The Scent of New Bonds
—Glug glug…! Rich coffee fills about half the cup. Then hot water is added on top. As the coffee concentrate mixes with the water, it resembles an Americano. —Clink, clink……. Soon the teaspoon swirls, blending the hot water with the coffee concentrate. At the same time, a subtle aroma spreads in all directions.
—Sniff sniff sniff…! The young ladies seated nearby react to the scent. ‘Good. The coffee’s ready.’
In truth, after Johnson had left earlier, I had baked extra biscuits and also prepared the coffee concentrate in advance. Just in case, I had brewed only the concentrate beforehand and added the hot water right before serving. This process naturally adjusted the coffee’s strength and temperature.
‘That was close. I never expected so many to show up at once…….’
It was a good thing I had prepared everything ahead of time. Who would have thought my part-time café experience would come in handy? Preparing for peak hours is the most basic of basics. If I had started brewing the coffee on the spot, it would have taken far too long. That might have even earned me the dragons’ displeasure.
—The coffee smells pretty good, doesn’t it?
—I don’t usually drink coffee, but today I feel like trying some.
—Tch, I wanted herbal tea……
—Shh, be quiet. Sofia might hear you.
—Hmph, so what if she’s the student council president? We’ve been here long enough to have some say. Controlling our precious tea time like this……
—It was a bit much. Is she trying to establish discipline from the very first day of enrollment? What’s that about?
By the time I finished setting up the coffee, I could hear the young ladies whispering among themselves. The dragons at the front tables were murmuring softly. So Sofia really was the absolute power here. Yet not everyone seemed eager to follow her. Especially at tables farther from Sofia, occasional grumbles of discontent could be heard.
But those complaints didn’t last long.
—By the way, what’s that sweet smell that’s been wafting around since earlier?
—Ah, I don’t know what it is, but I want to try it right away.
—Why is it taking so long? I even left most of my lunch behind on purpose.
Perhaps because the aroma of coffee and cookies was so strong, the dragons’ attention gradually turned toward me. Hunger and appetite had clearly overtaken any lingering complaints.
‘Oops, I’d better hurry.’
The coffee only needed serving now. Even so, I didn’t want to serve the coffee first. If possible, I wanted to bring out the cookies together. I was anxious that they might end up eating the coffee and biscuits separately. That would make all my effort baking the cookies meaningless.
After all, when a place gains a reputation for great food, they don’t just randomly post “how to enjoy it” instructions for nothing. It’s a kind of artisan spirit, I suppose. Since I had put my heart into making them, I wanted everyone to enjoy them properly. Of course, when it came to baking and pastries, I was still little more than a beginner.
“Time to take them out, I guess?”
I headed straight for the oven. It was finally time to present the biscuits. I could have served the ones I had portioned out earlier, but they had already cooled. I wanted them to taste freshly baked if possible. I was confident enough for that.
—Rattle…! I pulled out the tray with oven mitts. It had been resting near the oven entrance, kept warm. If I had left it in the center, it would probably be burnt by now. I had been careful with the heat management to avoid overcooking.
—Steam rose gently……. The result was quite satisfying. Both the color and shape were perfect. And the taste went without saying.
‘Perfect…! The color came out even better than the first batch!’
The biscuits, a dark brown as if the Maillard reaction had occurred, were baked into neat squares.
—Ding!
New Job Skill — Gourmet Feeding
“Your sincerity will move even dragons! Create delicious feed from all sorts of ingredients. Depending on the grade of the feed you produce, you can tame new targets or increase their favorability.”
The system message appeared before the steaming biscuits. I paused at the unexpected notification. Acquiring a skill was pleasant, but the description felt slightly off.
I knew what “feeding” meant. But calling the biscuits I made “feed”? And feed meant to tame dragons, at that.
“Still……”
The word “feed” bothered me a little, but the phrase “move even dragons” made me nod in agreement.
A dessert made with basic ingredients but with a unique twist. Its crisp texture and rich flavor are outstanding. Perfect temperature control has raised its grade by one ☆.
