Chapter 168: Hand Holding!?

Every time a group of students passed us, Sigrid didn’t even glance at them. She kept her golden, vertical-slit eyes glued to her tablet, tapping away furiously.

"So, Sigrid," I spoke up, keeping my hands in my pockets. "What do you usually do when you’re not in the synthesis lab blowing up spatial matrices?"

"Research," Sigrid replied instantly. "I analyze high-frequency mana, review dimensional stability reports from the Northern Spire, and optimize dragon-cavalry flight formations."

"Do you... have any actual hobbies?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like watching movies, reading fiction, eating good food, or just hanging out?"

Sigrid paused her typing, tilting her head slightly. Her dark obsidian horns caught the golden sunlight filtering through the trees. "Fiction reading is an inefficient use of brain capacity. However, I enjoy consuming high-density elemental mana crystals and cataloging ancient anomalies. My personal hoard currently consists of four thousand rare research papers and twelve high-grade void stones."

"A hoard made of research papers," I chuckled, shaking my head. "That’s probably the most dragon-nerd thing I’ve ever heard in my life."

Sigrid looked at me, her expression completely serious. "A dragon’s hoard reflects their core nature. Other dragonkin accumulate gold, shiny armor, or divine weapons because their cognitive depth is shallow. Knowledge and spatial authority are far more valuable than shiny metal."

"Can’t argue with that logic," I admitted.

"What about food?" Val asked from behind us, her voice calm and professional. "Dragonkin bloodlines typically require massive caloric intake to sustain high-density mana cores."

Sigrid stopped walking, turning her golden eyes toward Val, then back to me. Her silver tail gave a quick, decisive flick. "An accurate observation, Captain Valerie. My internal energy reserves have dropped to sixty-two percent. We should navigate to the primary student dining hall to acquire high-density nutrients. I will evaluate your food selection process, Seth."

"Lead the way, Captain Dragon," I smirked.

"Aye aye captain!" Val chuckled softly.

Sigrid blinked, confused at the words. Then, she busied herself in her tablet again. She nodded. "It is a reference. I shall learn to do that too. It enhances one’s humour."

The Grand Dining Hall of Avalon was a massive three-story stone amphitheater capable of seating thousands of students at once. The air inside smelled incredible, a mix of roasted meats, fresh spices, enchanted pastries, and exotic herbal teas prepared by culinary mages from every realm.

The moment the three of us stepped through the arched double doors, the ambient noise in the hall dipped.

Students sitting at the surrounding long tables turned their heads. The second their eyes landed on Sigrid walking beside me in her white lab coat, whispers erupted across the room.

"Wait... is that Princess Sigrid?"

"Why is she outside the synthesis spire?"

"Who is that guy walking beside her? Did she kidnap another research assistant?"

"Stay away from her! Last month she scanned a guy’s mana core without asking and told him his lineage was an evolutionary dead end! That he shouldn’t continue his bloodline!"

"I mean, he ain’t finding any girl anyways so his bloodline dying with him."

"She’s a total freak.."

I listened to the quiet chatter floating through the air, noticing how the surrounding crowd actively parted as we walked toward the high-grade meat station. Students shifted their trays and backed away by two feet, giving Sigrid a wide berth as if she were carrying a contagious plague.

Sigrid didn’t pay them the slightest bit of attention. She walked straight up to the counter, pointed her stylus at a massive, sizzling slab of roasted Behemoth prime rib, and spoke flatly to the server.

"Three kilograms of Behemoth meat, rare. High-density mana gravy on the side."

The server, a young beastkin student with wolf ears, paled slightly, quickly carving the massive portion and sliding the heavy platter across the marble counter.

I ordered a standard plate of grilled steak, seasoned vegetables, and garlic butter rice, while Val grabbed a clean, balanced plate of lean protein and greens.

We carried our trays over to a vacant four-person table near the grand glass windows overlooking the lake. The moment we sat down, the students at the adjacent table immediately picked up their plates and moved three tables away.

I cut a piece of my steak, chewed calmly, and looked across the table at Sigrid, who was casually slicing into her massive slab of rare meat with incredible mathematical precision.

"So, Sigrid," I began, leaning my elbows on the table. "No offense, but everyone in this cafeteria is looking at you like you’re a walking disaster hazard."

Sigrid paused her fork mid-air. She slowly adjusted her silver reading glasses, her golden eyes scanning the surrounding dining hall for two seconds before returning her focus to her plate.

