Just like before, they arranged for the clothes to be delivered to the Academy.
Their outing continued, and since it was lunchtime, they went to a fancy restaurant and ordered some food.
Selene watched Aether as he silently ate his meal. She wanted to feed him, but she felt she might be pushing too much for a single day, so she decided to postpone it… She achieved what she wanted so enough for today.
While eating, Lia, who sat across from Selene and Aether, glanced at Selene. She could see Selene devouring Aether with her eyes alone, and she felt like a third wheel.
‘I should have left, but…’ Lia wanted to leave, but Aether had whispered for her to come along, ‘It seems he isn’t interested in her… Maybe he doesn’t want to trust nobles again… just like me.’ She felt a sense of camaraderie with Aether and decided to help him when necessary.
“Hmm…? This tastes good. Do you want some, Sel?” Aether suddenly asked, surprising both Selene and Lia.
Selene felt this was her chance. With a slight blush, she said, “Yes… F-Feed me.”
Aether nodded and fed her, which made Selene even more delighted. She felt like she was on cloud nine, already lost in thoughts about their future together.
But then Aether’s next words brought Selene crashing back to reality.
“Do you want some, Lia?” he asked.
Lia blinked in surprise and glanced at Selene, who now had eyes darker than a void. “I-I-I don–‘mmfffff'” she stammered, but Aether cut her off by forcibly feeding her. Lia’s cheeks puffed as she blushed at Aether’s sudden daring action.
[+100 Affection]
“Ouch!” Aether winced when Selene pinched his thigh hard. She pouted furiously.
‘Did I do something wrong?’ Aether wondered. He was genuinely just sharing his food because it tasted good and he knew food always tasted better when shared with friends. He had fed Selene without much thought, and in the same spirit, he fed Lia. That was all!
Don’t get him wrong!!
Afterwards, Aether was forced to feed Selene, who now had an annoyed expression like a child, and then he also fed Lia, who looked at him with expectant eyes.
‘Sigh, what am I? Their mother?’ Aether thought.
Suddenly, a conversation from a nearby table caught their attention:
“Hey, did you hear about the chosen ones?” one middle-aged man said.
“Yeah, I heard there was a commotion yesterday…” another replied.
…..
…
They were talking about the previous day’s incident with the latecomers and their punishment.
But then, the topic shifted. “Did you hear about the old road incident?” one man asked.
“Yes, I can’t believe that the cart driver was also involved with those bandits,” another answered.
“Yeah, we can’t trust most people nowadays.”
“After that incident, the old road has been blocked, guards were stationed and no one is allowed to use it.”
“Hmm… Kind of sad for the people who walk. Now they need to take the long route.”
“And I also heard if not for the Academy’s student riding on the cart, everyone would have died there.”
“Yeah, Pretty cool!”
“And also… I heard a masked man saved Adam’s child when his wife and child were riding on the cart.”
“Masked man?” someone echoed in surprise. ?о?υг-с@нα&ρτея-?%σ#υг??–
Aether smiled upon hearing that. Seeing his smile while he fed her, Selene was truly delighted.
“The masked man not only saved the child in the nick of time, he even escaped from the constant attacks from the Academy’s students… he didn’t even sweat, I heard.”
“OH!!” someone exclaimed in amazement.
“He must be powerful, isn’t he?”
“Hmmm”
Aether felt his nose getting bigger and bigger as he continued to listen to them.
“And most of all, he actually escaped from that crazy sunglass girl.”
“Hmm? Sunglass girl?” someone asked.
“Yeah, she’s also an Academy student, but she’s far more powerful than the other students. She even cut the enemy into a million pieces before anyone else realized what happened.”
“OMG!!”
“So you’re saying that the masked man escaped from her?”
“Yes, but not only that, he even made her bleed.”
“Damn!!”
“I really wanted to see that!!”
Aether’s ego swelled so much that he felt like his nose was growing long enough to break through the roof…. Just a metaphor, of course.
However, their next words made him flinch.
“What is even crazier is that she is now searching for him. She has already posted notices with the image of a masked figure at all the important places.”
“OH! It’s crazy, man… She must be really pissed off then!!”
“Hahaha”
“That guy must have gotten the attention of a crazy woman!!”
Aether suddenly stood up, making Lia and Selene flinch.
“Is something wrong?” Selene asked, concerned.
Aether didn’t answer. Instead, he asked the people at the other table, “Sorry sir, Do you know where the notice is?”
“Well… There,” one of them said, pointing to a nearby pole outside. Aether’s eyes widened in horror when he saw the notice.
“1,000,000?,” he read aloud, the bounty for his capture staring back at him in bold print.
Seeing the amount of the bounty, Aether felt a cold shiver run down his spine. A million Zeniths! This was not just a small bounty, it was a fortune. His heart pounded as he realized the extent of the trouble he was in. If they were willing to offer that much money, it meant they were seriously determined to catch him.
Selene and Lia exchanged concerned glances as they observed Aether’s abrupt shift in demeanour, “Aether, what’s troubling you?” Selene’s voice trembled with genuine worry.
Aether’s response was barely audible, his words stumbling out in a mumble, “N-Nothing…” he managed to utter before hastily finishing his meal and bolting out of the restaurant.
A picture of his worn criminal-like mask that he made himself, though no one could see the person behind it except his eyes…
“It exactly looks like mine… How is she able to see clearly?” Aether really wondered how in the hell she was able to draw exactly like his structure, even though it would be hard to notice his eyes.
“Raven Noir… ah” Aether mumbled.