Chapter 34- A Wise Summer Vacation (1)
The food that came from the cafeteria in the lecture building was sure as delicious as always. However, this place was the source of all accidents that were going to occur in the future. And, usually, Clayo would enjoy it to his heart content. However, as an introverted person, the meal would have been more enjoyable if nobody were around him. But with Celeste sitting across him and the twins, Lippi and Leticia, on both his sides, he couldn’t enjoy his food at all.
“Guys, let me have a meal in peace before we talk, all right?” Clayo begged, trying to induce pity for him.
“Eat,” Lippi said.
“Eat a lot.” The other twin seconded.
“In that case, please leave me alone with my food,” Clayo said as he pleaded to the twins.
“We can, but give us an answer first!” Leticia said.
“No matter how many times you ask, I only have one answer for you. I was just lucky enough the questions in the tests were all something I had memorized.”
“Wow!” One of the twins exclaimed in admiration.
“It was hard enough for us to memorize and comprehend those formulas from the first volume of the Magic Dictionary. But you had memorized everything from it? How did you do that? You must be a genius!” The other one chattered with glittering eyes.
The twins were so busy talking his ear off that they had almost forgotten to eat their food. So, he gave up on having a peaceful and quiet meal as he switched track on observing the twins. When he looked at the twins, the impression that they were children didn’t go away despite the fact they were wearing the school’s uniform. Therefore, it was clear to him that Angelium twins entered school earlier than their peers.
And seeing that they were children, they had no concept of shame or keeping face since they inquired about Clayo’s unique magic without reserve.
Although they looked innocent and naive, they were smart girls. And the reason they spoke to their friends in a carefree and childlike manner was that they had spent their childhood together undergoing strict training to master the swords. Since they only had each other for company, the mutual dependency they had for one another stunted their social skills, making them clumsy with interacting with people.
From what Jeongjin read from the manuscript, the first time Angelium twins only tasted freedom and friendship after they came to this school. As such, they had no limit about displaying the extent of their friendly feelings.
“Celeste, can’t you stop her?” Clayo asked with a long-suffering tone.
“Why do you want me to stop them? They’re adorable. Besides, I’m also curious about the secret of your magic. After all, the size of your circle was only level 2, but the power it emanated was level 4. Therefore, wouldn’t I inevitably want to find out the reason behind it?” Celeste commented inquisitiveness stamped all over her face.
“Whoah, whoah, why are you so interested in my magic when you don’t even want to be a wizard in the first place?” Clayo said, sidestepping the question with his question.
“It’s always interesting to see the difference between the two jobs. After all, although both sides use ether, one side uses it by concentrating it throughout their body while the other uses ether by spreading it out from their body. Huhu!” Celeste said as she crossed her legs together.
“Hey, don’t say anything if you don’t have anything meaningful to say.”
With her chin propped up with one hand, a glass of white wine, on the other side, Celeste Tangpet de Negee’s graceful posture, was brought forth. In the first place, she was a beautiful girl with her short and soft-looking navy blue hair. Combined with her shining silver eyes, she had a bearing that commanded respect from people.
Presently, she was wearing a jacket with no buttons nor tie. Under her coat, was a shirt, two of its buttons undone and sleeves rolled up. The trousers of the school uniform perfectly fit her slender, long legs. With just a glance, it was evident that she was a girl with a natural, elegant charm, and excellent shape.
I think you’re taller than me. Jeongjin thought.
At that moment, the twins fed him up, disrupting his meal when he was about to take a bite, so he stood up. But suddenly, a hand came out of nowhere and gently pressed on his shoulder. Without even turning his head, he instinctively knew who the person was. And as expected, it was that person.
“… Ishiel.” Clayo uttered as he turned around and faced the fiery girl before him.
Meanwhile, against the ferocious aura, the prosecutor girl was emitting behind them, the twins decided to step back from Clayo’s side and went to Celeste’s hand across the table. On her side, Celeste merely kept sipping her wine as she looked on. She ultimately had no intention to interfere with the looming conflict before her. Judging from the way her eyes twinkled, rather than hindering, she seemed to be more interested in spectating.
“You lied to me!” shouted an angry Isheil.
“Lies? What lies? I have repeatedly asserted that I didn’t know any magic. However, though I said I didn’t know, I had never said I couldn’t do any magic after I learned it.”
Here, Clayo once again used the power of denial. It was not the case back then, but it is the case right now. Didn’t everyone love to make such excuses when they caught lying?
“All right. For now, I will believe that you don’t belong to any organization. After all, Arthur also told me the same thing.”
As though conscious of the people’s presence in the cafeteria, Ishiel only vaguely expressed her opinion. That way, without any context, people wouldn’t be able to understand what exactly she was talking about.
However, in a nutshell, Ishiel was trying to tell him that ‘You’re not a spy sent by the first prince or the second prince. And Arthur also believed this to be the case. But frankly speaking, it’s hard to believe that you don’t have any hidden intention here.’
Clayo, being surrounded by the four girls, felt as if he was facing a lion in front while the tigers were eyeing him from the back. He sincerely wanted to flee from the sparkling, lively, and curious expression these girls had.
“Then, what was your purpose in hiding your ability?” Ishiel continued to press, seemingly unwilling to give up.
Why does she think everyone in this world lives like her, having a purpose and mission in their life? Maybe it’s because she is still young that she has this notion in mind? Clayo thought, feeling exasperation filled every corner of his heart.
“Expulsion,” Clayo expressed in a quiet voice.
“What?”
“My goal is to be expelled soon so that I can avoid military service.“ Clayo said with conviction.
At Clayo’s unexpected answer, Ishiel’s usually impassive expression changed, momentarily shifting to slight embarrassment before it turned once more to a more solemn utterance. She then took a moment to appraise and ponder the reason behind Clayo’s response before giving up and directly asking him.
“Is there something you have to accomplish to go so far as avoiding mandatory military service?”
At this moment, Clayo’s heartfelt stifled because her words just now were implying that he was either an anti-war activist or a straight escapist. He simply wanted to beat her up and stopped her from bothering him anymore.
“I have what I’m trying to accomplish. I want to play and eat at a resort hotel forever while drinking champagne in the morning, whiskey in the evening, and have 12 hours of sleep at night.” Clayo righteously told her.
“You aren’t serious, are you? If that is what you want, then why did you even come to this school in the first place?” Ishiel exclaimed, losing her cool in the face of what she perceived to be a mockery for everything that she stood for.
She was talking with Clayo seriously, but in the end, this was what she got? She thought Clayo was just joking around with her, so she felt insulted, and that was why she immediately flared up in rage.
However, what she didn’t know or understand was that Clayo’s words contained no jokes whatsoever. Not even 1% of it was a joke to him. He was earnest about his goal. As such, he also flared up in anger when his goal was taken into question by this self-righteous girl.
“Do you think I came here because I wanted to? Huh? Do you?” Clayo retorted with a sharp tone, unable to mask his feelings at the moment.
If Ishiel could, she would want to punch Clayo as hard as possible. But she restrained herself and her trembling fist. She couldn’t bring herself to hit a weak boy who didn’t even know how to do basic swordsmanship. So, she breathed in and out as she tried to quell her anger.
Then, a moment later, she began to talk to Clayo again. Her tone was as if she was ready to chew him out if given a chance.
“It seems I’m wasting my time talking with you. Although I admire your talents very much, it’s a pity that your talent has wasted on you. I don’t know why Arthur is so interested in you.” Ishiel said with gritted teeth.