"Say, how did you do it?"
When their tankards became half empty, Ace leaned over the table and asked Lazurii with a mischievous smirk.
"How did you bypass young Graniteis's All-rebound? Even though you're much stronger, and even though you had your mana shield on, that kid shouldn't have flown back like that. All-rebound is a royal-type ability. Its user isn't affected by either the strength or momentum of the attack."
The green-haired youngster asked before leaning back and taking another sip of his mead.
"You really ought to be paying attention, Ace. Royal-type abilities are so well known that almost all have valid strategies against them… the thing is, most of the time, those strategies aren't worth shit in the heat of a battle."
"Oho~?"
Lazurii snickered, waving his hand dismissively before picking up his tankard while his friend let out an intrigued voice.
"Young Graniteis was trying to interrupt the duel. He was the one jumping at me out of nowhere. I was so surprised, in fact, that I didn't consider it an attack, so I simply shoved him to the side, rejecting his challenge. Since it was during a duel with someone else and in the gymnasium protected by a lot of spells, my actions weren't considered hostile in the slightest, so… it just happened."
"And how come he injured himself with his own equipment?"
The blue-haired young man pointed out while downing most of his mead, while Ace raised his brows and asked further.
"Not my fault at all."
Lazuri pointed out, glancing at the Ace from over his tankard's rim.
"He basically attacked himself. Since he was the one inflicting the damage upon himself without anyone else's help, it didn't trigger his ability, which works against outside forces."
As he finished up both his explanation and his mead, Lazurii breathed out, leaning back into the seat.
"Ha! So, every royal-type ability does have its flaws! And people get me so much shit for Veto Rex being a flawed one!"
Ace scoffed triumphantly, also finishing his mead in one go and slamming the tankard against the table.
"Care for another one?"
The green-haired young man was already raising his hand to get the barmaid's attention, but first, he turned to his friend and asked.
"I'm good. Sweet stuff fills me up right away. Do take another one for yourself, though. Your alcohol tolerance is always a feat to behold."
Lazurii shook his head while patting his stomach before letting out an amused laugh.
"Miss! One more heated mead with nutmeg, if you will!"
After giving Lazuri a short nod, Ace raised his hand and called out over the entire tavern in a flashy manner typical for him.
"Coming right up!"
The girl called back, and Ace sat back down with a smile.
"Speaking of which. After my recent level-up, I began to feel that strange urge…. I feel like I must hunt down a strong monster. Really strong monster."
"..."
For a moment, the green-haired young man's face turned completely serious, and he said cautiously as if gauging his friend's silent reaction.
"I am the first person born with Veto Rex in almost a century, and all records I could get my hands on show that my predecessor could shut off even royal-type abilities for a good few minutes… but for some reason, in my case, besides working similarly to debuff spells my Veto Rex can only affect the lower class ones, and at a fraction of that time. What if… and just if, of course… My Veto Rex is… similar to normal abilities that level up… but since it's the royal type, it is… sealed off or whatever for whatever reason - and that urge to hunt a strong monster is linked to that."
Ace breathed out and said while shifting on his seat in unease.
"You mean that you believe that what you feel is an upgrade quest for Veto Rex."
"Yeah. Essentially."
Lazurii asked up front, and his friend nodded his head in confirmation.
"If you want my honest opinion. It's stupid. There has never been a single recorded instance of a royal-type ability being limited in a way requiring unlocking, and it's highly possible that the feeling you have is an internalized need to prove yourself. And since nothing I will say will convince you to reconsider the reckless escapade, is it okay for me to join you on the hunt?"
The blue-haired man sighed, shaking his head in disbelief before looking at his green-haired friend and asking in a tired voice without ever changing his tone.
"How are your healing spells? I get a really bad feeling when I think of having allies helping me fight, but the same bad feeling is not there when I imagine a healer joining me and supporting me from the sidelines."
Ace snickered and asked back before giving some context.
"I know a few low-rank spells that might fit the bill. I imagine I would be able to heal you through something like a point-blank dragon's breath. The pain would not be reduced, but at least you will not end up as enamel on the ground."
"Perfect! Consider yourself hired as the official healer of my party~! It's really reassuring that I will not have to worry about your safety since you will take care of yourself just fine~ Oho~! Thank you~!"
Lazurii pointed out and smirked, which made Ace chuckle right before he leaned to the side, making space for the barmaid to bring him his order and take the empty tankards with her…
…but as the girl was walking away, the number of tankards on the table - and full of steaming mead to boot - remained the same as the number of people seated instead of decreasing...
"...nn..."
"Excuse me, there seems to be a mix-up!"
Seeing the troubled expression on Lazurii's face at the sight of the unwanted portion of the alcohol-enhanced beverage, Ace raised his hand again to correct the mistake.
"Everything's in order, Ace! That one's mine!"
"..."
Suddenly, someone else showed up at their table, declaring confidently, causing Lazurii to stare up with a grim expression, expecting some annoyance to bother him and his friend, as was sometimes the case.