"It's really rare to get vacation days like this…"
Karte leaned back in his narrow chair, stretching his arm until his joints popped. The ceiling above him was low and stained from years of steam and smoke. Today, for once, it felt comforting rather than oppressive. No trays to carry, no impatient students snapping their fingers, and no
supervisors barking orders from the kitchen doorway. It was a rare day off. Yesterday
had been anything but peaceful.
The memory crept back in fragments. It was panic first before loud sound of chaos ensued. Not an explosion like the ones described in adventure stories and not a roar for a thunderous crash. It had been worse. A
tearing sensation and a pressure that made the air feel wrong. It was a moment where everyone nearby had frozen. Their instincts was screaming without words.
The moment the sound came from the rear passage of the cafeteria, students had scattered like startled birds. Trays clattered to the floor and benches had been overturned. No one cared about dignity or decorum even not for nobles, not merchants, and not commoners. Everyone ran for their own safety.
Karte had been behind the counter at the time, halfway through wiping a cup. His first instinct had been to duck. His second had been to pray. Only later did he learn how close he had all come to dying. In the
moments immediately after, Karte remembered standing frozen behind the counter. His fingers still wrapped around the damp cloth. The noise had faded but the
silence that followed was worse. It pressed down on his ears until he could hear his own breathing. It was ragged and uneven.
Students had stumbled out into the open courtyard. Some were crying, some were laughing hysterically, and others were staring blankly as if their minds had not yet accepted that they were still alive. A noble girl had vomited onto the marble tiles, hands shaking so badly that she couldn't wipe
her mouth. A merchant boy sat on the ground, clutching his head and muttering
prayers he probably hadn't used since childhood.
Karte himself hadn't moved for a long while. He was afraid that if he did, the world might remember it was supposed to kill him and finish the job. When academy teachers finally arrived, they moved with practiced speed but even then, they kept glancing toward the rear passage with unease. Mana
residue clung to the air like ash after a fire. Karte couldn't see it the way wizards did but he felt it. It crawled across his skin. It was hot and destructive as if something had torn a hole and only barely stitched it shut again.
The cafeteria itself remained mostly intact. The main hall had barely been touched. But the rear passage where staff stored supplies and students sometimes lingered to avoid crowds had been nearly erased. If anyone
had been standing directly in the path of that blast, death would have been instantaneous. And yet, there were no bodies at the time. There was no blood and no screaming injured.
When the teachers and academy staff arrived, drawn by the violent surge of mana, the devastation left even them momentarily speechless. The walls were scorched white as if reality itself had been peeled back and
burned. Protective wards embedded in the stone had shattered like glass. They should have been pulling corpses from the rubble. Instead, they found a trembling group of students. They were shaken but alive.
Word spread quickly as it always did. A noble girl actually had blocked it. That was the version Karte heard first and it was the version he believed because it made sense. Only nobles carried that kind of protection.
Defensive artifacts and emergency magic items passed down through generations
just to protect the heir of their family. Talismans that activated automatically when their bearer was in mortal danger.
A commoner wouldn't have survived that blast. A poor student wouldn't even have known what hit them. As for merchants, they were somewhere in between. Some could afford decent protection but most couldn't. For nobles, they always had something hidden. So, when rumors pointed to Alicia, one of the academy's most prominent noble students, Karte nodded along with everyone else. Of course, it was her.
The academy treated the incident seriously. Investigators were called in from outside and specialists who didn't belong to the teaching
staff began exploring the scene. They were consisted of men and women with cold eyes and quiet authority.
Karte was just a waiter. No one asked him anything. Still, he knew enough to understand that explosions like that didn't happen by accident. Someone had intended for people to die. And the same person had
failed. That knowledge lingered like a bad taste in his mouth as he spent his unexpected free day wandering the town streets. His thoughts drifted as they often did to a certain fat boy.
From the first time Karte had noticed him, Baston hadn't fit toward any current treatment. He dressed like a commoner. He ate like one too which was quickly, without ceremony, and always mindful of portions and leftovers. He avoided attention instinctively, shoulders hunched, and gaze
lowered. And yet, Panto treated him specially.
That alone would have been noteworthy. Panto was from a merchant family. He wasn't a noble but he was wealthy enough to command respect. In fact, merchants didn't bow to commoners. They certainly didn't
defer to them. As for Alicia, that was what truly unsettled Karte.
Alicia wasn't just a simple noble. She was a high noble from great family. The kind whose family crest carried weight even outside the
academy. She had admirers everywhere where sons of influential houses, promising heirs, and ambitious young men who believed proximity alone might raise their value. And yet, she also ordered food for Baston.
Once might have been coincidence but twice raised eyebrows. By the third time, Karte had nearly dropped the tray in shock. At first, he had assumed romance. It was the easiest explanation. The one most people would jump to. A noble girl falling for a poor boy. It was scandalous, dramatic, and dangerous. The kind of thing that sparked fights and whispered threats in dark corners.
But the more he watched, the less that theory held. Alicia didn't act like a girl with a crush. There was no shyness, no teasing, and no lingering glances. What she showed instead was reverence. The same expression Panto wore. The same careful tone and the same instinctive deference. They weren't courting Baston. Instead, they were serving him.
