Chapter 213: Who’s His Friend?
Chapter 213: Who’s His Friend?
When the second-year student slammed the classroom door shut in anger and humiliation, the silence instantly gave way to a storm of whispers.
Everyone’s eyes were on the white-haired boy sitting by the window. He had just been openly accused of harassment and challenged to a duel, only to accept it as if it were nothing. Their gazes were filled with judgment and disgust.
The person waiting for a chance to turn this situation to her advantage was none other than Layla. As if wanting to take revenge for the trauma she experienced during the exam, she leaned toward the girls gathered around her and began to whisper, though her voice was loud enough for half the class to hear.
"Did you see that? I told you he was a psychopath! He’s not just a violence-obsessed monster, he’s also a pervert who corners upperclassman girls! Just breathing the same air as him makes me sick. During the exam, he also did to our team..."
Layla milked this massive trump card for all it was worth, badmouthing Cassian to the entire class and doing everything she could to completely isolate him.
Even though Cassian heard every single word of this gossip clearly, he didn’t care in the slightest. What people thought of him, his social reputation, or moral judgments... To him, these were no different from dust particles floating in the air. He just rested his chin on his hand and continued to watch the movement of the clouds outside.
---
When the lunch bell rang, Cassian walked out of the classroom with heavy steps to get away from this noisy and judgmental environment.
Entering the loud, luxurious cafeteria, he headed to the same food counter. With a brief glance at the plump food server, he repeated his order from yesterday: a random menu without onions. After taking his tray, he slipped through the crowd and sat down at a large, empty table.
However, Cassian’s solitude didn’t last very long this time.
Just a few minutes later, the chair right across the table was pulled out, and a familiar figure wearing a strange straw hat sat down.
Lunox vi Olerion.
Once again, he casually picked at his food with the wooden chopsticks he pulled from his pocket, not saying a single word to Cassian despite sitting face-to-face with him.
Although Cassian couldn’t make sense of why this sword maniac was following him like a shadow, he didn’t really mind his silent presence. He just continued stabbing his fork into his meat.
But the real headache approached the table a few seconds later.
Celine, accompanied by a few noble female students buzzing around her, glided toward the table with a fake but flawless mask of politeness on her face.
Perhaps having learned her lesson from the rude rejection she received from Lunox yesterday, she didn’t ask for permission to sit this time. Extremely cautious, yet equally confident, she pulled out the empty chair to Cassian’s left and sat down gracefully.
"Hello, Cassian," Celine said, her voice as soft as velvet.
Without even bothering to look at her as he brought his fork to his mouth, Cassian replied, "Hi," his voice flat and emotionless.
Trying not to be put off by this cold reception, Celine attempted to start a conversation with small steps to achieve her true goal. She had to make someone with terrifying potential like Cassian her pawn.
"What do you think of the knowledge taught at the academy? I don’t know what the education system is like in the North," Celine said with an interested expression.
Cassian remained silent. He continued to slowly chew the bite in his mouth.
Instead, Lunox, sitting across from him, pointed at his food with his chopsticks and answered with his mouth full: "North or South, what does it matter? If you aren’t talented or strong, education makes no difference."
Celine’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Taking a deep breath, she turned her focus back to Cassian. "Our next class is Advanced Magic Theory. If you want to compare notes, I can share the special formulas my palace tutors gave me with you."
Cassian still didn’t react. He didn’t take his eyes off his plate.
Lunox slammed his glass onto the table after loudly slurping his water. "Why would he need your materials?"
The polite princess smile on Celine’s face was like porcelain beginning to crack. She clenched her hands tightly under the table. She parted her lips for a third attempt.
"Cassian, maybe this weekend at the academy libra—"
"Why would he waste time with books?" Lunox interrupted, waving his chopsticks. "Practicing swordplay at the training grounds makes more sense."
*SMACK!*
Celine slammed her hands onto the table with great force. Her patience had completely overflowed. Shooting daggers from her eyes, she yelled directly at Lunox:
"Nobody asked for your opinion! I AM NOT TALKING TO YOU!"
The noble girls next to her flinched in fear at the princess’s sudden outburst.
Lunox wasn’t affected by Celine’s fit of rage in the slightest. Without a single trace of emotion on his face, he spoke in an extremely serious and philosophical tone.
"My father always used to say," Lunox said, putting down his chopsticks. "Protect your territory and never surrender your advantage."
"What does that have to do with anything, you barbarian?!" Celine hissed.
"It has a lot to do with it," Lunox replied in a flat voice. "I came to this table first. You are sharing the same table with me. Which means you entered my territory. Therefore, you cannot keep me out of this conversation, you cannot exclude me. According to my father’s teachings, this is a territorial violation, and I have the right to respond."
The noble girls behind Celine exchanged weird, horrified looks, as if saying ’what is this guy talking about, has he lost his mind?’. Celine, on the other hand, just stood there, not knowing what to say in the face of this absurd logic.
Meanwhile, Cassian, who didn’t care about this loud and absurd argument in the slightest, swallowed the last bite of his food. He slowly wiped his lips with a napkin, picked up his tray, and without saying a single word, stood up silently and walked away as if the two of them weren’t even at the table.
Celine and Lunox only realized Cassian was gone seconds later. They instantly dropped the argument, pushed their chairs back, and hurried after him.
---
Cassian could clearly hear two distinct sets of footsteps coming from behind him. He stopped walking, suddenly turned around, and looked at these two weirdos following him.
"What?"
Leaving no trace of her previous anger, Celine instantly plastered her sweet, angelic princess smile back onto her face. "Nothing! I just... Since our next class is a joint seminar, I thought we could go to class together. We’ll be in the same lesson, after all."
Lunox tilted his straw hat up slightly and shot Celine a dirty look. "If you’re going to class, why aren’t you going with your own group?"
Not taking that lying down, Celine immediately turned on Lunox. "Why are you coming with us?"
"What do you mean?" Lunox said, as if stating the most natural thing in the world. "I’m going with him because he’s my friend."
Celine scoffed mockingly. "Liar! He’s not your friend."
As Lunox stood by his claim, Celine crossed her arms and lifted her chin like a stubborn child. "Is that so? Fine, then I’m his friend too!"
Lunox raised an eyebrow. "Since when?"
"Since the entrance exam!" Celine shot back proudly. "In the forest, he was extremely... kind to me and my team. He helped us!" The truth of the matter was that Cassian had obliterated a massive guy with a single punch right in front of them, but Celine preferred to interpret that as ’help’.
On Lunox’s expressionless face, the corner of his lip curled up slightly in a highly superior and mocking manner. "Is that so, Princess? Pathetic. I was friends with him in the waiting area hours before the exam even started, before the sun even came up. That makes me way older than you."
Celine’s eyes widened in anger.
Lightning practically flashed between the two of them in the middle of the corridor, invisible sparks flying from their eyes at each other. They were both glaring fiercely, determined to win this ridiculous competition of ’who was closer’.
"Let’s ask him!" Celine said, turning her head toward Cassian, certain she would win. "Tell him, Cassi—"
The words died in Celine’s mouth. Lunox quickly turned in that direction as well.
The corridor was completely empty.
While these two idiots were arguing among themselves about who was the better friend, Cassian had long since vanished into the shadows seconds ago.
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