Chapter 30
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 30: Group Projects Are Luck-Based (1)
Since Senior Luciela had already found a restaurant, we headed there without much deliberation.
“Does Junior like fried food?”
“Yes, I didn't eat it often, but originally everything tastes good if fried, right?”
“Fuhu, you know well.”
Just as there is a saying that even a shoe tastes good if fried, frying was a fraudulent cooking method in itself.
Delicious things are delicious even when fried, and tasteless things become delicious when fried.
In other words, if one knows how to fry properly, the minimum quality is guaranteed.
Since this shop opened not long ago, it was the first time for both me and Senior, but worries about failure were relatively less.
The shop was holding an opening event, so there was quite a line.
We ended up waiting, but the smell of fried food leaking out of the shop seemed worth the wait.
“Hmm, looking forward to it?”
“The smell is good.”
Fortunately, perhaps the timing was good, after waiting about 15 minutes, we could enter the shop.
Entering the shop, the first thing seen was the cooks working busily in an open kitchen.
Cooks sweating profusely from the heat rising from the fryers but scooping up beautifully fried golden tempura.
We took a seat at a table for two not far from the kitchen.
Checking the menu on the table, as expected of a fried food shop, there were diverse types.
From various meats to fish, seafood, and vegetables.
One could even request to fry ingredients brought in.
“If I knew this, I should have stopped by a grocery store.”
“Indeed. It would have been good if we knew.”
“I should note it on the gourmet map.”
“Good idea.”
While contemplating the menu chatting harmoniously, we called a staff member.
“Yes~ What would you like to order?”
“Could you give us two assorted tempura sets?”
“Yes, two assorted tempura sets.”
Assorted tempura set was a menu providing diverse fried foods by type.
Since it came out regardless of meat, fish, seafood, or vegetables, it was a good option to enjoy fried food diversely after a long time.
Chiik- Chiiiiik- Sizzle sizzle.
Not long after the staff who took the order returned, the food we would eat began to be coated in batter and enter the fryer.
A few kinds of meat and fish, squid, shrimp, sweet potato, potato, pumpkin, egg, mushroom, etc.
Diverse types of ingredients beyond expectation were fried making appetizing sounds.
“Haa… Look at the sound of frying. Fried food is delicious but makes you gain too much weight…”
“Are you planning to eat moderately?”
“No, I can't do that. It's a reward I give myself for suffering doing Student Council work for a while. Originally, places like this, instead of coming occasionally, you have to eat properly.”
After the last terror, the academy poured all efforts into security, and among the places mobilized for this was the Student Council Senior Luciela belonged to.
The senior is a skilled person who disposed of the flesh monster we couldn't finish in an instant.
Since she was the core force of the Student Council, she had no choice but to be busy.
We met occasionally and drank about a cup of coffee, but just that much.
Except for the time taking her own lectures, she was mobilized for maintaining public order such as patrolling or mediating disputes.
Repeating such a schedule continuously from the last terror until the school closure period ended and the situation stabilized, no matter how strong she was, she must have received a lot of stress.
Even if not for the debt of the flesh monster, the reason to repay her was sufficient.
“Right. This junior is treating, so eat to your heart's content.”
“Haha, things like that are originally this senior's share. Still, I'll owe you one today?”
At my words, Senior answered laughing.
Seeing this appearance, opening the wallet wasn't wasteful at all.
A moment later, golden shining fried foods were set one after another.
Fried foods piled up by type on wide plates and a few sauces placed in front of them.
There were two most important elements in this meal.
How to resolve the greasiness of fried food.
In what order to eat fried food.
Greasiness can be supplemented to some extent with sauce or other food eaten together.
Then what to worry about is the order.
My and Senior Luciela's first choice was onion rings.
Choosing the same fried food, we met eyes and smiled.
“Junior also knows how to eat?”
“Since getting tired of it is a separate issue from the amount one can eat.”
The problem of deciding the order ultimately lay in how stimulating the taste was.
If one eats fruit after eating chocolate, the sweetness of the fruit gets buried by the chocolate eaten earlier.
This applies to the fried food we eat as well.
Therefore, delaying the priority of meat or seafood with relatively strong tastes and eating fish and vegetable tempura first to enjoy diverse tastes as much as possible could be called the standard.
In the case of sauce too, it varies depending on preference, but the big framework doesn't change.
Like that, our meal began.
Fried food was the most abundant dish.
The golden figure of beautiful batter flowing with gloss.
The sound of sizzling frying in oil and the crunching sound when chewing.
The savory smell of fried food rising up.
The texture of crispy on the outside and moist on the inside felt in the mouth.
Above all, adding the greasy taste felt as fried food to the characteristics of the raw ingredients.
