Souta, Bryan, Lumilia, Cluster, and Nayo were sitting around a long table. They were chatting and laughing.
"Please wait, I'll prepare the meal," Lynn said as she placed plates in front of their seat. She then went back to the kitchen to fetch the other things they needed.
Nayo stood up and looked at them. She said, "I'll help Lynn in preparing."
"Okay, thanks." Souta nodded at her and thanked her.
"Oh~ I can't wait. It smells delicious." Bryan said with an excited expression on his face.
Souta looked at Cluster and noticed that she was quiet. It seems that she was wary at Lynn and Nayo. Well, she was always like that in the presence of a stranger.
Cluster already trust Lynn and Nayo because of what happened in the Gripin city. The two got injured while trying to help Lumilia, so Cluster has a good impression of them. It's just that she was close to them that's why she could act like how she usually was.
For Souta, it's just a matter of time before Cluster opened up to Lynn and Nayo.
Souta smiled before he shook his head putting those thoughts at the back of his head. He looked at Lumilia and asked, "Class rep, may I ask a question?"
"Hmm?" Lumilia lifted up her head and looked at Souta. She tilted her head as she didn't know what Souta was going to ask.
"I just wanted to ask if the news about the Gripin city spread out in this place." Souta calmly explained to her what he wanted to know.
"Yeah, I know about it. All the people are talking about you Souta." Bryan suddenly said in a loud voice.
"It's natural..." Souta said to him in a calm tone. He knew that the people involved in that incident were going to be the talk of the town so he wasn't surprised when he heard it.
He looked at Lumilia as if telling her to say what she knows.
"Um... The news about the battle spread quickly in just a day and right now. Almost all people of the Hebrei kingdom knew about the incident in the Gripin city." Lumilia patiently explained everything she knew to Souta.
Souta listened to her calmly while assessing all the information that he received.
He heard from her that after that incident the city guards found Gregory's lifeless body in the dark alley of the city. This news shocked him it seems that someone killed Gregory after he escaped from that last exchange of skills.
Just who? Who would dare to kill a noble head?
This piece of news shocked everyone not only him. The city guards tried to investigate it and they found nothing.
The members of the Vidrato Family blamed Souta for it but luckily a lot of witnesses saw him leaving the battlefield after the powerful explosion.
The city lord and Ursus denied the news that Souta killed Gregory. Both of them provided an explanation and evidence to support their testimony. They posted the autopsy report on Gregory's body.
In the report, Gregory died because of a small blade that pierced his heart and Souta didn't have that kind of weapon when he fought Gregory. Also, there's no way that Souta could conceal such weapon with his clothes at that time.
A lot of people saw Souta left the city so they knew what kind of clothes he was wearing. Also, his clothes were in tottered. It's really impossible for him to conceal it.
That's not the only thing. Souta was also injured at that time to the point that his beast companion needed to carry him just to leave the city.
Then what about the thing that he used beast feram in a fight against Gregory. The city lord and Ursus also said the truth about this. About the monster potion from the past era. They also said that some of the students fought Gregory before Souta and forced him to use a powerful tier 3 spell.
Once this news spread, the name of the people that fought Gregory became famous. Especially Randolf who held Gregory on his own.
Hearing the news from Lumilia's mouth, Souta felt that something was off.
What about the fact that he used the dark grade weapon against Gregory?
Why hasn't he heard it at all?
Souta looked at Lumilia and Bryan's face. He looked at them with a serious expression and asked, "What about my sword? Is there a news about it?"
"Hmm...? I think there's none." Lumilia pondered for a moment before she replied to him.
"Yeah, that sword of yours is truly marvelous. I saw it release a powerful energy when you fight that fat man." Bryan said as he recalled the battle that day.
"Now that you mention it, I've seen it too," Lumilia said to him as she looked at Souta's waist trying to look at the sword that he always brought with him. But she found that his sword wasn't on his waist.
'Hmm...? Bryan and Lumilia didn't know that [Vajra Sword Saya] is a dark grade weapon. It must be because they haven't seen the activation of dark grade weapon in their entire life. But those people...' Souta thought as he rubbed his chin.
Ursus and the city lord weren't going to make a mistake by thinking that it was just an ordinary sword. They must have watched the battle from a certain distance. They must have recognized the power of the dark grade weapon that even Gregory recognized as a national grade weapon.
So why would those two...
'Someone is manipulating it from behind the scenes.' Saya's voice sounded in his mind.
'I guess it too, but who would manipulate it. Is it the person who secretly killed Gregory?' Souta has many questions in his mind but he knew that he couldn't found an answer to it by thinking it through.
By the time that he snapped out of his thoughts, he found that the meal was already ready in front of him.
He looked around and saw that Lynn, Lumilia, and the rest were looking at him.
"Okay, thanks for the food." Souta smiled and said. He then picked up the spoon and fork. "Let's dig in."
Everyone smiled at this and they also began to eat their food. They eat their meal happily while chatting. The atmosphere was bright and sunny that it made everyone put a smile on their face.
Nayo noticed that Lynn kept glancing at Souta. She smiled and looked at Souta.
"Hey, Souta?"
"Hmm...?" Souta turned to look at her and he slightly tilted his head.
"How is the food that Lynn cook? Is it delicious?" Nayo asked him a question about food.
"N-Nayo!" Lynn was surprised. She grabbed Nayo's hand trying to stop her but Nayo didn't let Lynn stop her.
"Tell me your thoughts about it?" Nayo asked.
"Hmm... It's delicious. Better than what Souta made." Bryan was the one who answered her question.
"I'm not asking you! I'm asking Souta!" Nayo looked at Bryan and said in a loud voice.
"Why did it have to be Souta?!" Bryan asked with a confused expression.
"You have to think it for yourself. Sometimes it's not bad to exercise your brain." Nayo said as she pointed at Bryan's head.
"What are you saying? I'm always using my brain in class so why should I use it when I'm relaxing!" Bryan said in a loud voice.
"What the hell?!! You're really an..." Nayo was speechless when she heard his words. It's not just her, everyone was dumbfounded when they heard Bryan.
"Hehe, Brother Bryan is an idiot." Cluster giggled lightly in a cute way.
"What?! Why?" Bryan looked at everyone.
Souta glanced at them and sighed. He slowly opened his mouth. "Well, it's good just like what Bryan said."
"I-I'm glad that you like it." Lynn sighed in relief as she placed her hand on her chest.
"See, I told you." Nayo looked at her and said with a smile.
"Thank you, Nayo." Lynn thanked her friend.
"If it's for my friend. I'll do it." Nayo said as a matter of fact.
Souta looked at them and smiled. "Stop chatting, let's finish our food first."
"Souta is right." Bryan nodded and he dug his meal.
After a few minutes, all of them finished eating their food.
"Ho~ that was good." Souta exhaled as he patted his stomach.
"Yeah, it was good." Bryan nodded in agreement while patting his stomach.
Lynn stood up and said, "I'll do the chores."
Souta looked at her and shook his head. "You don't need to. I can do that later."
"N-No, I'll do it," Lynn said to him as she gripped the hem of her skirt.
Souta looked at her and sighed. He shrugged his shoulder and said, "You're stubborn... Well, if that's what you want I'm not going to stop you."
"T-Thank you." Lynn bowed her head and she picked up the plates.
"I'll help you." Lumilia stood up and said.
Souta glanced at Lynn and he heard a voice in his head.
'You're not that dense to not notice it. I'm sure that you know that girl have feelings for you.'
"I know," Souta said as he looked at the ceiling.