Published at 18th of July 2022 8:06 am

Volume 6, Chapter 3 - The return of Anya, Part 4

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Part 4

“Wow…it looks delicious!”

Seeing the dishes arrive at the table one by one, Eco cheered in excitement. Facing the large and steaming hot leg of grilled lamb, it felt like it would be more than enough to eat even if it was split between five people. The surface was grilled to a golden-brown colour and was crispy, which simply stirred up one’s appetite.

“Hmm, it’s certainly not bad…”

Even Silvia, who had a displeased expression before, seemed to have her appetite aroused. Aside from lamb, the dishes on the table also consisted of Allonnes mushroom pasta, a salad with autumn’s seasonal vegetables, pumpkin soup, as well as stone oven baked bread.

“This is mine!”

Right after offering a prayer to Saint Rosa Maria, Eco couldn't wait any longer and prepared to bite into the lamb.

“Eco! The meat needs to be cut up and divided to everyone first!”

Ash quickly stopped Eco, as he picked up a knife to slice up the meat. The moment that the knife cut into the meat, a lot of the juices ‘pochi’ spilled out. After he placed the sliced up meat on a small plate for Eco, she grinned as she tossed the meat into her mouth with large bites.

“Hafuhafu…mmm~ that was delicious!”

Recently, Eco had been becoming more and more feminine, but only when it came to food, she would return to childlike appearance. At that time, Ash felt that there was a strong gaze looking at them from the opposite side, and couldn't help looking up in surprise. It was actually Silvia, who was staring at his hands.

“Is there a problem…Hime-sama?”

Hearing Ash talk to her, Silvia returned to her senses, and exaggeratedly shook her head.

“N-No! There’s nothing!”

Although Silvia said that there weren't any issues, she was holding onto a small plate in her hand. Looking at her awkward demeanour, Ash understood what it was. He couldn't help exposing a wry smile. Silvia probably never had the experience of cutting a large platter of meat by herself. Cosette probably did this kind of task for her all the time. However, Silvia had a lot of pride. She almost definitely thought it too humiliating to ask Ash to help her carve the meat, and was wondering in her mind about what to do.

“Here, give me your plate.”

After Ash took Silvia’s plate, he picked up the knife and cut the meat into slices. The meat juices ‘pochi’ gushed out again. Ash cut the slices of meat into sizes which were easy to eat, and then placed them onto the plate.

“Thank you…”

Silvia took the plate, and then used a voice as quiet as a mosquito to thank him. This time, that exchange caused a killing intent to stab into his cheek, and Ash involuntarily stiffened up.

“Eco? What is it?”

Turning to look beside him, Eco held out her small plate with a serious expression. Having a delicious meat dish to enjoy, Eco was originally overjoyed, but she somehow now had a straight-faced expression.

“A-noth-er-serving!”

“Ah…okay, there is a lot anyway.”

Cold sweat continued to roll down Ash’s body. Eco was clearly in a fit of anger. It must have been because she saw Ash and Silvia’s interaction that caused her to become angry like this. Ash cut slightly thicker pieces of meat and placed them onto Eco’s plate.

“Here, Eco—”

In an instant, a hand suddenly extended out from his side and snatched the plate away, which greatly surprised Ash.

“Oh…I thought that a students’ restaurant wouldn't be able to produce any decent dishes, but the taste of this dish is actually worthy of a three-star rating.”

Ash hastily glanced back, and saw Oscar Brailsford standing behind, with an indifferent look on his face. He held a piece of meat up with his fingers, and then gobbled it with delight; those actions were a complete contrast to his elegant appearance.

“That’s my meat! How dare you snatch it away!”

In anger, Eco stood up and threw a punch, but Oscar easily avoided the attack. As if he had come late to a gathering of friends, he casually sat down in the vacant seat as if nothing had happened.

“Hey! Don’t just sit there so naturally!”

Oscar handsomely brushed his fringe up, and ignored Eco’s angry roars.

“What’s wrong, we’re all members of the Student Council.”

“You have the nerve to say that? And that’s not even counting the fact that you’re normally absent.”

Ash grumbled that with an expression of surprise, but Oscar simply returned a graceful, cheeky smile.

“Oscar, what are you planning? You did such an inexcusable thing to us before, do you really have the right to appear before us?”

Silvia glared sharply at Oscar. Within those icy blue eyes of hers, were scorching red flames. Having recently been defeated by the pair which consisted of Oscar and Tristan, she was presumably not too happy about it.

“Fuu. I remember you looked quite pathetic when I dealt with you, Princess Silvia-dono.”

“What…!”

