Eternal Freedom's Ascension-Chapter 54: Interest (2)

"Hm?" Kaiser paused eating again, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"You studied my routine. Indeed, although not all the time, I do read with that Class-D girl in the library."

"As for considering interest..." He tapped the spoon against the plate twice. "True, the girl has a tendency tendency to possess a color in my eyes."

He spoke calmly, though he placed a special emphasis on the word ’color’.

"Color? What do you mean?" Hazel was immediately confused, wondering about the hidden meaning of his words.

Still silent at the side, Ariel thought. ’Color... does that mean he values the quality he describes as color? Kaiser rarely shows interest in people. To truly capture his attention... Hazel must have the tendency to possess a color?’

His thoughts were surgical, immediately dissecting the thought process behind Kaiser’s words.

And truly, he guessed right. Kaiser was someone who yearned for freedom. If known to others, they might question his inaction since enrolling in the academy. Why hadn’t he caused big waves, fighting against the rules and becoming extremely renowned?

Unfortunately, that idea was quite wrong. Kaiser’s expression of freedom was for a creature to possess its own color—a representation of its true self, wild and unrestrained.

He himself, alongside many others, had possessed their respective color upon birth. However, everyone gradually lost their color upon aging.

’It is because of the environment—the world. It shapes and modifies us... shifting us from our free state.’

How amazing it would have been... if everyone could one day regain their true color.

’Beautiful...’

Kaiser’s eyes became upturned like that of an intoxicated man, his smile dazzling.

Seeing that weird look in his eyes, Hazel involuntarily shivered.

’What the hell is wrong with him???’

Kaiser snapped out of his dreamy state quickly, and resumed eating like nothing happened.

"You aren’t going to answer me?"

Haze took a breath, then asked sternly. At this point, she was determined to get to the bottom of this matter.

Kaiser calmly took the last bite of his lunch, then wiped his lips with a tissue.

"Our appointment duration is over. Now, if you’d excuse me..."

His expression had reverted to the usual bored look, and he smoothly left the cafeteria.

A vein appeared on Hazel’s temple, and she reigned in the urge to punch him in the face.

"You—"

Ariel tapped her shoulder, shaking his head. It was best they didn’t find trouble with him.

’Tch. So annoying!’

The girl huffed, but controlled herself.

"When you find a situation lacking, you need to observe more."

"Observe more, you say... that’d be quite annoying."

"It’s necessary and efficient."

"Whatever you say. It’s about time we return to class."

...

The next few days in school continued as usual. The upperclassmen returned from their own Nirad Raid, surprised to realize that the freshmen had finished earlier. No one paid special attention to the anomaly, and the results for the students with the highest kill count were updated.

From the third-year Class-A was President Anthony Thornheart of the Student Council. He retained his position as the top student among his level, solidifying his fame and prestige in the hearts of the other juniors.

From the second-year Class-B was Vice President Ajila Eren of the Student Council. His fame was not any less than Anthony’s, but he was more renowned as a playboy by the student body.

While the whole academy paid some attention to these two, someone else had become quite infamous in the past few days.

Kaiser Solace.

The first-year student from Class-E who unexpectedly placed first in the rankings. Both freshmen and upperclassmen were shocked by this result, as everyone was aware of the academy’s placement.

Wasn’t Class-E supposed to be a class full of the worst defects? People who were like mud that couldn’t be used to plaster a wall? How come that defective class produced a student who could top the rankings?

Curiosity birthed interest, and many began to sought him out. After several tries, one thing was confirmed—Kaiser was a prick.

Anyone who approached him was treated like air, not even spared a single glance.

Several people had approached him using several methods, but they seemed invisible to him. Even when someone blocked his way, he would simply sidestep without looking at the person.

At this point, almost everyone viewed him as an arrogant guy with no minimum respect for others.

"That junior from Class-E. Does he believe he’s on top of the world?"

"Hmph. I guess they aren’t clear about how harsh the school is."

"Yeah, just because of a song raid, he’s feeling like Merlin. Hah!"

Discussions sparked amongst the seniors, and people rarely approached him any longer.

Well, today was a rare occurrence. While Kaiser was reading in the library, a particular first-year approached him slyly.

"Ara~ I didn’t expect that I’d run into the infamous Solitude-Guy of our level in the library."

A girl with long lilac hair leaned over from his side, staring at his face as if he was some artifact.

"Oh?"

The look in her eyes attracted Kaiser’s attention, and he turned to look at her. Sporting a beautiful face and figure, the girl looked remarkable even at first glance. Unfortunately, she lacked color—just like everyone else.

"Ara~ You actually looked at me. This is a surprise." The girl straightened herself, then snapped open a folding fan to cover her lower face.

Kaiser paused his reading, then turned to her with his signature look.

"Why is that a surprise?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Maya had messaged him earlier that she wouldn’t be available to read a novel with him today, so he was willing to give this strange creature a bit of his time.

"Ara~ Do you mean you don’t know? Rumors are flying everywhere about how you’re so cold and arrogant, ignoring anyone who tries to talk to you."

Listening to her explanation, he nodded in understanding. Seeing as he didn’t respond, the girl continued.

"Now that you looked at me, I suddenly feel special. Or could it be... you’re captivated by my charm?"

A rosy blush colored her cheeks, though the purple fan hid most of it.

"Charm?" Kaiser smiled faintly. "You do not possess the charm I seek. However, you’re quite tolerable. State your reason for coming to see me."

She folded her fan, her smile and blush receding slowly. "So you noticed?"

Kaiser folded his arms and leaned back. "You mean your little lackey stalking me for a few days now?"