INFINITE - 37
Even Bell couldn't help but smile.
And Juro simply chuckled quietly to himself.
Time passed surprisingly quickly amidst the cheerful conversation.
Soon, one of the servants approached them and bowed.
"Your breakfast is ready."
And with that, the group was escorted toward the dining hall.
...
As they arrived at the dining hall, the first thing that caught Marc's attention was the long table stretching across the room.
Neatly arranged upon it was an abundance of high-quality food, with elegant plates and utensils placed perfectly beside each seat.
"Woaaah..."
At the head of the table, the king was already seated.
The servants then diligently pulled out the chairs along the sides of the table for everyone.
Marc looked around in amazement.
"Woahh, Bell! They're even pulling the seats for us!"
Bell smiled at his expression.
"You getting excited?"
"How could I nottt?!" Marc grinned. "Look at all those foods across the table! There's so many! I wonder if we can eat as much as we want..."
Then a hand rested on his head.
"We can, hehe," Juro said with a grin.
As everyone took their seats, both Marc and Juro glanced around at the luxurious dishes, already itching to grab them.
Noticing their eager expressions, the king laughed.
"You may begin."
The moment those words left his mouth, both Juro and Marc quickly picked up their utensils and started helping themselves to the freshly prepared meats.
Marc took a bite.
His eyes immediately lit up.
"These are soooo goooood!"
Noria and Heler watched the two eat and couldn't help but chuckle.
Even the king laughed softly.
Meanwhile, Bell simply selected the foods he wanted, placed them neatly onto his plate, and ate at a normal pace.
After swallowing another bite, Marc turned toward the king.
"You have great chefs, Your Majesty!"
The king laughed heartily.
"Well, we prepared this feast specially for you all as thanks for helping the kingdom's princess."
Then he suddenly paused.
"Ah, how unkind of me. I forgot to introduce myself."
He smiled warmly.
"My name is Brunzel. Brunzel Norgus Larnd."
Juro noticed that the king had introduced himself with his full name and smiled.
"Well, King Brunzel, the food here sure is nice. Thank you for giving us this reward."
Noria quietly watched the exchange.
'Father acknowledges him...'
Suddenly, the doors to the dining hall opened.
Noria turned to look.
The moment she saw who it was, her eyes widened with joy.
She immediately stood up from her seat.
Heler smiled.
"Oh my, they're here."
Bell and Marc also turned their heads.
"Hm?" they both uttered.
Noria hurried over and wrapped her arms around the newcomer.
"Brea!" she exclaimed.
Brea smiled and returned the embrace.
"I'm back, Sister."
Standing beside her was another woman.
"And Mother Bray!"
Noria looked up at her with a bright smile.
"Welcome back Mother Bray"
Bray smiled and gently patted her head before approaching the table.
Both Brea and Bray first nodded respectfully toward King Brunzel.
"Father, we've returned from the Kingdom of Guir," Brea reported.
Brunzel smiled and affectionately patted her head.
"That's good to hear. Come, sit and join us for breakfast."
Noria and Brea smiled and returned to their seats.
Bray sat down beside Heler.
She glanced around the table.
"I see we have some special guests here."
Heler smiled.
"Yes. They helped Heth and Noria return safely."
Bray shifted her gaze toward the trio.
Her eyes met Juro's.
Noticing this, Juro casually smiled.
"Oh, I'm Juro."
Right beside him, Marc quickly stood up and performed another exaggeratedly deep bow.
"I'm Marc! Nice to meet you, ma'am!"
And just as quickly, he sat back down and resumed eating.
Meanwhile, King Brunzel simply rubbed his forehead.
'(= – =;) ...Why does he keep bowing so low...his head almost hit the table…'
Bray awkwardly laughed at how deeply Marc had bowed, while both Brea and Noria quietly chuckled.
Then Bell introduced himself.
"My name's Bell."
Bray smiled and formally introduced herself.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Bray, and this is my daughter, Brea. I heard from Heth that you contributed greatly to escorting Princess Noria back safely, especially you, Sir Juro."
Juro casually waved his hands.
"It's fine, it's fine. It's only natural to help a child."
As he said that, he glanced toward Bell and Marc and smiled.
Bray tilted her head slightly.
"I see. Are those your children, Sir Juro?"
Juro nearly choked and quickly grabbed his cup of water.
"Children?! Whaat? I'm still single, so I don't have kids."
Marc excitedly chimed in.
"We're his students!"
Bray smiled.
"Ooo, so something like apprentices?"
"Mhm!" Marc nodded enthusiastically.
"Are you training to become knights, or—"
"Mages!" Marc answered before she could finish.
Bray chuckled.
"Then I wish you all the best on your journeys."
Marc smiled brightly.
"Mhm! Thank you!"
King Brunzel laughed and looked at Marc.
"And why are you so eager to become a mage?"
Marc immediately grinned.
"Because of him!"
The king tilted his head.
So did his two wives.
Then all three suddenly understood.
"Are you talking about—"
"The Greatest Mage!" Marc exclaimed before Brunzel could finish.
The king burst into laughter.
"Wonderful? No..that's great!"
He smiled warmly.
"Yes, if you wish to become a mage, then the one you should look up to is the pinnacle above all, The Greatest Mage. He helped this kingdom even during my grandfather's reign. The stories told about him are not exaggerated."
Brunzel smiled fondly.
"He truly was just that great."
