"By the way, Edward, Lyra, do you know a guy wearing a black and gold masquerade mask and with red eyes?"
"Pouffff!"
I coughed out all the water I was drinking at the guy at the other table. The back of his blazer was now drenched.
Sorry dude, I was just caught off guard by Jayden's question…
Because he was speaking about me!
"Edward, do you know about him?"
Milleia asked because of my strange reaction.
"Not at all."
"Ah…I see…"
"Hmmm. I don't know anyone like that. I mean what guy would wear a masquerade mask outside like that…it's a bit creepy…"
Lyra's expression distorted a little.
"..."
I drank water endlessly to try to forget the embarrassment I was feeling.
'It's because of you, Jarvis!'
[I am not the one who chose the mask.]
'Your damn master…'
Was his goal to kill me from embarrassment?
I honestly started to think like that.
"Why are you asking about him?"
Lyra asked, curious.
"That's…"
Milleia seemed to have a hard time explaining how she met me.
Well, it wasn't like she could say they were ambushed and nearly killed casually.
Just when Milleia started to shiver, Jayden put his hand on her arm.
"It's okay. I will say it."
He gave her a reassuring smile.
"Y-Yes…thanks…"
Ah.
Her heart probably skipped a beat now.
As expected of the protagonist, he is already building his harem, but could you not do it in front of me…?
I've already seen enough in the game.
"Milleia's carriage was ambushed by bandits."
"Really?"
Lyra asked, a little surprised.
"Yes. I fell on them when I was taking a short cut through the forest to reach the academy. We fought them but one of them burned the carriage with people inside."
"Then?!"
Lyra asked with a bit of curiosity and shock.
"Then, someone with the same uniform as us arrived and saved them. He helped us to beat the guys and before we could ask about him he left with his strange ability…"
"Yes…I wanted to thank him though…"
Milleia said in a disappointed tone.
Thanks for that, but I'd rather keep Mary and my mirror's ability secret for now. If the fact that Edward Falkrona had a second 'blessing' spread, it would just put me in trouble and Ante-Eden would try to contact or worse kidnap me. That was why I didn't speak about Mary or Cleenah to aunt Belle. Sometimes it is better to be in ignorance.
'By the way, Cleenah, Aunt Belle didn't notice you?'
I asked, since aunt Belle was strong, so it could be that she noticed but didn't say anything.
[<Don't worry about that, Amael, I made sure she wouldn't notice anything. The other did the same from the start.>]
The other two…
The other two useless Gods unwilling to help me.
"Hmmm. Did you see his tie? What color was it?"
Lyra asked, since the color could tell in which year I was, but fortunately I appeared without it at that time.
"He didn't wear one, we only recognized him with his shirt and pants from the academy."
Jayden shook his head.
"He didn't wear one…?"
Lyra glanced at me or rather at my tie coiled on my neck.
I ignored her gaze and brought the fork into my mouth. If you looked closely, you'd find sweat dripping from my forehead at her intense gaze.
This girl wasn't an idiot.
The only thing that was making her doubtful must be the fact that it was very unlike me to do such things.
"Well, since he has a strange ability, you will probably find him soon in the academy during a fight or class."
I said, disinterested.
"I hope so…"
Why do you hope so?!
I was dumbfounded at Milleia's eagerness to see and thank me.
This girl was too kind for her own good.
"Why? Do you have a crush on him?"
Lyra asked without care.
"N-No! But my mother has always told me to thank and help the people who did the same for me…"
Milleia replied with a little smile.
Her mother…
Speaking of her mother, she was going to die from illness soon. Milleia, unable to do anything, will fall into depression until Jayden helps her.
"Your mother? Both of you come from a faraway town, right?"
"Yes, but not from the same though."
Jayden nodded.
"Something I wanted to ask. How both of you, if I may not be impolite, commoners, have been chosen by the Eden Academy? Isn't that nearly impossible, right, Edward?"
Lyra was sure curious.
"You just need to be strong and talented like those two."
I cued at Jayden and Milleia with my hand holding a cup.
"I-I'm not talented."
"Ehehe thanks."
Milleia was embarrassed by my praise, while Jayden scratched his nose happily.
These guys were too easy to read.
"You are talented? Then it's good for us. We can maybe get the first rank in the class' rank."
