"It is always better to get to know your immediate neighbors than some random nobles from the other end of the kingdom you might as well never see again."
"It isn't a foolproof conclusion, but it's better than nothing…"
Ace joined in and pointed out, making Tarkuazi nod as she took a big gulp out of her tankard - big enough to give herself a splendid milk mustache.
"Anyhow, that answers it. Alas, this King is still curious!"
The green-haired young man nodded his head benevolently before finishing his mead and pointing at the pair on the opposite side of the table.
"We're all friends here, so this King will be honest. Everyone knows the story regarding the two of you… but it is clear to us that our little Miss Genius is not just exerting some tyrannical control over our dear friend here. Up until now, this King showcased some great self-control and didn't pry, but... Is it okay for us to learn a bit more about the situation?"
"..."
Ace spoke pompously, and although Lazurii was on the verge of becoming upset, he recognized a significant change in the way his friend spoke and recognized his intentions through it - so he merely leaned back and waited without even glancing at the girl on his right.
"Our families are long-time allies. With the number of official and unofficial visits going back and forth between our houses, we ended up as childhood friends."
Tarkuazi explained while sipping the delightful drink.
"Childhood friends? I guess that works out. There is only a four-year difference between the two of you, after all…"
"Three years, seven months, and two days. Not full four years."
Ace nodded with understanding, but for some reason, Tarkuazi flinched and instantly corrected his words with a little bit too much intensity, to be honest…
"Is that so… at what age did you two meet?
The green-haired young man raised his brows and leaned back before inquiring, curious about how the situation would progress.
"The first… time…"
The girl's expression suddenly darkened, and she grumbled, sending a judgemental glare at the indifferent Lazurii.
"I don't know if that can count as a proper meeting, but the first time I saw this one was when I was four, and she was around six months old."
"That's right!"
Lazurii breathed out with a generous hint of annoyance and revealed, to which Tarkuazi nodded and slammed her tankard against the table, spilling some of the content.
"My mother let him hold me, and do you know what he said when he had a good look at me!?"
"I have no idea, but I am dying to learn about it!"
The girl got red in the face and gasped with anger, making Ace put away his empty tankard and lean in with an amused expression.
"Of course, I don't remember that, but my mother told me! He! That tactless brute looked at me and said - she's kinda ugly -!"
"PFFFFT! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
Taruazi declared in an exasperated voice while pointing her finger right in Lazurii's face, making Ace burst into a peal of hearty laughter.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA~!"
Leaning back and holding his sides, he barely stopped himself from crying out of pure amusement.
"What kind of person just looks at a six-month-old baby and says - she's kinda ugly?! How would I even...?! There is no makeup for babies! How was I supposed to prepare?!"
"Ahahahaha! Haaaa…! Oh, dear goddess! I can't! Pfahahaha! Kinda ugly…! W-wait…!"
Ace barely managed to contain his laughter and shook his head before asking while wiping his eyes.
"If that's the case, how come you choose to hang around him? If I said something like that about one of my sisters… no, scratch that. We're a rude bunch, and we call each other in much worse ways... But if I said something like that about any of my female cousins, they would never talk to me again!"
He said after a moment of hesitation, intrigued by the way the story was going.
"Hmph! Because of my honor, of course! Why would I let such disrespect slide? I made it my life's goal to make him take back his words and… and…? Fueeeh…?!"
"...!"
Tarkuazi scoffed and declared proudly but while she was talking, Lazurii reached his hand and lifted her chin, making her gradually stop talking and even let out a tiny embarrassed noise as he gently lead her to turn her head and face him - making even Ace lean back and stare at them wide-eyed.
"A young unmarried girl is speaking about her honor while in a tavern sitting by the same table with two well-known troublemakers… You're not paying attention to the actions that really matter and might even cause some unwanted, ridiculous rumors."
"..."
Lazurii sighed and pointed out while taking a handkerchief and wiping off the girl's milk mustache, but Ace on the other side of the table could clearly see by the looks in Tarkuzi's face that not even a word of what his friend said registered in her brain as she was gazing at the blue-haired young man all starry-eyed.