Meanwhile, Bell quietly ate his food, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
Beside him, Juro simply continued eating with a smile.
Marc's eyes widened.
"Stories?! Does that mean there are books about him in this kingdom!?"
Heler chuckled.
"Of course there are. You can find all kinds of books about him here."
King Brunzel laughed again.
"What kind of kingdom wouldn't have books about The Greatest Mage? Ahahaha!"
Bray suddenly remembered something.
"Ooo, that reminds me. I think both Noria and Brea have some books about The Greatest Mage."
Marc's eyes sparkled.
"Really?!"
He quickly turned toward Noria.
Noria smiled.
"Yeah. They're in our room."
Brea nodded.
"We can go check them out if you want."
Marc immediately stood up.
"Mhm! Let's g—"
Before he could finish, Juro pushed him back down onto his seat.
"You forgot we're still eating."
"Ah..."
Marc scratched his cheek sheepishly.
"Ehe... woops."
Everyone laughed.
Even Bell couldn't help but chuckle.
The atmosphere around the table grew lively, and the chatter continued as everyone enjoyed breakfast together.
As time passed, both Marc and Juro ate until they were completely full.
"The food was soooo gooodd," Marc exclaimed happily.
Juro smiled in agreement.
"I know, right? We gotta thank His Majesty for giving us such a grand meal."
King Brunzel laughed and waved his hand.
"No, no. It is only right to reward those who have helped."
Marc smiled at the king before quickly turning toward Noria and Brea.
"Can we check the books now ✨??"
Brea and Noria glanced toward their mothers and father.
The three adults simply smiled and nodded.
So Brea and Noria stood up from their seats.
"Very well. Follow us then, hehe," Brea said.
Marc quickly jumped to his feet and turned toward Bell.
"C'mon, Bell! Let's go!"
Bell smiled softly.
"Alright, alright, but take it easy. You just finished a big meal."
Marc grinned and nodded before hurrying over to Noria and Brea, with Bell following behind.
As the two boys followed the sisters to their room, Marc's eyes widened in amazement.
"Woaaah... this room is almost as big as the orphanage..."
Noria and Brea couldn't help but chuckle.
While Noria went to one of the drawers to retrieve some books, Brea motioned for the them to make themselves comfortable.
"Sit anywhere you like."
As Bell and Marc settled down, Brea suddenly exclaimed,
"Before we show you the books, let's properly introduce ourselves first."
Marc tilted his head.
"Huh? Didn't we already introduce ourselves at breakfast earlier?"
Brea smiled.
"We did, but I wasn't really able to introduce myself properly. So we'll do it again."
She turned toward her sister.
"And my sister also wanted to formally reintroduce herself, right, Noria?"
Noria smiled and nodded.
"Ooo okayy," Marc said excitedly while sitting beside Bell.
Brea then stepped forward and gave a graceful bow.
"My name is Brea."
She smiled.
"Brea Rel Larnd."
Marc immediately clapped his hands.
"Oooo"
Brea giggled and stepped aside.
Noria then walked forward and performed the same formal bow.
"My name is Noria."
She smiled sweetly.
"Noria Ler Larnd."
Marc clapped his hands again.
"You two have such pretty names!"
He quickly stood up.
"Now it's our turn, right Bell?"
Bell smiled softly and stood up as well.
"Yeah."
But before they could begin, Marc turned toward Bell.
"Bell, can we introduce ourselves with our full names too? Since they introduced themselves with their full names."
Bell's expression became slightly nervous, but he nodded.
Then Marc enthusiastically introduced himself.
"My name's Marc! Marc Mirari! I lived with Bell at the orphanage with Jenna! And I'm also nine years old!"
Brea's eyes brightened.
"Ooo, that means we're the same age then. Though I'm only a few months older than Noria."
Marc excitedly looked toward Bell.
"Ooo, Bell! Brea is the same age as us!"
Brea smiled before turning toward Bell.
"So what about you, Bell?"
Bell looked away nervously.
"Uhm..."
"I don't have a last name."
The three children froze in surprise.
"Whaaaat?" Marc exclaimed. "Is that why I've only ever heard Jenna call you Bell?"
Bell awkwardly lowered his gaze.
"I guess."
Though his thoughts were entirely different.
'Aughhhh, I don't knowwwww... I just randomly opened my eyes in this boy's body, and even the system I made didn't show any last name. Just Bell...'
'Maybe this boy really only had one name...'
Bell quietly sighed.
But when he looked back up, he saw Marc's eyes sparkling.
"Woaa! That's so cool!"
Bell blinked.
"Huh?"
"Only having one word as a name! It's super easy to remember!"
Noria and Brea nodded in agreement.
"Bell has a nice ring to it," Noria said with a smile.
"That's right. It's not something you should be embarrassed about," Brea added.
Marc turned toward her in confusion.
"Eh? Why would it be embarrassing?"
Both sisters tilted their heads in confusion as well.
Bell let out a small chuckle and explained.
"Because usually, only having one name means you're considered unworthy of existing... or that you've been abandoned."
"Something like that."
Marc's eyes widened.
"Whaaat?? That's so not true!"
"Bell, you're amazing and talented! Whoever thought of that is a jerk!"
Noria nodded firmly.
"That's right."
Brea smiled.
"A name doesn't decide someone's worth."
Bell stared at the three of them.
Then he quietly laughed.
"Pft."
"It's fine. I don't mind having only one name."