It could be called a dish that can be enjoyed with five senses.
Onion rings and pumpkin tempura had excellent unique sweetness, and fish tempura had a soft yet clean taste.
Squid tempura showcased a twist charm with chewy texture inside crispy batter, and meat tempura was good with moist lean meat contrasting with the crispy outer part.
Adding variation by dipping in sauce or eating salad washing away the greasy taste, fried food went in endlessly.
As a result, even after ordering fried food additionally a few times, we emptied the plates clean.
“Ha, it's good.”
“Fuhu, it was an enjoyable meal after a long time.”
Senior Luciela smiling in pleasant satiety after finishing the meal.
Her expression became awkward after seeing the mountain of huge plates piled on one side of our table.
“Ahaha… Did we eat too much?”
“With two from the Knight Department, this much is normal.”
“Still, since we seem to have ordered a bit too much in excitement, I'll split the bill today too.”
“It's fine. With this much, it doesn't even show on the wallet. If you are really sorry, buy me coffee at least.”
“Ugh… Sorry though.”
I finished the payment hurriedly before Senior opened her wallet.
Senior Luciela made a sorry expression since there was the amount she ate, but I really didn't mind.
Afterward, we headed to a nearby dessert cafe.
This place was also Senior Luciela's pick.
“Junior, let me buy dessert at least.”
“Then I'll eat well.”
I chose dessert and coffee without hesitation to relieve the senior's pangs of conscience.
Although we ate lunch abundantly, since there is originally a separate stomach for dessert, there was no problem.
Food came out a few minutes after ordering, and we chatted enjoying dessert.
“Come to think of it, Junior, I heard you were the disciple of Hero Dain-nim?”
“Hmm? You didn't know?”
I naturally thought the senior would know since she investigated me.
“I didn't know! Information on that person was thoroughly hidden. Professor Kell telling me to watch Junior was also because Junior was Dain-nim's disciple.”
“Ah, was it that?”
Hmm.. Thinking about it, it might be natural.
Isn't our master the number 2 in martial power of the Baran Kingdom.
Although a skilled person next to the Knight Commander, the only Aura Master of the Kingdom, unlike the Knight Commander who is at the peak of military power, Master has no particular official title.
From the Kingdom's perspective, it would be troublesome if other nations snatched Master, so they must have managed him behind the scenes.
Master being revealed due to this incident is just… because Master came to the academy recklessly.
Since he's not a person who moves thinking of the aftermath particularly.
Since Professor Kell seemed quite close with Master, it seemed he recognized me as Master's disciple and mentioned to pay attention to that extent.
Well, as a result, thanks to Senior Luciela paying attention to me hearing this story, a good connection was formed, so I was just grateful.
Afterward, we parted ways after conversing throughout lunch time.
A few more days passed.
Master's training was still tough, but I felt stamina attaching little by little, and as time passed, the internal situation of the academy was also stabilizing little by little.
The academy's schedule, which was executed conservatively after the terror, also began to proceed normally after gathering several invited professors like my master and maintaining the inside and outside of the academy.
Knight Department lecture listened to after morning training ended.
Professor Kell, finishing the class as usual, spread a notice before ending the lecture.
“You all know there are final exams next month, right? Unlike midterms, in the case of finals, exams are taken divided into combat and non-combat departments. There will be a group lottery next week, so keep that in mind.”
It was content I knew because I looked it up before enrollment.
The academy aims to cultivate students' diverse practical experiences.
Since this includes interaction with other departments, for the final exam of the 1st semester of 1st year, they have made Knight, Magic, and Theology Departments, which are combat departments, form groups to take the exam.
Thinking about it again now knowing the background of this world is Romance Fantasy, probably the final exam was made like this to give an opportunity to other Male Lead Candidates who are not in the Knight Department.
Currently, there are 6 Male Lead Candidates I have grasped.
Among them, excluding Kyle and Asel who are in the Knight Department and the Senior, and excluding Elliot and Yulian who are in non-combat departments, there was only one left.
The Mage (Peon Kagard).
It seemed the final exam was his turn.
But to me, there was something more important than that.
What is a group project?
The nightmare of all university students and a luck-based shitty game where I fail if others do poorly even if I do well.
Ultimately, isn't it the hardest type of assignment where heaven and hell are divided depending on who the group members are.
At least when forming a group with the same Knight Department, there were communicating parts so we could pass over it smoothly even if a bit lacking, but what about students of other departments?
Although there are a few people I got to know through liberal arts subjects or clubs, the human type that comes to mind when thinking of the Magic Department to me was only the Mage.
If I end up forming a group with things like that....
Just imagining it was terrible.
'Then I'll just discard the finals, well.'
Thinking like that, my mind became comfortable.