Loud.
That would be the most fitting word to describe the Laxus Flare academy's cafeteria.
The large room was filled with both the Freshmen and the sophomores leading to conversations rising amongst the students.
From classwork to drama, the students had an infinite number of things to talk about.
That chatter, along with footsteps of students walking back and forth and the chewing of the students who began to eat, filled the room with a chaotic presence.
Yet, in the midst of the chaos was a table where two individuals sat.
One was a tanned skin boy with long black hair who held a book in his hands.
The other was a black haired girl who had just finished a sandwich she brought.
These two individuals were Tristan and Nishimoya and on that Friday morning, they were left alone together.
Recently, due to Soriel and Elliot spending time in the music room or helping a teacher at least once a week, Tristan and Nishimoya were alone.
Usually, the two of them sat alone in silence, not saying much at all.
Despite knowing each other for years, the two of them had adapted to not converse when no one else was around.
After all, there was nothing much to say.
However, this time was different.
"Tristan," Nishimoya called out.
Tristan lifted his gaze from the pages of the book to Nishimoya.
"Yeah?"
"How are you able to read all the time?"
Realizing the oddness of her question, Nishimoya rephrased her question.
"Sorry, what I meant was how are you able to read all the time without getting bored? My parents made me read lots of books but I still don't like reading at all. It's so uninteresting to me," Nishimoya clarified.
For a few moments, Tristan didn't speak.
He just gazed at her silently.
His gaze didn't hold any malice, anger, or even confusion.
Just consideration.
Even so, Nishimoya still felt the hairs on her skin stand up in response to being stared at.
Fortunately, this silence didn't last long.
"Even after Elliot talked to you a while back you still haven't actually overcome your parent's influence, right?"
Nishimoya gave Tristan a confused look, indicating for him to explain further.
"Becausing reading was something that was forced on you, you're viewing it as only studying and researching. Literature is more than that," Tristan explained.
Then, Tristan closed his book and held it up in front of Nishimoya.
"Look, this book is fantasy. It's complete fiction. Besides a few life messages, I'm not learning a thing from it and I don't want to learn anything either."
Nishimoya's back instinctively straightened and her attention focused on Tristan's words.
"Stories are universes that exist far away from us, only accessible through the tunnel we know as words. As long as we read them, as long as we remember them, those stories will be as real as reality. That way, you can go anywhere or be anything."
Nishimoya didn't react to Tristan's words. Instead, she just gazed at him silently just like how Tristan acted before.
Reading was without a doubt, an average skill.
It was something possessed by many people of different ages, personalities and sizes.
Yet, not everyone could read.
And even people who could read, chose not to.
With that in mind, reading was not just a skill.
It was a gift.
A way to experience a new world in a way no one else could.
To imagine things that weren't limited by visualization.
To begin the act of actualization.
That was what reading was.
Now, Tristan was giving Nishimoya something.
Not the gift of reading that Nishimoya already possessed.
But an invitation.
An invitation to a realm no one else could reach.
An invitation to stories.
"What you said…" Nishimoya began to say, breaking the silence.
She paused for a few moments and then continued.
"I never thought of it like that before. Thank you."
Hearing this, Tristan smiled.
It was a small smile that appeared just for a moment.
It was so small that it was barely a smile at all.
Despite that, it was filled with warmth no one would ever see.
"No problem."