"You can forget that dream of yours."
I cut off her dream.
"What? You are too negative, Edward."
Lyra elbowed me.
"I'm just saying the truth. Did you see the other classes? One has that idiot prince, the other has that uptight princess and the last one has those creepy Tarmias siblings."
"Pffft! Ahahah!"
Lyra laughed hard when I finished my words.
"What the heck?"
She was hitting my shoulders while laughing hard.
"You are still speaking like that about them, you haven't changed, Edward."
Lyra wiped the tears forming on the corners of her eyes.
"Yeah, but it doesn't change the fact that the other classes are at another level."
I said honestly.
In our class, there were only Jayden, Milleia and Lyra, who could be considered strong enough to contend against the geniuses of the three remaining classes. Yeah, I wasn't sure about my strength against those guys, they were really strong.
Seriously, they said classes were balanced, but my class, the Basilisk Class, was without doubt the weakest of them by a great margin, if I have to say it.
"We shouldn't give up, Edward!"
Jayden wasn't pleased with my defeatist tone.
He was someone with a competitive spirit after all, so he was going to fight until the end.
"I'm sure we can win if we help each other in the class, right Milleia?"
"Yes! I also think we can win."
Milleia raised and clenched her fists, giving me a motivated look. She was sure cute but what she said wasn't going to be easy at all.
"Helping each other? Like how that guy from our class helped you to find a table?"
I asked sarcastically, reminding them what happened with Teen just minutes ago.
This class was doomed unless Milleia and Jayden awakened their bloodline and blessing now.
First, what class named from a snake's name ended up good?
Even in those famous novels about sorcerers, the snake class was shunned until the end.
Nobody likes snakes!
It was clearly discrimination.
Phoenix, Dragon and Pegasus for the others, and we were in the Basilisk class.
What a curse.
They all had flying animals and we had one slithering on the ground!
"That's…"
Milleia slumped her shoulders.
"Hey! You will never get girls with your way of speaking! No wonder Aurora and Miranda left you!"
"Shut up, I don't care about getting a girlfriend. The stuckup princess or the goody two-shoes archer aren't my type either."
"That's harsh, Edward. People would kill to get them if it was possible, y'know!"
Lyra grinned.
I know it was a pipe-dream for even nobles to get them, but Jayden would succeed in a few months if he worked hard. I will help him anyway.
"So you prefer a girl like Layla?"
What was that conversation?!
I am not looking for a girlfriend.
I will never try anything with that crazy girl!
"No thanks. I don't want to die like Alfred, who will surely in a few months."
"You are right."
Lyra giggled at my answer. We both knew Layla very well…
Jayden and Milleia seemed overwhelmed by our conversation.
Probably because of the big names we were bringing out, as people like them couldn't really talk to celebrities like Aurora or Miranda. The fact that they were on the same table as me and Lyra was already a big achievement. Even novels would want such things. That's why that guy Teen was pissed off when he saw commoners speaking to nobles and acting'cocky' from his point of view because of me.
"What about you, Milleia? What is your type?"
Lyra asked excitedly Milleia.
Oh, God kill me.
[<I want but I can't.>]
I'm not talking about a useless Goddess.
[<Stop! Calling me! Like th->]
"M-My type?"
Milleia stuttered with a slightly red face.
Damn…
She was just like in the game, too innocent.
She was truly a 'young maiden'.
Incidentally, Jayden perked up his ears but acted like he didn't care.
"Yes!"
"I-I want someone kind…"
Milleia twirled her hair between her fingers shyly.
This gesture of hers was doing critical damage to Jayden and the men near our table, nobles included in them.
"...so-someone who will support and take care of me…"
She finished with a bright red face.
Now, even I was having a hard time, so I looked at my plate.
I just needed some time to get accustomed to her since it was just the first day.
"Then it's definitely not Edward."
"..."
Lyra shot a stray bullet toward me, who was just silent.
"H-Hey! Ouch!"
I pulled her hair and Lyra groaned.
"You sure have a disagreeable character, Lyra. If it's hard for me to get a girl, then it's impossible for you to get a guy."
I sneered.
I want to say that in my previous life I got the affection of the most beautiful girl in the world but I held back. I couldn't reveal my biggest secret pettily.