"Oh my, boys. Welcome, welcome."
And so, we arrived at the diner owned by the old woman we had saved during our off-campus class.
Naturally, we hadn't obtained permission to leave the hospital. All we left behind in our room was a brief note. Driven by sheer hunger and a strange, manic energy, we had simply bolted on impulse.
The eatery run by the old woman was apparently well-known in the royal capital, bustling with customers despite it only being dusk. The signboard out front read "Reinhardt Diner."
I wondered if that was her name.
"Granny, feed us some grub."
In response to Garry's request, the old woman smiled warmly and nodded.
"Of course. I'll get three portions ready right away."
Three?
When Garry and I turned around, Luluck was standing behind us.
"...Luluck, how long have you been there?"
When I asked, Luluck replied with her usual cheerful smile.
"I happened to spot the two of you over there, so I followed along to say hello! I see you have already been discharged from the hospital!"
"A-Ah, yeah..."
"By the way, are you two having a meal?"
"Y-Yeah..." Garry replied, his eyes darting around conspicuously.
Getting caught red-handed escaping the hospital by a classmate was completely unexpected. Still, it was Luluck. If we explained it to her, she would probably understand.
"Things have finally settled down, so I figured I'd grab a bite with Garry. Want to join us, Luluck?"
"My, may I really?!"
Guiding the sparkling-eyed Luluck to a table, I made up my mind.
I'd feed her quickly and turn her into an accomplice.
"Where I was born and raised in the forest, there were very few people my age, so I have always yearned for something like this!"
Luluck hailed from a special region known as the Hakua Great Forest.
Many clans known as witches inhabited the forest territory, cultivating their own unique traditions and culture within the nation of Gleefia.
Much of their magic was similarly isolated and distinct, with broomstick flight being one such example.
"Come to think of it, was that steam-like stuff you used also traditional witch magic?"
"No, that is my own original creation. After all, I am a witch of the new era."
"What the hell is that about?" Garry asked.
Right, this guy hadn't seen the scene where Luluck beat that magic beast to a pulp.
"That... Luluck, you had that white smoke coming out of you while fighting, but what's the principle behind it?"
"It utilizes steam pressure to expand and contract muscle fibers and the magic tissues around the joints, redirecting that pressure differential to assist with physical movement."
"Huh?"
Garry tilted his head, looking utterly bewildered.
Uh, so, basically, what?
She suddenly sounded insanely smart.
"In other words, Luluck, you move your body by taking advantage of the volumetric difference in moisture generated by repeatedly evaporating and condensing it inside you?"
"Yes. It is precisely as Lord Bren says."
Doing something like a human steam engine... was her body really okay on the inside?
No, more importantly, did she conceptualize that from scratch in this world? Isn't that, like, way too incredible?
"My bad, Luluck. Explain that one more time."
"Certainly, Lord Garry. As a prerequisite, I presume you are familiar with the phase transitions of water. My magic takes those and—"
While Luluck was giving a mini-lecture, a young waitress brought over our food.
"Sorry to keep you waiting~!"
First, a mountainous platter of bone-in meat shrouded in steam was placed in the center of the table. It was, to put it mildly, a primitive sight.
One after another, a basket full of black bread, butter mixed with chopped herbs, bean and sausage soup, an assortment of thinly sliced smoked meat and cheese, fried small fish, and baked apples drizzled with honey were brought out.
In the blink of an eye, the table was packed to the brim.
"Compliments of the owner~! Please eat your fill today~!"
The waitress gave a sharp wink at the end, added a quick "enjoy your meal," and headed off to other tables.
She was gorgeous...
Before even taking a bite, I had already caught a glimpse of why this place was so popular.
"That's a crazy amount... Can the three of us really finish all this?"
"What're you saying, Bren? If you're a man, this much is nothing. Come on, let's dig in."
Garry immediately grabbed a piece of bone-in meat and took a hearty bite.
Spurred on by his obvious "This is delicious!" reaction, I reached for the meat as well.
The surface was covered in a rich char, as if seared all at once at an ultra-high temperature. Taking a small bite, it tasted just as good as it looked. Perhaps magic was used during the cooking process, because it had a truly distinctive texture.