"That is a standard social occurrence," Sigrid stated plainly, taking a neat bite of her food. "The student body classifies me as an unhinged, socially deficient eccentric."

"A weirdo," I summarized dryly.

"Correct," Sigrid agreed without a single drop of hesitation or shame. "A weirdo."

I chuckled, amused by her bluntness. "And that doesn’t bother you at all? Hearing people talk behind your back or having them run away when you walk into a room?"

Sigrid swallowed her food, setting her fork down with a light clink. She looked straight into my eyes, her expression devoid of anger, sadness, or self-doubt. It was pure analytical logic.

"Why would the opinion of lower-tier entities affect my mental state?" Sigrid asked, tilting her head slightly. "Their collective intellectual capacity is statistically negligible. Ninety-nine percent of the students in this hall cannot calculate a basic spatial vector, let alone stabilize a dimensional fold. They spend their time gossiping, engaging in shallow social drama, and chasing temporary status."

She gestured slightly with her fork toward the surrounding tables.

"To me, their opinions hold a value of zero," Sigrid continued calmly. "They are irrelevant people, inferior to me in every measurable metric, magically, intellectually, and genetically. Wasteful cognitive bandwidth should never be allocated toward caring about the thoughts of lesser organisms."

Silence fell over our table.

I stared at Sigrid for two full seconds, stunned by the sheer, unapologetic arrogance radiating from her gorgeous face. She didn’t say it out of anger or malicious spite, she said it the exact same way someone would state that water was wet or two plus two equaled four. To her, it was simply an undeniable, scientific fact.

"PFTTTT-!"

couldn’t hold it in anymore. I threw my head back and let out a loud, genuine burst of laughter that echoed across the quiet dining hall.

"AHAHAHA!" I laughed, clutching my stomach as looked at her. "Sigrid, you are unbelievable! You really are something else."

Sigrid blinked, her vertical slit pupils widening slightly as she watched me laugh. "Did I state something humorous?"

[AHAHAHA!] Paige was rolling around in hysterics inside my mind as well. [SETH!! SHE LITERALLY JUST CALLED THE ENTIRE STUDENT BODY INFERIOR LOWER-TIER ORGANISMS TO THEIR FACES!! I LOVE HER!! SHE IS THE ULTIMATE NERD SUPREMACIST!]

’She’s incredible,’ I grinned mentally. ’Zero EQ, but two hundred percent confidence.’

Sitting beside me, Val let out a soft, amused snort, shaking her head as she took a bite of her salad. "I must admit, Princess Sigrid... your mental fortitude regarding social isolation is quite impressive."

"It is not fortitude, Captain Valerie," Sigrid corrected smoothly, picking up her stylus again. "It is basic efficiency. Only those who possess superior intellect or extraordinary conceptual authority deserve my attention."

She turned her bright golden eyes back to me, her long silver dragon tail giving a happy, rhythmic swish against the floor tiles beneath the table.

"For instance," Sigrid added, her tone dropping into a slightly softer yet still entirely matter-of-fact register. "You, Seth. You corrected my spatial equation in eight seconds, possess peak physical symmetry, and carry an unmeasurable soul matrix. You are the only entity on this campus whose opinion holds statistical relevance to me."

I leaned back in my chair, looking at her with a warm, amused smirk. "So what you’re saying is... I made the cut?"

"You are currently ranked at the top of my compatibility index," Sigrid stated firmly, tapping her tablet. "I have officially upgraded our casual social interaction phase to Stage Two: Active Courtship."

"Active courtship, huh?" I chuckled, taking a sip of my drink. "And what does Stage Two involve?"

"Bi-weekly intellectual exchanges, shared meals, and joint spatial research sessions," Sigrid declared, adjusting her glasses with a proud, confident posture. "Followed by a sixty-eight percent increase in physical proximity and hand-holding."

"Hand-holding?" I teased, leaning forward slightly. "Profoundly scandalous, Sigrid. Are you sure your dragon heart can handle that much physical contact?"

For the first time since I met her, a tiny trace of a pink flush touched the tips of Sigrid’s fair cheeks. Her silver dragon tail went rigid for a split second before curling slightly around the leg of her chair.

"My physical parameters are fully optimized," Sigrid insisted, though her voice carried a tiny, cute hint of hesitation. "I am entirely capable of handling basic tactical hand-holding."