Well shit, the other trainees are back.

"Wait what? This isn't my room?" Zeigel looked around with an exaggerated look of shock. "Whoops, my bad. I'll just take my leave and go."

"You're not going anywhere until you tell us how you got in." Said the girl with the green ponytail. She glanced at the pan behind him and approached him to inspect his cooking. "Turn the heat down a little." She instructed. "It'll easily burn if the heat is too high."

Zeigel did as he was told and lowered the heat while giving a strange look at the girl who was still inspecting his food.

"Oh hey! I've got something for this!" The girl suddenly exclaimed. "Wait right here!" She told him before darting off and coming back with a wooden box. She took off the cover, revealing an array of containers filled with what was probably spices. She grabbed each of them and inspected them one by one before placing them on the kitchen counter.

Zeigel watched her in confusion and turned to the other trainees who gave him a shrug.

"I got it!" The girl held up a container of red dust. She sprinkled some into the pan, creating a loud sizzle. "Now, just cover it and it'll be ready in about two minutes." She told him while placing a lid on the pan.

"Wow, I bet it'll turn out great. That red thing is definitely gonna make it real tasty." Zeigel said while slowly backing away from the girl.

She grabbed ahold of his arm before he could leave and shot him an icy look. "You're not leaving until you explain how you got in here."

Fuck.

----------------------------------------

Zeigel shoveled food into his mouth as he listened to each of the trainees introduce themselves, occasionally nodding to acknowledge them. After finishing his meal, he created a tissue to wipe his mouth with.

"That was delicious, thanks for the meal." He said while wiping his mouth. He stood up and bowed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave and go."

"Sit." Illia firmly ordered. "You can leave after you answer our questions. To start off, why don't you introduce yourself like the rest of us did."

"Ugh, fine." Zeigel groaned. "I'm Zeigel. Can I leave now?"

"No."

"This is considered kidnapping you know."

"Except we didn't forcefully bring you here. You're the one who broke in."

"I didn't break in."

"Then how did you get in here?"

"Illia wait. There's something more important I need to know." Vesfira interjected. "What's up with this dude's eyes?"

Zeigel sighed. "I have heterochromia okay."

"I don't care about your hetorokroma, I wanna know how you got those funky looking eyes."

I swear to god, if another one of them makes fun of my eyes...

"Don't you think it's more important to make sure he didn't steal anything from us?" Koidra asked.

"Good point. Empty your pockets now Zeigel." Bora demanded.

Zeigel did as he was told and pulled his pockets inside out. "Look, nothing in my pockets. Can I go now?"

"No, there's still something very important that we need to know." Said Vitren. "There was girl with a mask sitting here earlier, do you know her?"

"Her name's Saliza. She's a friend of mine who joined the vanguards with me."

Nervously, Vitren asked, "Are the two of you dating?"

"Hell no." Zeigel swiftly answered.

"Yes!" Vitren rejoiced.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Eh? You're both not dating?" Vesfira exclaimed in surprise. "But why?"

"What do you mean 'why'? Is there supposed to be a reason for me to not be dating her?"

"So you're telling me that the two of you have been working together all this time but there's been no romance between the two of you?"

"She's just a friend. Not a lover, not someone I will ever be romantically interested in, just a good friend."

"Are you sure? What if she's secretly in love with you."

"That's enough Vesfira." Bora told her. "I already told you so many times to stop shipping people together, it's not nice."

"But how could a boy and a girl fight side by side together for so long and not develop any feelings for each other?"

"Did the number of people you've made uncomfortable in Sadonia not teach you that a boy and a girl could simply be friends and not lovers."

"Friendships are so boring to watch though..."

Bora glanced at Zeigel and got a nod of thanks from him.

"But that's actually good news." Said Vitren. "That means-"

"I don't think she'll date you either dude." Koidra told him.

"You don't know that. She could be the one I was looking for all this time."

"Twenty dollars says she'll reject you."

"Deal." Vitren confident agreed. "She's definitely the one, I'm telling you."

"Sure she is." Koidra snickered.

"Guys, can we're getting sidetracked here. We still need to find out how he got in." Said Illia.

"Oh, Saliza was the one who got us in. I don't know how she did it so you'll have to ask her yourself." Zeigel lied through his teeth.

"If that's the case, then I'll question her when I see her. Now, what were you two doing in our room?"

