"Stop feeding me!" Larc protested, his voice muffled as he tried to turn his head away.
"Shut up and eat!" Emeralda snapped, shoving a spoonful of steaming soup into his mouth with little mercy. "I don't like it either, but since I was the only one who came to visit you—and because you wouldn't stop whining about wanting to eat in the cafeteria—the doctor asked me to bring you here. Right now, thanks to how badly Mr. Scuro beat you up, you can't even feed yourself!" she added sharply, her tone a mix of irritation and authority. She then yanked the spoon out of Larc's mouth with unnecessary force.
Larc immediately coughed and spluttered.
The brief exchange between them had already satisfied much of Lucas's curiosity about what was going on, yet courtesy demanded a greeting. He approached the table, Aislyra and Katerina naturally following behind him.
"Hello, Emeralda. You were incredible in your match earlier—you defeated your opponent in an instant," Lucas said warmly, his tone carrying a faint trace of genuine excitement.
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty, but I hardly deserve such praise," Emeralda replied humbly, though her voice radiated confidence. "My opponent was weak. But please, keep watching me. I promise that in my next matches, I'll show you—and everyone else in the stadium—my true strength."
"I'll be looking forward to it," Lucas said, smiling. "Would you mind if my sister and Katerina joined you?"
Emeralda blinked in surprise. The queen herself—ruler of Yggdora—was asking her permission to sit at her table. Still, she quickly recalled what she'd heard of Alberia: a monarch known for her kindness and disregard for needless formalities.
After briefly casting a cold, challenging glance at Aislyra, Emeralda replied, "Of course, please sit down, Your Majesty. It's an honor to have you join us."
Throughout the exchange, Larc sat in a daze, staring dreamily at the three beautiful women who had suddenly gathered at his table.
As Lucas sat down rather briskly, his chest bounced slightly with the motion, and Larc's eyes widened instantly.
"Enormous…" he muttered under his breath, awestruck.
Without hesitation, another spoonful of soup rocketed from Emeralda's hand and slammed into Larc's mouth at near-supersonic speed, hitting his palate hard enough to make him gag and cough violently again.
"Anyway," Aislyra began casually, pretending not to notice the scene, "I'm surprised you've become friends with a human, Emeralda. You never hated them, but you always had trouble talking to anyone who wasn't an elf. Have you… fallen in love? Are you engaged?" she asked sincerely, her tone one of innocent curiosity.
Emeralda's composed expression instantly twisted into one of deep disgust and fiery outrage. "What in the world are you talking about, you muscle-brained woman?! Why would I ever be engaged to this monkey?! There's only one person who holds my heart—and it's definitely not this stupid, vulgar primate!" she shouted, loud enough for half the cafeteria to hear.
"I'm not a monkey!" Larc protested weakly between coughs.
Emeralda turned toward him with a glare sharp enough to pierce steel. "Shut up, monkey. I'm not talking to you," she said flatly, cutting him off before he could say another word.
"Well," Aislyra continued, tilting her head in genuine confusion, "since you said you were the only one who came to visit him and you're helping him eat, I thought maybe you were together. Feeding your partner is a common thing among couples these days, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is—but I'm only doing this because Lars can't use his hands right now; they're burned! At most," she said, her voice growing higher with irritation, "this monkey and I—and it disgusts me to even say it aloud—could maybe be considered friends!"
At that moment, Aislyra suddenly stiffened. She felt something—a gaze upon them. But it wasn't the kind of stare filled with hostility or intent to kill. Instead, it was light, almost playful… like the echo of a laugh brushing against her thoughts.
Lucas noticed the change in his sister's expression and followed her gaze. His eyes landed on a hooded figure across the cafeteria, cloaked so heavily that not even a trace of their face or clothing could be seen. The person stood at least six feet tall, and strapped to their back was an elongated, bandage-wrapped object nearly as long as they were tall.
The instant the mysterious individual realized they'd been noticed, they turned and slipped silently out of the cafeteria. Neither Aislyra nor Lucas made a move to stop them—they hadn't felt even a whisper of malice from the stranger.
Emeralda, still entirely focused on denying any romantic connection with Lars, remained completely unaware that anything unusual had happened at all.
"Hey, are you even listening to me, muscle woman?!" Emeralda snapped, clearly irritated.
"Sorry, Emeralda, I got distracted. What were you saying?" Aislyra replied with a sheepish smile.
Emeralda's face darkened and reddened at the same time—she looked seconds away from exploding with rage. But before things could spiral, Lucas intervened.
"So… how did you and Larc become friends?" he asked gently, his voice calm but filled with curiosity.
The question instantly defused the tension. Emeralda straightened up, a little hum escaping her lips. "Yes, that's right—friends. This monkey and I are just friends," she said, clearly trying to convince herself as much as anyone else.
Seeing that Emeralda had no intention of elaborating, Larc decided to speak up. "I don't know if I'd actually call this crazy woman with two tails my friend," he began dryly, "but, Your Majesty Alberia, we met not long after she arrived in the capital of Leore to join the party of the new hero.
Before the hero could set out on his journey to defeat the new Demon King, he was granted three months of preparation—time to learn about our world and train in magic. Emeralda decided to use that same time to train as well. Since she'd already heard about my master from someone in your kingdom, she went to ask him for guidance.
