Chapter 11 “What is the city but the people?”

After all the unexpected events, the young man had finally reached his classroom. Now in his classroom, he sat silently, lost in thought, waiting for the class to begin without doing anything.

“...”

Without saying a single word, a man dressed in black with a dark blue tie encircling his neck was now standing in front of the young man.

“Umm, Wallace? This is my seat,” the man said in a very calm voice.

“Oh, really!? I'm sorry! I didn't know, because Marie said this is my seat, so without thinking much, I just sat here. Once again, please forgive me!” The young man quickly gathered all his belongings and moved from his seat.

“... It's okay,” replied the man, who then placed his bag and took his now-empty seat.

Although only briefly noticed, beneath the red-colored pupils of the man, dark circles under his eyes were visible.

“Hey, are you okay? Why are the bags under your eyes so black?” the young man asked.

“... I just finished making an elixir for my alchemy experiment,” said the man who turned out to be an alchemist.

“Wow, are you perhaps a genius? By the way, what elixir did you make?” the young man inquired.

But the alchemist remained silent, taking out all the books from his bag and placing them on the table.

Feeling ignored, the young man who had asked earlier began to sense awkwardness between them. The alchemist then looked in the direction of the young man and realized that he was still standing beside him.

“... Wallace, do you perhaps not know where your assigned seat is?” the alchemist asked.

“Hahaha, a hundred points for you! Right now, I...” the young man didn't finish his sentence as the Alchemist immediately pointed to an empty seat behind and close to the window.

“...There,” said the Alchemist, then shifted his gaze away from the young man's face.

Feeling that the Alchemist truly didn't want to be disturbed, the young man thanked him and quickly walked toward his assigned seat.

“Hah... it seems like in every class, there will always be one student who likes to be alone, huh?” thought the young man.

“Clank, clank, clank.”

After a while of waiting, the giant bell at the top of the school tower finally rang, its sound echoing through the entire auditorium and the classroom corridors within the school building.

At this moment, the classroom wall clock indicated it was eight in the morning. Finally, the classes awaited by the young man had begun.

“Hah! Let me show you the prowess of an adult who has graduated from school!”

The first lesson was about general fundamentals.

“Hah? What kind of lesson is this?”

The second lesson was about Zoology.

“Oh! I know this subject!”

The third lesson was about spirituality.

“Gautama?”

The fourth lesson was about history.

“I don't get it!!!”

The fifth lesson was about Magecraft.

“Ah... Whatever. I don't care about any of this.”

Finally, the school bell rang, and the time now indicated that it was four in the afternoon. Unbeknownst to the young man, all the class hours at the school seemed to have ended in vain in his eyes.

Feeling disheartened and weary, the young man walked out of his classroom while carrying his backpack on his back.

Ignoring all the people around him, the young man continued to walk towards the school's exit gate. With his tired eyes and disheveled hair, he sighed while exhaling all the polluted air in his lungs.

“Hah... In the end, I didn't understand any of the lessons explained by those teachers. Magic? Mystery? Myths? What are those! Even your history and biology are so different from what I've learned!” protested the young man in his mind.

“What's more, when one of the teachers told me to recite the incantation on the blackboard...”

“Damn it!”

The young man then kicked a pebble he found on the road.

“I never thought those scribbles were actually a words! A sentence! What is this! Now I'm being made fun of by students and teachers who know about it! Damn! Now I don't know where to put my face! If they want me to go to school, they should have told me what I should prepare! Look, now instead of making my parents proud, I'm embarrassing both of them! Aaaah!” grumbled the young man in his thoughts.

Nevertheless, the young man continued walking, kicking all the pebbles blocking his path until eventually, without realizing it, he had reached the place where Albert was standing, waiting for his arrival.

“Good afternoon, young master. How was your class today?” asked Albert.

“Look at my face, do you still want to ask that?” replied the young man with a resentful expression while pointing to his face with his index finger.

“Um, forgive my thoughtlessness. Let me escort you to rest at home,” said Albert, promptly opening the car door and inviting the young man to get in.

Then, without further delay, the young man entered the horse-drawn carriage and sat down, releasing his fatigue on the comfortable seat.

“Hah... Hopefully, my parents won't find out about any of this,” muttered the young man.

After ensuring that his young master was comfortably seated, Albert immediately gave orders to the horses to start moving. During the journey home, the young man sat in contemplation, gazing at the cityscape that had once enchanted his soul.

“Today is truly sad. Although I can still hide it, I also know that this problem seems to be one that won't end with an apology,” mumbled the young man, recalling what he had done earlier.

“Hah... Is this the life I've always wanted? A life where I have wealth, riches, and honor, but even so, why does the city that was once beautiful and vibrant now feel pale in my eyes?”

“Oh God, after all your gifts, it seems like I still can't live my life in this world that is so foreign to me...” he continued.

“........”

“……”

“Will I once again experience failure in my life?” murmured the young man.

While the young man was still venting his frustrations in his mind, the carriage he was riding suddenly passed by a woman he recognized on the roadside.

“Albert! Stop the carriage!” commanded the young man.

“Yes, sir,” replied Albert, immediately stopping the horses and pulling the carriage to the side of the road.