"Fufu, you two must have been terribly hungry."
"Aren't you gonna eat, Luluck?"
"Yes. The others should be arriving any moment now, after all."
At Luluck's nonchalant remark, Garry suddenly knitted his brows.
"The... what?"
"It is an after-party, after all! Earlier, I called everyone from the Imperial Archmage Faculty—ah, Lady Amae~! Philie-san~! Over here~!"
I turned to look in the direction Luluck was waving.
Standing side by side were the two whose names had just been called.
Did Luluck call them using telepathy?
"Good evening, Lulu-yan."
"Good evening, Lady Amae. Come, please take a seat over here."
Beckoned by Luluck, Amae-san sat down primly in the seat across from us. Her sleepy-looking droopy eyes were just a little sharper than usual today. A clear omen of a lecture.
So awkward.
I didn't expect to be checkmated in an instant like this.
No, wait, there was still a chance they just came to eat normally.
I stole a glance at Amae-san.
She let out a small sigh and muttered softly.
"...Well, I'm glad you're able to get out of bed, Bren-kun. You too, Garry-kun."
I-It felt like we could just push through on momentum like this.
Luluck was into it from the start, so this was my chance to use my authority as faculty representative to drum up an after-party atmosphere all at once.
"A-All right! Since everyone's here, why don't we have a toast?! Right, Garry?!"
"O-Oh...! Yeah, you bet!"
"Then let's order drinks for everyone! Excuse m—"
"Walker-kun."
Before I knew it, Filie-san was sitting next to me.
"Walker-kun, is it good?"
"...Yes."
"Did you read my letter?"
"......Yes."
"I see."
"........."
"........."
Silence hung in the air.
Meanwhile, Amae-san had ordered drinks for everyone.
Damn it... I underestimated the situation.
Is there any way I can pin all the blame on Garry now...?
"............Just for today, okay?"
Whoa, so kind~!
Thank you, Philie-san!
I'll eat a lot and grow big and strong!
"All right, everyone! We got Philie-san's permission, so let's toast!"
"...Walker-kun?"
"W-We shall have the honor of toasting!"
As Philie-san narrowed her eyes with a sigh, Amae-san placated her with a "Now, now."
It was rich coming from someone who had snuck out of the hospital to eat, but this was a great opportunity for the Imperial Archmage Faculty to bond.
Confirming that everyone had received a drink, I stood up from my seat.
Philie-san was holding her mug, looking as though she had resigned herself to it.
"Hold it, Walker."
Just as I was about to lead the toast, Gerald was suddenly standing within everyone's line of sight.
"What is the meaning of holding a celebratory toast without me?"
"My, Lord Gerald!"
Seeing Luluck bounce with genuine delight, Gerald gave a quiet, amused huff.
"Witch. If you are hosting a banquet, say so sooner."
Gerald pointed this out with a sullen face.
Luluck must have sent the telepathic message only moments ago, so the fact that almost everyone had gathered in a mere thirty minutes was practically a miracle.
"It is an honor to have you, Lord Gerald! Come, please take this seat!"
"Very well."
Luluck guided Gerald to the remaining seat of honor at the head of the table. He was clearly quite eager himself.
"Now all that's left is Mercedes, huh..."
I muttered under my breath.
Having caught it, Luluck was the first to pick up on my reaction.
"...Um. It is difficult to say, but she is apparently still feeling unwell and said she would join next time."
"I see..."
I gave a brief nod, and Amae-san muttered, "Then it can't be helped." It felt as though the expression of Filie-san, sitting next to me, clouded over just a little. It would have been a good chance to talk directly, and having only her absent felt somewhat awkward, but there was nothing we could do right now.
"Then for now..."
Raising my cup once more, I looked around at everyone.
Gerald silently gave a small nod of agreement.
"A lot happened, but to celebrate everyone making it back safe and sound—cheers."
It was a clumsy toast, even to my own ears, but everyone joined in without minding at all.
"Cheers!"
We clinked our cups together.
Even if we were short one sound, for now, I felt that was all right.
◇
"Well then, everyone, shall we perform party tricks?"
"Way too early for that!"
Garry replied, slightly taken aback by Luluck's sudden suggestion.
