“You can also choose to stay anywhere, it won’t matter. The right Familiars will flock to you, so don’t worry about it.”
“Then I choose to—”
Before Anabelle finished her statent which I already suspected to be an attempt to stick close to during this Ceremony, I quickly fired back.
“I would like for you not to be close to , though, since there the Mana Density will be thinner around . We should all stay apart from each other so we won’t rob one another of the surrounding Mana.”
With this smart and accurate protest, I silenced Anabelle. None of my two comrades had any complaints about it, so I took it as acceptance.
Suddenly, I felt two familiar presences and heard their footsteps as their feet trample the juicy grass beneath.
“It’s been a while… Jared Leonard Alphonse Sereth.”
A smile ford on my face. Only one person would choose to use my na at length like that. Plus, even as they had approached, I already knew it was them.
Turning my face in the direction of the incoming footsteps and voice, I looked behind and saw the pair.
“Stefan Netherlore. Maria Helmsworth. It’s been a while.”
The boy and girl ca into view, their contrasting features made it clear who they were.
Stefan Netherlore, with his dark hair and deep blue eyes, handso to a fault and always putting on a serious front around that made it appear as though he was in a bad mood—I suspected this was only to hide his true intentions.
Maria Helmsworth, the genius among geniuses, a prodigy in her own right. Her silver hair was as elegant as always, and her gem-like blue eyes rivaled even that of Anabelle, except she had a gleam of maturity attached.
These two ca to of their own volition… sothing I didn’t fully expect.
“Yeah. It has.” Maria spoke first, and then fell silent almost imdiately.
A mont of silence dwelled amid us since none of us had really spoken on favorable terms before. Still, I wasn’t going to go out of my way to speak to them.
‘You guys ca to see . I don’t plan on trying to drive this conversation.’
I felt a sudden shift in my surroundings. It ca from behind , and the proximity was scary close. Looking back at the source, my eyes t Anabelle, who seed to be glaring at the two prodigies that just approached.
A scary look appeared on her face that I couldn’t completely decipher.
“U-uh, these are the two I was telling you about.” I decided to drive the conversation in a different direction by addressing my new comrades.
My initial plans were to befriend Stefan and Maria, making them my comrades instead. Unfortunately, they were out of my reach so I had to make do with Edward and Anabelle.
I had no regrets, though.
“Ohhh, I see… nice to et you two.” Anabelle forced a smile as her darkened expression remained.
Clearly, she didn’t an what she was saying!
Edward also rendered his formalities, though nervously. Since they had both been present during the Assembly, the two must have realized that Maria and Stefan belonged to the Upper Class.
While Edward showed reverence to them and displayed his inferiority, Maria was simply oozing hostility. Why was she so upset?
I traced the direction of her eyes and found them heading in a single direction. That had to be the cause of her annoyance!
Quickly, I followed her gaze and laid eyes on the object of her strife. It was…
‘Maria Helmsworth? Why? Does she have any beef with her?’
My confused thoughts forced to finally break the unbearably heavy silence among the five of us.
“Do you perchance know them from sowhere?” I asked Anabelle with the little smile I could muster.
“No. First ti eting them.” She shot Maria a dirty look.
“Likewise.” The silent Maria returned the favor.
This just got more confused.
‘I don’t have ti for this! We should be ditating and preparing for the Familiar Ceremony!’
With that in mind, I decided to conclude this farce.
“So, why are you guys here? I don’t think you’d just co to say hi…” My eyes narrowed at the two Upper-Class elite geniuses.
The mont I said this, Maria’s eyes seed to bulge and she looked away instantly.
‘D-don’t tell … that’s all she ca to do?!’
“I don’t know about Maria, but I ca for a different reason. She decided to tag along after I told her I would be seeing you…”
Stefan’s eyes intensified as he now gave a determined glare. The boy hadn’t changed since I last saw him.
“The Inter-Class Exchange that occurs in two months… make sure you co prepared. I’ll destroy you then!”
‘….Eh?!’
Now I was lost.
“What do you an by that? Destroy ? Are you still upset about what happened in the waiting area? Get over it already.”
“What? No! Don’t play dumb!”
Now I was even more perturbed. I had no real business with Stefan, so why would he personally target in the Exchange? Unless…
‘So that’s how it is. Pfft, how childish and simple.’
“Fine, then. Stefan, you should also be prepared… I don’t plan on taking it easy now that you’ve declared your intentions.” My calm voice carried a tone of arrogance that seed to unnerve the young elite a bit.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way! Till then!”
As soon as he made his final statent, Stefan took his leave, and Maria followed beside him. I watched them for a few monts and sighed to myself.
‘That Stefan guy probably thinks of as a rival or sothing. His ego is bruised and he needs to fix it so he must be seeking to win against for him to regain his confidence.’
Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t going to be possible, talkless of being easy. Besides, he was too weak and young to be considered my rival.
As for Maria Helmsworth who walked beside him, did she really just tag along to say ‘hi’? How strange she was. No, the two children were weird in their own right.
“Okay, you two. Spread out and begin ditation.” I said to both Edward and Anabelle—who had already regained her usual deanor after Maria took her leave.
‘Okay, this has been a strange intermission, but I’m done with interruptions. It’s ti to complete my fourth Mana Core and then get myself a Familiar!’
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