"Eh?! I didn't know Young Lady Saria's fae was of the darkness element!?"
"Of course you didn't, it wears that costume to hide it."
Justin gasped in disbelief, furrowing his brows as he asked and Amelia shook her head with a tired expression while answering.
The two of them then went to the cafeteria, since their class was the only one left off early, the whole area was basically theirs. With little to no wait time and whatever spot to sit down any of them wanted.
"Young Miss, if having all of the readings be of one element isn't something normal for people using Essence of Winter then, what's the case with him?"
Justin and Amelia sat down in their usual spot, and the future hero immediately returned to the conversation they had in class. He also motioned with his head at the bleached-blond-haired youth being served a huge pile of cooked ribs by a young kitchen hand boy.
"...that's the case, I don't know…"
Amelia, who had already picked up cutlery to start the meal, lowered her hands and said with a troubled expression.
"Eh…?"
"Don't 'eh' me! The story that the Grand Fea shared with me was about the hero and his companions who would save our world, not about a stepping-stone villain who dies at the very start of 3rd volume! The story didn't even mention what HIS attunements were."
Justin let out a baffled gasp, making Amelia angry enough to start ranting at him while sending an annoyed glare towards Rotsard, peacefully enjoying his meal, while the kitchen hand boy was grumbling something to him.
"About that story… Young Miss, don't you think that everything that has already happened ened up changing too much? Can we really make it happen?"
"..."
The future hero fidgeted on his seat before daring to ask a question that must have been bothering him for a while, causing the girl next to him to put down her cutlery completely.
"It's not about whether we can or not. We MUST make it happen. The Grand Fae itself told me that it is the only way to save our world from being overtaken by hordes of deofols!"
Amelia clenched her fists and declared, glaring down at the future hero with an adamant glare.
Truly, her faith in a Grand Fae knew no bounds.
Or was it just confidence in herself and her decisions?
"..."
Justin lowered his head and started eating as that conversation was clearly over, but he only took two bites before making a grumpy expression.
He shook his head to make it go away, and after glancing to the side for a moment, he looked back up at Amelia and squinted his eyes at her as if in suspicion.
"...Young Miss… by any chance, if it wasn't for your knowledge about the future… would you have kept the ring…?"
"!!!"
*ting*
And his question was so unexpected that Amelia ended up flinching so hard she dropped her fork onto the table.
"Wh-what kind of question is that!? Where did it even come from!?"
The girl turned red as she called out clearly trying to hide something by acting angry.
"It's just… the way he talked about honor of a noble and duty and all… Doesn't everything he believes in align perfectly with your beliefs?"
"Th-that doesn't mean that I'll start liking him! Words need to be backed up with actions, you know?! And that guy continuously goes against everything he says!"
Justin tilted his head from side to side before asking in a seemingly dismissive tone, but still causing Amelia to turn red and point out in an exasperated voice.
"Not really, though… Oh, but what about the fact that you always said you would like to be appreciated for your skills? He came to you with the second wife position because it is the one with the most responsibilities and isn't easily offered unless the groom or his family has trust in the bride. And we know he didn't have his family pushing him to do that because of the Vallhalls having a custom of only having one wife. In a way, he was going against his family customs because he seemed to believe doing things his way would be the most beneficial for them as a whole, and most likely it was supported by the fact that he trusted your skills that much… Didn't you mention once that you find that kind of action attractive?"
"...sh…! Shut uuuuuuppp…! Why are you bringing this up now!? It was about a novel! And I told you about it in secret when we were little!"
Justin leaned back into his chair and shrugged his shoulders before delivering a speech that made Amelia let out a pitiful cry as she slouched, pressing her elbows into her stomach and rubbing just the bases of her palms against her temples.
"...~"
Seeing her like that made the future hero smirk triumphantly, although not without a certain bitterness.
"You know, since we're talking about him… There was something different about the last duel."
"...ng… wh-wha…?"
Justin suddenly furrowed his brow and spoke up while tilting his head, making Amelia flinch and slowly raise her head to look at him.
"His attacks… he was clenching his fists, and he never clenched his fists before."
The future hero pointed out while one of his hands moved to his ribcage as if the spots in which Rotsard's attacks landed still itched. Even after being properly treated with magic.
"Back then, I thought I was about to die, but… somehow his fists felt softer than his palms?"
He muttered while looking to the side with a sour expression.
"Maybe you pushed him to the point that he started losing his cool? That's good though, right? It means you finally got to the level of the hero in the story."
"..."
Amelia slowly straightened her back and suggested cautiously, but Justin's expression only darkened as he shook his head.