"Oh? Is it not customary for everyone to show off a party trick on such occasions?"
"People do it sometimes, but right after the toast is insane."
Amae-san was freaked out as well.
More than being too early, it was completely unexpected for Luluck to bring up the kind of antics you'd expect from upperclassmen in a sports club.
"...I apologize. This is my first time in a place like this, so I do not understand very well..."
"H-Hey, Lulu-yan... Don't get genuinely depressed over it... A-All right, I'll do something for you later... Right, Garry-kun?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"My, truly, both of you?!"
Beside the table, which had suddenly begun to liven up, Filie-san whispered quietly into my ear.
"...Next time, it'd be nice if all seven of us could come."
"Yeah," I replied to Philie-san.
I certainly didn't want another raid to happen, but I did feel a sense of loneliness with Mercedes not being here.
That aside.
This was the first time I had spoken with Filie-san like this since that incident.
Things had gotten messy and left unresolved, so this was a good opportunity to apologize.
"...Sorry for dragging you into that mess with Mercedes."
"No, I don't feel like I was dragged in at all. Besides, you've helped me so much, Walker-kun."
"I've been in your debt in a lot of ways this time, so if there's anything I can do, including your research, please let me help."
"Anything?"
Philie-san reacted with a slight twitch, leaning her face just a little closer.
"...Then, um, would drawing blood be all right too?"
"...Well, if it's just that, sure."
"Really? I was actually wanting to analyze the blood of someone with a high magic coefficient. You had such incredible power back then, Walker-kun."
Back then...?
Ah... she saw when I blew Wilhelm away.
"What's this? What're you two talking about, Filie-chan?"
Suddenly, Amae-san cut into the conversation.
"Ah, yeah. Just that Walker-kun is really strong."
"Ah... I heard Bren-kun was the one who smashed up the grounds."
Amae-san's observation stung.
Wilhelm had been running completely wild back then despite being near death, so I hadn't been making calm judgments either.
"I was unconscious so I didn't see it, but you're the one who took down that shitty four-eyes, right, Bren-kun?"
"Yeah."
"How'd you break through the four-eyes barrier?"
How, she asked...
Before I could answer, Gerald cut into the conversation this time.
"His instantaneous maximum magic coefficient is 6500. A barrier of that caliber would be trivial to shatter."
A dead silence fell over the entire table.
...Hm? What?
Why did Gerald know that number?
I mean, sure, I figured it was around that much, but...
"Six thousand... no, wait... Seriously? That's... like, professor-level."
"Well, you'd need that much to bust through four-eyes' barrier, wouldn't ya?"
Garry replied to Amae-san, who was smiling wryly.
Philie-san looked somewhat taken aback as well.
I had wanted to disclose that info during the entrance exam to thoroughly satisfy my desire for recognition, but now that it was out in the open like this, it felt kind of embarrassing.
Haha... Did I do something again?
"However, Lord Bren draws in magic with great care when casting spells, so it would not be surprising for him to achieve such an output."
"Draws in? What's that?"
In response to Garry's question, Gerald answered smoothly first.
"An individual has limits to the scale of power they can handle. In certain cases, one absorbs magic from the outside to boost their output."
"There's a technique like that?"
"It is not widely known to the public, but the time will come when we learn it in class soon enough."
Gerald's surprisingly nice.
I fully expected him to say something like, "You don't even know that?"
"Bren-kun, you were that strong? How unexpected."
"That's strictly talking about whether my raw output is high or low, though."
"The way you act humble is totally giving veteran monster vibes."
It was nice to be praised by Amae-san, but the others had proven that power wasn't everything. From my perspective, it was far more astonishing that they achieved such incredible performance with their output.
The only reason my one-hit-focused, wild-swinging style worked was largely due to that shitty four-eyes' personality and the nature of his abilities.
"Hmm. But I see. Truly fitting for our representative, I suppose."
"I mean, Bren was strong ever since our first off-campus class."
At the praise from my classmates, I suddenly looked down.
Philie-san was the first to notice, peering curiously into my face.
"...What's wrong, Walker-kun? Are you still feeling sick after all?"
"...No."
I shook my head and answered.
