Tsuna shared a glance with Hayato and Shoichi, seeing the same bewilderment reflected in their faces. "Huh, no, not robots exactly. But Shoichi here has created some pretty impressive devices." He stumbles, a bit guilty at throwing the Sun under the train like that, but needing to redirect the hungry stare towards someone else. Plus, the redhead was likely the most qualified of them to talk abouts robots anyway.
The inventor glared at him indignantly, but didn't have the time to do much more as Spanner started assaulting him with technical questions about what Tsuna assumed to be robots that went way over his head. Thankfully, after some spluttering in the face of a stranger, Shoichi slowly started to answer eagerly, having found a like-minded soul about science. The brunet felt a bit better seeing his shy friend conversing freely about resilience/weight ratio enthusiastically, Byakuran and Hayato adding their own thoughts from time to time.
They resumed touring the convention, this time with Byakuran and Spanner in tow. The blond's presence earned them a few cautious glances, but nothing really happened.
They decided to eat outside after a glance at the prices in the cafeteria. Not only was the entry fee for the convention ridiculous, but even the food on the spot was outrageously overpriced. The pizzeria a few streets down was good and, more importantly, affordable.
Their tickets allowed them to return inside without a hitch, although the vigils posted at the entranced eyed them, and Spanner especially, warily.
Like they had planned, they camped in front of the main conference room and waited there for Verde's lecture about alternative energy sources. There were already a number of people queuing to grab the best seats for the two-hour long lecture.
This left them some time for socializing with Spanner. So far, they -meaning everyone but Tsuna- had only talked about science and robots. "So, Spanner," started Byakuran. "Did you come here with anyone? Your parents perhaps?" Again, the younger Sky had the persistent impression that the oldest teen already knew the answer, and it unnerved him, but the change of topic from complicated top-of-the-line technology to family and everyday life meant that he could finally take part in the conversation, so he said nothing. He didn't mind waiting at the sides when his friends geeked over some device or another, but it was nice to be included in the talks after a while.
"Huh? Oh, no, they are both back in England somewhere, doing their own thing. I came here on my own, but I didn't expect the ticket to cost so much and I didn't take enough with me. But a source stated that Verde would attend; it didn't seem all that trustworthy, but I figured it was worth giving it a chance and turns out he was right. Except it's even better and instead of just being here, he's actually giving a lecture." He smiled over his lollipop, but for the so-far rather inexpressive blond, it was a beaming grin.
"I have to say, you speak very good Italian, Spanner. But won't your parents worry, though? Do they know where you went?" Inquired Shoichi.
"I left them a note." Shrugged the blond without a care. "They won't mind, we're not really close. We usually all do our own thing in our corner anyway. And one of my nannies taught me Italian. I wanted to learn because a lot of the greatest scientists these days come from Italy. It's better to read their works and publication in the original language than rely on translations."
"How will you return to England after the convention?" Asked Tsuna. "I hope you already bought you ticket back, because if you didn't have enough money to pay for the entry fee here, you probably won't for the trip by plane either."
Chapter 23: That learned about robots
Start from the beginning