"Recently I began learning how to cook, but that masked moron burnt down my kitchen, so she helped me get in to use yours."

"Wait, you want to learn how to cook?" Illia's eyes lit up in excitement. "If you want, I can teach you."

"That depends, is it for free?"

"Of course! We can start right now!" Illia got up from her seat and grabbed Zeigel by the arm.

"Eh? Now?"

"Everyone else hasn't eaten yet. I can teach you while making breakfast for them. I'll be showing you how to make sunset omelettes." She said while dragging Zeigel into the kitchen with her.

"Huh, Illia looked surprisingly happy to teach that guy." Said Koidra. "Even happier than when we bought her that expensive meal."

"I think I know why." Vesfira said with a wide grin. "It's clearly love at first sight."

"Stop making these sort of assumptions! You've already offended so many people!" Bora scolded.

Just as Vitren was about to speak up, Bora shot him a murderous glance that kept him silent.

"Well, whatever the reason is, it's good to see her this happy, especially after what happened yesterday." Koidra said, getting a nod of agreement from everyone.

"So sunset omelettes doesn't require much to make, but it's a little tricky to cook." Illia explained as she gathered the ingredients in the kitchen.

"Yeah, sure. By the way, isn't there supposed to be six of you guys?" Zeigel asked.

"There's one more person you haven't met yet, and thankfully he isn't joining us for breakfast." Her mood immediately worsened. "His name is Laren, and unfortunately for us, he's a Wreistar."

"Really? He is?" Zeigel asked, acting as if it was shocking news.

"I'm afraid so, and because of that, he developed a superiority complex that came with a massive and fragile ego."

"So he's an insufferable and pompous brat then. Bloody hell, he must've been such a pain in the ass."

"That's honestly quite an understatement." Illia sighed. "It's best to steer clear of him and avoid doing anything that would provoke him."

"That shouldn't be too much of an issue for me, but I'm worried about Saliza."

"Why's that?"

"She's an annoying little shit who's too much of an expert at pissing off people."

"O-Oh, I see..."

"If that Laren guy really is as much of an oversensitive bastard you describe him as, then he'll definitely cause problems with Saliza."

And if he does anything to her, he's going straight to hell.

"Well, if anything were to happen just let me know and I'll do whatever I can to help." Illia reassured. "By the way, are you on bad terms with that friend of yours? The way you described her makes it sound like you're not very fond of her."

"Oh no, I don't hate her or anything. Sure, she can get really annoying at times, but I wouldn't consider someone as kind hearted as her to be a bad friend. Ah, Don't tell I what I said or I'll be relentlessly teased for days."

"Sounds like you've found yourself quite a friend." Illia chuckled.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" Zeigel asked.

"Sure, what is it?" Illia happily agreed.

"As vanguards, we often risk our lives to face monsters and unknown threats. I'm a little worried that one day, I won't be in this world anymore."

"Hey, don't worry about it too much, You're not going to die." Illia quickly reassured. "I won't let anything happen everyone here."

"Not my point. What I'm worried about is what'll happen to Saliza when I'm gone. There's no doubt she'll be devastated, and that's where you and everyone else comes in." In a tone that almost made him sound like he's begging, Zeigel continued, "Please, be a good friend to her, good enough that she can forget about me and move on with her life."

I want my departure from this world to be free from regrets. When I'm back on Earth, I want to forget about everything here. The people I met, the experiences I had, I want all of it gone from my mind when I'm back home.

"I'm sorry to say, but it's impossible for us to make her forget about you." Illia told him.

"What? But why? I'm just a friend, I'm not anyone special. Besides, she'll have five other people to replace me with."

"You said that she'll be devastated if she loses you, correct? Then it's proof that you're someone important to her. No one could possibly replace you, no matter how well they treat your friend."

Zeigel didn't know how to respond and was left with a look of worry on his face. Seeing this, Illia continued.

"Instead of worrying about what'll happen in the future, focus on what you can do now. Give her memories that she can smile at when you're gone."

"That...but would I still regret disappearing from her life? Not that I want to of course."

"Would you regret being a good friend to her?"

"No?"

"Then you have your answer."

"Oh..."

So I really won't regret it? God, I hope so.

"Now, let's get started with our first cooking lesson." Illia said with a gentle smile.