High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1022: Chapter 84 A Small Gathering in the Pavilion

The speech on the small square in front of the library didn’t last too long, but after the speech, the lively discussions and chatter among the students seemed to linger indefinitely.

Xin Fat Man, holding a feather pen and notepad, darted around the square, interviewing every student willing to speak with him; Xiao Xiao clutched his notebook, observing his surroundings and listening in on conversations, recording every detail he could.

Only Zhang Ji Xin and Zheng Qing, who neither had work-related reasons nor relevant interests, just joined the crowd for the fun of it. However, this fun lasted a bit too long. By the time the commotion on the square quieted down and Fat Man and the Doctor began packing up to leave, more than an hour had passed, and it was already 1:10 in the afternoon.

According to Jiuyou Academy’s schedule, the afternoon classes ran from fourteen to seventeen o’clock. There were still over forty minutes before the bell would ring for the afternoon Talisman class, and Zheng Qing and his companions had not even had lunch yet.

”Didn’t I tell you guys to go get food first?” Xin Fat Man, upon seeing his two motionless companions at the edge of the crowd, was surprised, ”You’ve just been standing here all this time, so what are we going to eat for lunch?!”

”What a cold world this is,” Zheng Qing looked up at the bare tree branches and the grey sky above, sighing deeply, ”Is your mind only filled with eating and writing articles? A normal person, upon seeing companions waiting for them for so long, should first respond with sympathy and greetings—like ’You’ve been standing there for quite some time, are you tired?’ or ’You haven’t eaten yet? I have stored a lot of delicious food in my watch, let’s eat together!’”

”The cafeteria is already closed now,” Xiao Xiao put his notebook into his chest pocket, and timely added half a sentence, ”So...”

Xin Fat Man didn’t continue the sentence, just stared expressionlessly at the young student.

”Your main point was the last sentence, right?” He squinted his eyes. His tiny eyes were almost invisible, surrounded by the fat of his eyelids and cheeks, but they couldn’t hide the sharp look, ”How did you know I bought fried chicken and beer?”

Zheng Qing blinked innocently, ”I didn’t know you bought fried chicken and beer... I just remembered that your storage card had a lot of delicious things that could serve as lunch. But now I know.”

”Fried chicken is fine, but with beer, since we have classes in the afternoon, isn’t it a bit inconvenient?” Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses, seriously offering his suggestion, ”Do you have juice or green tea in your storage card?”

”Beer? Are we drinking at noon?” Zhang Ji Xin had been focused on a certain direction outside the crowd and had not participated in the usual banter between the others. Only when he heard the word ”beer” repeatedly mentioned by his companion did he turn back with interest and glanced at Fat Man’s wrist, ”Well, since you’re prepared, let’s go for fried chicken and beer then.”

Xin Fat Man’s cheeks trembled violently; he clenched his teeth so hard that only three words could escape, ”I haven’t yet...”

Before he could finish, Zheng Qing raised a finger in front of Fat Man’s eyes and wiggled it, ”You could interview us while we eat, right? As onlookers, we can provide you with the most unbiased comments.”

At these words, Fat Man’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Just in time, Zheng Qing tossed another date, ”I’m sure the Doctor has some very professional perspectives... and me, well, I’m humbly a part of the Great Arcana’s world, if I were to comment a little, it could add quite a bit of color to your article, couldn’t it?”

Fat Man’s chunky fist slammed onto his chubby palm with lightning speed.

”Deal!” Moving with agility that surpassed that of a typical Fat Man, he dragged Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao toward a gazebo not far from Lakeside of Bell Lake, ”Let’s go, let’s go, we have to rush after lunch; it’ll be time for class!”

Zheng Qing stumbled as he was pulled along, almost tripping and falling to the ground.

”Where’s your integrity?” Zhang Ji Xin looked at Fat Man’s retreating figure with a speechless expression. ”Did you eat it all up?”

”Otherwise, how could he have gotten so plump?” Zheng Qing managed to turn half his face, greeting with a chuckle, ”Hurry up and follow, there aren’t many chances left to catch the windfall from a fat man like him.”

Along the corridors of the Ring Mansion near the Lakeside of Bell Lake, many pavilions of various sizes were dotted around. In the summer and autumn, many young wizards would sit in the pavilions to chat or date, but there were fewer in winter.

After all, this wasn’t a dormitory or study room; the school wouldn’t bother to inscribe every pavilion with warmth-maintaining talismans.

However, such a shortcoming was nothing for Zheng Qing, a Great Fu Master. He simply pulled out a few low-quality warming talismans from his grey cloth bag, and that was the biggest problem of a pavilion lunch taken care of.

Soon, the group was seated around a small stone table, watching as Fat Xin pulled out a tablecloth, cutlery, and the long-anticipated fried chicken and beer from his hand-watch. Lastly, the host, in a rare act of generosity, threw in a plate of croissants and a small dish of apple sauce for everyone.

”By the way, I was just wondering, what were you looking at by the lakeside?” Fat Man asked Zhang Ji Xin curiously before they started eating. ”I know you’re not that kind of bored guy.”

”Didn’t you see?” Zhang Ji Xin raised his eyebrows, shaking his head repeatedly. ”You really don’t care... I was watching the Blood Comrades. You all hop around the venue like rabbits. Someone has to watch your backs. Who knows if those Blood Comrades might suddenly go crazy and toss a bunch of curses into the venue.”

”The Blood Comrades?!” Fat Man gasped. ”They’re here too? How come I didn’t see them?!”

Zhang Ji Xin added, ”Sepulano, Friedman, they’re both here, just standing off to the side, not far from the Fishmen...”

”I think they came specifically for the Fishmen,” Zheng Qing interjected. ”It doesn’t make sense that a small gathering like this would draw the only two heirs of the Blood Comrades. They aren’t that idle.”

As he spoke, vivid memories of a nighttime patrol long ago surfaced in the young scholarship student’s mind—a scene where he had seen the Fishman Iseni trading with Sepulano in a forest clearing. Instinct told him there was some inevitable connection between these events.

”We can’t rule out that possibility,” Zhang Ji Xin shrugged. ”But we always have to prepare for the worst... Excuse me, I’ll have a butter beer, Amber Light would be even better... I don’t feel like drinking Green Bee today.”

”I’ll have green tea,” Xiao Xiao raised his hand to join.

”I want juice.” Considering that there were still classes in the afternoon, Zheng Qing also chose not to go with beer.

Fat Xin, with a scowl on his face, took out the respective drinks for his companions.

”To Banna’s health!” the young scholarship student raised his glass, toasting loudly. Behind him, the low-quality warming talismans emitted wisps of blue smoke, supporting a faint yellow magic barrier.

”That’s not what I want,” Fat Xin mumbled, his mouth already stuffed with fried chicken, chewing and turning his head towards Xiao Xiao. ”About today’s lecture, I want to hear the doctor’s opinion.”