Unfortunately, Yufia seemed convinced.
“Alphonse… you really love bread, huh…”
As she spoke, she tore off a bite-sized piece of her own bread and plop一placed it on Alphonse’s plate.
Being outright mocked would’ve been easier to bear. This understanding sympathy was far more painful.
(But… at this point, I have no choice but to commit! He saved my life…! If it’s for his sake…!!)
Alphonse steeled himself to play along.
“Y-Yeah… I really love bread… If I can’t have it, I throw huge tantrums… Haha…”
“O-Oh… I see…”
“Y-You can even call me ‘Bread Boy’ from now on if you want! J-Just kidding!”
“…I think I’ll pass.”
Alphonse had meant it as a joke to lighten the mood, but it only made Yufia even more uncomfortable.
(Ugh…! Hang in there… Just endure it…! This is for the guy who saved my life!!)
His soul was taking critical damage.
(Sorry, Alphonse. …No, sorry, Bread Boy.)
(I-It’s fine… For you, anything…)
Alphonse met Shion’s gaze with a strained smile.
“A-Anyway, that’s how Shion-kun and I met!”
He forced himself to move on.
“But more than that, I’m really curious about how you two know each other!”
“Us?”
“Yeah. Shion-kun mentioned you’re childhood friends, but where’d you meet?”
“We’re from the same hometown. We were in the same class at magic school when we were kids一that’s how we got close.”
“Yeah. It’s nostalgic.”
Though her expression remained blank, Yufia seemed faintly happy as she confirmed Shion’s words.
“Same hometown… I see. I was surprised at first, but that makes sense. …Honestly, I’m kinda jealous.”
“Jealous?”
“I never went to school before enrolling here… So having friends from childhood sounds nice.”
“You were homeschooled?”
“Yeah. I never got to play with friends or anything, but… you two did stuff like that, right?”
“Oh, sure. Like catching a bunch of pill bugs and selling them to other kids at outrageous prices. Mostly Yufia’s idea.”
“……!?”
“Selling pill bugs… at outrageous prices?!”
“Oh, and there was the time we let a rich family’s huge dog escape and replaced it with a chubby old man in the doghouse. Again, mostly Yufia.”
“A chubby old man in the doghouse?!”
“……!!”
Yufia shook her head furiously.
“My family was strict… We were together in school, but… we never played outside…”
“Oh, so it was just a joke… Thank goodness…”
Alphonse sighed in relief一while Shion, completely deadpan, slurped up a huge mouthful of pasta.
“Oh, right! If you went to the same school, Shion-kun, you’ve known Yufia-san since before she came to Crawford Magic Academy. Was she always this amazing at magic?”
“Obviously. Even back then, none of the teachers stood a chance against her.”
“Since she was a kid?! Wow, that’s incredible!”
“Yep. She beat the crap out of a middle-aged male teacher multiple times.”
“!!”
“W-Wait, she beat up a teacher?!”
“And stripped him half-naked.”
“STRIPPED HIM?!”
“Then mercilessly pummeled him while he sobbed, half-naked.”
“A SOBBING HALF-NAKED MIDDLE-AGED MAN?!”
Again, Yufia shook her head violently.
“There’s no way that’s true… right?”
When Alphonse glanced at her for confirmation, she averted her eyes.
“Not multiple times… Just… once…”
“Huh…?”
“……”
“Wait… what? Why would you… do something like that…?”
As Alphonse stared in shock, Yufia sighed and finally spoke.
“……Because that man… said horrible things about Shion…”
“Hard to believe, right? Some poor middle-aged guy got challenged to a duel by a kid over something that trivial, had his clothes shredded, and got the living daylights beaten out of him.”
“Not… trivial. Unforgivable.”
“O-Oh… So you’re just… really loyal to your friends, huh…”
Horrified but desperate to salvage the conversation, Alphonse tried to smooth things over.
*”By the way, after that, Yufia became locally infamous as the ‘Sobbing Half-Naked Middle-Aged Man Beatdown Girl.’”
“That’s… definitely a terrifying nickname.”
“I was… called that…?”
“Mostly because I spread it around.”
“!?”
Yufia stiffened, her soul taking damage.
“一Anyway,”
After the trip down memory lane settled, Alphonse spoke up again.
