During their journey back to the academy from Armin's house, the three troublemakers were worried.
The atmosphere back at the house was good, but they were afraid Siena's mood would change.
Whilst continuing to walk on eggshells, they glanced at Siena from the corner of their eyes, she was just walking without saying anything, and her eyes were glued to the ground.
Shirone's heart felt heavy seeing her down.
Had it not been for the childhood accident, they could have developed a good relationship.
However, she did not want to blame Armin for suddenly getting married because she knew he had left her alone in order to help her relieve herself of the guilt.
Nade grumbled.
"Tsk. I really can't understand the relationship between a man and a woman."
"You can't. It's not like everything in the world flows the way you want it to flow. It just happens."
"I honestly don't want to see her like that. I'd rather her be angry at us like at the academy."
Nade walked faster to catch up to Siena.
"Teacher."
"Hm, huh?"
"We're hungry. Please buy us a meal since we're already outside."
She looked at him with an expression of absurdity.
Getting disciplined would not even be enough considering what they did, and yet the young man was asking her for a meal, no less.
"You… Are you serious? You still have an appetite in this situation?"
"Who cares? A man's gotta eat to live. Even if I go back to get disciplined, I'll have to fill my stomach up first."
Shirone cut in.
"Yes, Ms. Siena. Let's eat before we return. I'm hungry."
Yiruki decided to pitch in.
"If so, then I have a suggestion. Let's go to the aristocratic district first. It's close to the academy, and I know a very delicious and expensive restaurant."
Siena didn't even have the will to get annoyed.
Although her students' attitude was a little dubious, she also vaguely guessed why they were doing this.
Besides, she didn't want to go to the academy in this mood, either.
Not to mention, she was off duty today.
"Alright, alright. You guys must be very tired after the stunt you pulled off, so let's eat. However, be prepared when we head back to the academy."
"Hehe! Yes, ma'am!"
Nade winked back at the other two.
His primary goal was to lift up Siena's mood, but if their teacher's anger subsided in the meantime, then that would be icing on the cake.
Arriving in the aristocratic district, Yiruki took them to a brightly lit restaurant.
Shirone's mouth opened wide in front of the six-story building.
Yhe entrance was very unusual. The pillars supporting the balcony were carved entirely from white ivory, and statues representing divinities from fantasies were guarding the left and right sides.
Gold Cupid.
That was the name of the restaurant
It was a top-notch restaurant where all the food was premium.
"Wow! I haven't been here either. Today is just getting better and better. Shirone, let's go in quick."
"Huh? Well…"
Shirone turned to Siena.
As expected, she was staring at the sign with hollow eyes and cheeks.
It was the most expensive restaurant in the neighborhood, so it was understandable, but above all, there was no way one would choose a restaurant like this unless they had the intention of swindling their instructor.
Siena sighed.
"Yes, let's eat here."
"OHOOO! As expected of our teacher! So generous! Her wallet must be really out of the ordinary! "
Yiruki joined Nade's flattery.
"How foolish. You shouldn't evaluate our teacher's generosity with just this. If you are a certified Grade 6 mage, you can come and go to a restaurant like this as if it's your own kitchen at home. Isn't that right, teacher?"
"Nevermind that, just get in there quickly. We have to eat and go straight to the academy, okay?"
It was Shirone's first time in a restaurant dedicated to aristocrats, so he was surprised by the interior, which was much larger than he imagined from the outside.
The tables were set up sparsely enough to be considered a waste of space. And one side of the bar was decorated with colorful crystals.
Of course, all the guests were aristocrats, and it was clear from their accessories that they were retainers of Creas.
"Shirone! This way!"
Shirone, who was watching everything in fascination, headed to the table.
Nade and Yiruki also looked around from time to time, but they didn't look intimidated by the extravagance.
A staff member took their order. He was a cheesy guy with an interesting hairstyle. Shirone and his friends noticed how he would keep turning his gaze towards Siena, which they felt quite unpleasant about.
No matter how eye-catching a woman was, a man should not blatantly commit such rudeness when she was accompanied by people. It was obvious he took Siena's companions lightly seeing that they were students.
"Welcome. Thank you for visiting Gold Cupid. Since such a beautiful person has come, I'm not quite sure what to do."
Nade's lips jutted out.
'Tsk, wasn't this a top-notch restaurant? What's wrong with the service? He's totally treating us like kids…'
With that in mind, he looked through the menu.
He was doing a mental calculation to order the most expensive food to prove him wrong.
When Nade ordered a course meal, Yiruki also ordered another course meal without much thought.
Shirone, on the other hand, was struggling. There wasn't a single item he knew.
How would Shirone know if braised Olaris was meat, fish, or a monster's tongue?
Still, he ordered the same thing as Nade because he didn't want to be left out. Yiruki's menu just made him too anxious.
The face of the staff member hardened seeing the series of VIP-only menus being placed.
The first thought that came to his mind was if they could even afford it.
All their items were premium, in fact, their highest-price dishes were triple the cost of their lowest-price dishes. If they were ignorant students who were ignorant of their own actions, it might lead to a situation where they would have to pay twelve times the expected price.
The staff member gave anxious eyes to Siena, but she was also busy choosing her own menu.
