I witnessed a legendary and extraordinary event.
Gloria standing frozen at the top of the stairs got yelled at by Vladilena from behind. Me, standing behind Vladilena's followers, could only hold my breath while admiring the suddenly silent atmosphere.
"Sorry," Gloria said while bowing her head.
Then she lifted her head slightly, peeking at who exactly had yelled at her. Not hate or annoyance, Gloria's eyes widened showing admiration for Vladilena's elegance. Next to Gloria was a shorter girl. No doubt it's Mika Elroza. I caught a glimpse of her at the main hall.
She really became Gloria's best friend, huh.
I was worried my presence would change the way Gloria socializes. Because I just remembered a while ago, that after the opening ceremony, in the original story Gloria was jostling in front of the bulletin board looking for her class. Then she met Mika who's in the same class, and the two of them were almost late entering class and were escorted by their homeroom teacher.
That's also why I'm at the canteen right now. I need to make sure Gloria's encounter with Vladilena really happens. Not that I want Gloria to get yelled at, but I don't want to lose my guideline if fate doesn't follow the comic scenes anymore.
I stepped up the stairs. Vladilena and her group were already quite far, then Mika said quietly, "Her Highness... Vladilena."
"You, left alone for just a bit and already picking fights with other students," I scolded.
"That's not true! She's the one who suddenly got mad." Gloria pouted. "It's your fault for not telling me which table is yours."
The real reason Gloria was standing frozen at the top of the stairs was because the atmosphere had changed 180 degrees from the first floor. Although there's no written rule, this second floor is usually where the academy elites gather, like Prince Alex, Princess Vladilena, and other student council members. However, it seems there was a change in the reason Gloria stood here, which was looking for where my seat was. Even so, the result was still the same: Gloria stood frozen then got yelled at by Vladilena.
"Seems like we were also blocking the way...," Mika commented.
"See, listen!" I said with a wide smile. "I didn't do anything wrong here."
Gloria's annoyance grew even more.
But that's cute.
"Alright then, come on." I walked backwards guiding them. "It's an honor for us to share a table with such lovely ladies."
"Us?"
I stopped at a long table. "Please sit," I offered while pulling back two chairs.
Gloria frowned. "Umm...."
"Oh, sorry, let me introduce them. They're my classmates. This is Nadisa, and this is Vera," I explained. "Everyone, this is Gloria, and this is Mi—umm...."
I almost said her name.
"Mika. Mika Elroza. Nice to meet you all."
"Nice to meet you," Vera replied. While Nadisa just nodded.
Gloria and Mika sat down. I returned to my seat with unstoppable happy feelings. How could I not? This room is smaller than the main hall, but the Whispers of the Enchantress characters are scattered here. Plus two of them are at the same table as me.
I sipped plain water, devoured a spoonful of rice from a dish called plov. Mild and homey, the grains were soft with onions, carrots, and pieces of meat—such a warmth I wasn't quite used to.
Set aside the food matter. I have to be ready to listen because soon the verbal battle between Prince Alex and Vladilena will happen. More precisely, it's already starting to heat up now.
"—I'm just conveying a suggestion. Besides, I think it's good for the academy too," Prince Alex said.
"A suggestion becomes an order if you're the one saying it. This is very inefficient! This will lower students' motivation to compete!" Vladilena protested.
"Motivation to compete won't disappear just because of something trivial like this." Prince Alex smiled smugly. "That kind of thinking only comes from lowly people."
"...Lowly?"
"You set other people's achievements above you as your goal. Isn't that the thinking of someone who's always looking up?"
"What's wrong with that? Not every blacksmith dares to forge a blade without a mold. But with time, little by little, even I, too, will be able to create a straight, sharp sword without relying on one. If they hammer away aimlessly, right from the start, that's nothing more than playing with fire and wasting coal."
"Since when do you care about other people's achievements? Vladilena, lately you've become more annoying, you know?"
"Wha—?!"
"Usually you'd agree with whatever I say, even if it's something very extreme. However, this isn't something urgent. It doesn't harm you, doesn't harm me, nor our families. You're making a problem out of my suggestion that hasn't even been approved by the academy yet."
Vladilena just stayed silent while clenching her fists.
"Ah! I get it," Prince Alex exclaimed. "You're smart, Vladilena. I acknowledge that myself—"
"Stop!"
"Could it be that—"
"I said stop!"
"You don't want to be in a different class from me?"
Vladilena produced flames from both her clenched fists. The fire licked the table and struck people around her. The smell of burning flesh and hair showed how serious this situation was.
