Damien's cold glare made the trio flinch.
"Hmm. Yo-you think looking at me with those eyes will make us fear you?" Edward forced an arrogant smile.
"Boy... tell me your name. You really have gotten yourself into a bad situation."
"Haha! He's going to pay for this!" Richard laughed while looking at Damien.
"They should know their place before confronting people like us." Testu pushed the bridge of his glasses up with his index finger.
"My name is Damien Ashworth."
Damien ignored them and spoke in a loud voice that echoed through the hall.
The students started chatting more after hearing his name.
Many knew about him. He was Rank 1, after all.
But all of that was useless in front of an idiot young master.
Edward also went silent. His smile never wavered.
Noah, who was watching the scene, became even more curious.
'Is he acting brave... or does he simply not know the name of Rank 1...?'
Even Noah couldn't tell what was going through that guy's head.
"Damien... Hahaha! Mark my words... Your bad time has started after offending me," Edward said in a slightly arrogant tone.
But this time, Testu and Richard... those two were slightly nervous. It seemed like they actually knew about Damien.
At this point, even the other main characters had come over and started watching the commotion.
Kaelan, Leonard, Lyria, Emma, and Arisha.
Yet no one intervened. Rather, they watched with amusement.
Damien was clearly a commoner. That much Noah knew about him. Yet, because of his rank, he was able to get those high-ranking noble kids as his friends.
Both Leonard and Kaelan were from high-ranking families. Their families were of a higher standing than Edward's. Yet they continued to enjoy the scene.
Emma was looking at the scene with excitement, much like Noah.
Leonard was grinning.
Lyria was smiling worriedly, hoping it wouldn't escalate.
Meanwhile, Arisha was looking at them indifferently. She was a commoner herself, so she was obviously on Damien's side.
'Why isn't this going any further...? They should fight... or at least have a duel.'
Noah wondered.
He was hoping for that kind of development.
He had no wish to get involved here. This was looking like a cliché scene, so it was better to just enjoy it.
He put the last steak in his mouth. It was slightly raw, not cooked well. Still, Noah used his strong teeth to chew on it.
But suddenly, Edward and his two underlings looked at him.
Even Damien and Mary followed their gazes and stared at him.
Soon, the others also followed their gazes. Then they saw Noah standing there. He alone was eating food while the scene was getting heated.
He first glanced towards Edward's side... then moved towards Damien's side.
He even checked behind him. No one was standing there anymore.
Noah smiled gently at them.
"Haha! Don't mind me, please. You guys should carry on with what you were doing."
He waved his hand and told them to continue.
But for some reason, Edward's eyes gleamed. Soon, his forced smile turned into a genuinely arrogant one.
"Hahaha! I finally got you, Noah!"
He walked towards Noah.
"I have been waiting to meet you... I haven't forgotten the first day... what you did to me and my unde— I mean, my friends."
The other two guys, Richard and Testu, also smiled creepily and stood behind Edward.
"This time, we won't go easy on you."
"You are going to pay for what you have done!"
This time, Noah was baffled.
What's with this development? This was not how things were supposed to go.
After being confronted by Damien, Edward should have challenged him to a duel, where he would be beaten easily by Damien.
That's how it was supposed to go. At least, that's how things usually went in an academy storyline.
"Listen, Edward. I already got punished by Instructor Morgana. There's no need to make more of a scene. We shouldn't fight against each other."
Noah tried to stop them with a calm smile.
But inside, he was cursing. Not at this trio, but at Damien.
'What the hell? Why isn't that guy saying anything? He's watching everything from there like he's an audience member, not the protagonist. He just intervened to help a woman... but when it comes to a man, he isn't even trying to help me!'
Noah was really angry at him.
The problem was, which person in their right mind would try to help someone like Noah?
"Hey, you! Are you scared now? Afraid that we'll beat you this time? Last time was sudden, and that's why you were able to hit us... but not this time."
Edward exhaled.
"Noah Eldritch! I challenge you to a duel! If you have even a little bit of dignity and aren't some scared cat... then accept it."
Noah blinked this time.
It was true that Noah actually had no dignity. But the man in front of him was just another extra. A third-rate villain.
Defeating him wouldn't be a problem. He had already fought him and knew that Edward was on the same level as him, if not weaker.
Testu adjusted his glasses and looked at Noah with a mocking smile.
"Oh? So now the great Noah is trying to run away?"
Richard laughed loudly from behind Edward.
"Hahaha! Where did all your confidence go now? On the first day, you were acting so tough!"
Testu nodded. "Yes, yes. Attacking three people alone. And now suddenly you want peace?"
Richard crossed his arms and smirked. "Looks like someone is scared."
Edward folded his arms, looking at Noah with an arrogant smile.
"What happened, Noah? Scared that I'll beat you this time?"
Noah didn't reply immediately.
'Well, this will be an interesting fight. It will be helpful for my own growth.'
Testu frowned. "Hey, reply fast!"
Richard looked annoyed. "Do you want to eat more food or something?"
Then he looked at Edward and smiled brightly.
"Yes. I accept your challenge."
For a moment, there was silence. The trio were clearly surprised. They hadn't expected him to agree so easily.
Testu blinked. "He… accepted?"
Richard frowned. "That was too easy…"
But Edward's surprise quickly turned into a wide, arrogant grin.
Then he started laughing loudly.
"Hahahaha! Good! Very good, Noah!"
He pointed at him.
"Now that's what I wanted to hear."
Edward turned around dramatically.
"Follow me. We're going to have the duel right now."
He began walking away from the cafeteria like a villain who had already won.
Testu pushed his glasses up and smirked at Noah before following Edward.
Richard cracked his knuckles and followed behind them with a grin.
And just like that, they left the scene.
Noah sighed.
'How did this even turn into this…'
He put his empty plate on a nearby table and started walking behind them.
Leaving behind a completely confused cafeteria.
Damien, Mary, Leonard, Lyria, Emma, Kaelan, Arisha, and many other students were still standing there, stunned.
They didn't understand what had just happened.
Everything had changed in a 180-degree turn.
They had completely forgotten the reason why the quarrel had even started in the first place.
---
[A/N: Don't forget to add my other novel, "The Smiling Death", to your library. And give it a try by reading it. If you love fun and comedy novels, then you'll love that one.]