The explosion was terrible, at least for people nearby, they would surely die. Baston was shocked silly when the bright light appeared in front of him. He unconsciously just closed his eyes, waiting for the end of his
life. After the magic circle blasted through everything, he opened his eyes to see he was safe. Still, he knew the puppet he had must be destroyed into smithereens. He still wanted to experience its function, yet the fate didn't permit him. Anyway, he just needed to wait for one day before he could summon it again.
Meanwhile, Panto and Alicia peeked through one of their eyes, staring at the front of them. They saw Baston stood straight, blocking
the impact from explosion. Alicia could even see that the path of the surrounding was already blasted away, except the path they took before. It led to the back of the cafeteria directly, so she could assume that not only he saved them, he also saved all the students here.
"Baston, are you alright?" Alicia asked worriedly.
"I'm fine…"
Looking at the unscathed fat boy, she was convinced that Baston was indeed very powerful. The damage of explosion was great that even she tried to block it with all her magic, she would be barely alive by then.
Only by depending on magic items from her family, she could avoid the impact without getting hurt. She wanted to thank him, but Panto suddenly interrupted from behind.
"Baston, you're so awesome!"
Panto was so elated after he found out that he was still alive and kicking. He felt his investment toward Baston was the most correct thing in this academy. It was such a big explosion, but Baston could block it easily. He never saw what magical way he did, but as long they were safe, it was
alright. Baston glanced at Alicia, pondering the next thing he should do.
"When the teacher comes, you will take a lead…"
"What? But…" Alicia was confused.
For the start, Baston still didn't have any thorough understanding about the situation around. He was afraid if his strength was
revealed, many troublesome things would soon follow. At the beginning, many wouldn't believe it and the students would be flabbergasted. When it continued further, there would be a possibility that his secret would get leaked. He didn't want to show all his cards yet, so it was better to stay in the dark first.
Alicia and Panto understood what Baston meant. In their minds, Baston wanted to stay hiding first before he could find a chance to show his true strength. Unfortunately, they thought another reason which was the cult. Panto even worried that his safety was threatened. Even though Baston had already said he was safe, this incident clearly showed to him that the cult was something else. Were they still targeting him or not? He wanted to find a better place to ask Baston personally.
On the other hand, Alicia suspected there was another informant in the academy. She didn't believe Baston just knew this handful
magic circle by himself. Even the teachers around didn't know about this which meant he had his own way. What she worried was entirely different from Panto. She was afraid that Baston suspected him as the fake informant, leading him to find another one. After experiencing this mind-blowing explosion, the information regarding the cult was very important for her to gain astounding merit.
"What happened here?" the teachers soon gathered, "Such a big explosion! Can anybody explain it to us?"
Baston quickly acted meekly, "Alicia… Alicia knows what happened before, teacher. She even blocked the explosion to protect both of us. We are very grateful to her."
Panto also followed after looking Baston's attitude, "It's true, teacher. When we were stumbled before, Alicia took the front heroically."
This time, Panto exaggerated what Alicia did which even made the teachers nodded and believed him completely. Based on the trace of magic, they wouldn't believe someone average could block the impact. Only a noble girl like Alicia who had strong background could have possibility, even though she might be using a certain magic item.
Since his savior didn't want to enjoy such a popularity, Panto tried his best to never mention Baston's name. Not only it made the fat boy got ignored, the teachers seemed to believe everyone aside Alicia was only a passerby in the incident. Alicia herself blushed because she got so many praises from everyone.
"Alright, let's go back… Alicia, I need you to come to the office to explain in more detail about it," one teacher said, looking at Baston
and Panto, "As for you, just go back to your dormitory."
Panto smiled pleasingly, but once the teachers went away, he just scoffed at them. He could see a lot of them belittled the side character, only focusing on Alicia at best. The boy realized that even Baston confessed the truth, it would be a lie in their minds. One thing he unconsciously did was
he started to glorify Baston in his heart. He believed the fat boy could surpass every junior student here, including the noble one.
"What you do want to do now?" Panto asked carefully.
"I'm hungry. The cafeteria should still be open, so I will grab my food first."
"Then, wait a minute first… I will go check if it's temporarily closed or not because of the incident before.
"Well, alright then…"
Baston felt weird that Panto volunteered himself to go first. Actually, he could just go by himself and looked at it directly, but he
thought it was just Panto's way of being thankful for saving his life. Still, he thought it would be better if Panto treated him one or two meals. While he was waiting, Panto hurriedly asked the waiter there.
"What? You mean the cafeteria will be closed! How we suppose go eat then?"
"I also don't know. I heard a rumor that after the cafeteria gets closed for sometime, the students will be permitted to eat at outside. It
might go for a few days after the scene has been completely investigated."
