I can do this. It can't be that hard, Murd thought, desperately trying to drum up some confidence.
"Yeah. Yes, I can," he said aloud to himself.
"Can you?"
A soft, melodic voice started Murd, making him jump slightly. He spun around to find the source of the familiar voice. Amelia was standing right behind him, a brilliant smile on her face and her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Hellooo," Amelia said, gently waving her hand.
"Oh. Uh, hello," Murd replied, blinking.
"You finally made it inside! I was starting to think you were never going to leave the garden," Amelia teased.
"The garden was nice. But I only came in because my teacher—" The mere mention of the word 'teacher' sent a visible shiver down Amelia's spine, but Murd paid it no mind as he continued, "—called me over. She wanted to introduce me to some people."
"Ohh! It must be so much fun having Miss Cynthia as a mentor, right?" Amelia asked, nervously fidgeting with her hands.
"Uh...well. I guess you could call it that," Murd said, his voice entirely void of conviction.
Amelia immediately caught onto his hesitation. "Wait, it doesn't actually sound like much fun at all, does it?"
"Huh? You noticed?" Murd asked, caught off guard.
"Of course I did," Amelia laughed softly.
"Man... well, since you already caught on, I guess I can speak freely." Murd leaned a bit closer to Amelia—causing a fresh blush to spread across her face—and began to fan in a hushed whisper.
"If her servants aren't around, she literally doesn't know how to do anything. Her idea of a 'training method' is basically just making me watch her and figure it out on my own. The only time she actually sat down to teach me something was solely so she wouldn't have to bother dealing with me later! She's disrespectful, she doesn't act like a teacher at all, and above all else, she is incredibly careless."
Murd let out a massive sigh, thoroughly exhausted just from listing her flaws, and looked up. To his horror, Amelia was staring at him with her eyes wide as saucers.
Damn it, I scared her. I'm completely ruining Cynthia's reputation here, Murd thought frankly. He opened his mouth to try and take back his words, but he was instantly cut off by the sound of Amelia bursting into a fit of giggles.
"Huh??" Murd blinked, completely bewildered.
Amelia looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Wow. It sounds like she really tests your patience."
It took Murd a moment to process his reaction, but he managed to clear his throat. "Uh, well... it's not like it drives me crazy or makes me hate her or anything. But man, she can be so exhausting sometimes, you know?"
Amelia smiled warmly, her gaze softening. "Yeah. I think I can understand."
Murd looked at Amelia, his eyes lighting up as he prepared to keep the conversation going, but a sudden, sharp pang in his stomach completely caught him off guard.
Oh, right... I haven't eaten a single thing in four days.
Murd's face instantly went paper-white as the crushing reality of his forgotten meals finally caught up to him.
Noticing his sudden change in complexion, Amelia took a worried step closer. "Are you alright? You just turned incredibly pale." She reached out, placing her hand gently against Murd's forehead, only to gasp. "You're literally freezing! Are you sure you're okay?"
"Huh? Yeah, yeah, I'm totally fine," Murd lied smoothly, clutching his stomach. "It's just... a side effect from training. It leaves me like this sometimes. I'll probably be perfectly fine if I just get some food in my system."
"Are you absolutely sure?" Amelia asked skeptically, her eyes full of concern. "Let's go grab a plate, then. But will just eating really be enough to fix this?"
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it," Murd muttered, holding his head as a dizzy spell hit him.
"Well... if you say so," Amelia said, keeping a close eye on him.
Murd didn't waste any time recovering. He practically marched over to the nearest buffet table, grabbed a silver plate, and piled it high with a strange, exotic cut of meat he had never seen before. Without even sitting down, he began to devour it right then and there.
Amelia stood a few feet away, unable to do anything but laugh at the sheer absurdity of the sight.
Within moments, the intense, icy chill in Murd's body began to recede, although his stomach was still practically begging for more. With a swift, casual flick of his wrist, a glowing chain of ancient runes materialized in the air before him: [ᛚεᛚεᛚε]. The runic sequence, faintly resembling an Earth-style alphabet, conjured a small, perfectly controlled jet of water, which Murd used to quickly wash the grease
He brought his hands and face to his mouth.
Murd let out a satisfied sigh, lightly licking his lips.
"Delicious?" a soft, playful voice whispered right next to his ear.
