The red-haired knight increased the strength, applying even more pressure on Gabriel's shoulders. It was a matter of his dignity.
The other six knights from the Knight Academy didn't interfere either. They only watched the scene with amusement, finding the young man quite interesting.
Gabriel's strength had increased recently, increasing his defense as well, but even it wasn't enough to resist such pressure without the help of his spells. The red-haired man was going all out, after all. If it were an ordinary man instead of him, their shoulder would've already been crushed to a powder before this strength.
"Have you done enough?" After some time, Gabriel finally broke his silence. "If yes, then please go back and wait for me to eat."
"You!" The red-haired man was furious. Not only was Gabriel still not reacting, but he was talking as if he was dealing with a kid.
The manager of the restaurant couldn't help but step back. He had tried all he could, but it was already too late. It appeared as if bad blood had already been established between the two sides. It was too late for him to do anything, and he could only leave it for them to deal with...
'This kid, even after all my advice, he didn't listen. He really doesn't know what's good for him.' Sighing, the man went back, wondering what was going to happen next.
Even if Gabriel was slightly stronger, he couldn't face a Knight of the Knight Academy, especially since there were seven of them.
"Good! Very good! You really have some courage, kid!" Even though the red-haired knight sounded like he was complimenting Gabriel, from his tone, it was clear that he was being sarcastic. "But don't forget. Sometimes, courage without strength can lead to an early grave. I hope you remember that!"
"I couldn't agree more," Gabriel replied as he picked up the glass of water before him and took a sip. "So leave, and I won't pursue this matter anymore. I'll forgive you this time."
"Hahaha!" The red-haired knight was furious. But the other knights in the back found it quite fun. It wasn't often that they came up to people with such courage.
"You!" The Red Haired Knight raised his hand, placing it over the hilt of his sword on his back. He has had enough. He was so angry that he wanted to slice Gabriel's neck with one swipe.
"That's enough," A voice filled with authority came from the back, making the red-haired knight stop.
The young man turned around, "But Senior Brother, he-"
The voice belonged to one of the six people in the group. That person also had the strongest sword in the group and looked like the leader of the group.
"Relax a bit. There's no benefit in getting angry. It's not often we meet such amusing people after all. In the world we live in, we need courageous people. Shouldn't we be friends with such people instead of being enemies?" The young man, who looked like he was in his late twenties, stated.
He stepped forward, stopping before Gabriel.
"I am Yuan, a Fourth Year Student in the Knight Academy of Arecia," the Dark Haired Man introduced himself as he reached out his hand. " What is your name?"
"Gabriel," Gabriel answered as he also reached out his hand. If the guy before him was a mage, he could've probably hesitated in shaking hands with them, but since the man wasn't a Mage, there was no risk in it.
Yuan glanced at the Manager in the back. "Instead of getting little brother to leave, why don't you arrange seven more seats here? We can eat with him."
Gabriel didn't react. As long as they weren't going to make him bother with a battle, he was fine.
The red-haired knight was still somewhat discontent, but he couldn't do anything other than agree.
"I would like to apologize to you for our little brother. He is somewhat impatient, but he isn't a bad person," Yuan stated.
"Anyway, let me introduce our side. The man you met before is Zack. He is my cousin and a first-year Knight at the Academy. I brought him with me on a mission, and we were on our way back when we decided to stop and eat."
Yuan introduced his side one by one, starting with the red-haired Knight.
Gabriel didn't speak in the middle of the introduction, but he did memorize all their names. It turned out that the red-haired man was just a first-year student? For a first-year student without any magic, his physical strength was quite impressive.
That made Gabriel wonder just how strong Yuan was. Since these people didn't use magic, judging their real strength was slightly harder than judging the strength of a Mage.
The Manager arranged seats for them around the same table. All seven Knights sat down, and finally, the food was brought.
With time, the two sides actually started getting along somewhat well. Moreover, Zack was a person who couldn't hold a grudge for long, and with time, he also calmed down. He realized that he actually was too impatient and tried to hurt a stranger.
Without even being asked to, he apologized to Gabriel on his own. Just as Yuan has said, the young man didn't look like a bad person on the inside. He was just slightly short-tempered and impatient.
"So little brother, are you a Mage?" After some time, Yuan finally asked.
Even when faced with Zack, Gabriel wasn't scared. It was clear that the kid wasn't weak and was confident enough about his strength. However, it was also clear that he wasn't a knight since he wasn't carrying a Magical Weapon. That could only imply that he was a mage.
Moreover, since Gabriel was hiding his hand behind his gloves, that made it difficult to see his Elemental Mark, which made him feel as if he wasn't wrong about his assumption.
Gabriel glanced at his hands. Previously, he could've at least shown his Mark of Light, but now that the Mark of Light has somewhat merged with the Mark of Darkness in his left hand, he couldn't even show that.
"Does it even matter?" Gabriel asked. "There are so many mages in this world. Mages aren't that hard to come across."
"True." Yuan nodded. Even though Gabriel didn't answer directly, his words were enough of an answer. The guy before them was definitely a Mage.
"Are you here to participate in the Knight Tournament?" Yuan asked.
Even though Gabriel didn't know what Knight Tournament was, from the name, it did sound like a battle of Knights.
"I am a Mage. How can I participate in the Knight Tournament?" he asked.
"Little Brother, could it be that you don't know anything about it?" Yuan was somewhat taken aback by this question. He thought everyone who came here knew about such basics. But this kid... Did he not even know these things? Was he judging by the name?
"Little brother, the Knight Tournament isn't a battle of Knights. It's not a battle tournament either. Don't judge by its name, as the name is quite deceptive. It's something else entirely...."