"Then, can I order a food right now? Just send it as usual, but don't tell him."
"This…" the waiter hesitated, but slowly nodded, "I think Ivcan deliver the message. Supposedly, you can order the food for the last time before the cafeteria is really closed."
Panto nodded, but his complexion wasn't good. He usually ordered some food for Baston from behind, but since the cafeteria was closed, he didn't know where he would go at outside. There might be many restaurants out there, yet so many choices which was very difficult to see what Baston
would pick. Although he wasn't sure if Baston already found out or not, he felt his kindness must be hidden since the fat boy hid his action for a long time.
After hurried back to Baston and told everything, the fat boy frowned. If he went outside, it would be useless for him since he didn't have any money to spend. Anyway, just thinking about it later since today was
the last day the cafeteria opened before it was closed due to the investigation. Panto didn't linger around and just went ahead to somewhere. In Baston's mind, it was already good that his attitude was getting better. He
didn't bully him again and his life was peaceful.
As usual, the waiter welcomed Baston when he saw him from far. Someone treated him again, but this time, it was fully roasted chicken which the size was bigger than any meal he had before. Baston was dumbfounded because the one who bought this clearly didn't have a problem with the money. Before, Panto knew that Baston asked for small portion, yet at this time, he
picked the bigger size because the matter of the cafeteria. It was just like a final dish before it ended.
Regardless what Baston felt, Alicia on the other hand didn't believe such a fortunate day. After being questioned, everyone just accepted it as the truth. The girl knew if she made a complicated story, it would be
suspicious, so she just created a simple event before. She said that she bought a magic instrument that could detect magic circle in the city. Testing it at the academy, she found a strong reaction and got here while the two other boys she met was just a coincidence. When she walked nearer, who knew the magic circle suddenly activated and exploded.
Alicia had protection item on her which the noble usually gave to their member of family. It could be used to keep their safety on check
if the worst came up. Many teachers also knew about this, so they never suspected her. After that, many people applauded on her quick action which using her only magic item for her own protection. It blocked the explosion so many students could be saved from horrible death at once. They were grateful of her bravery and even would report this to the kingdom.
What she gained right now was very precious because once it got reported, the kingdom would give her a merit. The accumulated merits would then bring enormous profit and authority to her alone despite she was still student. This kind of thing would be her pride and her family must be proud of having an honorable daughter. Alicia was happy, but she remembered it should belong to Baston. She felt guilty inside but there was no other way. If she
told them it was actually Baston who did it, she believed everyone wouldn't believe it even if she insisted.
The matter regarding the merits, Alicia felt she needed to explain this thing to Baston properly. After she was excused from the office, she rushed to the cafeteria only to find out that it was already empty with many personnel around. She asked one of the staffs about what happened here. The noble girl then was dumbfounded because the incident made the cafeteria closed. With her connection, she could then finally enter the scene for a while and found the waiter who usually brought her order.
The waiter explained that the cafeteria couldn't take order anymore. Even if she used her prestige, there was no other way since the kitchen had already been closed too. No one could cook which meant she couldn't treat Baston again. The man then continued to explain that Baston had already
eaten his portion by Panto, so even if she didn't order food, the fat boy was already full. Thinking about the timid boy who always stalking Baston from far away, she felt helpless.
She was too busy before answering some questions from the teacher, making her got late to the cafeteria. Before, she was elated of having some merits on her name, but now, the thought of getting passed by someone made her agitated. In her mind, Panto was her rival in order to get more attention from Baston secretly. Surely, it wasn't in romantic way because she had curiosity regarding the cult. The girl even thought that the way Panto treated Baston from behind the curtain was one of many ways to establish connection between them. In the end, it was just a misunderstanding because Panto did it so his safety would be ensured. By having a close connection with Baston, he believed
the cult wouldn't do anything to him.
In the meantime, Baston held a strange coupon on his hand. After finishing his meal, the waiter gave him this coupon so that he could eat at the outside on certain restaurant. Actually, Panto just rushed ahead to the outside since every student could eat at outside from now on. He came back again with this coupon, handing it to the waiter before he soon disappeared. The waiter then gave it to Baston as a compliment.
Therefore, after he finished his task, the waiter came back to his place while Baston was wondering what kind of food he would get tomorrow. There must be plenty outside and he couldn't wait what kind of dish he would eat. After going to this world, his circumstance only revolved around the academy and nothing more. He wondered should he invite some friends to accompany him? Even though so, he didn't have many close friends. The one he had much communication before was Panto, but he was the one who bullied him before, so it was strange to invite him.
"Well, I'm going to look first tomorrow then…"