I WAS The Rank–1 Hero-Chapter 105: A Soothing Pause

Reaching the location Anna sent me, I spotted them. The trio, Anna, Aria, and Julius were seated in the open cafeteria at Nova Campus.

Nova Campus offered various facilities, including restaurants, cafés, training halls, and more. While the authorities here weren't overly strict, the students were allowed to leave the campus as long as they returned before curfew, which was set at 9:30 PM. It was a good balance of both luxury and freedom in equal measure.

However, there was one rule that remained firm. No student was allowed to leave Frostvile City without Nova's explicit permission. It wasn't a matter of control, it was for their own safety.

Walking towards them, I took in my surroundings. Despite being a café, this place was rather grand and you could easily mistake it for a fancy restaurant.

A calming classical tune played in the background, and in the corner stood a grand piano.

'Is this seriously a café?' I thought.

But all my doubts vanished rather quickly when I noticed that almost all the students here were noble-born.

No doubt, this place looked like this despite being a mere café.

Damn you, rich people!

'Says the person who has over seven hundred million in his account.' Sera spoke.

'Hey, that was my hard-earned money!' I defended myself.

If I added up the value of all the artifacts and weapons I possessed, I might even cross the bar of over two billion.

'Tsk, rich!' Sera clicked her tongue.

Ignoring unnecessary thoughts, I continued making my way toward them.

"Oh, look! He's here," Julius was the first to spot me.

At his comment, Anna and Aria turned their heads toward me. Raising my hand, I lightly waved at them.

"Hey, good evening," I said.

Anna hissed at me, "What do you mean, 'good evening'?! It's about to be night."

Taking my seat beside Julius, I apologized.

"Sorry, I got a little late."

"Nah, it's fine, dude," Julius, beside me, casually waved his hand.

"Good evening," Aria greeted back, sitting beside Anna, across from both Julius and me.

Having spent most of the afternoon arranging and witnessing Sera's memories, I felt extremely tired.

Lazily settling into my seat, I yawned, my eyes drifting toward the plates in front of Aria. There were only a few remnants of cream left on them, making it easy to guess what she had eaten.

'Vanilla cake?' I tried to guess.

~Growl.

A light growl came from my stomach—I hadn't eaten since the afternoon.

"Pfttt… hehe," Aria lightly giggled.

But before she could say anything, I spoke first.

"I am starving."

"How indecent," Anna narrowed her eyes at me.

I responded, "There's nothing indecent about it. This is completely natural."

"Ugh!" Anna made a disgusted face at my reply. "Don't you feel even a little bit of embarrassment?"

"Not at all."

"You are impossible. Hmph!" Finally surrendering, she crossed her arms and puffed up her cheeks.

I found the whole thing… cute.

'Cheater! How dare you?!' Sera, for some reason, growled at me.

'What do you mean, cheater? What did I even do?' I fought back.

'S-Shameless!' She continued her chattering. 'How dare you call another woman cute?!'

'Wha—?!' I tried to argue, but no words came out

'That Ruby girl is going to be heartbroken… I am so disappointed in you, Zane.'

'…'

I was utterly defeated, and more than that, I felt disgusted with myself.

In the end, I blamed it all on my hormones.

"Oi..!" Anna kicked my foot beneath the table, grabbing my attention.

"...are you having indecent thoughts about me?" She said this while making a teasing face.

"Oh my..." Aria beside her covered her lips as she said this.

"How bold of you." Julius lightly poked my shoulder.

After everything with Sera—the haunting memories, the weight of her grief—this ridiculous conversation was a welcome change. It lightened my mood, so... I decided to teach Anna a lesson.

Now she will pay the price to mess with the former rank-1.

'Hehehehe...'

'I can't bear to watch this.' Sera spoke, 'And please stop with this weird laugh, It's creepy.'

Ignoring Sera, I Leaned forward, I rested my chin on my hand, my elbow propped against the table. I narrowed my eyes at Anna, letting a slow smirk creep onto my face.

"Indecent thoughts about you?" I mused, dragging out the words just enough to make her sweat. Then, I let the final blow land with perfect timing—

"Anna, please. If I ever had indecent thoughts, you'd be the first to know."

