Alex rested for a while on the bench, and since the sun's rays had begun creeping across the area and falling directly onto the spot where he sat, he grumpily pushed himself to his feet. Finding that his legs had mostly recovered, he dusted the dirt from his clothes and smoothed out his coat and pants, then turned his body around to eye the visible back portion and make sure no soil or dirt clung to the fabric. Satisfied, he set off toward the academy, his destination being the canteen that Bella had pointed out to him earlier in the morning.
He stopped at a water tap along the way and quenched a thirst that had left his throat dry and raw. Despite it being nothing more than plain, simple water, it felt to him like some divine potion going down. He had been so parched after running forty laps that even ordinary water tasted like a blessing poured straight from heaven.
After quenching his thirst, he resumed his walk and after several turns and a good deal of rounding about, he found himself standing at the entrance of the canteen hall. The moment he stepped through the door, a wall of noise rushed to meet him.
His ears filled with the bickering and clamor of students, the clatter of spoons against plates, and the dull knock of dishes against tabletops. Before his eyes stretched rows upon rows of long tables lined with chairs, occupied by students wearing lapels of different colors and varying numbers of stars. The hall itself seemed to stretch on endlessly, wide and deep, and to his right lay an open kitchen with a service counter behind which men and women in aprons moved briskly, spooning food onto plates and handing them across to waiting students. The dishes were displayed in glass containers along the front of the counter, and behind the staff, mounted on the wall, hung a menu board listing the names of the available foods along with their prices.
Alex made his way to the counter. "Can I have a grilled cheese meat burger and a cold black drink?" He reached into his dimensional space, pulled out his wallet, and began counting out the coins listed on the price board. The man at the counter stepped in front of him and regarded Alex with raised brows and a mixed expression. "Aren't you from Class 1? The new batch?" he asked. He was a pale-faced man with black hair and dark eyes, wearing a white apron tied neatly around his front, and despite how plain and unassuming he appeared, he carried himself with a certain professional ease.
"Yes. Is there a problem?" Alex asked.
"New batch students are only eligible for the free meal until the first cohort receives their bracelets and points," the man said, his gaze drifting briefly to the coins Alex held. "And those won't work here regardless. Food here is purchased with academy coins, not regular money."
"What?" Alex blinked, genuinely caught off guard. "But I can see students from my own batch eating burgers and drinks right now." He gestured toward a table where several students wearing yellow lapels with a single silver star were eating exactly what he had just tried to order.
Alex's eyes narrowed on the man. "Are you trying to deceive me? How could you lie to me despite being the staff of the academy."
The man flinched slightly but, like someone well trained in composure, smoothed his expression into a careful blankness almost immediately. "That would be because those students likely received their food from upperclassmen they happen to know."
Alex turned and swept his gaze across the hall, taking note of how many students with yellow lapels were eating the free meal, which appeared to consist of nothing more than rice, meat soup, and vegetables. Most of them were, he confirmed. Only a scattered few had anything resembling the priced items such as burgers, sandwiches, donuts and other such things.
Alex turned back to the man, who by now wore a faint, composed smile. Alex gave a reluctant nod. "Fine. Give me the free meal then." The words had barely left his mouth when his stomach let out a long, hollow growl of hunger, and his face flushed with embarrassment.
Fortunately, the man had already turned away and was loading the food onto a plate. "Here you are, sir. Your free meal." He handed the tray across with the same professional courtesy, and Alex made sure to thank him sincerely, having decided the man was not bad at heart and had been polite enough throughout.
Alex turned from the counter and began scanning the hall for an empty seat. He was still moving through the rows when he felt something hook around his leg and his body lurched forward. He caught himself just in time, stumbling but staying upright, though half the food on his plate had already spilled down the front of his uniform.
He turned to see who had stuck their leg out, and found Nack sitting nearby alongside Eldric and a cluster of his usual followers.
"Oops." Nack grinned, leaning back in his chair. "Looks like someone still hasn't figured out how to walk properly." The table erupted into laughter, loud and pointed, drawing eyes from across the hall.
"How dare you!" Alex snapped, his voice tight with anger. "You stuck your leg out in front of me deliberately and now you have the nerve to say I cannot walk properly?"
Alex's gaze went cold and hard, and for a brief moment Nack seemed to go still. Then, for no apparent reason, Eldric rose from his chair and began strolling toward Alex with an expression of exaggerated concern spread across his smirking face.
"I apologize on behalf of my friend," Eldric said smoothly, pulling a handful of tissue paper from somewhere and reaching toward Alex's coat. "Here, let me take care of that stain for you." For just a moment, Alex was almost taken in, but he quickly realized that Eldric was not dabbing at the stain at all. He was smearing it, dragging it outward across the fabric in slow, deliberate strokes, spreading it in every direction. Alex took a sharp step back.
"What do you think you are doing?" Alex growled, his frustration rising beyond what he could easily contain anymore. He fixed Eldric with an even, unflinching stare. "Do not toy with me, Eldric. You will regret it."
"Hm?" Eldric tilted his head, his face the picture of feigned innocence. "What are you talking about? I was only trying to help you."
Eldric let his hand fall and glanced around at the audience that had gathered, then turned back to Alex with a slow, satisfied smirk spreading across his lips. "And you will make me regret it?" he repeated, his voice lifting with mock disbelief. "You, with that pitiful Level 1 status of yours?"
Eldric threw his head back and laughed, and his minions and Nack followed in a chorus of pointed mockery, some lifting their fingers to gesture at Alex. Alex stood frozen for a moment, his frustration blazing bright and open in his eyes, and then he began walking forward, slowly and deliberately, until he stood directly in front of Eldric. What he did next drew a hush over the entire hall, shutting every eye in the room toward the two of them.
Alex upended what remained of his meal over Eldric's head. Rice, soup, and vegetables cascaded down through Eldric's black hair, rolled across his white face, and dripped steadily down the front of his pristine white coat.
***
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