Once the carriage had come to a complete stop, the young man quickly got off and ran towards the woman he recognized.

“Kalina!” called the young man to a woman who was gathered with some people by the roadside.

On the roadside stood a tent containing a table with many snacks and drinks. Even from a distance, the young man could see many plates and cups neatly arranged.

“Hmm? Oh! Hey, Big bro!” replied Kalina while lifting and waving one of her hands.

“Hey Kalina, what are you doing here?” asked the young man while observing Kalina, who was currently eating and having fun wearing a mask she bought at the festival last night.

Upon hearing her brother's question, Kalina quickly adjusted her mask and began to speak.

“Kalina? Hah! Who is she! Right now, I am the Mysterious Heroine K! I am the hero who will eradicate evil and protect justice!” Kalina exclaimed while posing like one of the Power Rangers.

“Oi, don't joke around.” said the young man, lightly tapping Kalina's head.

“Awww...” Kalina uttered while rubbing her head.

“Back to the initial question. Kalina, what are you really doing here?” the young man asked, observing the people in ragged clothing sitting on mats around Kalina.

“Oh, this? We're having a feast together! Big bro, wanna join?” Kalina asked, showing the snacks on the table and lifting a bag full of various treats.

“Umm... If I'm not mistaken, aren't these snacks...” The young man furrowed his brow and tried to say something.

“Yup! Just as Big bro guessed! These are leftover snacks from last night's festival!” Kalina exclaimed with a cheerful smile.

“WHAT!? How can you have this many snacks? Didn't we only buy a few last night?” the astonished young man asked.

“Oh, that? I just bought them this morning while Big bro was still at school. Besides, if they're not consumed, it would be a pity for the sellers. Just so Big Bro knows, making snacks and selling them like this is very tiring, you know.” Kalina said while shaking her head.

“Even so, it doesn't mean you have to buy them all...” the young man replied.

“Hehehe, it's a habit. Oh, come here and sit. Help us finish all these snacks! If you're thirsty, feel free to drink the syrup inside the tent, and don't forget to offer all this food to everyone passing by. Maybe someone wants to help us finish all these snacks. Bye! I'll call Albert to help me finish all these snacks! Besides, it seems his son is celebrating his birthday today, right?” Kalina said, darting away, leaving her brother alone with these people dressed in ragged clothes.

Like before, all eyes were now fixed on him. It was as if they were seeing a tiger released from its cage. Slowly, the people shifted their seats away from where the young man was sitting.

“Umm... Hi?” the young man greeted one of the individuals who seemed frightened by his presence.

The person did not respond to the young man's greeting. Seeing his greeting ignored, the young man felt annoyed and then picked up one of the available snacks and began to eat.

“Hah... it doesn't taste as good as last night...” the young man complained.

Everyone sitting around him continued to stare at him with a mix of fear and confusion. The young man felt increasingly uncomfortable and didn't know what to do to ease their reactions.

“Aaaah... it seems like that cursed girl did it again, huh?” remarked a well-dressed woman walking past the group of young people.

“It's usual. Just because she's a descendant of legendary knights, she thinks she can do whatever she wants,” replied one of the woman's friends.

Then, seeing someone passing by their group, a poorly dressed little boy ran towards the two women and offered the snacks he had in his hands.

“Do you want these snacks? Please take them if you want, and if it's not enough, you can take more inside the tent!” said the little boy, displaying all the snacks in his hands.

But the young man suddenly was surprised to see the response of the two women, who responded to the little boy's offer with unpleasant expressions.

“Ew, disgusting! Go away! What an uncivilized child! If you want to offer food, wear clean and tidy clothes! Even so, I wouldn't eat anything from that cursed girl, Hahaha...”

Then, the two women walked away, leaving the child they had insulted. Seeing this, the justice-filled young man angrily stood up, intending to scold the two women. Unfortunately, all the adults who were previously afraid of him now mustered the courage to suddenly hold his arms and legs.

“What is this!? Why are you stopping me? Do you want to let that little kid be insulted like that? What kind of adults are you!?” the young man snapped.

“It's precisely because we're adults that we're doing this!” replied one of the adults, followed by statements from the others.

“Miss Kalina has often helped us, so it's better not to add more problems for Miss Kalina!”

“Even though she looks happy like that, Miss Kalina has a fragile and kind heart. That's why she always restrains herself and looks out for us!”

“Yes! If Miss Kalina doesn't restrain herself, she might incinerate and destroy the holy city of the God who has lied to us!” said a poorly dressed young man.

“Shhh! Don't say things like that!” replied many people around them.

“That's why we don't care if we're insulted like that. As long as Miss Kalina is happy, we'll accept everything,” explained one person from the group.

After listening to all their statements, the young man suddenly showed a disgusted expression towards all of them.

“You all...”

They truly reminded the young man of his own parents. Saying they didn't want trouble, but they actually sought it out. Asking for help if they got hurt, but when Kalina was hurt, they would just say to endure it. And because they were afraid of getting hurt, they indirectly caused everyone to hurt Kalina, who was their shield.

“...are disgusting,” muttered the young man.

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