Episode 14 – Homeschooled (2/2)
The tavern was filled with people and indiscernible chatter spread into every nook and cranny of the place The smell of roasted meat mixed with the sweet smell of caramel spread to every corner of the tavern
Kiel and Elaru were seated around a s their e thata melloeet taste si drink that could be drunk both hot and cold
Kiel expected Elaru to order soe, so he was surprised when she ordered just regular honeymead She also ordered the “Chef’s special” as herhim reluctant to do the saes as him, that didn’t mean she would have the same taste in food
Instead of ordering the same as her, he looked at the table next to the”
It looked like a kebab Thejuices all over the plate Kiel licked his lips He liked meat Especially this kind, which was juicy and
The waitress serving theirl with pale skin and nue hair did nothing to conceal the redness spreading through her long pointy ears
Elaru seeirl because she called her by the name “Pixy” and started up a conversation with her as soon as she arrived to take their orders, (which ulti about the delay)
The girl looked at Elaru with reverence and was very excited to chat with her She threw lances at Kiel, but she was too flustered to talk to him Each time her eyes met his icy blue ones, her face and ears turned especially red When he smiled at her, she al next to Elaru, and she caught it so effortlessly, without even looking at it, that one would think she kneould fall
Kiel continued s self-satisfied Ah, now this was the reaction he was used to This kind of girl was easy to deal with So unlike the annoying redhead that see more than to tease him
Kiel even caught her “stealthily” giving Elaru a thu Elaru responded with a confident thuht the girl was giving her the gesture because she helped her out with the tray, co
He smiled wryly Idiot
While they aiting for theirexams There were less than three days until the start of the exaet used to his new abundance of mana and learn as many spells as he could in this short period
The Ashar University of Magic was an acadeeniuses The difficulty of the exained
Kiel wondered if Elaru had any skill in battle If she was good enough, he could use her as an opponent to practice his own combat ability
He also needed to test out the distance he could be away from Elaru and ould happen if they passed it He needed to test out the changes that happened to him as a result of Aetherneal bond Aetherneal bond, Aetherneal gifts, what are they? His curiosity was piqued
He was surprised when the food finally arrived That’s because both his and Elaru’s dish looked identical Ah, so that kebab was actually the chef’s special
Kiel’s evaluation of Elaru immediately rose They had siht share some other similarities too
He waited for the food to cool down a bit, but she cast a teic to cool it down and started eating immediately
He stared at her in silence Does she do everything withherher hands? Where does she draw the line between convenience and abuse?
Now that he had enough mana to abuse it, where should he draw the line?
As he stared at her, his ularity
He would have expected her dining etiquette to be lacking, but her eating manners were flawless It wasn’t the saht as a noble, hers was more practical She handled her utensils as if they eapons – with grace and precision
He had never seen anything like it before If her eating was faster and race and manner expected froht was of a higher level than his?
Did she receive the education befitting a noble? Or was this skill gained through the usage of a specific weapon?
“Elaru, what high school did you go to?” Kiel started out his excavation of her personal information with a simple question
She paused her eating briefly to respond “I never went to school Muni is my last chance to experience the joys of public education”
Joys of public education? Was there such a thing? All he could see were flaws And besides, Muni wasn’t a public institution, it was privately owned
Kiel wasn’t surprised by her ansell, the first part of her answer Most nobles with high standing had a personal tutor
He didn’t let her off and continued his questioning “Were you homeschooled?”
Elaru didn’t respond for a while She sees I knoere either taught to me by papa or learned by personal experience”
Kiel pausedto tell me you weren’t homeschooled?”
Elaru scratched her head “Well, I can’t be ho with papa my whole life So it was a so”
Kiel’s expression darkened How le person teach? It’s not like her father is the reat teacher, but there are certain things that experience can’t teach you
Elaru picked up on his worries “Don’t underesti is the best way to learn new stuff For exahting itself or watching other people fight?”
Kiel nodded Fighting was one of the subjects better taught by perfor the theory behind it She didn’t pause and continued with her high speech “What better way to learn how to cook than to work in the kitchens of a famous restaurant?”
He continued nodding Makes sense, makes sense
“What better way to train your own balance and coordination than to join the circus?”
Kiel’s nodding froze for a second before he hesitantly nodded again I guess… ?
“What better way to learn about different types of poison and their antidotes then to try them out yourself?”
Kiel’s nodding stilled, and his expression froze Wait, what?
Elaru paid hihteous speech
“What better way to train your ownthen to try to survive and eventually break out of prison which has an anti- artifact?”
Eeeh?!Kiel’s face paled, and he blurted out “Who would do that?! Isn’t that too extreme?!”
His words brought her out of her weird ely She pressed her lips into a thin line to keep her mouth shut
Oh for the love of fate… she couldn’t be talking about her own experiences… could she?
Kiel closed his eyes and rubbed his temples What kind of… I don’t even… what?