Silvia’s face was dyed red with anger, and her lips were trembling. But, the next thing that she was going to say was stuck in her throat and wouldn't come out. Despite cooperating with Lucca, Silvia was still defeated pathetically. That’s why she clearly understood that no matter what she said right now, it would just be the cries of a sore loser.

“Anyway, as a dragon, Eco likes to eat meat the most, right?”

Oscar suddenly asked a question which seemed to have no correlation to the previous topic.

“Yeah. So what?”

After Eco snappily replied, Oscar smiled.

“If you consent to be my partner, I can treat you to the highest grade of Chevron beef every day. Whether it’s grilled steak, sautéed beef, or roast beef, you can eat whatever you want to eat. By the way, do you know the part that people call ‘toro’[4]? Eating beef toro raw is one of the most delicious things in this world.”

“Eating Chevron beef toro raw…?”

Eco quickly revealed a greedy expression as she drooled.

“Hey hey! You’re being kidnapped by food!”

Ash quickly doused Eco’s desires, and then glared at Oscar.

“Stop going overboard. Eco is my Pal.”

Ash boldly declared his full authority as the master, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Oscar sighed, and then exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders.

“You really are carefree. Did you know that the Chevron Kingdom has already been informed of Eco’s true identity?”

“So what if they know? The Kingdom and Knight Country are allies.”

Even though Ash was annoyed by studying and exams, he still knew the common knowledge of a citizen of the Knight Country.

“Also, these two countries don’t just have any ordinary bilateral relationship. Like a knight pledging allegiance to their monarch, the Knight Country has always done things for the sake of the Kingdom. Even if both countries share their intelligence on Eco, it’s nothing to make a fuss over.”

“What naive thinking…what [Avalon Knight], this is a joke. Do you really think that the Kingdom and Knight Country acting like lovers in a drama will continue to play out forever?”

Oscar suddenly shifted to a serious expression, which caused Ash to shudder.

“Oscar-dono! Be mindful of what you’re saying!”

Silvia couldn't conceal the anxiousness in her mind, and glared at the side of Oscar’s face.

“Thinking about it realistically, allowing us of the Chevron Kingdom to exclusively manage the dragons would be more convenient and time conserving, isn't this the undeniable truth? Yet, the Kingdom entrusted the Knight Country with the management of the dragons. It’s just that, the Kingdom believed that regardless of the era, the Knight King would whole-heartedly pledge his absolute loyalty to the Chevron King — this model of thinking may have been established five hundred years ago, but the problem is…”

“Hey hey…is it really possible for these two countries to break off their diplomatic relationship?”

Ash nervously gulped, as he awaited Oscar’s reply.

“Eco’s awakening in Fontaine City amidst the disorder has shocked the world leaders — that incident will definitely invoke a gradual change in the situation of the world. Were it not for that riot, the Chevron Kingdom also wouldn't suspect the Knight Country’s government of disloyalty for no reason.”

“Uh…!”

“Moreover, the current Chevron King, Zacharias III is rather old, and the old days of naming the next monarch are long gone. Not only that, he complains that he’s gotten weak in his old age, and is planning to seek out some secret medicine which will grant him eternal youth and immortality. With his personality declining to this point, this so-called King is nothing more than an ugly old man. Regardless of the era, the ones who lead a country to ruin are always old fools who only fill their minds with their own selfish desires.”

“Hey hey, what’s this about eternal youth and immortality…did the King really say such nonsense?”

Ash timidly asked. Could it be that the Chevron King really wanted to imitate the specialists of witchcraft from folk stories?

“Of course he’s serious about that, it’s because the Princess of Avalon’s Dragons’ Emperor has been born into this world.”

Oscar nonchalantly replied.

“Hold on…how is this related to Eco?”

“Simply by drinking the blood of Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor, you’ll be able to obtain eternal youth and immortality — this is a long-standing legend.”

“What did you say…”

Eco wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered in fear.

“That’s ridiculous! I've never heard of such a legend!”

“I heard that you went to visit the Mother Dragon during the break, didn't she tell you anything?”

Although Ash felt surprised by the intelligence network that was easily available to Oscar, he gave a serious reply to his question.

“That’s right, I didn't hear her speak about such a thing at all.”

Oscar nodded as if he had understood the main point.

“Is that so? The Mother Dragon didn't say anything at all — that verifies one thing, and it’s that eternal youth and immortality is an impossible existence. Don’t you think so?”

“What you’re saying does make sense.”

Ash expressed his agreement towards Oscar’s words for the first time. If there really was a secret existence such as obtaining eternal youth and immortality through drinking the blood of Avalon, the Mother Dragon definitely would've warned Ash about it.

