16 Setting and Prioritizing Important Matters

When the Class 10 students started moving into the mage's training room, several of the students stared at Nathan with looks of amazement as well as fear.

The identity as the fourth prince of the Aslan Empire had been revealed. It was impossible for some of those students to behave the same as before. The best they would do was stay away from Nathan, just like they had stayed away from Arman.

If one did not get closer to the problem then the degree of not being involved with the problem was also greater.

But some students, who come from prestigious families, didn't really care about it, even though they were surprised to learn Nathan's identity.

Inside the training room, Dante's role as mentor was more active than in class when teaching magic and mage theory.

On the other hand, Aizen just sat on a long wooden bench near the wall of the room near the door while the other students were busy doing magic maneuvers.

His bored expression and lack of enthusiasm seemed to worsen as he watched. Plus, his mood became even more disinterested after knowing who was sitting there with him.

First was Milo. He sat right next to Aizen. Well, that was only natural. After all, he was a friend since they were little.

The second was Nathan. He sat on Milo's right. Again, it didn't matter since he and Milo had been together since day one and because Aizen spent time in the knight class.

Third, and that was the strangest. Inkgrit sat on Aizen's left, which was extremely awkward. Due to her presence, Milo and Nathan, who usually talk a lot, were stunned.

Though that suited Aizen, who also didn't say much, the atmosphere was too calm and quiet, only for the sounds of the other students busy in the practice room.

Aizen had no other choice but to take a deep breath and then turn his face to the left, steely gaze fixed on Inkgrit.

"Why are you sitting here too? Don't you dislike me for advising you before??"

Inkgrit did not answer or turn to her right, her cheeks burning red with embarrassment. She didn't want Aizen to see her current state.

Nathan suddenly stood up from his seat, trying to break the awkwardness. He stood in front, between Aizen and Inkgrit, who was sitting on a wooden chair, trying to lighten the mood with a playful smile.

"Big brother, come on. There's still an empty spot on the seats, so why not let this lady sit with us? It's fine, right?"

Aizen glanced at Nathan with narrowed eyes. His expression was filled with contempt.

"You said this girl is a woman? Have your eyes become damaged? She is obviously young. Why do you think she is old?"

Inkgrit, who heard that, immediately raised her head and looked at Nathan with annoyance.

Hearing Aizen's reply and seeing Inkgrit's gaze, Nathan became troubled and panicked. "Hays, Big Brother! Why are you twisting my words like that? That's not good. You can make me look like a jerk."

"Is not that true?"

"Ey! I'm not like that. Miss, let me explain to you. I'm not that kind of person, and what I said just now isn't like this big brother described. So, please don't take it to heart."

But, Inkgrit still gave him a sullen look because she was said to be old, even though that wasn't what Nathan meant.

Nathan could only break out in cold sweat, panicking and throwing his face left and right, asking for help from anyone who could help.

Meanwhile, Milo just kept quiet. He didn't dare to chat or join in the conversation because there was Inkgrit. Since he wasn't good with girls, he also didn't suit the hot-tempered type like Inkgrit.

Inkgrit then realized that, actually, it was Aizen who said she was old, not Nathan. She then threw her annoyed face to her right, glaring at Aizen with hatred.

"Do you hate me? Don't you want me to sit here?"

Aizen, who heard Inkgrit's whimpers, didn't cower.

"Don't twist the facts. You want to sit here. And that's with me, too, while there are still many empty seats.

"Besides, I don't hate you. I was just asking why you're sitting here."

Aizen finished saying his words and was about to stand up, avoiding the two things he should be watching and protecting for now. For him, it was too tiring if he had to argue and guide the two kids.

"I have no friends!!!" Inkgrit out of nowhere. But, at the same time, it was said in such a low tone that the other students wouldn't hear it.

Milo and Nathan were surprised by Inkgrit's statement. Although her voice was low, the two of them heard the words.

A girl with a beautiful face with a height of 153 cm, a slender figure, and talented in magic with spells of the four basic elements,

Didn't have friends???

Was that even make sense!? Of course not, according to Milo and Nathan's logic.

Meanwhile, Aizen did not show the same reaction as the two boys. He understood those words and the meaning of a girl saying them directly though not out loud. He then slapped Milo and Nathan on the head for overreacting.

"You, sit here." He ordered Nathan to sit where he was.

Inkgrit, who saw and heard about it, was disappointed and embarrassed. She ended up shedding tears.

"It turns out you're just the same!"

Nathan, who had just sat down, flinched at Inkgrit's words. Meanwhile, Aizen, who had stood up after giving up his seat, gave Inkgrit an ice-cold stare.

"Dealing with you is really tiring. I let this boy sit beside you, so he can accompany you to talk. Among the three of us, he chatters the most. And I am the quietest.

"Do you want that awkward silence to happen again?"

"Hmm!?" Inkgrit was shocked and confused by Aizen's explanation while wiping away her tears. She didn't know that Aizen's real intention was for her not to be lonely. She knew that the previous silent awkwardness was an uncomfortable thing. So, she accepted Aizen's explanation willingly and concisely.

"Hehehe. I'm sorry for accusing you unnecessarily." Inkgrit smiled while giggling a little, wiping away the tears that were running down her cheeks.

Aizen didn't care and just waved his right hand in the air while sitting on Milo's right side.

"You used to say you're good at chatting with a girl. Go on, accompany Nathan."

"Hehe, Aizen. That only applies to quiet girls. And her? It's impossible." Milo replied with a chuckle.

"I'll report what you just said."

"Stop! You have no heart at all!" Milo exclaimed in a whisper. He was actually surprised Aizen was behaving the way he did and couldn't understand why his friend didn't question Inkgrit's reason for not having friends. Or why Aizen didn't suspect that it was a lie.

But anyway, he never doubted and lost faith in Aizen. That was how he built friendships from when he was ten years old.

"Hey, Milo. After class, I want to see your father. Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure. If I may ask, what business do you have with dad? I haven't seen him since the start of this season."

"You'll find out later."

Meanwhile, Aizen turned his attention to the practice room. The appearance and furnishings were clearly different from that of the knight training grounds.

In that room, the weapon shelves were decorated with various kinds of magic items with quite high-quality inscriptions. It could not only help students learn magic more quickly but also allow them to get used to sorting out magic items for use in the future.

Magic items were important to suit a mage. So as not to clash with the magic the person was trained in. So, it needed to be chosen carefully.

Now, almost all students were starting to feel comfortable using magic because of Dante's guidance and the magic items.

And for Raven Academy's upcoming student orientation competition festival. Aizen knew what the context would be like and had no preparations whatsoever.

Two weeks was too short for him, as his estimate was another 20 days or so to be able to wield a bit of Reeva's power at the Apprentice Knight level.

He didn't want to participate in the event and only intended to watch it. Participating in it and fighting individually or in groups using the knight fighting style would be rebuked and scorned by the professors and other mage students.

Besides being watched by professors and all First Year mage students, the event would also be a venue for selecting young talents for organizations or school clubs formed by professors and mage students from Second Year and Third Year batches.

Those proud people surely wouldn't want to see something abominable with someone beating a mage student with only knight battle technique without using any Mana.

'Hah! Why should I ruin their pride right now while building my physique is paramount than that trivial thing.'

Apart from that, Aizen's business with Odin Axzec, the merchant of Mada City, was also indispensable for the event of the competition festival.