“This might be rude, but… I’m kinda surprised, Yufia-san. I didn’t expect you to talk this much… It’s really nice.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah. I’ve never seen you talk to anyone in class like this.”
“……Maybe.”
“Now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve heard Yufia talk about other friends.”
Between bites of pasta, Shion glanced at her.
“Yeah… I can talk when Shion’s here, but… alone, it’s hard…”
“O-Oh, but lately you’ve been talking to Eliza-san, right? Sometimes!”
“Eliza? Eliza Lowred?”
“Yeah, the girl classed fifth.”
“That’s… not talking… More like… ‘Fight me again,’ or ‘Next time I’ll win,’ just… one-sided…”
“O-Oh, really?! Sorry, I totally misunderstood…! I thought you two were kinda close…”
“一Well, you’re better off not getting involved with that crazy woman anyway.”
As Shion spoke those words, Alphonse gave him a look of surprise.
“Huh? Shion-kun, you know Eliza-san?”
“Know her? More like she nearly killed me the other da—”
“Hold it! Who are you calling a crazy woman?! That’s you!!”
Cutting Shion off mid-sentence, a red-haired female student barged in with an angry shout.
It was none other than the very person they were talking about—Eliza Lowred.
“Eh… Eliza-san?”
Alphonse turned a bewildered gaze toward Eliza, who had appeared out of nowhere.
“Yo.”
“‘Yo’ my ass! Don’t act so familiar! And take back what you just said and apologize, you idiot!!”
While Shion casually raised a hand in greeting, Eliza’s temple twitched with irritation as she screamed at him.
“W-Wait, what? Shion-kun, what’s your relationship with Eliza-san?!”
“Ah, well… it’s kinda…”
“More like, I wanna know! What the hell kind of gathering is this? What’s your relationship with these two?”
“Friends since way back, and friends since yesterday.”
“Are you trying to pick a fight?!”
“H-Hey now, Eliza-san, calm down…!”
As Alphonse tried to soothe Eliza, whose face was twitching with anger, Yufia turned to Shion with a quiet question.
“Shion… I didn’t know you and Eliza were acquainted. What’s your relationship?”
Yufia’s expression was as blank as ever, her tone flat—but there was a faint hint of something like pouting in her demeanor.
“Me and her? Hmm… well…”
Eliza, who had been asked to define their relationship, seemed to struggle for words, resting her free hand on her chin as she groaned.
But then, Shion casually answered.
“To put it simply, we’re in a ‘showed each other our underwear’ kind of relationship.”
“!?”
“H-Hah?! W-Wait, what the hell are you saying?!”
“Shion… saw your… underwear…?”
“I did, but…!! That was because he showed me his first!!”
“Shion-kun?!”
“It was an accident—I ended up seeing hers. No matter how much I apologized, she just kept screaming, ‘You show me yours too!’ So I had no choice.”
Shion crossed his arms, as if to say, “Man, what a pain.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
“E-Eliza-san…?”
“You… I swear I’ll kill you…!!”
“H-Hey, Eliza-san, let’s just calm down! I know it’s a joke, right…?! Plus, uh… everyone’s staring…!”
When she glanced around, Eliza realized they were drawing attention from the entire cafeteria and snapped back to her senses.
“You… you better remember this…!!”
She took a deep breath, then shot Shion one last glare.
……With that, Eliza somehow managed to calm herself—then turned back to Yufia.
“……Whatever my relationship with this guy is doesn’t matter right now. ……More importantly, I have something to discuss with you, Yufia-san.”
“With me?”
“Yes.”
Still holding her lunch tray, Eliza nodded firmly.
Seeing her standing there awkwardly, Shion spoke up.
“If that’s the case, why not sit down? There’s space right there.”
“Eh? N-No, I’m…”
She reflexively tried to refuse but quickly reconsidered—standing around with a tray in hand wasn’t exactly comfortable.
Eliza took the empty seat to Alphonse’s left—right across from Yufia.
“……So. Yufia-san, there’s something I wanted to ask. I heard you turned down the selection for the Knight Academy exhibition match?”
—The Knight Academy exhibition match. A prestigious event held three weeks from now—a team battle between the Kingdom’s Knight Academy and the Crawford Magic Academy, with five representatives from each school.
