Chapter 3: The Approaching Inter-Academy Battle
……Second period ended, and lunch break arrived.
Alphonse Fried of Class 2-A, carrying a tray of food, climbed the stairs to the second-floor seating area of the cafeteria.
“Next time, would you like to have lunch together…?”
“I usually eat on the second floor, so feel free to join me whenever our schedules match.”
(“But… it’s only been a day since we talked. Will he even be here…? Shion…”)
Alphonse had made the promise to eat lunch with Shion Ichinose just yesterday.
Was it too sudden to show up today? What should they even talk about? Nervous, Alphonse stepped onto the second floor.
Then一immediately after一
“Hey, it’s Alphonse Fried!”
“The hero who slayed the dragon…!”
“Eek! Look, it’s Alphonse!”
A stir ran through the cafeteria as students buzzed at the arrival of the hero who had saved the academy from a dragon.
(“…I still can’t get used to this… Haha…”)
Ever since the dragon attack, Alphonse drew the same kind of attention no matter where he went on campus.
Though he wore a strained smile一knowing he wasn’t the true savior一he steeled himself. (“…Well, things’ll settle down eventually. …Right, no point worrying about it!”)
Trying to ignore the stares, Alphonse scanned the room for Shion一
“Ah一!”
“Yo, Alphonse. Over here.”
Just as Alphonse spotted Shion sitting at a slightly distant table, Shion called out to him.
Shion was at a four-person table, already with a tray of food in front of him, gesturing for Alphonse to join.
Navigating through the crowded cafeteria, Alphonse made his way over.
But as he reached Shion’s seat, he noticed一someone else was sitting to Shion’s right.
Then it hit him. “Oh, right…” He recalled yesterday’s conversation.
[“I might be eating with someone else, but don’t hesitate to join us.”]
(“So the person next to Shion is who he meant…”)
Swallowing his nervousness, Alphonse decided to greet them first.
“Uh, h-hello, nice to meet一 Wha一!?”
“!?”
His face twisted in shock.
“Y-Y-Yufia Queensroad…!?”
“…You startled me.”
The person sitting beside Shion was none other than Alphonse’s classmate一and the academy’s top-classed student一Yufia Queensroad.
Though her expression remained unreadable, she seemed just as surprised by Alphonse’s appearance.
“Wait, the person Shion mentioned yesterday… was Yufia-san!?”
“Yeah, obviously.”
“‘Obviously’…!?”
Alphonse stood frozen, mouth agape, at Shion’s nonchalant reply.
The idea that Shion Ichinose一a student from Class C一had any connection with Yufia Queensroad, the strongest in the academy, was beyond Alphonse’s imagination.
Hell, the fact that Yufia Queensroad even had someone she was close to was unexpected in itself.
一What kind of relationship do they have…? Why is he acting like this is completely normal!? Am I the weird one for being this shocked!?
While Alphonse spiraled into confusion, Shion spoke up casually.
“What’s wrong? Not gonna sit?”
“Huh? Oh一! R-right…!? I-I’ll sit…! I was totally planning to sit, y’know, on the chair and all…!”
Visibly flustered, Alphonse took the seat across from Shion.
……Currently, Alphonse’s perception of Shion was: “A mysterious person who has the strength to defeat the Apocalyptic Black Dragon of Destruction, Schwarzwaldius, but hides it.”
And now, right before his eyes, this same person was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with the academy’s strongest student一as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The enigma surrounding Shion only deepened in Alphonse’s mind.
一But.
(“Sorry for confusing you, Alphonse… But this is exactly how I wanted you to see me…!!”)
The current situation – even Alphonse’s reaction – was all going exactly according to Shion’s plan.
From the moment he deliberately withheld names yesterday when mentioning people who might join them, Shion had orchestrated this entire scenario.
His sole motivation? “I want Alphonse to see me as someone extraordinary.” That’s all.
Though he sat with an air of nonchalance, Shion was internally trembling with excitement at this ideal situation unfolding perfectly.
Watching Alphonse’s barely concealed surprise, he desperately fought to maintain his straight face against the smile threatening to break through.
Everything had proceeded exactly as Shion envisioned… until the completely unexpected happened.
That being…
“H-hey look! That’s Alphonse Fried with S-class Yufia Queensroad…!?”
“I’ve never seen the academy’s top two together like this…!”
“The strongest in school, Yufia, and the hero Alphonse… Their combined aura is overwhelming…!”
“And visually… they’re an unrealistically beautiful pair…”
“…Wait a second… Forget them being together – what’s more interesting is…”
“That C-Class gray-liner sitting with the academy’s elite… Who IS that…!?”
“(……!!)”
These astonished whispers from the audience struck Shion’s ears.
……At Crawford Magic Academy, an entrenched culture looked down upon elite students mingling with lower-class peers,
Associating with an inferior was seen as acknowledging them as an equal.
To these status-conscious students, seeing two legendary S-classs casually dining with some ordinary C-Class student was beyond abnormal.
“That C-Class is talking to them like it’s nothing…”
“Never seen him before…”
“But… doesn’t that C-Class guy have something unusual about him…?”
“Right! He doesn’t seem out of place next to those two powerhouses…!”
“And while the silver and golden-haired pair catch the eye… look closely – that black-haired one’s features are just as refined…!”
“–Just who IS that C-Class student!?”
“(W-whaaaaat~~!?)”
An indescribable euphoria suddenly ambushed Ichinose Shion.
Here he was – standing equal with the academy’s strongest, while spectators wondered aloud about his identity.
It was like his wildest fantasies made real.
“(G-guuuuh…!! Hold it together, damn it…!!)”
