"Hello Bruce Pendragon or shall I call you by your real identity, the Bandit of Solitude?" Edward looked at his rival and unsheathed his sword.
Bruce and Deion stared at Edward for a moment and ignored him. The duo walked past Edward treating him like he didn't even exist.
"What should we eat for dinner today?" Deion asked Bruce.
"We could go to the restaurant in town or cook our own meal"
"I'm lazy today so let's go to a restaurant for dinner"
"You're forgetting that the good restaurants are far away too. We would have to walk very far"
"Yeah, you're right"
"How about we cook…"
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE YOU BASTARDS!" Edward screamed at the two as they ignored him to discuss frivolous things.
The duo stopped abruptly after hearing Edward's scream, but they continued to walk forward anyway. The two really had a knack at pissing people off.
"You've asked for this!"
Edward slashed the air and sent out sword qi at Bruce and Deion. Bruce finally looked back at Edward and held out his hand to block the incoming attack.
BOOM
To Edward's surprise, Bruce's unarmed hand blocked his attack. As he got ready to launch more attacks, Deion stopped him abruptly.
"What is it that you want?" Deion said to Edward.
"Isn't it obvious? I want to have a rematch against Bruce" Edward had been waiting all year to fight his rival again. When he found out about the latest rumors in the Imperial Academy, he connected the dots and figured out the real identity of the Bandit of Solitude.
Bruce made an annoyed face while Deion face palmed. Before Edward could even react, Deion moved next to his side and put his hand over Edward's shoulder.
"Why don't you come to dinner with us tonight?"
Edward so shocked at Deion's speed that he didn't even hear what Deion just asked of him.
"Edward, life is not all about fighting."
"Come on, I'll treat you to a nice meal today" Deion let go of Edward's shoulder and walked back to Bruce.
Meanwhile, Edward was so stunned that someone at his age managed to be much faster than him. He only thought that in this generation, Bruce was his only rival. He never expected for someone else to be stronger than him.
"Are you coming or not" Deion looked back at Edward who did not move at all from his current position.
"Yeah, I'll come" Edward finally accepted the reality and followed the duo back to their home.
As the trio almost reached the dorm, onlookers were surprised that Prince Edward Solomon was following behind Bruce and Deion. It didn't really matter to them because the cats have been out of the bag for a while.
"Welcome to my humble home" Deion said as the trio walked through the door.
Unlike Bruce's dorm, Deion's dorm has a small kitchen that he could cook in. Deion pulled out ingredients from his storage ring and began prepping the meal. He gave a look at Bruce to remind him to talk to Edward.
Bruce saw the look and nodded.
"You can sit down on the sofa Edward, no need to be so tense" Bruce was laying down on the sofa while Edward stood in the living room not knowing what to do.
He had come prepared to fight Bruce and yet he was standing inside a living room waiting to eat with his rival.
"Thank you" Edward finally sat down on the sofa.
"I know you have a lot of questions so ask away" Bruce knew that Edward was obsessed with the Bandit of Solitude. With the upcoming mission, it was a good idea to get Edward on their side.
"Why did you become the Bandit of Solitude?" This was the question that Edward wanted to ask when he defeats his rival.
"First of all, I am not the Bandit of Solitude"
"Both Deion and I are the Bandit of Solitude"
Edward was surprised when Bruce revealed the secret.
"But why?"
"Unlike you who has everything when you were born, I didn't have the same privilege" Bruce became melodramatic as he recalled the arduous journey that he took to get here.
"Many people want to destroy the star that shines the brightest. Being the Bandit of Solitude helped me reach this point without attracting too much attraction"
"Luckily, I found Deion in the academy. He agreed to share my burden as well"
"I see" Edward understood what Bruce implied. Life would not be easy for someone so talented to be born without great backgrounds.
"But why do you use a frying pan as your weapon" The frying pan still haunts Edward to this day.
"I'll admit that it started as a joke as first, but I became attached to the frying pan" Bruce got out the frying pan he just crafted and caressed it gently.
Edward looked at the golden frying pan with runes embedded on it with his eyes wide opened. He pointed at the frying pan and muttered.
"What is that abomination!" Edward freaked out when he saw the glowing frying pan.
"This is my new baby, I plan to use it in this year's exam" Bruce cheerfully swung the pan around causing shock waves in the air.
"You're the devil!" Edward could already imagine the emotional damage that will inflict upon the students once they encounter the frying pan.
"Devil? I'm simply trying to harden my fellow peers to prepare them for this harsh world!" Bruce put away the pan and started to lecture Edward.
"Simmer down you two, food is ready"
Deion brought out the meal for dinner which comprised of freshly baked bread with layered pickles, cheese, tomato, and chicken.
Edward took a bite out of the sandwich and kept eating until everything was gone. He thought that the sandwich was the most delicious sandwich he had eaten in his life.
"How did you make such a delicious sandwich with barely any ingredient?" Edward had low expectation when he saw the ingredients available in the kitchen, but Deion managed to surprise him once again.
"As long as the ingredients are fresh, you can make a good dish with proper technique" Deion replied seemingly pleased that someone like Edward enjoyed his food.
"You should hire us chefs if you want to eat more good food" Bruce smirked.
"Haven't both of you rob me enough already?" Edward complained.
"Not our fault that you're not strong enough to beat us every year" Bruce laughed.
"Now that we've eaten, let's fight" Edward's fighting spirit lit up once again.
"Do you have money to give to us if you lose" Bruce asked.
"No…."
"Then the answer is also no" Bruce laughed and laid on the sofa once again.
"What's wrong with you? Why do you need to rob people when you fight them?" Edward was truly frustrated at this greedy bandit.
"It's because I'm poor" Bruce shamelessly replied.
"How can you be poor after stealing from everyone for 6 years!" Edward refuted.
"I'm a very high maintenance bandit" Bruce proudly proclaimed.
Seeing Edward's depressed face, Bruce finally gave up.
"Fine, we can have one duel."
Edward's face lit up and the trio went to a dual arena. Students started to gather and some even called out their friends to come see the match.
Bruce didn't mind people showing up as he wanted to show off in front of Meredith.
"It seems like people are showing up. Why don't we wait for a few minutes so that the match is more fun?" Bruce suggested.
"Fine by me" Edward had been training crazily this past year to surpass Bruce, having an audience to witness his victory was ideal as well.
After 10 minutes, almost everyone in the Imperial Academy showed up to see the duel. Meredith and Chelsey were in the crowd as well. On the hill above the dual arena, Sophia also spectated the fight.
"Looks like the crowd is wild. Shall we get started?" Bruce put his hands up in a fighting stance.
"Bruce Pendragon, show me your strongest move!" Edward unsheathed his sword for the second time that day. He already prepared different counter methods for the frying pan while both of them waited for the crowd to show up.
"Let's have some fun" Bruce proclaimed.
The fight began.