Once again, the group could here the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs. This time, though, they weren't the recognizably heavy feet of the large man named Gerry, but a band of lighter steps instead.
"What do we have here?"
A boy with a snakish face gave a short wave and signaled four other boys to follow him. There was one stout boy with a greasy combover, and the other was a lanky boy with shaved hair. The other two were... just normal.
They were quite an ugly bunch, though. Well, at least the snakish boy wasn't too hideous—it was the reptillian expression he wore that made him unpleasant to look at.
"What do you want, Alek?" Marielle sighed, rolling her eyes. "This table has already been reserved, clearly."
"Oh, it has? That's a shame—usually we sit up here. Ah! You wouldn't mind if we pulled a few chairs up, would you? There's plenty of space."
The lady looked around, clearly uncomfortable. It seemed, for some reason, the fiery girl was subdued.
'Is this snake-boy another noble? What's the big deal? We've got two super important nobles right here! And two wizards! Who're they to talk down to us!?'
"I don't think my... friends—" She coughed, then continued. "Would like that very much. They're visiting, see. And you've got quite a large group. Wouldn't you like to sit down there, where all the fun is happening?"
"No, no, the real fun is up here! And I'm sure they'd be fine. Happy, even! It's good to make new friends, right? And, the prince, of course, wouldn't mind either."
The stout one snickered, and the group of boys were all smiling.
For some reason, the snake-boy looked directly into Liora's eyes. He moved over between the two girls and leaned over the table, lifting his arm to wrap around her shoulders.
Before he could, though, a large and half-eaten bone smashed into his face, causing him to stumble back against the railing.
"Y-you!" he snarled, clutching his nose. "Bitch!"
The Prince flinched as it happened, while Marielle just pinched the bridge of her nose. Everyone was still for a second, besides Liora, who was still eating.
She hadn't even looked at the snake-boy as she attacked him, and didn't look at him after, either.
"Please stop..." The Prince mumbled.
No one heard it.
"Looks like we mind," Linnie said, smirking. "So... why are you guys still up here?"
The lanky boy jumped forwards, grabbing Linnie by the robes. He was lifted off his seat and slammed into the table like... a baby.
"Good work, Goyle. I mean, seriously. Who's this fucking brat think he is, talking to me like that? Do you know who I am?!"
"I don't really care," Linnie said to the snake-boy, while picking his teeth. He tried to wriggle free, but it was to no avail.
'Dammit, can't I grow bigger already!?'
"Ha! Look at him squirm... Marielle, I didn't know you kept such pitiful company. Actually, it suits you," The snake-boy spat, signaling for the lanky boy to leave it be.
He let go of Linnie's clothes.
"Goyle, Fatty, we're leaving. It's not like she'll be able to keep this up for long," he snickered.
The Prince finally eased up, relieved that the conflict was over. Except... it wasn't. Liora wasn't in her seat, and had somehow appeared at the top of the stairs, blocking their exit.
'Hehe, what is she doing?' Linnie thought, dropping from the table.
"Lin, what is she doing?" Marielle asked through gritted teeth.
It sounded like she was mad. But it didn't look it. Linnie actually tilted his head in confusion, wondering why she looked so... excited?
"...I don't know, I was just wondering that myself."
"Move out of the way, you dumb bit—" The snake-boy said, grabbing her shoulder to shove her out of the way.
"Ew, you're so gross!" Liora said. "I was just going to the bathroom! Why're you touching me!?"
She stepped forwards and shoved her mouth into the snake-boy's mouth, much to his surprise. He grabbed her wrist, and the stout one, presumably called 'Fatty,' punched her in the side of her head.
"Ow!"
She dropped to the floor, and Linnie heard Marielle curse under her breath.
'What the hell was that!? I thought she was gonna... I don't know, do something interesting!"
"Hehe," Fatty laughed dumbly. "Stupid girl."
"What the fuck is the matter with you? You three are acting like a bunch of thugs, it's embarrassing!" she scoffed, trying to conceal her shock. "You just hit a girl. In the head, no less. What if she's seriously hurt?"
Of course, she had no idea Liora would never succumb to such an injury.
"Ha? I hit a girl? No, Fatty did. And what's the big deal? She's just a dumb peasant. Oh, should I kill her right now? You'd charge me with murder, then, wouldn't you? Would you, though? Would you?"
"I tried to act with tact around you, Alek, since your family is a vassal—" she started, her eye twitching.
She was interrupted by a bitter laugh.
"No, you finally started acting like the sniveling bitch that you are when you found out all your power is going to the dump. And now, you thought that you could butter up to me and all the other people you treated like shit. Not happening, princess. Oh, wait... not even the prince wants you anymore—"
A goblet flew through the air. Unfortunately, the snake-boy caught it. He started to laugh.
"Oh? You want to—"
Another goblet flew. This time, it was The Prince's, rather than her own. And it hit its mark. The snake-boy charged at the table in a fit of rage, fruit juice dripping from his face.
Marielle was grinning evilly, and to Linnie's surprise, she seemed glad this charade devolved into a fight.
Linnie was well aware, though, that it was going to end this way. From the moment the boys reached the top of the stairs, he knew they were trouble. Because he was already familiar with people like this.
He'd already even... killed another boy—one just like this 'Alek' guy.
He watched in amusement as Marielle grabbed her plate and swung it at the snake-boy. It was swiftly blocked, but that didn't stop her from kicking him in the groin.
Completely failing to pay attention to anything else, Linnie realized too late that a hand had grabbed the back of his head. His face was slammed into the table.
Once again, the lanky boy—Goyle—had assaulted him with that table. And Linnie already had enough after the first time. He grabbed a fork and stabbed it into the Goyle's arm, causing his hand to lose grip on Linnie's skull.
He spun around and grabbed on to the table, using it as leverage to kick Goyle into the railing.
"Hey, how do you look like that?" Linnie asked.
Goyle tilted his head in wordless confusion.
"Quiet, are you? Dammit, how are you so tall?"
If the lanky boy could talk, he didn't find out, because coming from the side was Liora—laughing as she ran—holding the very chubby boy above her in the air.
For some reason, she rammed the chubby boy into Goyle. Whatever she was planning, this couldn't have been it, since this caused the railing to break completely.
The three of them—Liora, Fatty, and Goyle—all plummeted into the area below, crashing into a large and filled table.