Chapter 38: Quite a Misunderstanding
Ella wanted to double-check that they hadn’t overlooked any possible recipes. Sonny, Shani, and Kiran simply nodded.
After all, Ella had been doing almost everything from the start. The three of them felt more like students being taught by her.
None of them minded playing the role of props.
In the center of class, Iris clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention.
"Those of you who haven’t finished can take photos or videos of the ingredients on your table and submit the assignment tomorrow."
The entire class let out a collective sigh of relief after receiving the extension.
Iris’s assistant collected the boxes, and the class came to an end.
Ella looked at her three teammates.
"If any of you discover something else we can add, just post it in the group chat. We’ll submit the assignment thirty minutes before the deadline."
Throughout the class, Ella had constantly asked whether anyone had discovered something new. She was smart, but she wasn’t overbearing.
The other three nodded.
The group chat itself had been created earlier by Sonny under the name ’Three Beauties with One Heartthrob.’
It was a name that made the three girls scroll fast whenever they opened the chat app. It was simply too cringey to look at.
...
The five students entered the cafeteria and headed toward the food counter.
Students who glanced at them out of reflex found themselves unable to look away.
The new group looked so unusual that they instantly became the latest topic of gossip.
Shani, being one of the members of that odd combination, had already grown used to this kind of attention.
She was listening as Sonny enthusiastically talked about his trip to the borderlands and his firsthand encounter with wild creatures.
Some of Sonny’s classmates from Class 2 had planned to invite him to eat with them.
However, after seeing him chatting with the former Cursed Prince, Jeryon, and the aloof top student, Noella, they quietly backed off.
It wasn’t just Class 2 students who felt as though they’d lost their lunch companion.
Several students from Class 1 felt the same way.
"Garth, aren’t you inviting Noella to eat with us?" one of the boys from Class 1 asked. The others echoed the question.
Unlike Noella, who was serious, aloof, and rarely spoke unless spoken to, Garth Herrman was your typical easygoing guy.
He laughed loudly, joked around constantly, and never acted pretentious.
His open personality naturally attracted plenty of male friends. On the other hand, it also made some girls feel intimidated around him.
Noella was the only female student who was friends with Garth. Likewise, Garth was Noella’s only friend.
Following his friends’ gazes, Garth simply shrugged. "No need."
His friends immediately exchanged looks. Scandalous theories instantly began forming in their minds.
’Garth is upset with Noella.’
’Is he jealous because she’s gotten so close to that student from Class 2?’
’Are we about to witness a lovers’ quarrel between the academy’s strongest partner pair?’
In reality, Sonny had only moved to sit beside Noella after noticing Jeryon frown whenever he got too close to Shani.
Meanwhile, Garth’s friends continued fueling their imaginations.
Despite Sonny’s flamboyant personality, none of them underestimated him as Garth’s rival.
After all, they knew exactly who Mason Walton, better known as Sonny, was.
He was a Void Panther beastman. Yes. Like Garth, he belonged to a Panther variant.
However, Sonny’s family was even more prestigious.
While House Herrman’s younger generation was steadily shrinking, and no member of House Ashbourne had made any significant contributions to Argenor or the continent in recent years,
House Walton continued to flourish through its successful businesses and its close ties to the number one prestigious family.
Their ties had been forged through marriage.
And it was Sonny’s parents who had united the two families, with his father coming from the top-ranked prestigious family.
Unable to help themselves, the boys looked at Garth with sympathy. They silently hoped he would win this imaginary rivalry.
While his friends were busy imagining all sorts of ridiculous scenarios, Garth was only thinking about what he was going to eat after finishing his current meal.
The cafeteria portions simply weren’t enough for him. Noella wasn’t on his mind at all.
Aside from being resonance partners, their relationship wasn’t anything like what everyone else imagined. They couldn’t even be called friends yet.
Garth knew that his appearance tended to intimidate girls, so he always tried to be careful around Noella.
The only reason Noella usually sat beside him or joined him and his friends for meals was because they needed to discuss resonance, baby beasts, or their classes.
That was it. Nothing more.
In fact, Garth knew more about Noella from his friends than from Noella herself.
Meanwhile, Noella quietly ate her lunch while occasionally answering Shani’s questions about tips and tricks for raising a baby beast.
Completely oblivious, she had unintentionally created quite a misunderstanding.
Another misunderstanding was about to unfold when a girl entered the cafeteria.
The moment she arrived, she became the center of attention.
Unlike Shani’s group, however, this girl was immediately surrounded by several first-year girls.
"Leah! Are you okay now? How are you feeling?" one of them asked as she guided Leah toward their table.
The group happened to pass Shani’s table just as Leah spoke in a voice that sounded determined despite her hardship.
"Yeah, it was a rough incident. But that setback only made me even more motivated. I have to prove that dropping in rank doesn’t make me weak."
The girls around her immediately voiced their support, praising her resilience.
Sonny and Kiran both tensed up after hearing Leah coincidentally say that while walking past them.
Jeryon, meanwhile, was calmly drinking milk from a different brand than the one he’d brought that morning.
Once again, he gave two bottles to Shani, one to Kiran, and kept one for himself.
He casually explained that he hadn’t bought any for Noella or Sonny because he hadn’t known they’d be having lunch together.
Seeing that Jeryon wasn’t affected by Leah’s words, Shani let out a sigh of relief.
Then her brows slowly knitted together. ’Something doesn’t seem right.’
...