The sheer bliss of this moment would’ve overwhelmed any normal person.
The drooping eyelids, the grin threatening to split his face, the urge to roar triumphantly, the full-body tremors begging to erupt –
Shion suppressed them all through sheer willpower and masterful facial control.
Then, Yufia一seated to his right一leaned in and whispered.
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“…Shion. We’re getting… a lot of attention… …Is this okay? You always avoid standing out…”
Though she never understood his “cool guy hiding his power” act, Yufia had always humored him without complaint.
Just like in their current situation一simply being with Yufia made Shion stand out.
Because of this, they always took precautions when together. During meals in the cafeteria, they would sit at an inconspicuous counter-style table by the window. When practicing magic, they would use training grounds with few visitors. They had always made sure to avoid drawing attention as much as possible.
“After going this far to stay under the radar… Is it really okay to stand out like this now?”
“Yeah, no problem. –This is perfect actually.”
[Everyone thinks I’m just a lowly C-class… but behind the scenes, I’m connected to the strongest student in the academy一] It was true that Shion secretly enjoyed hiding his relationship with Yufia, reveling in that hidden status.
But at the same time, it was also true that he harbored another desire一for their connection to be exposed, for people to wonder, “Wait, is this guy actually incredible…?”一only for him to casually shrug it off.
That’s why, in situations like this, being stared at with “What the hell is up with that guy!?” was more than welcome to him.
“…Well… if Shion’s fine with it, then I don’t mind… But… it’s a little embarrassing…”
“You two do stand out. Ah well, don’t overthink it. You’ll get used to it.”
“Yeah… okay.”
As the two leaned in close, murmuring to each other一
Alphonse stood frozen in front of them, mouth still agape.
一[Oh, right…! Of course he’d have someone he eats with…! But… would it be okay if I joined them?]
一[Huh? Oh, yeah… Well, she’s an old friend of mine, so it’s fine. Doesn’t talk much, but she’s kind.]
Watching the pair before him, Alphonse recalled that earlier conversation.
“(Shion and Yufia-san… really are childhood friends…?)”
Still reeling from the shock, Alphonse remained dazed一until Yufia finally spoke up.
“ …Speaking of which. What kind of relationship do the two of you have…?”
Yufia had been warned by Shion beforehand that “you might have to share a table with other students,” but no one had told her it would be Alphonse.
“Huh?! Oh, uh一”
“Alphonse.”
Alphonse tried to answer Yufia’s question, but clatter!一he was cut off when Shion abruptly stood up, the sound of his chair scraping against the floor cutting through the air.
Without hesitation, Shion strode over to Alphonse’s seat across from him, slinging an arm around his shoulder as he leaned in to whisper into his ear.
“Huh?! Wh-What is it, Shion-kun?! What’s wrong?!”
“The thing is…” Shion murmured, covering his mouth with one hand as he spoke in a hushed tone.
“I told Yufia that I wasn’t in the cafeteria that day.”
“Wh… What?! S-Seriously…?”
Matching Shion’s volume, Alphonse replied in a whisper too quiet for Yufia to hear.
“Yeah. If she finds out that’s a lie… well, things’ll get messy.”
“O-Oh… That bad, huh? Enough to give you trouble?”
“Yeah. It’d be a disaster. So keep what happened that day a secret.”
“If you’re saying that, it must be serious… Alright, I’ll keep it quiet. But what do we tell Yufia-san?”
“I’ll come up with something convincing. Just play along.”
“O-Okay. I’ll do my best.”
“Sorry about this… I owe you one.”
With that, Shion pulled away and returned to his seat.
(For someone like Shion-kun to go this far… Just how dangerous is this…?)
(That was close. If Yufia found out about that day, she’d never let it go…)
“What was that about, Shion?” Yufia asked.
“Oh. Alphonse’s fly was open, so I discreetly let him know.”
“!?”
“O-Oh…! S-Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked…”
“Huh?! N-No, it’s fine! At least no one else saw! Thanks, Shion-kun, you saved me! Ahaha…!”
(Nice. Keep it up.)
(D-Don’t worry…!)
Shion and Alphonse exchanged a knowing glance.
“Anyway, about how Alphonse and I met…”
“Yeah.”
“It was actually yesterday.”
“Yesterday?”
(Right… We really only met on the day we fought the Black Dragon of Destruction, but I wasn’t at the academy again until yesterday… So to make it make sense, it has to be yesterday.)
“Yeah. I was eating lunch upstairs in the cafeteria like usual when the whole place suddenly got noisy.”
(Is he talking about when I came here yesterday? I just need to listen carefully and make sure my side of the story doesn’t contradict his…!)
“So I checked out what the commotion was about, and there was this student screaming near the refill table.”
(…Huh? Was there someone like that? Oh, I see一he’s making this up as he goes.)
Trying to keep up, Alphonse began visualizing the scene Shion was describing.
一But then the story took a turn Alphonse never saw coming.
“Turns out, he was standing in front of an empty bread basket, crying, ‘No bread! My bread’s gone!’”
“H-He was crying…?”
“Yeah. Everyone around him was totally weirded out.”
“S-So then…?”
“Well, the thing is… that crying boy was一” Shion pointed. “一Alphonse right there.”
(……………… ………………HUH?!?)
Alphonse nearly choked on his food.
“I felt so bad for him that I gave him some of the bread I hadn’t touched yet. And then he started crying happy tears. That’s how we became friends.”
(Shion-kun, wait?! Will she even believe this?! If the lie gets exposed, we’re screwed, right?! Isn’t this a little too sloppy?!)
“O-Oh… So that’s what happened…”
(She bought it… She actually thinks I’d do something like that…)
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