Chapter 3: East Lake Town (2)

"What the fuck?" A husky baritone resounded in my ears.

I felt a pair of hands grab me and I was pushed away, losing my balance. Wait, it was a person I bumped into, I realized as I stumbled backwards a few steps until I regained my balance.

Standing in front of me a few steps away was a tall, lean young man about my age. He had medium black hair and bangs which fell to his long eyelashes, covering his forehead. He was more than a head taller than me and was staring at me with a scowl.

"Watch where you're going" He complained while patting himself down.

"Are you alright, sir?" Someone stepped up from behind him, an equally tall young man of around the same age. He had long, blonde hair tied up into a high ponytail.

They were both dressed in the East Lake Academy's uniform. A black double breasted blazer and blue-gray plaid trousers.

"Yeah, it was just a fly" The black-haired man explained while turning around, giving me one last dirty glare before walking off.

A fly? Me? I puffed up my cheeks and clenched my hands. You may be good looking but that doesn't absolve you of being an kind person! Aren't you supposed to ask me if I'm alright and then we introduce ourselves and this is the start of a beautiful romance? I fumed in my head.

His blonde companion turned to give me an apologetic look before following in the black-haired man's footsteps.

"Hmph!" I stuck my tongue out at their backs.

I bet they were noble heirs who attended East Lake, they had that snobby look and feel to them. The academy was prestigious so children of all walks of life from beggars to princes and princesses took the exams. Most students were from noble families. It couldn't be helped that they had more resources to develop their abilities from a young age, but all of them got into the academy fair and square. The academy never took bribes, no matter who tried in the past. That definitely says something about the abilities of those two, but weren't they just too rude? I know I'm dressed in an old shabby dress and looked like any other peasant but really?

Whatever, forget it. Mother always told me that nothing good comes out of holding grudges. I should stick to my plan and enjoy myself while I can.

I looked around to get my bearings. I was headed to the market area towards the town center for all the food I had planned to eat. It was about a 15 minute walk from where I was standing near my inn, so I'd better get going if I wanted to do everything before stores started closing.

East Lake Town is beautiful, there weren't any tall skyscrapers like the biggest cities of the Empire, the town was made up of new buildings weaving between the tall pine trees, giving off a very tranquil feeling. I hummed to myself as I stepped over the wooden foot bridge that was constructed over the East Lake. The East Lake is a small lake that is a part of the larger Eastern Blue River which runs along the border of the Eastern Empire, and what the academy and the town were named after.

A breeze blew by, carrying my silver hair in the wind. The clean, fresh mountain air invigorating me. Smells just like spring. Wait -- no... smells just like food! I jumped up and jogged happily towards the scent of cooked food awaiting me in the market.

The market was really just a street full of storefronts on each side, most family-owned local businesses with some larger merchant stores towards the ends that held imported goods. The stores all had storefronts that displayed their merchandise or food items facing the street to attract shoppers. The food vendors also cooked and served right behind their street-facing counters, giving the whole market a nostalgic feeling like those shopping streets of the old days.

I walked up to a chicken skewer vendor which was what I was smelling as I was walking here. The scent of grilled chicken and a sweet, savory sauce was filling my lungs and I almost drooled as I watched the lady behind the counter dipping the skewers into a jar of her home made sauce before sticking them onto a charcoal grill.

"It's you! Genius Lightning!" An excited voice greeted me at the counter.

"Genius Lightning?" I asked confused.

A slightly chubby young man was manning the skewer counter, waving to me with a grin on his face.

"Yeah! I was the person behind you telling you to hurry up at the exam, do you remember?"

Ugh, I remembered that someone told me to hurry up but I didn't look at them at all, also what's with that nickname?

"Yeah, I remember you telling me to stop wasting your time." I waved my hand dismissively "Give me one of the chicken thigh skewers and one of the skin-only skewers"

"That's what all the kids have been calling you after you ran away, since no one knew your name." He moved to get my order from the glass display case in front of him, neatly placing the skewers upside down into a disposable cup for easy eating on the go "You're famous now!"

"Couldn't people think of a better name?" I pouted as I handed my card over to pay.

"I think it's great, you're an oxymoron!" He scanned my card and handed me the cup with the skewers. "You could be famous across the continent as Genius Lightning! It's like a superhero or some kind of code name!" He chuckled to himself.

You're the moron! I yelled at him in my head.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it" My mouth twitched as I started walking to my next food destination.

"My name is Henry, I'll see you at the second exam Genius Lightning!" He waved and yelled after me. The nearby shoppers turned to look at me as the cause of the loud commotion.

Ugh, not this again. I covered my red face and walked straight forward.

---

I can't believe that Henry guy! People kept calling me Genius Lightning every store I went to! I grumbled internally as I gnawed on the chicken skewer. The juicy chicken thighs almost exploding in my mouth, fanning my appetite even more. Damn that guy! Why does their chicken taste so good!

"Oh, it wasn't a fly. It was a pig"

That husky voice again! I whipped my head around, skewer still in my mouth.

That pair of deep violet eyes were staring not at me but the pile of food I had laid out in front of me on the picnic table. He seemed to be giving off an amused expression, as if he thought what he said was very funny.

I glared at him and turned to focus on my skewer, not bothering to deal with assholes like him.

"What was a pig?" A pretty voice asked.

"That pig over there eating the pile of food bumped into me earlier, that's why my mood's been bad today."

I'm the reason your mood is bad? I bit off the remainder of my chicken skewer and moved onto the pork bun. That asshole, I barely even touched you. Who stands still in the middle of the street anyways! Just because cars aren't allowed in town doesn't mean you can claim the road for yourself.

"You're always in a bad mood" the pretty voice pouted "and why are you thinking about other girls when we're on a date?"

A date? What kind of girl would date an asshole like that? I get that he's handsome but can't you see the blaring red flags over his head? I peeked at the girl sitting with the asshole with my peripheral vision. A blob of long, shiny, auburn hair came into view.

"Sir Kir and Lady Lyla are not on a date" a mellow voice "Sir Kir is only showing you around the East Lake area at the duke's request"

Huh?

"Oh what do you care? You're just the third wheel on our date!"

Wait, Kir? I gulped down the remainder of my pork bun. There's no way that's the same person as I was thinking of, right?

"Of course my father would request this tour for me. He's been asking Marquess Li to finalize our engagement after all."

Marquess Li? Kir Li? The little marquess of the Eastern Empire? The one known for his resonance with balanced yin and yang water? I silently cried at my bad luck of getting involved with that kind of guy while taking a bite of the chocolate croissant I'd picked up for dessert.