"So, he's actually flirting," Verju noted, standing alongside Churn and Huis as they watched Kida from afar.
"Yeah," Huis and Churn muttered simultaneously.
"Though... don't you think she's way too pretty for him?" Verju added, his eyes glued to the white-haired girl and the red-haired boy.
"Yeah," Huis and Churn repeated in unison.
"Actually, can we even call that flirting? She's doing all the talking, and he hasn't said a single word. It looks more like a lecture than a conversation, don't you think?"
"Yeah," they droned together.
Verju finally shifted his gaze to the two next to him. "Can you guys stop repeating the same thing over and over—" Verju cut himself off when he saw their utterly blank, devastated expressions.
Churn's eyes were emptier than usual; it looked as if the absolute blackness in his stare could consume you.
Huis, on the other hand, was the definition of pure disappointment. Even though one of his eyes was completely hidden beneath his messy brown hair, his visible eye displayed an immense, crushing disillusionment.
"My boy..." Huis whispered hollowly.
"He's not your son, you idiot," Verju deadpanned, lightly swatting Huis on the back of the head.
"Ouch," Huis winced, rubbing his head in reaction to Verju's smack.
"It's incredible how stupid he can be," Churn's somber voice echoed right alongside Huis and Verju.
A few feet away, Kida continued listening to Lana. She talked, and talked, and talked, and then talked some more.
"That was located in the city of Ephyra. You'll probably visit it someday. You really should! It's actually under my father's territory, so I'm sure you'll love it."
"Hehehe, yeah, sure," Kida replied shyly.
Suddenly pausing, Lana blinked. "Oh... I think I talked too much again," she said, offering Kida a sheepish, apologetic look.
"No, no, don't worry about it. It's actually really entertaining listening to you. I'm learning a lot about this world," Kida reassured her quickly.
Lana's eyes instantly lit up. "R-Really?" she gasped.
"Yes... yes, it's quite entertaining to listen to you," Kida repeated, nodding.
Lana shed a few completely unnecessary anime-style tears of joy and grabbed Kida's arm with both hands. Flashing him a absolutely fabulous smile, she declared, "Then if it entertains you so much, I'll just keep talking!"Kida turned an even deeper shade of red than usual and could only nod his head in helpless approval.
"Well, um..." And so they continued talking—or rather, Kida continued silently listening to Lana for several more minutes.
From their hiding spot, Huis, Verju, and Churn continued staring intently at the couple.
"Hmm, hmm, I see," Churn murmured, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"What is it?" Verju asked, expecting some deep psychological analysis.
"Lana likes to talk," Churn replied with absolute, deadpan seriousness.
Verju slowly turned his head to stare at Churn, who was still fixated on Kida and Lana.
He's an absolute idiot, Verju thought, utterly bewildered by the sheer uselessness of the observation.
Feeling the heavy gaze on him, Churn finally noticed Verju staring. He turned to look at him, blinking in confusion. "What?" he asked.
"N-Nothing," Verju sighed, a deep look of pity welling up in his eyes.
"Stop saying obvious things, Churn," Huis interrupted their little standoff. "Anyway, I'm tired of watching those two. Do you guys want to go find something to eat somewhere else?" he added, stretching his arms over his head.
"Should we really leave our little boy all alone?" Churn asked, feigning concern.
Verju immediately turned toward him and lunged, trying to land the exact same smack on the back of the head that he had given Huis, but Churn effortlessly dodged it.
Verju blinked in surprise at the quick reflex, but quickly regained his composure, clearing his throat. "He's not your son. Let's just go get some food. I'm tired." Turning on his heel, Verju began walking away toward another banquet table.
Churn sighed resignedly, pushing himself off the wall to follow his friends. But before he got too far away, he paused, casting one last proud, fatherly glance back at Kida.
"You can do it, son..." he whispered to the wind.
Meanwhile, following a faint purple thread of mana he had cast to guide his way, Murd finally stepped into the Banquet Hall.
Upon entering, he took a moment to appreciate the view. The grand hall was draped entirely in elegant white, punctuated by brightly colored tables and chairs that created a striking, beautiful contrast.
"Cute..." he whispered to himself.
As he made his way inside, he noticed the large crowd of young nobles his age, stealing a few curious glances at them.
Everyone here is ridiculously good-looking, Murd thought.
