Maybe I really am a Villian

Asher woke up at 7 PM.

After taking a bath and changing into casual clothes, he played games for some time before heading to the cafeteria at 8:30 PM.

At the cafeteria, he was joined by his team members.

Asher merely glanced at Adam before continuing to eat his food.

"What, do you have a problem with me eating here? I’m here because we’re a team for the whole semester now," Adam said while looking at Asher.

"Whatever, human fan," Asher replied while eating his food.

Adam gritted his teeth at his new nickname, knowing it would do no good to argue with Asher.

Noah let out a small laugh at the exchange.

Adam shot Noah an annoyed look.

"You think this is funny?"

"A little," Noah admitted while trying not to smile. "Mostly because you’re somehow losing an argument without even fighting back."

"I am not losing."

"You accepted the nickname in under thirty seconds," Noah replied. "That’s basically surrender."

Adam opened his mouth to argue, then stopped.

"...I hate that you might actually be right."

Aria then said, "Is your hand alright? If not, you should show it to a professional healer at the Academy."

"It is alright. I am a professional," Asher replied.

Then he suddenly stopped eating.

Noticing the abrupt pause, Noah asked, "What happened?"

"Nothing. I just think the spice level is too low. I prefer my food to be spicier. Maybe I should file a suggestion to increase the spice level in the food," Asher said in a serious tone.

For a moment, the entire table remained silent.

Then Noah blinked twice.

"...That’s what made you stop eating?"

"Yes."

Adam stared at him in disbelief.

"I genuinely thought you sensed an assassin or something."

Asher tilted his head slightly.

"Why would there be an assassin in the cafeteria?"

Meanwhile, Aria looked down at her own plate before cautiously taking another bite.

"...This is already spicy."

"It has flavor," Asher corrected. "Not spice."

Asher looked around the cafeteria thoughtfully, his silver eyes scanning the nearby food counters.

"The Academy has students from dozens of species and regions," he said. "The cafeteria should logically provide stronger spice options."

Noah leaned back in his chair.

"You sound like you’re preparing an official report."

"I am considering it."

"And maybe I should also write a suggestion to add juice and ice cream for dessert," Asher added.

"Yeah, do it," Noah said before continuing to eat. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Asher gave a small nod as if Noah had just approved an important strategic decision.

"I will submit it tomorrow."

Adam nearly dropped his fork.

"You were serious?"

"Of course."

"It was a joke!" Adam exclaimed.

"I know," Asher replied calmly. "But the suggestion still has merit."

Noah laughed quietly into his drink while Aria shook her head in amusement.

"You really like juice that much?" she asked.

"Yes."

"And ice cream?"

"Also yes."

Asher continued, "Or else why would I keep thousands of packets of juice and ice cream in my subspace?" he said.

The table went quiet for a brief moment.

Noah sighed lightly.

"...We already know you carry juice."

Adam nodded immediately.

"Yeah, that part isn’t surprising anymore."

Aria added, "At this point, it’s basically part of your personality."

Asher paused for a second, then nodded as if acknowledging an established fact.

"Then there is no issue," he said.

Noah rubbed his temple.

"The issue is how many you carry, not that you carry them."

Adam leaned back in his chair.

"I’m still stuck on the fact that you treat juice like emergency rations."

"It is efficient," Asher replied.

Aria shook her head slightly, though she was smiling.

"...You really don’t see anything strange about it, do you?"

"No," Asher said simply.

Noah let out a small laugh again.

"Yeah. That tracks."

"You know what? I actually support this mission."

"Thank you," Asher said seriously.

Adam looked between the two of them in disbelief.

"I can’t believe the cafeteria is about to become the victim of a dessert revolution."

Aria raised an eyebrow. "Victim is a strong word."

"It’s accurate," Adam insisted. "He’s literally planning to restructure the cafeteria’s entire identity because the spice level offended him."

"I am not offended," Asher said calmly. "I am making an observation."

Noah tapped the table lightly. "An observation that leads to official policy suggestions, apparently."

Asher nodded. "If a system is inefficient, it should be improved."

Adam sighed and pointed his fork at him.

"That’s not how cafeterias work. People just... eat and complain. They don’t start reform movements over spice."

"That is inefficient behavior," Asher replied.

"...You’re impossible," Adam muttered.

Aria leaned back slightly, watching the exchange with quiet amusement. "So what exactly would your ’improved system’ look like?"

Asher didn’t hesitate. "Tiered spice levels. Region-based seasoning options. Separate dessert distribution channels for ice cream and juice variants."

Noah paused mid-sip. "...You’ve thought about this."

"It is logical."

Adam groaned. "He’s building a cafeteria optimization model in his head."

Aria smiled faintly. "Honestly... it would probably increase satisfaction."

"That’s not helping," Adam said.

Asher resumed eating as if the discussion had already concluded. "I will submit it tomorrow."

Adam stared at him for a long moment, then leaned back in defeat.

Noah asked, "Where are you going to submit it? Don’t tell me you’ll just hand it to Professor Elisa."

"No, why would I? It’s not the professor’s work," Asher said, smiling.

Noah had a bad feeling seeing him smile, so he asked, "So who are you going to hand it to?"

"The Student Council, of course. Who else?" Asher replied calmly.

The table went quiet for a second after Asher’s answer.

Even Noah stopped mid-motion with his drink halfway to his lips.

"...You’re actually going to walk into the Student Council and hand them a cafeteria reform proposal," Adam said slowly.

"Yes," Asher replied.

Adam then said, "You do know that the Council President is the Crown Prince?"

"Yeah, so what?" Asher replied calmly.

"I’ll just go to the council room and hand it to Aron Astrean—my brother. No big problem," Asher said.