n

n

n

"You've said that wind magic is useless...!

"

nZoemi completely disregarded Xeonith's words and was accusingly pointing his finger at the brown-haired son of a duke...

nHe even started pouting – which looked adorable for anyone looking at the left side of his face, and horrifying for the ones seeing the right side.

nAs for the Xeonith seeing the scarred attendant from the front, his reaction was... mixed...

n

"And he said sorry for what he's done! Aren't you supposed to pose as a benevolent guy? Just let the best boy go!

"

nZoemi nearly fumbled and fell down, but he somehow managed to keep himself upright while shrugging his shoulders dismissively at the brown-haired capture target.

n

"Wha...?! What best boy, what are you talking about?! And let him go?! Do you know how many times has he pulled off something like that!? Look what he's done to everyone's clothes!

"

n

"Hmph...!

"

nXeonith wasn't giving up on being agitated, but after his last sentence, Zoemi got angry and frowned, which made his scars twist horribly.

n

"Oh, boo-hoo! As if anyone in this room - except for me and the kitchen staff - washes their own clothes!

"

nThe scarred attendant crossed his arms under his chest and glared at the much more powerful Xeonith with contempt - his voice was brimming with annoyance.

n

"...a... I... Umm... What...?

"

nHonestly, Xeonith had no idea how to react to that – it certainly wasn't the reaction that he has expected, that's for certain...

n

"Lord Xeonith is a transcended magician, so he thinks he can act as the peace-keeper in here, it seems... hi-umph...!

"

nZoemi shut his lips in time to stop the hiccup sound escaping his mouth, though his body still slightly jumped.

n

"Since you want to get the respect you think you deserved, sure. Here! Lord Reo, come, give me your hand... Maybe if we apologize together the oh-so-great lord Derizno will forgive us!

"

nEven though he said it as if he was giving Reo a choice, the black-haired attendant went ahead and grabbed the green-haired second year's hand and pulled him right next to himself, almost falling down again, but managing to keep his balance by leaning on Reo's shoulder.

n

"Urgh...! Sorry, thank you... Here, lord Reo, I came off as rude towards lord Xeonith and the other students too, so I also have something to apologize for, okay? So we will do it together! Hear me out - we're bowing down on the count of three and saying that we're sorry for causing trouble, you feel me?

"

n

"Umm, who are yo-mpfh...?

"

n

"Shhhhh... We're apologizing now.

"

nReo wanted to say something but Zoemi was in a state that he would care only for his master's words and just casually pressed his index finger onto the green-haired boy's lips, silencing him.

n

"I'm starting the countdown.. or countup...? ...is that even a word...? Ah, who cares... One... two... three...!

"

nZoemi's grip on Reo's hand was rather strong since the black-haired boy was using the green-haired prankster as support, therefore whether he wanted it or not, Reo was pulled down together with a black-haired attendant and made to perform the ninety-degree bow.

n

"We are sorry for causing you trouble!

"

n

"W-we are sorry for causing trouble...?

"

nThey weren't perfectly in sync but still, both of them said it – even though Reo stuttered a lot from embarrassment.

n

"...

"

n

"...what is going on here...?

"

n

"...hey... correct me if I'm wrong, but the ugly guy is standing up for lord Moyena because lord Xeonith disrespected the wind attribute...?

"

n

"...yeah...! Why are they apologizing in the first place – pulling a prank is one thing – but disrespecting someone's attribute is something far worse...!

n

"...!

"

nNow everyone in the cafeteria was feeling awkward - because of the lady Miriette's attendant the apology looked sincere and Reo's ears were burning red so even if he wasn't truly repenting he was at least feeling a bit humiliated – and on top of that some of the green-haired students began talking amongst themselves and sending indignant glares towards the brown-haired capture target who flinched and realized that in the eruption of anger, he might have messed up...

nNow he was looking like the bad guy, especially since Zoemi didn't allow Reo to straighten his back for at least two minutes straight...

n

"...Um... F-fine, I get it! You two just stand up already!

"

nWith no other choice – and increased animosity from every single wind attribute wielding student - Xeonith backed off as he noticed that many students, even those who were hit by the oatmeal shrapnel, were giving him the disapproving looks, and he didn't want to end up as the real bad guy in that situation.

nUnfortunately for him, it was fairly obvious which side of the conflict was stronger, and who caused the actual property damage – the clothes could be washed, but the stones from the floor that Xeonith used for his spell all disappeared into the black-haired attendant's shadow, leaving the broken floor...

n

"Moyena, just.. .! Just don't do that again!

"

nXeonith turned around with an embarrassed expression and walked out of the cafeteria.

nThe students who were affected by the oatmeal prank also hurriedly left to change, there was still well over an hour of the break left and the perpetrator humbled himself, so the whole situation wasn't such a big deal in the end.

nThough - the broken flooring was a different thing...

nZoemi could at least took out the debris from his shadow, but both storing and taking things out of it took mana, and since having the missiles stored took out the rest of his mana left after the shadow jump – it was straight-up impossible for him to recover it at the moment.

n|...uuugh... I feel so nauseous...!|

nZoemi finally stood up straight and let go of the Reo so he could do that too.

n|...Now that I think about it... it's either that there's something wrong with Surou's route or... there is something wrong with Surou himself...! The heroine was acting just as she has been in the game – but that blue-haired second prince on the other hand... So suspicious...!|

nThe black-haired boy dusted off his clothes deep in thoughts – so deep in thoughts that after he made sure that his clothes were in perfect order, he subconsciously followed his training as the attendant and straightened Reo's clothes too...

n

"H-huh...?! What are you...?! I – I mean... I'm... umm... Thank you...

"

nReo flinched but since Zoemi didn't say a thing and just put his uniform in order, he blushed and nodded his head to the black-haired attendant.

n|Huh...? Oh, he's talking to me...!|

nZoemi flinched and realized that Reo is lowering his head to him, looking apologetically.

n

"Aww...! Look at you, I knew you were a good boy!

"

nEven though the less mana a magician has, the faster it regenerates – Zoemi's regeneration speed wasn't too good so the effects of spending all of his mana at once were very much still present – which was the reason why the scarred attendant stretched his hand and started patting Reo's head, completely messing up the green hair of the upperclassman all while smiling brightly – so brightly that the light returned to his jet-black eyes making them appear like eyes of a living creature again.

n

"H-huh...!?

"

nSurprised Reo took a step back, his face was completely red...

n...it wasn't a good match with the shade of his hair...

n

"Just go and say sorry to the kitchen staff too, alright? You've messed up with their hard work - but I'm sure that they will forgive you if you show some goodwill and promise not to do that again, okay?

"

nZoemi asked, tilting his head so that only the pretty side of his face would be visible, and smiled reassuringly.

n

"...okay...

"

nReo nodded like an embarrassed child and obediently went towards the servants that were hurriedly cleaning the aftereffects of the prank and the magical attack.

n

"...see, he is a good egg...

"

nZoemi watched after the green-haired upperclassman with a smile.

nBut as the minutes passed and at least one-tenth of his mana recovered, his smile slowly disappeared and his eyes were widened in a horrifying realization.

n|Show some goodwill...? Show good...? Show something good...?|

n

"Oh, dear god, the second prince's scripted event!

"

nHe gasped, sobering up in an instant, and madly dashed towards the entrance pushing aside the unfortunate students in his way.

n---

n

"...

"

nGrazio, who was watching everything from the seat far in the back of the cafeteria, looked down on his meal and started prodding the food with the fork while his expression has become sour.

n