Chapter 245 38
Azalia quickly exited the principal's office after she finished her business. Along the corridors of the Monarch Palace, she kept pondering over the answer to Raphael's request. It made Azalia very stressed because the two things at stake here were essential to her.
Azalia saw the Elven Kingdom trio while she was walking down the corridor. They are Kalya, Princess Seira, and Queen Jasmine. Zenoa didn't come with them because he still had to teach class A. Princess Seira and the other two also quickly noticed Azalia's presence.
"Aze! Have you settled your business with the principal?" Princess Seira greeted Azalia while Kalya and Queen Jasmine stared at her silently.
"Yes. I've finished my business. Do you intend to go somewhere?" Azalia asked.
"We want to have lunch in the canteen inside the academy area. The principal has allowed guests from inside or outside the demi-human region to enter the restricted area within the Monarch Palace just for today." Princess Seira answered excitedly. Her face looks very happy after getting the miracle liquid from Raphael.
After leaving the principal's office, Seira parted ways with Prince Ozkar and the other students and intended to quickly return to her room and drink the miracle liquid she got from Raphael. But on the way, she met her mother and Kalya. Then they invited Princess Seira to have lunch together.
Princess Seira couldn't refuse Queen Jasmine's invitation. Besides, she was already hungry because it was almost past lunchtime. Princess Seira also had to act as their guide as a formality even though it wasn't necessary since her mother was one of the founders of this academy.
"Oh, is that so? Then have a good lunch. I'll go back to my room first." Azalia didn't want to disturb them anymore and wanted to go back to her room. She still had to think about the conditions that Raphael had given her.
"Have you had lunch, Aze? If not, how about you have lunch with us?" Princess Seira subconsciously invites Azalia to have lunch with them. She forgets to consider that Kalya's relationship with Azalia was not good.
Princess Seira quickly realized the mistake she had made. Then she slowly looked at Kalya for fear that her aunt would be angry with her. But Azalia's response took her by surprise.
"She's right. I bet you haven't had lunch. You better come with us." Kalya unexpectedly also invites Azalia to eat with them.
"Eh?" Princess Seira and Queen Jasmine were confused by Kalya's friendly attitude. They don't understand why Kalya suddenly looks so nice to Azalia.
On the other hand, Azalia was taken aback after hearing Kalya's words. She is sure that her relationship with Kalya cannot be said to be good. But right now, Kalya was actively taking her to lunch with them. Azalia felt something strange and suspicious about her attitude.
(What is this woman thinking? Is it possible that she is planning something for me? Should I reject her? No. If I did, she might feel that I am afraid of her! I want to see what she will do to me!)
"Okay. I will accept your invitation. I happen to be hungry too." Azalia smiled and accepted it.
"Eh??" Princess Seira and Queen Jasmine were confused for the second time after hearing Azalia accept it with a smile.
Princess Seira knew the relationship between the two girls was very complicated. Although she didn't know how Azalia felt for Ziel, she knew that Azalia paid particular attention to the relationship between Ziel and her aunt.
Kalya should have also realized that Azalia has special feelings for her fiancé. Princess Seira even suspected that their fight back then was caused by Ziel. Their relationship shouldn't be this good.
Princess Seira had already imagined that the atmosphere would tense and the strong smell of gunpowder would envelop them when the two girls met. But strangely, Kalya and Azalia look very friendly at this time.
Azalia walked first to the cafeteria and was followed by Kalya behind her. The confused Princess Seira and Queen Jasmine finally came back to their senses and chased after the two girls who had walked quite a distance away.
The cafeteria within the Monarch Palace was divided into two areas. The first is a common area that students generally eat, and the second is a VIP area used by students from the royal family or the academy's teachers.
The difference between the two is that the decoration in the VIP area is more luxurious and respects privacy because special partitions separate the rooms. In contrast, the common area is like a canteen in general but looks more classy.
Another difference is that the VIP area has a particular waiter ready to serve, and a menu book is available on the table. In comparison, the common area requires students to order at the kiosk the food they want first before their food is delivered to their table.
Inside the cafeteria in the common area, Ziel and Clara sat while waiting for their lunch. Besides them, Princess Iris, Lilith, Princess Irene, and Kyouka were also there. Princess Irene was with them because she volunteered to be their guide.
Even though guests are allowed to enter the academy area, they still have to be accompanied by a guide to get around the place. They could ask the soldiers guarding the Monarch Palace, and the academy would send students from class S to be their guides.
Princess Irene volunteered to be a guide when she heard that Clara wanted to have lunch in the cafeteria inside the academy area. At the same time, he also wanted to look at the surroundings of the Arcuz Grand Academy.
Kyouka and Princess Iris were with them because Clara had invited them, and they happened to have nothing to do at that time. Unfortunately, Princess Aishia and Princess Freya couldn't join the lunch together because the two girls still had business with their families.
The tables in the common area were almost full because Clara and the others arrived at the same time as the Arcuz Grand Academy students' lunchtime. Luckily, Princess Irene was with them, and they managed to secure a table for them easily.
The students from Arcuz Grand Academy showed a sense of superiority to Clara and the others. After successfully defeating the human academy in the previous friendly match, they felt their academy was foremost. But Princess Iris and the others didn't seem to care about that.