My master was actually supposed to join the hero's party himself, but that bastard Enea showed up a month earlier and stole the title of the best adventurer in Leore." Larc's tone grew bitter for a moment before returning to normal. "Anyway, that's how we ended up training together.
"At first, Emeralda acted like she had a stick up her ass, but over those three months, she… softened a little. Not much, but a little," Larc said with a half-smirk.
While Larc spoke, Lucas and Aislyra's food arrived. The two began eating quietly, listening with genuine interest to the story.
"Really, Emeralda? YOU softened? In a country full of humans?" Aislyra asked, sounding equal parts surprised and sarcastic.
"For once, I actually agree with you, muscle woman," Emeralda shot back, folding her arms. "I haven't softened at all, because I've always had a flawless personality!" she declared arrogantly. But then, her tone softened slightly, her expression shifting as if she were recalling fond memories. "Still… if I have softened, it's definitely not because of this electric monkey. It's thanks to Mr. Brasto. He's an extraordinary man—and an even better teacher." A small, sincere smile touched her lips.
"He must be a remarkable person if he managed to earn such high praise from you in just three months," Lucas said kindly, though inwardly he thought, 'He sounds like someone truly special. I'd love to meet him someday.'
"Yes, he is. Master Brasto is the greatest teacher in the world—and the only person who truly deserves the title of best adventurer in Leore," Larc said proudly. "That's why I came here—to expose that fraud Enea!"
But before he could continue, another spoonful of soup was mercilessly shoved into his mouth.
"And yet you were easily defeated by Mr. Scuro in the first match of the tournament," Emeralda said sharply. "Mr. Brasto and I both warned you that you weren't ready to face most of the tournament's favorites—especially me, and certainly Enea. There are only a few people I know who can compete with my beloved Fortore, and I can assure you Enea is one of them." Her tone carried the weight of both disappointment and honesty.
"Fortore!!? The Fortore who's considered the strongest knight in the entire kingdom? The same Fortore against whom even Master Brasto has lost several times in this very tournament? The one every guild member says could defeat any man before he even blinks—that Fortore?!" Larc exclaimed, his voice trembling slightly.
"Yes, that Fortore," Emeralda said with a proud smile, then turned her sharp emerald eyes toward Aislyra. "The Fortore I will never let anyone else have."
Aislyra blinked, tilting her head in mild confusion, clearly unaware that the emerald-eyed elf had just challenged her outright.
Thanks to their earlier encounter during Caesar's visit to the palace, Lucas had already realized that Emeralda didn't like Aislyra very much. She had even begun to form a theory as to why, and this moment only confirmed it. 'But I don't think Aislyra has noticed at all,' Lucas thought, watching her sister smile innocently, completely oblivious to the hostile undertone in Emeralda's words. 'In fact, I doubt she even realizes Emeralda dislikes her.'
"Knowing you," Emeralda started slyly, "you were too focused on Enea and the ministers Master Brasto told you about to even consider that Fortore would obviously be competing too. Though honestly, it might've been better if you'd faced him instead of Minister Scuro.
"See, Fortore doesn't care about fighting men. If you're male and not strong enough, he ends it instantly. You would've been flattened in one strike the moment the match began, but at least you wouldn't be here now, forced to have me feed you like a child. After all, Scuro doesn't hold back,"she said, her tone sharp but laced with teasing.
"I get it, I get it!" Larc shouted, exasperated. "I wasn't ready for this tournament! There's no need to rub it in so many times! I know I made a mistake. I may not be the brightest, but even I realize it wasn't the best idea—especially considering the state I'm in now!"
Then, with a calmer tone, he added, "But still… I don't think it was completely useless—"
Before he could finish, Emeralda shoved another spoonful of soup into his mouth.
Larc swallowed hard, his patience finally snapping. "WILL YOU STOP FEEDING ME!?" he yelled, coughing violently.
And just like that, the two of them launched into yet another heated argument, their voices echoing across the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, Lucas and Aislyra had already finished their meals.
"Excuse us," Lucas said gently, rising from her seat. "We have to go now—there are still some people I'd like to visit before the break ends."
"Go ahead, Your Majesty," Emeralda replied, waving her hand with respect. "Oh, and if you're looking for Caesar, he passed by earlier with that demon Ativ. They're walking around the arena so Caesar can officially introduce him to the rest of the party."
Then, turning toward Aislyra, she declared boldly, "This year, I'm going to defeat you—and prove to Fortore which of us is the better woman!" Her voice dripped with fierce determination and pride.
Aislyra said nothing. Instead, she simply grinned, her eyes sparkling with excitement—even though Lucas was certain her sister hadn't fully understood why Emeralda was so fired up.
"Thank you, Emeralda. I'm looking forward to your next match," Lucas said kindly, waving goodbye.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty—I'll make sure it's a real spectacle!" Emeralda replied confidently, before turning her attention back to "taking care" of the still-complaining Larc.
Lucas, Aislyra, and Katerina searched the cafeteria for a little while longer, hoping to spot other familiar faces. But when they found none of the people they were looking for, they finally left and began walking through the long corridors of the arena, hoping to encounter someone else they knew before the next round began.