the first time, they questioned why Johanna was sticking with me. No, rather than questioning, it was probably jealousy and envy.

I felt many gazes staring at me with dissatisfaction, as if they didn’t like that I, a freshman, was eating with Johanna.

Well, this is normal. The reason most of the students in the special class didn’t recognize Johanna is because *they* aren’t normal.

Even after getting our trays and sitting down with Johanna, the stares didn’t lessen; they actually increased.

“Now *that* guy will take off his mask, right?”

“Of course. How could he eat with a mask on?”

After that, I ignored the students’ expectations that I would take off my mask and ate with it still on.

“As expected, the academy food is delicious!”

When I ate without taking off my mask, I could feel everyone’s disappointment. Even Johanna looked at me with regretful eyes as I ate with my mask on.

However, more than being disappointed that I didn’t take off my mask, there were also students who were interested in the mask itself.

“What’s the deal with that mask?”

“I’ve never even heard of a mask like that.”

“Could it be an artifact?”

“Should I try asking to borrow it later?”

They stared intently at me as I ate, seemingly fascinated by how the mask allowed food to pass right through to my mouth.

As I ate under their gaze, I spotted Sepia eating alone far away. Our eyes met, as if Sepia had also been looking at me.

Realizing I was looking at her, Sepia primly turned her head away. The spirits around her acted cute to try and cheer her up.

Perhaps because Sepia was eating alone, a man picked up his tray, stood up, and approached her.

The man who approached Sepia spoke to her. I couldn’t hear their conversation because of the distance, but he probably asked if he could eat with her.

Sepia’s reply was also inaudible, but I could tell by looking at the man, whose face was completely flushed, as he returned to his original seat.

This time, I turned my head and looked the other way. Lucas was eating there with the special class students. It seemed he had gotten quite friendly with the other kids, having chatted with them for a while.

Some students, wanting to get friendly with Lucas, approached him. But perhaps not wanting to disturb him while he ate, they all exchanged a few short words and then returned.

While eating and watching them, my vision suddenly went dark. Before I could even wonder what was happening, my sight returned.

In front of me stood Clara, holding my red cloak. My vision had gone dark just now because Clara had put the cloak right in front of my eyes.

“What is this?”

“It’s my cloak!”

Clara spoke with an incredulous look after hearing my bright answer.

“Do you think I’m asking because I don’t know *that*? I’m asking why *your* cloak is with *me*.”

“Well, because I draped it over Clara-ssi and left?”

“So… hah, never mind.”

Clara seemed to realize that continuing this conversation would only tire her out, so she let out a short sigh and handed me the cloak. The cloak, once placed in my hand, automatically put itself on me.

Johanna looked at me with slightly wide eyes, surprised by the cloak putting itself on, while Clara, having somewhat guessed it, looked on with an ‘as expected’ expression.

“That’s an artifact, isn’t it?”

“Yes! As expected, a mage of Clara-ssi’s caliber would recognize it immediately.”

If it was Clara, she would have known immediately upon touching the cloak that it was an artifact.

“To hand over an artifact so carelessly, are you out of your mind?”

Clara spoke in a scolding tone. Indeed, as she said, carelessly handing over an artifact was a thoughtless action.

“Aww~ Still, Clara-ssi is more important than an artifact.”

“…..What?”

Clara’s face turned red after hearing my words, and she left as if fleeing. Why is she like that?

“Why is she like that?”

“…………”

Somehow, Johanna’s expression seemed to sour after I had that conversation with Clara.

“Senior-nim, are you feeling unwell?”

“…No.”

As we ate in silence, someone spoke to Johanna.

“What brings you to eat alone for a change?”

Behind the approaching man were about ten men who appeared to be his subordinates. The man, leading these ten or so men, announced to his subordinates as if giving an order:

“You guys eat separately. Johanna and I will eat together.”

It was clearly a remark that ignored me. Johanna looked at him with an expression full of disgust and said one word:

“Get lost.”

“Don’t say such hurtful things. Have you thought about my proposal for us to get engaged?”

Johanna ignored the man, eating her food as if he wasn’t even worth dealing with. When Johanna ignored him, the man looked at me and said:

“You refused when *I* asked you to eat, but you’re eating with a guy like *this*?”

The man saw my mask, then smiled contemptuously and said:

“But when you’re talking to a senior, you should take off your mask!”

Saying so, the man reached out his hand to my mask. He then put force into it, trying to pull the mask off, but it didn’t budge.

“Wh-what? Why isn’t this budging?”

I didn’t turn my head, only my eyes, to look at the vermin struggling to pull off my mask.

‘Should I kill him?’

Considering the future trouble this vermin would cause, it might even be better to kill him now. When the mask didn’t come off, the vermin even used mana to enhance his body and tried to pull the mask off.

However, the mask still didn’t budge. The surrounding students also seemed to notice the commotion and began to look over, one by one.

When the vermin was ignored, a man who seemed to be his subordinate even drew his sword and said:

“Take it off yourself while the seniors are still being nice.”

To draw a sword in a place with so many people. As expected of the vermin’s subordinate, is this guy a vermin too?

“I don’t recall you saying anything particularly nice so far, though?”

When I spoke with a sneer in my voice, the subordinate seemed to get enraged and put the sword to my neck. How could he make such a foolish decision?

With a sword at my neck, Johanna immediately enhanced her body, ready to knock out the subordinate, but faster still was the freezing of the hand of the subordinate holding the sword to my neck.

“Aaaaahhhhh!!!!”

“Who’s there?!”

As his hand froze, the subordinate screamed, and his friend shouted to find out who did it.

“I did it.”

The answer came from a place farther away than expected. It was a voice cold enough to be chilling. From the voice, I could tell he was a man. Not many people could use magic from such a distance.

The man walked slowly, and the students, as if it were natural, cleared a path for him.

The man walked slowly, as if it were only natural for the students to make way for him.

Behind the man, more than twenty students followed, all with golden badges attached to their uniforms. In the academy, a golden badge proved only one thing: the Student Council.

And the one responsible for freezing the subordinate’s hand.

The man who appeared, leading all the Student Council members.

Joden Adelien.

The Academy Student Council President.

He, the strongest student in the academy, by his own admission and general consensus, spoke to the frozen man and his friends.

“Weren’t you looking for who did it? I did.”

When he stepped forward, the vermin and his subordinates froze, unable to say a word.