The Magic Academy’s representatives were chosen by the faculty, but apparently, Yufia had refused the nomination.
“……Yes.”
Yufia gave a small nod.
“……I don’t get it. Why?”
“That’s……”
She hesitated briefly—then, for just a moment, glanced at Shion.
“?”
While slurping his pasta, Shion tilted his head in confusion.
“……I just… don’t like it. Standing in front of so many people.”
Facing Eliza again, Yufia answered quietly.
“……Eh…? That’s… it…?!”
“That’s all.”
“But—Yufia-san, you’re the top-classed student in our academy…! You have to participate!”
Yufia silently shook her head.
“……! A-Alphonse, you say something too…!”
“Eh, me…?!”
“Yes! You were also selected as a representative—don’t you want to win?!”
“Well, um, that’s…… ”
“Then having Yufia-san on board would guarantee victory! With me, you, and her, that’s three wins right there! If Yufia-san joins, it’s a sure thing!”
“W-Well… but if she doesn’t want to, forcing her would be…”
“Fohohoho. Young lady, victory isn’t what matters most. It’s what you gain from the battle.”
“Shut up. Don’t talk. And stop using Yufia-san’s hair as a fake beard.”
Shion suddenly cut in, draping Yufia’s hair over his mouth like a sage’s beard.
“Fohohoho.”
“Cut it out! Don’t put your mouth near Yufia-san’s beautiful hair!”
As Eliza snapped at him, Yufia spoke in a slightly sad tone.
“……Eliza. I’m sorry.”
“……!”
“About the exhibition match… I’m sorry I can’t join.”
Yufia bowed her head slightly.
“Eh, no, I—”
“Tsk tsk, Eliza, you made her cry.”
“Wha—?! L-Liar! She’s not crying! B-But… ……I’m the one who should apologize… I got too worked up……”
Yufia shook her head again—wordlessly, but clearly conveying, “Don’t worry about it.”
“Forgive her, Yufia. She’s a little crazy.”
“That’s it, I’m killing you now.”
“Fohohoho. If you wish to fight me, you must first defeat my finest disciple.”
“Hah? Disciple?”
Frowning, Eliza glared at Shion.
“That’s right. My first disciple, Alphonse Fried, sits before you. Go on, Alphonse. Teach this brat some manners.”
“W-Wait! Shion-kun?!”
“Who you calling a brat, you fossil?! You just love spouting nonsense…… Wait, more importantly, what’s your deal with Alphonse?”
Eliza alternated glances between Shion and Alphonse. Since she couldn’t expect a straight answer from Shion, she directed the question at Alphonse instead.
“Eh? My relationship with Shion-kun…? Well, I wouldn’t call it a relationship, but……”
Pausing to think, Alphonse rested a hand on his chin and lowered his gaze briefly—then looked back at Eliza.
“Shion-kun is… my light.”
“……Hah?”
“Shion-kun is the light that guides me.”
“………”
“………”
“………”
Shion and Yufia silently continued eating, while Eliza was left utterly speechless.
Amid the surrounding noise, Alphonse flashed Eliza a bright, refreshing smile.
“……Hah? That’s terrifying…”
Eliza recoiled with a deadpan expression.
“I’m the light, you know. What about you, Yufia? Am I light?”
“……”
When Shion turned to Yufia, she met his gaze.
After a moment, Yufia squeezed her eyes shut—then covered them with both hands. Apparently, she was trying to say, “Too bright.”
(Dazzling light… So my title shall be ‘The Flash’… Kuhuhu…)
“What the hell is wrong with these people…?”
—Meanwhile, around the table where this bizarre conversation unfolded…
“H-Hey, look! Now even Eliza Lowred, the fifth-classed, is sitting with them!”
“Lowred? As in, that noble family?!”
“I heard she was selected for the exhibition match too…”
“This year’s second-years are on another level…”
“Check it out—that C-class’s on good terms with Eliza Lowred too…!”
“‘Good terms’…? She’s yelling at him, though…?”
“Still… who the hell is that C-class…?!”
Amid the murmurs of onlookers, one boy in particular was struggling to maintain his composure—while internally, his excitement was skyrocketing……
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