“The legend of eternal youth and immortality which has spread across the continent probably became a superstition around the time that Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor Family was established. When Zacharias III was young, he probably also dismissed legends such as this. But, the process of aging can change a person. Sooner or later, Zacharias will die, hence he is seeking out Eco for the medicine.”

“You came to tell us this information, so what are you planning to do?”

“My aim is of course to become the next King of Chevron. I swear that after I succeed the Chevron King, not only will I protect the personal safety of Eco, I will also maintain the alliance with the Knight Country.”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course. However, in the case that the successor to the throne is another one of the candidates — like that Uriel who has an irritable temper, my guess is that the Knight Country probably won’t be able to escape from the destiny of being annexed by the Kingdom. Uriel holds the ambition to dominate the entire continent, and in order to accomplish that goal, he’ll definitely want to abolish the old system so that he can manage the dragon race himself. After everything is ready, he’s bound to declare war against the mechanised forces of the Zepharos Empire. That situation is bound to set off a world war—”

After saying up to there, Oscar suddenly stopped speaking, and unceremoniously grabbed the glass near his hand and drank it in one gulp. Silvia’s facial expression conveyed shock. That was because the cup that Oscar snatched away was the one that she had just drank from. With her straitlaced personality, Silvia may have gotten the thought of it being an indirect kiss when watching that.

“Umm…would you like to order?”

At that time, Anya appeared with a timid voice. Seeing that she had a pen and paper in her hand, it was probably because she noticed that Oscar had just taken a seat in the restaurant, which is why she came to ask whether they wanted to order. Ash also noticed the reason that Oscar suddenly became silent, and was afraid that he might have some sort of close connection to the waitress. It showed that while he appeared frivolous on the surface, he actually had a cautious and serious personality. Oscar glanced at Anya, and then revealed an arrogant smile.

“I see, so you’re Anya — no, I should call you Shamara Kiltzkaya, right? The rumours say that you were pardoned because you made a plea bargain, it seems it really is true.”

“What…how do you know that!?”

Anya raised the corner of her eyebrows, and immediately put on a defensive stance. Even though she was currently wearing a maid outfit with cat ears and a tail, she was previously a spy for the Imperial Army, and the chief of the Tantalos Tribe; the killing intent that she was giving off was definitely not a bluff. The sharp end of her pen was pointed squarely at Oscar’s eye.

“Hey, Anya…”

Ash was worried. It was unusual that Veronica would spare her, so if she used force against a student, she would be recaptured and sent to serve time in prison.

“Fuu, that’s right. Those are the eyes. No matter how hard you work to make yourself look like an ordinary citizen, you were born as a warrior after all. You carry the bloodline of the fighting Tantalos Tribe, so you’re not allowed to lead a serene life—”

Oscar said that while putting on airs, as he slowly stood up from his seat. His eyes pierced into Anya’s with a gaze that wasn't any less sharp than Anya’s.

“It looks like I need to give a good lesson to this neko-chan[5] with a bad upbringing.”

“You can’t summon your Pal in here, so do you really think that you can beat me in a close-quarters fight?”

At that time, Anya revealed the expression of a warrior.

“Stop! There is no reason for you two to fight!”

Ash desperately tried to stop them, but the two people emitting a killing intent were evidently not going to allow a third person to get in the way of the fight between them. As the place was filled with a tense atmosphere, the sharp killing intent emitted by those two people gave everyone the illusion that they would be slashed if they made any careless movements. This fight had also unwittingly attracted the attention of the seated students all around them, and everyone watched on in amazement of the scene.

“—Hey Oscar! What kind of trouble are you giving me again, you bastard!?”

At that moment, an aggressive voice was heard, and a figure dressed in black rushed in.

“Gofu!”

It also came in with a flying kick. Oscar was blown away by a single kick.

“T-Towards your master, is that the…attitude that you should have!?”

The shameful appearance of Oscar sprawled on the floor and writhing in pain was an affront to the handsome face of a noble that he had.

“…Geez, Don’t increase my workload any more, you filthy insect!”

With a silver ponytail hanging behind her head, it was a girl wearing a black eyepatch — after Celes came to the side of her useless master, she roughly picked him up by his collar. In front of the crowd of stunned onlookers, Celes didn't say anything and dragged her master out of the restaurant.

“The New Term ~A.S.B.1365.10~” is closed.

Notes:

4. Toro is the fattiest part of meat, which is usually also the softest and juiciest.

5. Neko-chan: Little kitten.

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