"Huh?"
Murd froze. In his hunger-fueled frenzy, he had completely forgotten his surroundings and had eaten like a wild animal in front of a high-ranking noblewoman. Realizing how unrefined he must have looked, a deep blush spread across his face, leaving it as red as a ripe tomato.
"Yes..." was all he could manage to stammer.
Amelia smiled radiantly, laughing heartily at his embarrassment. When Murd finally managed to calm his racing heart, she leaned in slightly, lowering her voice to a soft murmur. "Would you like to try something else?"
"Yes, please... I feel a little better, but the truth is I'm still starving," Murd admitted, her cheeks still burning.
Amelia giggled, turning on her heels. "I'll be right back with two plates! I'm going to bring you something you'll love," she declared proudly over her shoulder.
Murd remained by the table, discreetly watching her as she gracefully made her way through the banquet tables.
While waiting for Amelia to return, Murd scanned the room to pass the time. As her gaze swept across the crowd, it landed directly on a younger boy with familiar red eyes.
"Ah," Kida and Murd murmured in unison.
Lana, who was standing right next to Kida, blinked and turned at the sound of her voice. Her bright aquamarine eyes met Murd's, and she looked at them both curiously. "Oh? You know each other?"
Murd didn't hesitate for a second. A malicious, almost sadistic smile spread across his face as he stepped forward.
"Of course we do! We're great friends," Murd declared matter-of-factly, extending his arm dramatically. "In fact, he's my training master! He's exceptionally talented at everything he does, and honestly, he's a wonderful person."
Kida slowly turned his head, staring at Murd with an impassive, expressionless face. He knew exactly what Murd was doing: the idiot was blatantly praising him just to spite him in front of Lana.
"Seriously? You actually know him, Rose?" Lana asked, turning her curious gaze back to Kida.
Before Kida could even think of a reply, a strangled, muffled sound erupted from the boy next to them.
"Ro... se?!" Murd wheezed, his face turning bright red as he violently bit his lower lip to hold back an absolute explosion of laughter.
Kida glared at him, a sharp blush creeping up his neck from sheer mortification. "Yes... yeah, I know him. He's a friend of mine," Kida mumbled, suddenly finding the polished floorboards incredibly fascinating.
"Ohhh! Well, nice to meet you! I'm Lana Fligher," she said, offering a warm, polite smile.
"The pleasure is entirely mine. I'm Murd Cadwell," he replied, flashing her his trademark smile—a chaotic blend of annoying, smug, and slightly provocative, yet somehow utterly charming.
Kida quickly stepped between them, frantically waving his hands to break the tension. "Anyway! What are you even doing here? Weren't you or your esteemed teacher supposed to be meeting the nobles?"
"Huh?" Murd blinked, giving Kida a blank look. "Oh, her. Yeah, she abandoned me," he said with a casual, airy laugh.
Kida stared at him, trying to process the absurdity, but Murd quickly corrected himself before Kida could lecture him. "Well, okay, she didn't literally dump me on the side of the road. But she expects me to make my own way back to the clan's mansion."
Kida frowned. "Isn't your clan's territory hundreds of kilometers away from the capital?"
"Yep. Probably even further than that," Murd sighed.
"Then how on earth does she expect you to get there?" Kida asked, completely bewildered.
"She wants me to use this," Murd said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the glowing green crystal Cynthia had handed him earlier.
Lana's aquamarine eyes widened slightly. "A mana stone."
"Bingo. Ten points to you," Murd chuckled playfully.
Kida just stared at him like he was looking at a certified lunatic. "And what exactly are you supposed to do with a mana stone?"
Lana eagerly answered for him, happy to showcase her knowledge. "High-grade mana stones are used to store massive amounts of raw magical energy. Essentially, if you shatter one, you can instantly draw upon all the accumulated mana sealed inside to power a complex spell."
"Exactly. Another ten points," Murd said, winking.
Lana beamed, smiling brightly, completely missing the playful sarcasm in his comment.
Kida, thoroughly exhausted by Murd's antics, sighed with resignation. "Fine. So what is the actual spell she's forcing you to cast?"
Murd looked down at the glowing green stone in his palm, a dry, helpless smile crossing his face. "Oh, nothing major. Just a single-target teleportation spell covering over 800 kilometers."