"I'd like the Dasco course, please. And a bottle of Limunes."
Siena didn't drink often, but on days she felt gloomy, she would drink cognac.
Limunes was a vanillscented drink that was popular among women.
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"Oh? Teacher, you drink?"
"Why? Can I not? You guys pick locks of other people's houses, but I can't even drink?"
Nade immediately tucked his tail.
"Haha, that's true. Oh, you are off duty today, right?"
The staff member butted in.
"Then… We'll have those ready for you soon."
Shirone's friends smirked at the employee who couldn't say anything more than that.
But soon after, all four of them realized that they had ordered course meals. The images of the price tags floated inside their heads, but Siena didn't seem to care much.
'Right. She is a certified Grade 6 mage.'
A certified Grade 6's income could be placed in the top 10% of the aristocratic society.
Furthermore, she worked at the Alpheas Magic Academy, one of the top five prestigious academies in the kingdom, so without even accounting for her being an Olifer, she could pretty much live a grandiose life.
'Come to think of it, our teacher, she's really successful.'
Of course, Siena was someone who pursued her dream, not money. However, Shirone, the son of a mountaineer, knew better than anyone how hard it was to live that kind of life.
Due to the course meal multiplying to four, plates of food kept being placed on their table with no rest.
Customers who were sitting at other tables glanced with wide eyes.
However, Shirone and his friends did not care. They were just bent on tasting each other's food.
It was said that nobles valued keeping up appearances, but such a thing was nonexistent between friends.
As their stomachs began to reach their limits, the flying forks and knives returned to their original positions.
Since they had finished eating, the trio started talking about magic.
It was Siena's first time hearing her student's everyday conversations, so she listened with interest.
The laughter did not leave their table, and the depressing atmosphere was gone. Nade's strategy worked.
"Hehehe. Teacher, this unworthy student of yours will pour a drink for his respected master."
"Hmph. Do you think I'll let you off the hook? I'm simply not saying anything since this is a place to eat. Be prepared when we go back."
"Sure, sure. You're absolutely right. Here, take it."
Nade's affable personality made the atmosphere even lighter.
Siena didn't seem to hate it. She took the alcohol she was given.
Shirone asked, worried because it was a strong drink.
"Ms. Siena, haven't you had enough? I think you're drinking too much."
"This much? It's fine."
"Certainly, for sure. She's a certified Grade 6 mage. She won't just lose to some alcohol."
Siena caught on. She laughed at Nade's search for an opening and sneered.
"How dare you. Trying so desperately. But it's okay. I'm not so easily intoxicated."
She took the strong liquor straight in.
An hour later.
"Hey! Hey, you! You, I'm talking to you, Nade!"
"Yes, ma'am."
Siena was leaning against the clear-out table with her arm. Her face was red, and she was flailing her hand in the air.
Within an hour, the bottle was emptied, and Siena's eyes were losing their focus.
Shirone and his friends looked at each other, nervous.
'What should we do? Our teacher's drunk."
".....Mm, yes..."
Siena's head dropped while she was mumbling something in an incoherent and small voice.
Nade caught her in a hurry as she was about to fall off from her chair.
"Teacher, are you okay? Let's start heading back."
"You troublemaker!"
Siena raised her hand to pinch Nade's cheek. She pulled it relentlessly. His face was stretched, pulled, and squished, but Nade couldn't push her hand away.
"OUUCH! It hurts!"
"I'm telling you to listen and be obedient! I want to become a good teacher like Ms. Ethella, you know? So please stop straying into weird things and study, for the love of god!"
"Okay, okay! I get it, Teacher! It really hurts!"
"And Shirone, Yiruki."
"Yes, ma'am."
Shirone and Yiruki straightened their backs and took a more proper stance.
"The same goes for you two as well. If you decide to slack off simply because you believe in your talent, I won't forgive you. I don't care if you think I'm a bad teacher. I'm not going to forgive you."
"Nobody thinks you're bad. So please, can you please get a grip?"
"Hoooh. Yes, I know. Why did I buy it and suffer like this? Mm."
Siena's eyes closed halfway, and she buried her face in her arm that was resting on the table.
Nade was taken aback.
"Teacher, snap out of it! Teacher? We haven't even paid yet!"
"I'm gonna sleep."
Nade slowly looked back at his friends with a blank face at the sound of her breathing slowing down. This time, they couldn't do anything about it.
As they were struggling to overcome this difficulty, two men watching from the table across approached.
"Oh, my. This lady must be very drunk. Let me help. Shall we get a carriage ready?"
He was a neat-looking young man, and behind him, a handsome man was smiling deftly.
The eyes of Shirone and his companions grew cold at the same time.
Being wary of their surroundings had become a habit for the trio. From the moment they entered the restaurant, they had seen the two men pointing to Siena and having rude conversations.
Of course, the three didn't think they would actually approach them.
'These bastards…'
Nade really didn't want to cause any more trouble today, so he pressed down his anger and shook Siena.
"Teacher? Teacher, wake up."
" …Huh?"
Siena leapt to her feet. She looked around, and soon, her unfixed gaze regained its focus.
"Is it time already? I can still drink some more."