Her teasing expression froze.

"?!!"

A slight twitch in her lips. A slow realization. And then—

Bam!

Her face turned bright red.

A perfect reaction!

"Y-you shameless bastard!" She sputtered, slamming the table as Aria and Julius burst into laughter.

"Heeheehaahaa...hahaha!" Julius covering his mouth burst into laughter.

I leaned back, feeling satisfied. "You started it."

"That's—!" She pointed an accusing finger at me, struggling to find a comeback.

Julius wiped a fake tear from his eye. "I never thought I'd see the day Anna was defeated in a battle of words."

Aria giggled, shaking her head as she took another bite of cake. "This is truly historic."

Anna groaned, covering her face. "Ugh… I accept defeat."

"Heh." I lifted my head. "Don't mess with me."

"Tsk." She clicked her tongue. "Let's just order our food. I'm starving."

After calling the waiter, we placed our orders, and within a minute, all our dishes arrived. I was astounded by the service quality.

I had ordered a large bowl of rice with ham steak on the side. To be honest, it was decent—not even close to what my father could make.

'Now I really miss them.'

As I was munching on my rice, Sera's voice suddenly rang in my head.

'Hey, Zane.'

'Yes?' I responded.

What was she up to now? I swear, if she teased me while I was eating, I was seriously going to exorcise her.

'I want strawberry cake.'

"..."

Her demand left me speechless.

She once told me that she could experience everything I did in real-time through me. So, without questioning her, I called the passing waiter.

"Err... Excuse me," I said.

The waiter—no, the waitress—halted at our table.

"How may I help you, sir?" she asked politely.

"Can I get a strawberry cake?" I ordered.

'And butterscotch too.' Sera added.

"Umm... and butterscotch too," I sighed.

'And chocolate.'

My eye twitched, but I relented.

"...and a chocolate cake too."

The waitress hesitated for a moment, waiting to see if I would add anything else to the list. When I didn't, she asked cautiously,

"A-anything else, sir?"

I sighed internally and asked Sera, 'Anything else, oh my dear Queen?'

'Not at all, my dear host.'

"No, that's all," I finally said.

As I turned back to my group, I immediately regretted it.

Anna and Julius were staring at me, their eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Meanwhile, Aria had a completely different expression. Her eyes sparkled with a strange intensity, as if she had just found her destined rival.

Her gaze practically screamed: "At last! A worthy opponent! Our battle shall be legendary!"

Before anyone could say a word, I spoke first.

"I'm craving dessert."

"..."

"..."

"...I understand," Aria replied solemnly, her eyes still shining.

I hesitated. "C-cakes make a good dessert."

"I know," she nodded, as if this was an absolute truth.

I had just unknowingly joined a dessert-based ideology.

I had a strong feeling that, when it came to cakes, Aria would blindly agree with me on anything. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if she went as far as declaring cake a national dish.

'Hmmm... should I test this theory?'

In cake, we trust.

'Please leave her alone.' Sera sighed.

After finishing my meal—and all three cakes—I hardly had any space left in my stomach. Feeling full, I pushed my chair back and stood up. The others followed suit, and together, we made our way toward the open ground near the café.

In truth, I was the one leading them there, though none of them questioned it. They all understood the reason without needing an explanation. Despite the situation I was in, I found myself surprisingly calm.

At this moment, at Nova, only Ruby knew the truth about me and my skill, but that was about to change. I wouldn't reveal everything to them, yet I also had no intention of lying to them. Even though I had made my decision, a sliver of hesitation still lingered inside me. Could I truly trust them with this? Would they see me differently once they knew?

I exhaled softly, watching my breath disappear into the cool night air.

'No. Sera is right.'

The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.

After spending enough time with them, I finally understood why Sera had told me to place my trust in them.

With both hands tucked inside my jacket, I focused my thoughts, carefully considering how much to share. As we neared an empty bench, I turned to face the three of them, who had been quietly following behind me. Looking around, I activated my skill <Elemental View>. The map of my surroundings formed in my mind.

I nodded in satisfaction. "No one seems to be here." I deactivated my skill.

Then, turning to face them, I spoke.

"Alright."