Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: The Incorrigible Lady
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The world sure is a rough place.
Who would've thought I'd hear something like "You've got no class" even after coming to a fantasy world.
'Like I'd go down easy.'
I brushed off that person without a second thought and headed straight for the cooking section.
The continent of Healing Academy is vast. It's home to all sorts of nations, families, and clans—which means there's a dizzying array of cuisines infused with their unique cultures.
I was after desserts, so I made a beeline for that aisle first.
The shelves were crammed floor-to-ceiling with books.
As expected from a library that drives knowledge-hungry students wild.
Back in my school days, I might've lost my mind here too... but after grinding through my grad studies, I'm pretty much over it.
Still, I don't hate cooking.
'Hmm... This one maybe.'
It was a book called Novel Desserts.
That word "novel" caught my eye.
So I picked it up and flipped through.
'Total miss.'
Eel jelly—from an island nation on the continent. The fishy savoriness, the jelly's sweetness, and that satisfying crunch of bones... an exquisite treat...
'Customers would bolt.'
I don't mean to diss their culture, but to me, a cafe is a cozy spot for work and study.
Chill out while chewing eel jelly?
No chance.
Time for a different book.
I spent a good while rummaging through the shelves until a familiar title caught my eye.
'Oh, they have this one.'
How About This Drink Today? A recipe book I remembered from the game.
"Let's see."
Sure enough, if I grabbed it and flipped from the very first page...
[Recipe Acquired - Espresso]
[Recipe Acquired - Green Tea Latte]
[Recipe Acquired - Ginger Tea]
'Nice.'
Specific pages that granted recipes duplicated themselves in a flash of light, then floated over and melted right into my head.
The recipes were now etched directly into my mind.
Now I could improvise new menu items from them.
The downside? They were all drinks.
A guy running a cafe serving only drinks?
Possible, sure... but drinks need friends.
"Now... where are the snacks..."
You need pastries with your drinks.
Otherwise, it feels incomplete.
Just as I refocused on the search...
"Here, a gift for you."
A woman's slender voice rang out.
A hand shot out from beside me, clutching a book.
A recipe book on desserts, no less.
Normally, you'd thank her for the kindness. But that voice was a bit too familiar, so I didn't even turn.
"Hmm? No word of thanks?"
"That's why I said you have no class."
The no-class girl from earlier had followed me here.
Probably trying to win me over by "helping."
'Fat chance.'
From the start...
"Any book won't cut it. It has to feel special."
"Isn't that what this is?"
"Pardon?"
"Just open it. You'll get what you're after."
Her confident tone made me tilt my head.
She sounded like she knew everything.
Still, I opened the book.
Nothing to lose—if wrong, oh well; if right, lucky break.
And the result?
[Recipe Acquired - Basic Cookies]
It worked, unbelievably.
"..."
As I stayed silent, a teasing voice came from the side.
"Well? How's that?"
"How did you know? That I was hunting recipes."
"You said it yourself."
...She'd overheard me talking to the librarian.
"More than that, what a weird spell. Copying recipes straight into someone's head."
"Strange?"
"Not at all! This is Winchester Academy. The continent's magnet for oddballs."
"..."
"We've got folks dying to become 'cursed' black mages. A cooking mage? Par for the course."
The no-class girl finished her spiel with a thoughtful "hmm~," then...
"Fate brought us together. No interest in chatting face-to-face?"
"...Find me one more."
"What a cheapskate."
She trudged off, then...
"Here you go."
Returned with another recipe book.
And yep—that one worked too.
Once is luck, twice is fate...?
"Now, honor your end."
"Fine."
Something about it nagged, but a deal's a deal.
I turned—and couldn't help but be thrown off by her face.
"Finally decided to look at me?"
"..."
"Well then, introductions. I'm Mel—"
"Melissa Green."
"Oh? You know me? Guess I'm something of a celebrity."
Celebrity?
Nah, way beyond that.
At least to me.
Melissa Green.
One of the heroines from Healing Academy 2.