In the distance, his eyes caught a familiar sight: three boys—one with green hair, one with brown, and one with black—bickering amongst themselves. Murd chuckled softly at the familiar dynamic.
Following the general direction they had been looking, his gaze landed on Kida, who was currently cornered by Lana as they shared a meal.
Murd's casual expression quickly shifted into one of profound, dramatic realization.
He brought a hand to his mouth, letting out a deep, emotional sigh.
"My son is growing up..." he whispered softly.
After a couple of seconds of basking in the emotional moment, he regained his cool composure and resumed walking.
"I trust you, son," he muttered with a proud smile before disappearing into the crowd.
"We're quite surprised that you've finally accepted a disciple," remarked a noblewoman with glasses, stirring his drink as he looked at Cynthia.
"Yes, well… I suppose it was about time," Cynthia replied matter-of-factly, relaxed and unfazed by the sudden attention.
"I'm very much looking forward to meeting him, Cyn," added another elegantly dressed noblewoman with a warm smile. "If he really convinced you to take him on, I'm sure the boy has extraordinary talent."
"Yes... he is quite talented," Cynthia replied with a gentle, knowing smile."The best part is that you've finally found someone for your clan. I wish I could join you, but... I don't think I can," the bespectacled noblewoman, Jira, sighed softly.
"Hahaha, don't worry about it, Jira. I know exactly why you can't," Cynthia reassured her warmly.
Overcome with sudden emotion, Jira teared up a little. She stepped forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Cynthia in an affectionate hug.
"I love you so much, Cyn. We really have the most amazing friend, don't we, Megan?" Jira said, her voice slightly muffled against
Cynthia felt the mana of the purple thread sever.
"Finally, you're here," she said, looking at Murd.
"Huh?" Murd ignored her greeting and looked at the girl clinging to Cynthia.
Jira opened her mouth and said, "Ohhh, you're Cynthia's disciple? You're very cute; you must be incredibly talented."
"Yes... yes, I am her disciple," said Murd, trying to hide his nervousness.
Megan, who was on the other side of Cynthia, approached Murd and spoke, "Thank you very much for accepting such a careless teacher."
"Huh?" Cynthia's face went blank, and she stared at Megan.
Megan, ignoring Cynthia's gaze, continued: "I still remember how she was always getting lost at the Academy and could never find her classes, or that time she froze half the library because her favorite character died."
Murd was about to chuckle, but Cynthia's gaze shifted to him threateningly, forcing him to be quiet.
Jira, now separated from Cynthia, said, "The good old days. It was hilarious when Cynthia would pretend to get angry when Asa followed her everywhere."
Murd reacted when Asa was mentioned. "The Empress was a fan of Cynthia..." Murd was about to laugh, but Cynthia's threatening gaze stopped him.
Cynthia's expression softened, and she looked at Jira, blushing slightly at the memories.
Jira noticed and just laughed.
"Well, the good news is that you have an incredible teacher. I'm sure that if you train for many years, you can reach her level. Not to brag, but at sixteen, her mana was already E+, hehehe," Megan said.
Murd just smiled shyly.
"I hope to reach that level," Murd said.
Cynthia looked at him and smiled slightly. "I think you're misunderstanding something. He achieved rank E+ at 15," Cynthia said, showing off her disciple.
"EHHH!" Jira and Amelia reacted in total surprise.
"What, what? Someone more talented..." they interrupted themselves so as not to upset Cynthia.
"Hehehe, yes, someone more talented..." Murd tried to brag, but Cynthia nudged him.
"I would only accept the best of the best as a disciple. With my teachings, he reached that level so young," Cynthia kept bragging.
"You didn't do anything, literally," Murd thought as he looked at Cynthia.
Megan and Jira were still surprised, while Murd just smiled shyly.
Murd stared at Cynthia, trying to silently communicate something to her.
"Ugh, wait, I was having fun," Cynthia replied loudly. "Go eat something. I was watching the whole room, and you only came in when I called you."
"Screw you. You only called me so you could show me off to your friends," Murd whispered before receiving another punch from Cynthia.
"Yeah," Cynthia admitted.
Murd, resigned, was about to leave, but Cynthia spoke up. "Hey, here. You know what to do." She threw a small green rock at him.
"We already practiced this. You can do it," she said before walking away with her friends.
"Screw you," Murd muttered before putting the rock in his pocket.