Kays Translations

Chapter 12: Lunch Break

After that, I continued to make excellent progress and showed my power, and now it was lunch break. The reactions of my classmates were mixed, with some saying "there’s something behind the scenes" and others asking "Is she actually a very talented person?" However, they didn't outrightly question me, and I felt like they were still watching me. It's the same as before with people still being distant, but the different circumstances changed the way I feel. There are times when people are overtly hostile and that’s not a good feeling… But it's a necessary process to rewrite the perception of the world around me. I just have to be patient for now. As I left my seat, feeling uncomfortable with the stares piercing me, a familiar figure approached me. The young man, beautiful as ever today, gently places his hand on my table.

"Would you like to have lunch with me, if you don't mind?"

His Highness Grayson, the third prince, looked me straight in the eye. He wasn't smiling, but his voice was soft. Huh…? Why is His Highness Grayson looking at me…? I've told him why I was hiding my abilities, why’s he still interested in me…? When I stared back at him in confusion, unsure of the purpose of his actions, the beautiful young man with black hair opened his mouth again.

"I'll buy you anything you want."

What? He said he'll buy me whatever I wanted… I'm not a cheap woman to be tripped up by food…

"I'll even throw in dessert."

"I'd love to join you!"

I couldn't resist the temptation of dessert, and I immediately accepted the invitation to eat. From somewhere I heard a murmur of "Eh? Wait what…", but I pretended not to hear it. The desserts here are so delicious! I had the shortcake at the party yesterday, and it was just superb! I couldn't eat anymore because of my corset, but…! The school cafeteria at Frügel Academy charges a fee, except for special students, and it's pretty expensive, so you have to eat when you can! His Royal Highness Grayson saw my response which was unbecoming of a noblewoman and made a misguided speculation. 

"Are you really that hungry?"

Then he slowly turned around.

"Let's go to the cafeteria for the time being."

Nodding at his words, I walked alongside His Highness Grayson to the dining room on the first floor.

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The huge cafeteria, which occupied about a third of the first floor of the school building, was filled with students, chatting with friends and enjoying their meals. His Highness Grayson and I were sitting across from each other on the terrace, with delicious smells coming from everywhere. In front of us were the dishes we had each ordered. Well, in my case it's more dessert than actual food… I ordered the strawberry shortcake I had yesterday, a shiny chocolate cake, and a fruit tart with lots of seasonal fruits. I ordered two slices of each of these desserts. I also ordered a sandwich since it was lunch, but there was hardly anything I could call a meal. This lacked nutritional balance, but it's okay for today. I happily picked up my fork and reached for the strawberries, which were shining like jewels. Then, without mercy, I thrust the fork into the strawberry and put the bright red strawberry in my mouth. The sweet and sour taste that spreads in my mouth relaxes my cheeks.

"You look like you’re enjoying yourself."

His Highness Grayson stared at me with his lapis lazuli eyes as he cut into a large steak. His words caught me off guard, and I put my hands on my cheeks to hide my face and hurriedly fixed my expression.

"I'm sorry… The cake was so good, I couldn't help it."

When I bowed my head to him, apologizing for showing him my disheveled face, he stopped his hands. Then, he tilted his head in genuine wonder. It was as if he didn't understand why I apologized…

"I didn’t say you did anything wrong. I'm just saying you look like you’re enjoying eating it. More importantly, ──── is that enough for you?"

The beautiful young man with black hair asked me as he looked down at the four plates of different types of food.

"Don't be shy, you can order more," he continued, seemingly concerned about my food intake.

No, I think six cakes and a sandwich is quite a lot of food… If I eat any more, I'll be a genuine pig. Well──── for His Highness, who easily eats four servings, it may seem little. My lips twitch as I look at the dishes ordered by His Highness Grayson, laid out on the round table. As you would expect from a swordmaster, he had a huge appetite… He ordered two servings each of steak and hamburger, salad and soup side dishes were also included, his stomach was amazing. "He can eat so much and not get fat." I thought impressed.

"Thank you for your concern. But it's enough. Honestly, I can't eat anymore."

"I see, you're a small eater."

I manage to swallow the words ──── and smile vaguely. His Highness Grayson tilted his head slightly as I neither denied nor affirmed, but he continued to take more and more of the steak into his mouth. Despite the graceful way he ate, the food on the table disappeared in seconds and settled into his stomach as if it had been sucked in. His Highness wiped his mouth with a napkin and reached for a glass of fruit water.

"So──── how does it feel to stop playing second fiddle to your sister and show your true potential? Has your resolve dulled?" His Highness Grayson asked distantly, sipping a glass of fruit water.

I thought to myself, "So that's the main topic of conversation," but I replied as a thank-you for lunch.

"It's refreshing, but I'm still not used to being the center of attention. I'm just happy that people's perceptions of me are slowly changing."

I smile as I think about how the eyes and attitudes of the people around me have changed, for better or worse. It’s a situation I can’t say is best, but it’s a lot better than before. I was in a complicated state of mind, but His Highness Grayson just replied, "I see." I felt strangely comfortable with him accepting my thoughts without saying anything unnecessary.

"Speaking of which, what was that magic you did in the first period? The teacher said, "It should only emit as much light as a candle…"

A student from class C who was passing by the terrace suddenly stopped as I was asked that question in the middle of small talk. Eavesdropping was in bad taste, but she couldn't help but be curious. She pretended to be waiting for her friend and stayed there. It's fine to listen in, but when it's so obvious, it's kind of funny. Well, it’s okay. It's not like I'm hiding anything.

"I think it's probably because of my magic power. My magic power has a much higher concentration of mana than those around me. Also, I think it was because I put in a little more magic power than the required amount."

"I see. So that's why the effect was so much."

As the beautiful black-haired young man nodded his head in agreement, the classmate standing in front of the terrace muttered, "Mana concentration." Then she left quickly as if nothing had happened.  I returned my gaze to the front, hoping that she would spread the truth to everyone. Then my eyes met with His Highness Grayson's, who was sitting across from me.

"You were also very fast at constructing magic circles, are you good at magic?"

"Well, yes, I’m good at it… I guess. I don't use magic very often because it's too much trouble to build a magic circle…"

"So what do you usually use? Speech art? Or summoning?"

His Royal Highness Grayson's cheeks twitched as he asked with curiosity, "Speech art…I guess" I answered vaguely. I didn't want anyone to know about it yet so I didn't give any details. I indeed use the speech art, so it wasn't a lie…! It's just that the method I often use isn't that…Feeling a strange sense of guilt, I smile, my conscience aching. "Don't ask me any more questions!" I earnestly wished as the beautiful young man with black hair looked at the wall clock.

"It's time already… We should get back to class as soon as possible. Wasn't this afternoon's class a committee decision?"

"Yeah, yeah… I believe it was."

His Royal Highness Grayson and I stood up and left the table with our plates as they were, I looked at the clock and saw that it was seven minutes before the start of class and the bell was about to ring. Lunch break, which just a few days ago seemed like an eternity, is over in a flash. Maybe it's because I was with His Highness Grayson, but time seems to be flying by.

"If we're late, the teacher will be upset, so let's get back early."

"Okay...!"

I hurriedly followed His Highness, who walked slowly to match my pace and left the dining room. ──── The cake I had today was better than any I've ever had.

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