What was this now? After clearing the alarm window, a system screen was evaluating my biscuits. Only one and a half stars? How stingy could the rating be? It had tasted perfect to me.
‘Does that mean the first batch I baked was only worth one star—?’
“Are you still not done?! You said you’d bring it right away, so why is it taking so long?”
While I had been reading the explanation, Diora, seated at the front, raised her voice in irritation. The other dragons joined in with murmurs. The delay had been longer than expected. Everyone wore serious expressions. Sofia, too, simply gazed at me in silence.
“My apologies. I just took them out, so they’re still very hot. I couldn’t possibly burn the young ladies’ mouths, could I?”
“Puhaha—! Is that it? But even if your words are nice, you still don’t know much about us, do you?”
“Pardon?”
“We breathe out breath attacks. Do you really think we’d burn our mouths on mere biscuits?”
“Ah, I see. I was shortsighted. I’ll prepare them right away.”
“Good. I’ll let it slide because your reaction is cute. Move quickly now!”
At those words, I hurriedly finished setting everything up. I loaded coffee and cookies onto a tray and carried it out. If the coffee and cookies cooled, it would all be for nothing.
“Thank you for waiting. Here is the coffee and the coffee biscuits I made myself. Enjoying them together will double the flavor.”
I continued serving while recalling the story Johnson had told me about my predecessor. I made sure to watch out for any dragon tails that might be sprawled across the floor……
‘Wow, they really do have tails.’
At first I had half-doubted whether it was just a story meant to scare me, but there really were reptilian tails twitching on the floor. For a moment I thought a snake was crawling around. I even spotted a dragon with horns sprouting from its head. Still, not everyone had tails and horns. Sofia, in particular, was special. Aside from her eyes, she looked almost entirely human.
“So this was the source of that sweet smell. It really does smell wonderful. You’ve worked hard, Breeder.”
“You flatter me, Lady Sofia.”
Sofia, the last to receive her coffee and cookies, smiled warmly and praised my efforts. I bowed my head slightly in response and stepped back. At first I had planned to serve her, the most influential among the upperclassmen, first. But she had told me to serve the other students before her, showing the dignity of a true leader. She really wasn’t the student council president for nothing.
“…Well then, since we’ve gathered like this again, let’s do our best until graduation. If you have any complaints or suggestions for improvement during your academy life, feel free to tell me anytime.”
As I returned to the kitchen, Sofia stood up and spoke. —For the eternal peace of the Drango Continent……! The other dragons raised their cups and shouted the same slogan in unison. It was like a toast, except with coffee instead of alcohol. A refined yet bizarre sight. Then again, it was an academy, so alcohol was probably banned anyway.
—Slurp…! Slurp slurp!
—Crunch, crunch!
While I was lost in thought, the dragons began tasting my coffee and biscuits one by one.
‘I really hope they like it…….’
Honestly, I had been full of confidence before obtaining Gourmet Feeding. But after confirming my skill was only worth one and a half stars, my confidence had plummeted. Yet that worry didn’t last long……
—Th-this is delicious……?!
—It’s a flavor I’ve never tasted before!
—I usually hate sweet things, but this isn’t bad?
Satisfied reactions came from the young ladies here and there.
—Ding!
Moreover, system notification sounds kept ringing in my ears.
[A new target wishes to commune with you.]
[A new target wishes to commune with you.]
[A new target wishes to commune with you.]
[A new target wishes to commune with you.]
[A new target wishes to commune with you.]
[A new target wishes to commune with you.]
[A new target wishes to commune with you.]
[A new target wishes to commune with you.]
……
[Will you accept the communion?]
[Will you accept the communion?]
[Will you accept the communion?]
[Will you accept the communion?]
[Will you accept the communion?]
[Will you accept the communion?]
[Will you accept the communion?]
[Will you accept the communion?]
[Will you accept the communion?]
[Will you accept the communion?]
[Will you accept the communion?]
“……?”
All of it came with countless system messages.