Chapter 88 - gat to know about the banquet
After that, Luna quietly walked over and sat beside Elena.
She didn’t interrupt our conversation.
Instead, she simply listened.
Elena continued explaining tomorrow’s banquet.
"It’s nothing too complicated."
"You don’t really have to do anything unless you want to make friends with the other noble heirs."
I immediately waved my hand.
"Oh, no."
"I have absolutely no intention of making friends there."
Just as I finished speaking, Amy walked over and lightly smacked my head.
Then she noticed there was still one strawberry candy stick left.
"Hey."
"Give me one too."
I looked at her before handing her one.
Then I took another from my Space Storage and held it toward Luna.
"Do you want one?"
She looked at it curiously.
"What is it?"
I blinked.
"...You’ve never had one before?"
She shook her head.
"No."
I smiled.
"It’s delicious."
"Give it a try."
She accepted it politely.
After taking a bite, her eyes widened slightly.
"...Mm."
"It really is good."
I smiled before looking toward Elena.
"Do you want another one?"
She thought for a moment before nodding without hesitation.
So I handed her another one as well.
As we continued walking, Elena suddenly looked at me curiously.
"Gray..."
"Where did you get these?"
"They’re really delicious."
"Did you buy them?"
"Or did you ask your family’s chef to make them?"
Before I could answer, Amy proudly interrupted.
"Oh."
"Gray made them."
"He likes cooking whenever he has free time."
"And I enjoy eating everything he makes."
She spoke as though she deserved the credit.
I looked at her helplessly.
"Yeah, yeah."
"It’s a good thing our family is wealthy."
"Otherwise we’d go bankrupt feeding you."
Amy immediately smacked my head again.
"What did you say, you brat?"
"Show some respect to your older sister!"
Unlike Amy, Elena and Luna had completely different reactions.
"...You made these?"
I nodded.
"Yeah."
"I enjoy learning new recipes."
"So I experiment with different dishes whenever I have time."
Amy nodded proudly.
"And they’re really good."
"After training, he usually disappears into the kitchen to experiment."
"And I get to taste everything."
Hearing that, Elena and Luna were surprised.
Not because of the taste...
But because Gray could cook.
Among noble families, most children had never even stepped inside a kitchen.
Yet Gray actually enjoyed cooking.
Neither of them commented on it, however.
Instead, we continued walking.
After a while, Elena said,
"This banquet is only attended by the Great Noble Families."
I tilted my head.
"Who are they?"
Both Elena and Luna stared at me.
"You don’t know?"
"You’re the heir of the Starlight Family."
"You should know all of them."
I simply shrugged.
"I’m not interested in politics."
"So I never paid attention to things like that."
I pointed toward Amy.
"Amy probably knows."
"I’ll just ask her."
Amy sighed helplessly, surprising both Luna and Elena.
"He really doesn’t care about politics."
"Mom knows that too."
"So she never forces him to learn."
"That’s why he doesn’t know."
They nodded before Elena asked,
"But aren’t you supposed to compete to become the next head of the Starlight Family?"
I shrugged again.
"No."
"I don’t really want that position."
"Amy can have it."
Smack!
Amy hit my head again.
I looked at her in complete confusion.
"...Why did you hit me this time?"
She glared at me.
"Because I know exactly what you’re thinking."
"I heard you talking to Mom before."
"You literally said..."
"’Being the family head sounds too troublesome.’"
"’Let’s leave everything to Amy while I relax and enjoy life.’"
She pointed accusingly at me.
"You brat."
"Did you seriously think I’d become your sacrifice?"
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
"I thought you’d like being the family head."
"I was doing it for your sake."
I even put on a righteous expression.
Amy simply snorted.
"You?"
"Doing something for my sake?"
"You’re the same person who doesn’t even know our family’s internal structure because you’re too lazy to care."
"Learn to lie better next time."
I had been completely exposed.
Amy crossed her arms.
"You just wanted to dump all the responsibility on me so you could live a carefree life."
I silently looked away.
Seeing my reaction, she immediately knew she was right.
"Oh?"
"So I was right."
"Fine."
"Even if I become the next family head..."
"I’ll make you work so hard you’ll forget what being lazy feels like."
A chill immediately ran down my spine.
Meanwhile, Luna and Elena simply watched our usual argument.
By now, they were already beginning to get used to it.
Eventually, Amy returned to the original topic.
"There are ten Great Noble Families."
"They’ll all be attending tomorrow’s banquet."
"So will the Holy Church."
"Our Starlight Family is considered one of the strongest among them."
"Each Great Noble Family is famous for something."
"Some are renowned for their elemental affinities."
"Others for swordsmanship, spearsmanship, military strength, or other specialties."
Luna and Elena already knew all of this, so they simply listened.
If Amy forgot anything important, they could always add it later.
Amy continued,
"Tomorrow you’ll meet the younger generation from every Great Noble Family."
"Some of them might challenge you to a duel."
"I know you hate politics..."
"But if you refuse everything..."
"It’ll only make things harder for yourself."
"If you win..."
"They’ll simply acknowledge you’re another genius."
"But if you lose..."
"They won’t insult you to your face."
"They’ll spread rumors instead."
"They’ll say the heir of the Starlight Family is a disappointment."
Her grin widened.
"So don’t hold back."
"Crush them."
"Even if you beat them half to death, nobody will dare say anything."
"And if they do..."
"Mom will deal with it."
I let out a long sigh.
I really didn’t want unnecessary attention.
But...
I couldn’t allow anyone to disrespect my family either.
If someone insisted on challenging me...
Then I’d defeat them.
Elena immediately flicked Amy’s forehead.
"Hey."
"What exactly are you teaching your little brother?"
Amy only laughed.
Meanwhile, Luna quietly smiled.
She found the atmosphere between Gray, Amy, and Elena surprisingly warm.
For the first time in quite a while...
She realized she was genuinely enjoying herself.