Silence.

Heavy.

Unsettling.

Alfred crossed his arms, his voice more serious now.

"If what you’re implying is true... then his growth rate won’t follow normal limits."

Eldric’s smile widened just slightly.

"It already doesn’t."

Another professor spoke, hesitant this time.

"Should we... keep a closer watch on him?"

Before Eldric could answer—

Elisa spoke.

"I’ll handle him."

Her tone was firm.

Certain.

All eyes turned to her.

She met their gazes without hesitation.

"He’s in my class."

A pause.

"And if he’s going to grow... I’ll make sure he does it properly."

Eldric looked at her for a moment.

Then gave a small nod.

"Very well."

In the cafeteria,

Asher and Noah were sitting together, as usual.

Then Aria joined them.

’Why is she here again?... Whatever. It doesn’t matter as long as no one disturbs my peaceful life,’ Asher thought.

Noah then asked, "Which optional subjects did you choose?"

Asher replied, "I chose cooking and potion making."

At that, both of them turned toward him and said, "Why would you choose those subjects? They aren’t useful in combat."

Asher answered, "Because I want to. Why would I care about anything else?"

Noah frowned. "You don’t even like cooking or potion making."

"Yeah, I don’t."

"Then why?"

Asher replied with a straight face, "To find some master chef in that class and hire them to cook for me. As for potion making, I just want to see if it’s possible to change the flavor of potions. They taste horrible."

Both of them fell silent after hearing his reply and thought, ’What kind of absurd reason is that?’

Asher simply continued eating.

Noah then said, "Aren’t you going to ask what subjects I chose?"

"I don’t care," Asher replied calmly.

’This annoying bastard,’ Noah thought internally while maintaining a smile on his face.

"I chose wilderness survival and beast ecology" said Noah.

Silence filled the table.

"Aren’t you going to say anything?" Noah asked when Asher didn’t comment further.

"Are you planning to start a YouTube channel and stream yourself surviving in the wild to earn a living?" Asher asked in a calm voice.

"No, you bastard. I want to become an adventurer to make a living," Noah replied.

Then, after thinking for a moment, he added,

"...But your idea is pretty good too. I’d probably earn more that way."

Aria, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke.

"You two seem quite close. It’s unusual for a commoner to treat a noble this casually."

At her words, Noah stiffened instinctively.

But Asher simply replied calmly,

"I just don’t care about things like status. Everyone is equal to me."

At his reply Noah relaxed.

"I chose Rune Formation and Illusion Spellcraft to further improve my spells," Aria said in a calm voice.

"No one asked you," Asher replied just as calmly.

At that, Noah looked at him as if to say, Who even says that?

But Aria remained completely calm, as though she had expected that response.

"I simply wanted to tell ," she said. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Asher replied plainly,

"No."

Trying to dispel the awkward atmosphere at the table, Noah quickly changed the topic.

"So, Asher... are you going to challenge someone else?"

"Why would I?" Asher replied. "I don’t care about rankings. I only wanted the privilege of skipping classes."

Noah stared at him for a moment.

"You challenged Rank 10... just to skip classes?"

"Yes."

"...You know most students would kill to enter the top ten, right?"

"Sounds troublesome," Asher replied while drinking juice through a straw.

Noah looked genuinely speechless.

Meanwhile, Aria quietly observed him.

No greed.

No ambition.

Not even pride after defeating someone stronger than almost the entire first year.

It was still strange to her.

Then Noah suddenly asked,

"If you hate classes so much, why join the academy in the first place?"

Asher answered immediately.

"Because staying home was boring."

Silence.

Noah slowly lowered his spoon.

"That’s your reason?"

"Yes."

"You joined the greatest academy on the continent because you were bored?"

"Yes."

"...I think the professors would cry if they heard that."

"They probably already know."

Honestly, Noah couldn’t even deny it.

At this point, most professors had likely realized that Asher treated the academy more like a vacation resort than a place of learning.

Then Aria spoke again.

"You really have no goals?"

Asher thought for a moment before replying.

"I do."

Both of them looked at him.

For once, his answer sounded serious.

"What is it?" Noah asked curiously.

"To live peacefully," Asher replied.

Noah blinked.

"...That’s it?"

"Yes."

"No dream to become stronger?"

"Not particularly."

"No desire for fame?"

"Sounds annoying."

"Wealth?"

"I already have enough."

"Authority?"

"Too much responsibility."

Noah stared at him blankly.

Then what exactly motivates this guy?

Meanwhile, Aria quietly looked at Asher.

His emotions remained calm while saying those words.

Meaning—

He truly meant them.

That was what made him so abnormal.

Most people lied to themselves.

They claimed they wanted peace while secretly desiring recognition or power.

But Asher genuinely seemed content with a simple life.

Then suddenly—

"You should still train properly," Noah muttered. "What if something dangerous happens in the future?"

Asher shrugged.

"I am already strong enough to survive"

Noah couldn’t even argue against that.

Then Aria asked calmly,

"If you value peace so much... why provoke people?"

Asher looked confused.

"I don’t provoke people."

Both Noah and Aria stared at him silently.

"...You asked Professor Elisa if it was her time of the month," Noah said flatly.

"I was joking."

"You asked if she wanted to see you naked."

"That was also a joke."

"You nearly gave half the class a heart attack."

"They’re overreacting."

Noah covered his face.

This man truly had no self-awareness.

A brief silence followed afterward.

"You guys want to try some juice?" Asher asked while summoning two packets from his subspace and tossing them toward them.

Both of them caught the packets and took a sip.

"It’s really good," Noah said in surprise.

"Of course it’s good," Asher replied calmly.

"It’s 100% pure. I specifically asked a juice company to make it for me."