Trouble?

Noah looked at the juice packet in his hand once again, then slowly raised his eyes toward Asher. "...You had a company make custom juice for you?"

Asher did not even look up from his plate. "Yes."

"Why?"

"The ones sold in stores don't taste good enough."

Noah stared at him silently, and for a moment, he genuinely could not tell whether Asher was extremely rich or simply insane.

After some thought, he decided it was probably both.

Meanwhile, Aria took another small sip from the juice packet, and her eyes shifted slightly despite herself.

The flavor was smooth, natural, and surprisingly refreshing, without any artificial sweetness or strange aftertaste. It was easily the best juice she had ever tasted.

Of course, she was not going to admit that out loud.

Asher swallowed another bite of food before speaking again. "I also had them make different flavors."

Noah's expression stiffened immediately. "...How many?"

"I don't know. Around fifty, maybe."

Noah nearly choked. "Fifty?!"

Asher finally looked at him, his expression carrying genuine confusion. "What? Variety is important."

Aria quietly placed the juice packet on the table, then looked at Asher as if she had understood something important.

"You truly live without worries."

Asher nodded without hesitation. "Yes."

"...Must be nice," Noah muttered under his breath.

For a brief moment, the table became quiet again, with only the distant noise of the cafeteria filling the air.

Then a loud voice suddenly cut through it.

"Asher Astrean!"

Almost every student in the cafeteria turned toward the entrance.

A tall boy with brown hair stood there, surrounded by several students, his face already dark with irritation before he had even taken a step forward.

Asher glanced at him for about two seconds, then returned to his food as if nothing had happened.

"...Who is that?" he asked Noah.

The boy's expression twitched instantly.

Noah lowered his voice, already sensing trouble. "That's Victor Helios, Rank 12."

Asher took another bite before asking, "What does he want?"

The atmosphere inside the cafeteria tightened at once, and several nearby students exchanged excited glances.

Most of them had already started expecting another fight.

Victor began walking toward their table, each step sharp enough to make his irritation obvious. By the time he stopped in front of them, the students around the cafeteria had already gone much quieter.

"You ignored me," Victor said, his voice low and cold.

Asher looked up at him with mild confusion. "I didn't know who you were."

A vein bulged on Victor's forehead, while Noah slowly lowered his spoon and stared at the table.

Why does every conversation involving this guy become dangerous?

Victor inhaled sharply, clearly forcing himself not to explode immediately.

"You've been acting arrogant ever since you entered the academy," he said coldly. "Do you think defeating Rank 10 makes you untouchable?"

Asher thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No."

Victor's eyes narrowed. "Then why do you act like this?"

"Like what?"

"Like nothing matters."

Asher tilted his head slightly, as if the answer was obvious. "...Because most things don't."

The surrounding students exchanged strange looks, because no one knew how to argue with something said that naturally.

Victor's jaw tightened harder. "You think you're special because the Headmaster praised you?"

"No."

"You think you're stronger than everyone?"

"No."

"Then what exactly is wrong with you?"

"I don't know."

Asher answered so quickly that Noah almost wanted to slam his head against the table.

Meanwhile, Aria quietly observed the exchange from the side.

There was no mockery in Asher's voice, no arrogance in his eyes, and no deliberate attempt to insult Victor.

That somehow made it even worse.

Victor could clearly feel it too, because every plain answer only made his expression uglier.

"Fight me," Victor suddenly said.

"No."

The rejection came before Victor's voice had even fully settled.

Victor blinked once. "...What?"

"I already got what I wanted from the rankings," Asher said, picking up his juice again. "Fighting sounds tiring."

Several students almost laughed, but they quickly held themselves back after seeing Victor's face.

"You don't get to refuse after provoking people," Victor said, his voice turning heavier.

"I never provoked you."

"You ignored me."

"I didn't know you."

"You're doing it again!"

Asher turned toward Noah with the same relaxed expression. "Is he always this angry?"

Noah immediately looked away. "I am not getting involved in this."

Victor's patience finally cracked, and he slammed his hand onto the table hard enough for the plates to tremble.

A wave of mana pressure spread through the area, causing several nearby students to stiffen instinctively.

"Stand up."

"No."

"Coward."

"Okay."

The entire cafeteria fell silent.

Victor froze, his anger momentarily replaced by disbelief. "...Okay?"

"Yes."

"You're admitting you're a coward?"

Asher looked at him strangely. "Well, I actually am."

The silence became even heavier.

No one had expected that answer.

Most nobles would rather accept a duel than admit something humiliating in public, but Asher did not look ashamed at all.

To him, the word seemed to have no weight.

Aria looked at him quietly.

This person truly has no pride.

Or perhaps his sense of self was not tied to what other people thought of him.

Victor clenched his fists, but for the first time since approaching the table, he looked uncertain.

Insults didn't work, provocation didn't work, and even pressure didn't seem to move Asher in the slightest.

It felt like trying to start a fight with someone who had never agreed to enter the same conversation.

Then Asher glanced past him and spoke again.

"If you're done, can you move a little?"

Victor's eye twitched. "What?"

"You're blocking the light."

Several students immediately looked away, their shoulders shaking as they struggled not to laugh.

Noah stopped breathing.

Aria, on the other hand, calmly took another sip of juice as if nothing unusual was happening.

Victor stood there for several long seconds, his face shifting between anger, confusion, and something close to defeat.

Finally, he forced out one sentence through clenched teeth. "...You're insane."

"Probably," Asher agreed.

In the end, Victor turned around and walked away.

Not because he had calmed down, but because he genuinely had no idea how to continue that conversation without looking even worse.

The moment he left, whispers spread through the cafeteria like fire.

Noah slowly turned toward Asher, disbelief filling his expression. "How are you still alive?"

Asher looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"You casually insult nobles, annoy professors, and somehow make every conversation weird," Noah said, pointing at him with his spoon. "A normal person would have been beaten up already."

Asher thought about it seriously for a moment. "Maybe I'm lucky."

"No," Noah replied immediately. "This is beyond luck."

Meanwhile, Aria quietly continued drinking her juice.

After a few seconds, she asked, "Why did you refuse the duel?"

Asher leaned back slightly. "Because I didn't want to."

Aria stared at him for a moment. "You really only act when something interests you."

"Yes."

Noah suddenly pointed at him again. "That explains why you actually try during training sometimes."

"I get bored."

"...And when you're not bored?"

"I sleep."

Noah looked like he had finally lost the last bit of strength needed to understand him.

After a few moments, he seemed to remember something and leaned forward again.

"Now that I think about it, if you challenged a few more people, you could probably enter the top five."

"Too much effort," Asher replied immediately.

"You didn't even move much during your duel with Adam!"

"I teleported," Asher corrected, taking another sip of juice.

"That somehow makes it worse!"

Aria quietly observed him for a few seconds before speaking. "You're holding back intentionally."

Asher looked at her over the juice packet, his expression still carrying that same lazy indifference. "Obviously."