My Ultimate OP System: Summoning All Dragons, Gods, Heroes & Villains-Chapter 38: The Cafeteria

Ethan was taken aback for a moment.

"Damn," he thought to himself as the bow she’d just given made her chest bounce noticeably with the motion.

The way that uniform struggled to contain her figure made it painfully obvious she was blessed in ways he hadn’t fully registered before.

"Good morning," he said, quickly moving his gaze away and walking toward the vintage car. Then, he took his place in the backseat.

Valerie waited until Eduardo, who had followed through, took his place in the driver’s seat before she entered and sat in the passenger seat.

The car drove out of the manor and made its way onto the street. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Not long after, Valerie opened her mouth to speak. "Thank you once again, Master Ethan, for letting me work for this."

"Hm," Ethan muttered with a nod.

She added, "Thank you as well for still putting me under a payroll, even though you shouldn’t have."

He turned to look at her for a moment through the rearview mirror, then nodded again.

He didn’t know about the old Ethan, but the soul of Allen that possessed this body would never put anyone under employment without pay.

But this conversation had also reminded him of something else, which is why he said, "Eduardo, we’ll be going to the main industry today."

"Yes, Master Ethan," Eduardo replied, still driving.

Valerie immediately pulled out a small notepad and pen to jot it down. She was trying to be a useful assistant butler by taking notes of things she could help remind Eduardo about.

"And come by much earlier today," Ethan continued. "Let’s say three hours before regular closing time. There isn’t much we do as final years, so the academy lets us leave when we want. I don’t intend to spend time there."

"Yes, Master Ethan," Eduardo replied.

Factually, one of the reasons Ethan was bothering to go today was to make things right with Isabella. He owed her an explanation for not showing up at Ernie’s.

The other reason was to get a good look at Wilson’s and Beatrice’s faces. He wanted to see how they would react after the incident regarding his kidnapping.

Would they be smug? Nervous? Pretending nothing happened? Would guilt even register on their expressions, or would they just carry on like they hadn’t made a typical murder move on another student?

Either way, Ethan was curious.

Eventually, they reached the academy, and Ethan proceeded with the other students toward class.

Not long after Ethan got into class and took his seat, Percival arrived as well and walked toward him with a surprised and concerned look on his face.

"What happened, man? Where’d you suddenly disappear to? I was going to come by the manor if I didn’t see you in class today."

They fist-bumped each other as Percival walked over to take his seat.

Ethan shook his head, then began recounting the story of his kidnapping ordeal.

"What the fuck?!" That was the fifth yell from the agitated Percival, who couldn’t help but react as he heard Ethan’s story unfold.

It made him so mad that his fists clenched tight. "I swear I’ll kill those bastards," Percival cursed. Then he added, "It’s probably why they haven’t been in class since then."

"Oh? They weren’t in class yesterday?" Ethan asked.

Percival shook his head. "Nope. But I’ll wait for them both today." He raised his right fist and cracked his knuckles with a sharp pop. "Wilson is catching these hands the second he walks through that door."

Ethan chuckled and shook his head, then turned forward, only to meet eyes with the ever-jovial Lucy Hargreeves, who waved at him with her usual cheerful grin.

Ethan, who found that a bit odd, simply raised his hand and nodded back.

Percival continued, "But man, you didn’t tell me how you were able to escape all that."

"Oh yeah... uhm..." Ethan had been hoping Percival would miss that detail, but since it came up anyway, he said, "Would you believe me if I said that when I got the chance, I used a skill that made me invisible to escape?"

Percival’s eyes widened at first, then he burst into laughter and slapped Ethan on the back. "That’s a good one, man."

He didn’t press any further, which was a relief for Ethan.

——

Mr. Kieran hadn’t come into class that morning due to having to carry out management duties outside of campus. Wilson and Beatrice had also skipped class today.

The final years sat around idly until the bell finally rang, signaling a general break for all classes, from first years to final years.

Most students at this point made their way to the cafeteria wing.

The cafeteria itself was so large that an entire building was dedicated to it. And here, students from all classes crossed paths.

Ethan and Percival walked side by side, with Percival mostly doing the talking while Ethan had to deal with listening to all of it.

They both eventually got their food and carried their trays over to an empty table.

Not long after they sat down, she walked in.

The attention Isabella drew the moment she stepped through the doors was insane. Her skin was flawless, and she was every type of beautiful.

Today was her first time entering the cafeteria, and so she drew the stares of both the second years and final years alike.

Without a doubt, most of them knew she was King Tudor’s daughter.

While playing around with his food, Ethan realized that most of the noise from Percival, and the cafeteria as a whole, had suddenly dropped a certain notch.

He looked up first toward Percival’s face, wondering why he’d suddenly stopped talking, only to see that his friend was staring hard at something.

Ethan turned to see what it was.

And right then, he saw Isabella standing near the counter, waiting to get food. Instantly, he felt a little tingle in his chest as his heart skipped a beat.

She was idly chatting and casually smiling while talking to a friend beside her.

The smile on her lips, those eyes... even Ethan couldn’t help but stare a little.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Right then, a certain elf boy emerged from the crowd and confidently made his way toward Isabella and her friend.

Cyran of House Gilstina. A second year, with long silver hair tied back neatly. He was known across the academy for having a high-tier talent for the ranger class.

He stopped before Isabella and her friend with a polite smile. "Princess Isabella," he said with a slight bow of his head. "I couldn’t help but notice you were looking for a place to sit. Would you and your friend care to join me and my companions at our table?"

Isabella stared at him weirdly, clearly caught off guard. She was not even looking for a place to sit. In fact, she had only just gotten her food and had not started searching yet.

She glanced at her friend, Esiyae, a cheerful girl with wavy brown hair and an easy smile.

Before Isabella could respond, Esiyae jumped in with enthusiasm. "Oh, that’s so kind of you! We’d love to."

Isabella turned toward her friend with a slightly surprised expression, but Esiyae just grinned and looped her arm through Isabella’s.

"Let’s go Isa," Esiyae said.

Isabella hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."

Cyran’s smile widened. "Wonderful. Right this way."

And just like that, they followed behind him.

Ethan watched the entire exchange unfold from his table, with his expression falling off a bit. That elf had just completely ruined his plan to approach her at the cafeteria.

Instead of making a move, Ethan turned his face away, letting out a sigh.

As Isabella walked toward her seat, she noticed Ethan from the corner of her eye.