"Oh dear, would you look at the time! We should get going, shouldn't we? It's not good for students to be wasting a whole day in a tavern!"
"...!"
"...!"
Ace came in clutch, clapping his hands and declaring, making both Lazurii and Tarkuazi flinch. The reaction of the two was on the opposite sides of a spectrum - with the blue-haired young man gritting his teeth over the glaring mistake and the dark-brown-haired girl blushing with the cutest smile an innocent maiden could make.
"Miss, we're paying!"
Ace raised his hand and called over the barmaid.
"Ah! For my drink…!"
"No, no. This guy took your original drink and then ordered you something different all on his own. The least he can do is foot the bill for that."
"That's fair."
Tarkuazi gasped and reached out to her coat's pocket in a hurry, but Ace stopped her while pointing out, and Lazurii nodded in agreement, taking out a gold coin that made the approaching barmaid's eyes light up.
"...okay~"
The dark brown-haired girl blushed, putting her purse back before finishing her drink and standing up like the two young men.
"M-my lord! The change…!"
"Keep it for the trouble."
The trio began moving to the exit when the barmaid called out after Lazurii, but the blue-haired youngster shook his head and waved his hand dismissively.
"Whoops!"
As they were about to leave the tavern, a rather suspicious-looking individual in their way tripped over his own feet and let out a gasp while falling right at Tarkuazi.
"UGH!"
"...!?"
But before even coming close to her, he bounced off a massive translucent bluish bubble that appeared around the surprised girl, ending up hitting his back against the floor.
"Hey now, that isn't something a student of Brylant Academy should be doing! You all must not be of too high standing if you're hanging around in such a crappy place, though… Anyway, you've attacked my friend with your mag-hghngh?!"
The fallen man's friend - one out of the group of five others looking like some adventurers from another city - stood up and tried to approach the trio, but before he could finish his sentence, translucent blue wines wrapped around him and pulled him right back to his seat.
"...?"
"Let's go, little Miss Genius. People like that are better off ignored."
Tarkuazi looked over at him, but Ace stepped in and declared with a reassuring smile, taking the girl outside.
"...coming into the city, and the first thing you do is try to coerce some money out of the Brylant Academy's students?"
"MPFGHHHH!"
Lazurii stayed behind and let out a sigh while the translucent blue vines were constricting not only the one foreign adventurer but his entire group, including the one who got knocked to the ground… and the vines kept getting tighter and tighter, causing the incapacitated victims to let out muffled screams as their eyes got bloodshot.
"Once in a while, people like you need to become a lesson."
"MPFH…!"
*PA-WHOOOOOSH*
The blue-haired young man shook his head lightly… and the entire group disappeared without a trace in a flash of blue light in the middle of their muffled screams.
"...!"
As the entire tavern became ghastly silent, staring in horror at Lazurii, the young man turned around and pointed at the gold coin in the hands of the barmaid.
"For the trouble."
He said again, making it clear that he was anticipating the troubles before they happened and still acted the way he did with no hesitation, walking out with all the tavern's patrons and staff looking the other way, too fearful to risk meeting his cold gaze.
"Lazuri, what happened there?!"
Tarkuazi gasped, looking between the blue-haired young man and the tavern's door.
"Don't worry. I merely teleported the troublemakers to a place where they will not be able to bother anyone."
"Oh! I guess that's okay then… but next time, it's better to hand people like that to the guards."
Lazurii waved his hand dismissively and patted the girl's shoulder reassuringly, making her breathe out in relief before speaking up with authority much bigger than her petite frame.
"...teleported… sure… I'm guessing straight to the afterlife…"
"Hmhm~"
As the relieved Tarkuazi nodded and marched forward, Ace leaned into Lazurii and snickered in a hushed voice, making his blue-haired friend humm while shrugging his shoulders.
"That said. We should discuss when exactly we'll go on our little errand."
"..."
"Of course, but let's do that at a later date."
The green-haired young man stretched and spoke out loud, to which Lazurii nodded while glancing meaningfully at the very obviously eavesdropping Tarkuazi, who was trying to be sneaky about it but was failing miserably.