"How are you now, Kyouka!? You're not seriously injured, are you? Then what about Sintaro's condition? Can he be cured!?" Clara bombarded Kyouka with many questions right after they sat down in their seats.
"Clara, can you give me one question at a time?" Kyouka smiled wryly after hearing Clara's rain of questions.
"Ahaha… I'm sorry. So how's your condition??" Clara laughed shyly and repeated her question.
"I'm fine. You don't have to worry. You can see that I'm sitting across from you in great shape, can't you? As for Sintaro's condition..." Kyouka answered cheerfully at the beginning but turned gloomy at the end and sighed heavily.
"Is his condition that bad?" Princess Irene asked anxiously. Even though she wasn't the cause of Sintaro's condition, she still felt guilty because she was a student of the Arcuz Grand Academy.
"Megumi has completely healed the external wound. But the internal injury is so severe that I don't know if she can heal it or not. Megumi is still trying to heal him, and Hikaru is accompanying her." Kyouka explained Sintaro's latest condition to Clara and the others.
"I…I'm sorry! This happened because Prince Ozkar had seriously injured the hero Sintaro! As a student of this academy, I apologize to you for what he has done!" Princess Irene lowered her head to Kyouka. Her actions seemed sincere because of her guilt for Prince Ozkar's actions toward Sintaro.
"You don't need to apologize, Irene. It's not your fault. Not everything done by your academy or its students will be your responsibility. So you don't have to worry about it. But I feel very grateful for your concern." Kyouka smiled sweetly in response. Her smile looked completely different from her usual one.
Clara, Lilith, and Princess quickly noticed her change. Kyouka, who was cold and rarely smiled at this time, showed a sweet smile that she didn't usually show.
"Thank you!" Princess Irene let out a sigh of relief after hearing Kyouka's answer.
"So, can you help a little, Ken? I believe in this Clorius continent only you can heal him." Kyouka turned her gaze to Ziel and said. She openly asked Ziel for help to heal Sintaro.
Kyouka's tone sounded different from the tone she usually used when talking to Ziel. She spoke casually like an old friend with a very close relationship. But before Ziel could answer Kyouka's request, Clara said first.
"Hmm…are you okay, Kyouka? You don't look like your usual self." Clara asked worriedly. On the other hand, Princess Iris was silent because she more or less already knew the cause of Kyouka's change because she had also unsealed Shiori's soul within her.
Ziel purposely didn't use a seal that was too strong because he wanted to let the girls decide their destiny without getting in the way. If he used a robust seal, it would be impossible for the girls to break it.
The three girls would gain a lot by breaking the seal and assimilating into Shiori's memories, but they also had to be prepared for their personalities to change once they completely fused with her soul. Because of that, Ziel wanted to give them the option of using a weak seal so they could break it with their strength.
Princess Iris has started to assimilate into Shiori's memories, but her personality hasn't changed much because most of Shiori's traits are similar to Princess Iris's. In comparison, Clara is still in the process of breaking the seal. The three girls have the same choice for their destiny.
"I feel the same way with Clara. Although I haven't known you for long, I feel you are a bit different from the last time I met you." Princess Irene agreed with Clara's words and looked at Kyouka worriedly.
"I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me. I want to change my personality a bit. Don't I look better, Ken?" Kyouka tried to convince the two girls. She is aware that her personality has changed, but she doesn't care because it resulted from her decision, and she doesn't regret it. Then she glanced at Ziel for an opinion on her change.
"It is your choice, and I will respect it." Ziel looked directly into Kyouka's eyes and answered thoughtfully.
"Okay. We don't need to talk about this anymore. Regarding Sintaro, I will help you just this once. As long as the external wounds are healed, I can heal the internal wounds at any time. Besides, I won't let him lie in bed forever because he still has to do his duty as a hero." Ziel tried to change the topic of their conversation because he didn't want Clara and Princess Iris to think about it too much.
Moreover, there was Princess Irene at the table who was listening to their conversation. Ziel didn't want her to know the condition of the three girls.
"is it true? Do you want to help heal Sintaro?" Kyouka felt very happy after hearing Ziel's answer. Although she doesn't like Sintaro, she doesn't want to see the person summoned with her to that world become a cripple and can only lie on the bed.
"Of course. It wasn't too much trouble for me. I will find time to heal him after Megumi and Hikaru leave that room." Ziel can't heal Sintaro right now because Megumi is currently with Sintaro. He hoped that Megumi could heal him so Ziel wouldn't have to bother coming there.
"Thank you, Ken! Except for that poker face, you haven't changed how you were in the past!" Kyouka became nostalgic after she recalled Ziel from Shiori's memory.
Princess Irene was confused by Kyouka's statement, but Lilith, Princess Iris, and Clara quickly understood the meaning of her words. But the girls quickly forgot about it and started talking about other things. Ziel just silently listened to them while waiting for his lunch when the girls dumped him for being engrossed in chatting. As the girls were immersed in their conversation, a man's sinister voice was heard and interrupted them.
"Ooh, isn't this the hero from the loser academy who lost the match?" Prince Ozkar came along with several male students and stared coldly at Kyouka.