A Simple Meal (2)

Other than the curiosity at the start, nothing really came of the sudden introduction of the oddly dressed Gellert.

The sounds of eating continued all around alongside the soft sounds of musical instruments wafting in through a flower-patterned grate from below the fountain in the center of the café.

Such a peace, despite the vast amount of direct competitors all contained within a small room, was a sight to behold to say the least.

Yet, such peace was paper thin and could easily be destroyed by the slightest of touches. Yes, the slightest of touches indeed.

The sound of a cup falling onto the floor was heard, where it shattered and spilled its contents onto the floor. All eyes snapped to the source of the commotion, which just so happened to be at the table where Sephtis was sitting.

He looked at the ground, his hand still in the gesture for holding the cup, with a look of confusion on his face.

His eyes slowly scanned the room, paying particular attention to each and every person's robe before he stood up and slowly said,

"Practical jokes are a bit beyond people such as us. Despite your inferior origins, at least you were deemed capable enough to stand in the same ranking as I. But this…this is making me question such a decision. Surely basic etiquette is taught to commoners somewhere down the line?"

No one answered, obviously as no one wanted pointless trouble, but Sephtis seemed to take the lack of response as some kind of insult.

The air around him began to shimmer, just like what you would see in the distance of a hot summer day, due to the heat around him increasing alongside his silent fury.

"An Aero mage was responsible for this, which of you two was it then?" demanded Sephtis, eyeing Bavol and Gellert.

Bavol simply gave a smile that held no meaning, while Gellert did not even look towards Sephtis.

One of the two he addressed responded while the other did not, thus his rage was focused on Gellert in full.

He walked over to him with measured steps, dragging along the heat wave that was coming from his body along with him.

Towering above the relaxing Gellert, he looked down and said:

"Acknowledge me when I speak, peasant. Do you not know how to address your superior?"

Finally acknowledging Septhis, Gellert looked up at the man in front of him and lazily said:

"Did you say something? I am rather busy here…"

The reply did nothing to ease the rage of Septhis, which was close to a boiling point.

"Did you decide to play a prank on me, boy?" demanded Sephtis, looking fully down on someone the same exact age as him.

"Prank, to what end would that achieve? Do tell me. What could I gain from annoying a hothead like you, seriously you are stifling just to be near. If anything I would take action to ensure a fiery individual like you remain as far as possible from me" explained Gellert, even yawning at the end.

"You…clearly you could have done it so that you stand out, this is your big entrance is it not? The desire to be seen as unique among your peers, that stupid outfit of yours gives this dead away" spat Sephtis.

Unbeknownst to the arrogant and prideful Sephtis, the moment Gellert's outfit was mentioned a vein protruded forth on his forehead.

Slowly he stood up, reaching the same height as Sephtis despite him not having the same massive frame. His eyes narrowed and his lips curled into a sneer as he opened his mouth and said,

"The hell did you just say? Oi, little shit with a stick up his ass thinks he can go and say whatever he wants because his rank is a wee bit higher, eh? Got a death with do ya? Granted."

To all who spectated they saw in real time the rapid personality shift of Gellert, even his tone and way of speaking changed entirely the moment his outfit was mentioned.

"I noticed the spell being slowly created, but I had assumed that it was by Sephtis' own design due to how he did not react to it as Ignis and Aero is a standard yet powerful combination. It seems that was not the case, however, but who would gain from stirring up the hothead? Obviously he would default to the two Aero mages… that's it then hmm, someone is using Septhis as a borrowed knife. Making use of an understanding of his personality to play him like a fiddle, how smart. Sounds like something my counterpart would do" thought Cyrus, who was watching along with everyone else.

"The fluctuation was extremely fast and short, it was even done in a manner that tried to use the natural breeze as a perfect mask but our enhanced sense picked it up" came a voice from within, the dark half who had the convenience of replaying all information that the two took in.

With this information both halves of the whole easily came to the same conclusion,

"The adept usage of the Aero domain almost completely guarantees that the culprit was either Bavol or Gellert, but based on the proximity of the two I would guess it to be Bavol. To what end though? Maybe to learn some free information when both of them clash, or is he just the type to enjoy such pointless things" wondered Cyrus, looking over at Bavol who was watching the fight with interest alongside his female companion.

Cyrus' attention was dragged back to the altercation, breaking him from his conjectures, do to a third party intervening in the mess that was going down.

The brave, or perhaps foolish, individual who decided to get between the two angered parties was none other than Septum Titus.

He placed both of his hands upon the shoulders of the two hotheads, using his domain to physically cool the two down. So expert and sudden was his usage, that even the literally scorching Septhis cooled down.

"Now, now you two. This is no place for such abrasive words or conduct, but one for us to eat our fill and enjoy the food that has been given to us. We should not go against one another, but instead walk hand in hand as fellow sufferers under the current system of the Academy" said Titus, speaking in his familiar holier than thou attitude.

"Fellow what now?" asked Septhis, looking genuinely confused at the terminology used.

"Brothers who are united under the system of oppression of course, that allocates resources in such a way that promotes discord and conflict between the entire student body" explained Titus graciously.

The odd manner of speaking and bold claims simmered the two down for a moment, as they eyed Titus as if he were an idiot.

"You…you do know that there is such a thing as limited resources, correct? Even though the Empire has gone through great lengths to assure there is a plenty, there are always shortages of everything somewhere down the line. My family lords over several settlements, as we have had for generations, and this is a problem that we have always been dealing with I assure you" explained Sephtis seriously.

Next a Gellert who had regained his cool spoke up,

"Not even just that, as the Academy is set up to encourage certain behaviors. The way the resources are allocated puts pressure on everyone in the system to improve at a rapid rate to vie for more, no matter how high or low you are. Surely you have noticed this, correct? That badge you are wearing should not be for show."

From an outsider's perspective, the situation was extremely strange indeed. Two people who were butting heads just a moment ago were suddenly pulled into a philosophical debate by a third party, falling into the pace set by said third party without any apparent difficulty.

"Even if the content of what he says is not the deepest thing ever, more of a complaint than anything else, how was he able to pull the two into his conversation so easily? I know I came into conflict with him before, and it did not seem he had such reached this level of oratory skill yet" pondered Cyrus, as he watched the three take a seat once more to continue their conversation.

With the show over everyone who was watching went back to their meals, although the oddity of Titus had been noticed by all present.