Karte had spent years watching people eat. Hunger stripped pretense faster than any interrogation ever could. He knew how nobles looked when they indulged themselves, how merchants calculated value with every bite, and how commoners learned to swallow embarrassment along with their food. What he saw in Alicia and Panto was none of that.
They watched Baston the way guards watched a gate they could not afford to let fall. Not openly and not obviously but always with awareness. Their conversations with him were brief, careful, and almost restrained as if they feared saying too much would disturb the fat boy. Even their generosity
carried hesitation as though each meal was both an offering and a test.
Karte began to notice smaller things. The way Alicia never asked Baston questions that might corner him. The way Panto reacted instantly whenever Baston showed the slightest discomfort. Neither of them spoke over him. Neither of them dismissed his words no matter how trivial. Respect like
that did not come from affection. It came from recognition. That realization had disturbed Karte far more than gossip ever could.
Day by day, their food orders turned into a silent competition. Panto would place an order early in the morning. Alicia would
follow not long after. Both insisted on discretion. Both warned him politely and firmly, so not to let Baston know who paid. Karte didn't have a choice but to obey. He wasn't foolish enough to test the boundaries of people like them.
Sometimes, he wondered why Alicia didn't simply order from the noble kitchens. The food there was leagues above what commoners received. Rich sauces, enchanted preservation, and rare ingredients. But she never did and Karte understood why. If a luxury meal was delivered to a commoner dormitory, rumors would explode faster than any magic circle. Baston would become a target overnight. Alicia was careful. That care alone spoke volumes.
Karte had learned long ago that careful people were often the most dangerous. Not because they acted boldly but because they waited. Alicia's restraint wasn't hesitation, it was calculation. She understood
consequences, understood how quickly admiration could turn into resentment, and
how easily attention could become a blade. That meant Baston wasn't merely someone she liked. He was someone worth protecting.
The thought unsettled Karte. Protection implied value and value implied risk. As for the risk, in places like the academy, always attracted predators. If Baston truly stood at the center of something unseen, then this
quiet generosity was only the surface of much deeper currents.
"No wonder she kept ordering common food…" Karte murmured to himself as he walked.
Eventually, Alicia fell behind. Her responsibilities at the academy piled up. Panto seized the opportunity without hesitation. One afternoon, he ordered a single, massive dish for Baston and slipped Karte a coupon.
"Give this to him…" Panto had said quietly, "Tell him it's nothing special…"
The restaurant wasn't noble-class but it was good. Karte knew it well. Small, quiet, and tucked away from the main roads. The kind of place commoners frequented when they wanted to treat themselves without drawing
attention.
When Karte spotted Baston in town that afternoon, the fat boy stood at a street corner, frowning at the coupon in his hand like it might bite him. That alone confirmed something important. Baston didn't know the area.
A true commoner would have recognized the address immediately. Only nobles or those raised far above the streets hesitated like
that. Karte felt a chill crawl up his spine.
He approached carefully, "Hello, student. It's nice to see you out here."
Baston startled, "You are… The waiter?"
"Yes. My name is Karte. It's our first time meeting outside the academy."
Baston nodded awkwardly, "My name is Baston. Thank you for your care after all this time."
Karte waved it off, heart pounding. "Just doing my job."
That was a lie and both of them knew it. However, they didn't want to further explain the matter. After all, people had their own
means and secret.
"Are you looking for something?" Karte asked. "I can help you."
Baston hesitated then showed him the coupon, "I'm looking for this place. I don't know the area well."
"I know it," Karte said immediately, "I'll guide you."
As they walked, Karte's thoughts raced.
"If Baston truly was hiding his noble origins…"
Then this wasn't just a chance. This was an opportunity. Commoners dreamed of attaching themselves to powerful patrons. Not through charity but through loyalty. Through usefulness he could bring to someone.
Karte wasn't ambitious by nature but he wasn't blind either. If Baston stood at the center of Panto and Alicia's respect, then one day others would gather too. Choosing a side early mattered. Still, Karte knew better than to push. At the restaurant, he excused himself politely.
"There will be other chances…" he told himself.
Baston entered alone. The restaurant was modest but warm with soft lighting, clean tables, and a calm atmosphere. When he hesitantly presented the coupon, the waiter's reaction was immediate. The man was respectful, almost too respectful.
"Of course, venerable guest."
Baston stiffened at the title. He began worried about something. After all, he had no money on his wallet. The only one who could
give a courage to him was just this small coupon.
He asked the only question that mattered, "Do I need to pay extra?"
The explanation left the man stunned. The coupon could be used for unlimited food. There was noneed for additional cost and the customer just needed to eat. For the first time in a long while, Baston ate without
counting coins in his head. Without worrying about leftovers and without thinking about tomorrow's meal. He ate until he was full. When he tried to leave, another coupon was presented into his hand. It was for dinner and it was free for him.
Baston left with measured steps, heart racing with happiness he didn't dare to show. Behind him, plans were already being laid. And as he hummed softly to himself on the way back, unaware of eyes watching from the shadows, fate decided to remind him of a simple truth.
Kindness and careless had a price. In a dark, narrow alley, a rough hand struck his wrist. The coupon then vanished just like his good
dream of being well-fed.
"Damn it!" Baston shouted, spinning around too late, "Someone stole my dinner!"
The thief nearby only laughed, dashing into somewhere he believed it would be safe to check for the treasure.