'A dangerous one who might try to kill me someday.'
Never expected to run into her in the library.
This is trouble.
I was a little rattled, but I'd half-prepared for this, so I calmed down quick enough.
Yeah, these are all people I'm destined to meet anyway. Some way, some place—it was inevitable.
Thrilled I recognized her?
Her cat ears perked up as she closed the distance.
"This'll speed things up."
"Speed what up?"
"Take a peek at this."
Hmm?
Isn't that a pearl? What's special about—
"A book?"
"Look into the pearl and search."
"..."
A purple mist swirled inside the pearl, then projected a single book.
It expanded to show the surroundings, zeroing in on one corner.
Somewhere nearby.
I headed there, staring into the pearl.
'That book from earlier.'
I flipped it open just in case—and sure enough, a recipe flooded into my head.
"What the hell?"
"Black magic."
"Black magic?"
"It shows desires or glimpses of the future... but it can also force-read minds. Pretty dangerous."
Got it.
This pearl was guiding me to recipe books.
Explains how she picked the exact right ones.
But reading fate itself?
"Is that why you approached me?"
"Yep. Saw it in the pearl."
Saw it?
"Rare occurrence. It doesn't auto-show people often."
"Get to the point."
"Your arrival at the academy must've shaken up the threads of fate. I saw it—the Disciplinary Committee's vicious hound turning into a docile pup after meeting you."
"Point."
Melissa sighed and fixed me with a stare.
"Fine. A request for the man who can rewrite such fates."
She stepped closer.
Her face came into sharp focus.
Leaf-green hair like fresh foliage, eyes pink as cherry blossoms. A stunning palette.
But...
"Ever heard of demonization?"
"The disease that hits mages—especially black mages—right? Mana gets murky and corrupted inside you."
"Exactly."
"And you want me to...?"
"Yeah."
"I'm no doctor or mage."
"Not a full cure—just delay it. The others said they couldn't do a thing."
I could guess what came next.
"Entrust myself to this new thread of fate. Help slow my illness?"
A plea for help.
No way I'd turn that down.
Her safety means mine, after all.
But based on what little I knew from Healing Academy 2...
"If you need help, I'll do it."
"...With conditions, of course?"
"Naturally."
"Name them."
"I hear you're president of the Black Magic Club. That right?"
"I am."
Perfect.
"If I succeed in helping you, hand over the club's operations to me."
"Ho?"
"It's a one-person club anyway."
"How'd you know?"
"Rumors."
I played the "I've been here three years" card, and she nodded.
Needed time to think? Nah.
She agreed to the deal on the spot.
'Score.'
An unexpected encounter, unexpected windfall.
Starting a business in the academy means securing a proper spot. And here, that means operating under a "club."
Beats making a new one—renting rooms, paying fees—versus just rebranding an existing one.
...Especially when I'm already up to my neck in debt.
"Contract sealed."
"Looking forward to it."
"Same here."
With the deal done, I turned back to my book hunt. Without her interruptions, that's what I'd have done.
"Hold on, come here."
She dragged me to a long table.
"What're you doing?"
"Sit."
She shoved chairs together into a makeshift bed, then...
"Hmm..."
Plopped her head onto my lap, wearing an odd expression.
"Ugh... They say a guy's lap pillow lulls you to sleep. Apparently not. Fatigue speeds up the illness, so I wanted a quick nap."
"No way that's real."
"Guess not. Alright, assist with the next experiment, my lab rat."
"When did I sign up?"
"Just now."
"You're impossible."
"I gave up my club—what's this little thing?"
"Knock yourself out."
"Great."
She pulled out a thick tome and flashed a wicked grin.
Looks like I'd be stuck playing lab rat for her experiments a while.
"Those dark circles are brutal. You sleeping at all?"
"Nope. On day five, wide awake."
First mission.
'Demonization can be delayed with solid rest. Problem is, her body's wired not to rest anymore. She clearly doesn't sleep well.'
Find a way to knock Melissa out cold.
Until then...