"Aaaaa! Help me!"
"Damn fire! Aaaah! It's hot!"
"Heeeelp!"
In contrast to that, Prince Alex just sat with his position unchanged one bit. Even the fire seemed reluctant to burn him and instead spread to the right and left of his body.
While the two troublemakers stood frozen staring at each other, Gloria quickly ran to help put out students rolling around because their clothes were on fire. How noble our protagonist is, willing to help without thinking twice. As her friend, I can't be selfish just watching from afar. I followed her while taking off the school vest I just wore today. Vera, Nadisa, and Mika followed behind me.
"Take off your vests!" I commanded, while throwing my vest to the floor. "Gather them! Use water magic to wet them!"
Vera immediately chanted a spell, "By waters bound within the heavens' reed, come forth to me and cleanse my hand in haste. Descend upon the world like blessed rain indeed, let holy drops be spread without a waste."
Water seeped out from Vera's fingertips. Dripping, trickling, then pouring heavily as if her hand was a water hose.
Once my vest was totally soaked, without wringing it I spread the vest and slapped those who were on fire. Mika and Nadisa did the same.
Gloria immediately took a handkerchief from her pocket then wet it with the water flowing from Vera's fingers. She approached one of the victims we had handled. The victim had extensive minor burns on the upper arm area.
"O Thou Most High and Merciful Healer divine, no remedy exists save what is Thine. Restore this wound and let no sorrow stay, mend flesh and bone and take all pain away."
In one swipe, the burn wound that looked painful suddenly disappeared as if it had been healed for years. After handling the first victim, she jumped to the second victim.
Vladilena looked annoyed at Gloria. As if holding back her anger, she turned to Prince Alex and said firmly, "I will file an appeal."
"Again you speak as if it's already been decided." The Prince stood from his seat, approaching Gloria who was handling the second victim. "Do as you please, Lena."
After that, Vladilena left the table. Her group followed after bowing to Prince Alex. Seems they're still aware enough not to oppose the empire's crown prince even though they're Vladilena's followers.
Prince Alex patted Gloria's shoulder. "Thank you for the first aid, Miss. May I know your name?"
Gloria turned with sharp eyes. She didn't say anything and just focused on wiping the wound. After that, she moved to the third victim.
That's not the attitude you should give him, Gloria. You'll just add unnecessary problems. You two should be friendly with each other like what happened in the comic. Our involvement in the extinguishing effort shouldn't have changed the plot at all except speeding up the handling.
I have to cover for her bad behavior.
"Her name is Gloria Rosalin. A girl from a farming family in the Siberne region. Please forgive her unpleasant attitude," I interjected.
The Prince stood up. "Oh, a scholarship student?"
"Correct, Your Highness."
Prince Alex just silently observed Gloria who was healing. On the third victim, Gloria changed the handkerchief surface to one not yet stained with blood. The handkerchief was wiped in a straight line. It's truly amazing seeing the difference between wounds that have been touched by the cloth and those that haven't. I heard Prince Alex mumbling something, and when I turned, his pupils dilated.
I wrung out the wet vest. "Amazing talent, isn't it?"
"Very," Prince Alex replied while his gaze didn't shift from Gloria. "Hey, do you think it's wrong to keep beautiful birds in a cage?"
"Hm? Are you asking me?" I asked to confirm.
"Yes."
That's such a dad hobby. Hmm, I don't really get birds though. Besides, my dad keeps way more robot toys than animals.
"I'm afraid I can't answer your question," I dodged. "B-besides, for me the beauty of birds is when they can fly freely."
What am I rambling about? When it's obvious the Prince is talking about ornamental birds. There's no way ornamental birds can find food on their own. They'll clearly die.
"Fly freely...." a smile formed on the Prince's face. "Interesting. What free thinking."
I'm worried he's planning to release someone's pet birds. Wow, dangerous! I hope he doesn't say he got the idea from me. Could get in trouble later.
"Uh, Your Highness, please just forget what I said. Actually I don't know anything about birds. I swear!"
Gloria wiped the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand. She finished treating the students hit by the fire. Meanwhile, Vera, Nadisa, and Mika leaned the unconscious victims against the nearest wall.
"By the way, I don't know your name yet."
"Oh, right. Sorry for the late introduction. My name is Martha Yurisa. A student from the distant land of Athamon."
After doing first aid, they approached me and Prince Alex who were chatting. However, the Prince immediately turned around after hearing my name.
"Another time we'll continue our chat."