"...I haven't had much experience being praised, so my self-esteem is paralyzing me right now."
"I-Is that so..."
Philie-san looked slightly put off by how deeply moved I was.
Looking at it objectively like this, I realized that I had practically zero connection to society until now. Pushing myself a little to come to the city had definitely been the right call.
"Ah, that's right. There was something I needed to give back to you, Walker-kun."
"Hm?"
As I waited to see what it was, Filie-san presented a long, slender, rod-like object wrapped in white cloth.
"I didn't get the chance to return it after everything that happened."
"Philie-san No. 5, huh."
"Yeah... that name is... well, yeah."
Philie-san laughed awkwardly.
The contents of the white cloth were unmistakably the magic sword I had crafted.
Normally, I should probably take it back.
However, I really didn't feel like separating a magic sword that had adapted right up to the critical limit from its wielder.
"If you'd like, would you mind keeping and using that, Philie-san?"
"Eh?" Philie-san's eyes widened in surprise.
"...Is that all right? I believe this is extremely valuable, though."
"Practically speaking, you're the only one who can use it anyway. If it's a bother, I'll take it back, though."
"No, it's not a bother at all. In that case... would it be all right if I used it for self-defense and research?"
"Go ahead."
I gave a nod.
With that, Philie-san smiled elegantly and replied.
"Thank you. I'll treasure your magic sword, Walker-kun."
She said it with such earnestness that this time, I was the one who felt like looking away.
I had already gathered the data on the magic sword, and she certainly wouldn't use it for anything strange.
"Bren-kun, Garry-kun says he's gonna do a party trick."
Garry? That sounded entertaining.
I definitely had to see this.
With that thought, I turned toward the voice, only to find Professor Blanchard standing there with an expressionless face.
"Ah."
Amae-san's shoulders twitched with a start.
Next to her stood Garry, stripped to the waist, holding a piece of bone-in meat in each hand.
What... what is this guy doing?!
Why the hell did he suddenly take off his clothes?!
"Garry-kun. Why are you shirtless?"
To Professor Blanchard's inquiry, Garry looked down and replied.
"Walker-kun told me to do it..."
What the hell are you saying, you bastard, I'll roast your nipples off.
"Is that true, Bren-kun?"
"Ah, no..."
"More importantly, sneaking out of the hospital room without a word isn't very nice, is it?"
Damn it, I have no rebuttal.
Everyone had gone completely quiet, behaving like meek little kittens. As the representative, I had to present a way for everyone to turn the tables here.
Something... Isn't there something?
At this rate, our hard-earned after-party was going to come to a grinding halt.
"That's it! Let's toss Professor in the air!"
"Eh?"
"Everyone, let's toss Professor Blanchard in the air!"
"What are you talking about, Bren-kun?"
The professor still had a sullen face, but she looked slightly taken aback.
I just had to push through with sheer momentum.
It worked on Philie-san and Amae-san.
If it's come to this, I'll just drag Professor Blanchard into it too.
"We won the tournament, so we have to toss Professor into the air!"
At my proposal, Luluck was the first to gasp and put a hand to her mouth.
"Y-You are right! After all, we won the tournament...! We should have celebrated Professor Blanchard first!"
"Luluck-chan...?"
"That's true. Let's convey our daily gratitude to Professor."
"Amae-chan...?"
With Luluck and Amae-san jumping on board, Professor Blanchard looked thoroughly bewildered.
"What's the commotion, young man? Did something good happen?"
As we made a racket, an older guy sitting nearby spoke up with great interest.
"Yes! We won our tournament!"
"Well, ain't that something to celebrate! In that case, we gotta join in the celebration too!"
"Hey, Garry! We're tossing Professor into the air!!"
"Uwoooooooh!!"
Carried by the momentum, I scooped up Professor Blanchard. First Garry, then Luluck and Amae-san, followed by Filie-san, who still hadn't grasped the situation, and Gerald, who was surprisingly enthusiastic, and finally the regular patrons around us joined in, kicking off our victory parade.
"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"
"H-Hold on, you lot, put me down!"
"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"
"Hey~! That's enough of that~!"
"Ahahahaha!"
Right after this, my aunt rushed over and punched me.