Chapter 66: Isn’t Travel in Academy Stories Always Like This? (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 66: Isn’t Travel in Academy Stories Always Like This? (3)
Actually, I already knew that Ha-ni, who shared a room with me, had made a lunchbox, but the other two were a bit of a surprise.
Well, maybe Lee Yu-na wasn’t that surprising, considering she probably planned to sneak off and eat alone with Lilac.
By now, her favorability toward Kim Ga-eul, who was the one to bring up the lunchboxes, had probably plummeted.
The three of them began to open their respective containers.
Kim Ga-eul was the first.
With a look of overflowing confidence, she revealed a classic lunchbox: bite-sized rice balls, fried chicken, decorated Vienna sausages, and a few vegetables.
“Oh, Ga-eul, you even made fried chicken? That must have been hard.”
As Lilac spoke with a smile, Kim Ga-eul looked at me with a proud expression.
What, am I supposed to praise you or something?
Even the others besides Ga-eul were now casting subtle glances my way.
“So-hyun, hurry up and try some.”
Seriously, does Lilac have social cues or not?
He’s damn good at being annoying at times like this.
I picked up a rice ball and took a bite.
It wasn’t mind-blowingly delicious, but the seasoned rice paired well with the seaweed flakes, making it decent enough.
The fried chicken I tried next was a bit soggy since time had passed, but it wasn’t bad.
“It’s good. You worked hard.”
“How is it? I’m a good cook, right?”
She looked so incredibly proud that I couldn’t bring myself to say anything else.
It was a bit pitiful, knowing that look was about to crumble.
Skill is always relative, after all.
Humans are creatures that can’t help but compare things when they’re right in front of them, and Ga-eul was the one who had jumped into this battlefield without any warning.
Before the warmth of Ga-eul’s lunchbox could even fade, Ha-ni opened her lunchbox with a smile.
“Well, I guess it’s my turn now? I prepared this since early this morning, too~”
“Oh, the lone male lunchbox! The only guy among us who actually cooked!”
Caught up in the mood, Lilac started some sort of comedy routine.
Then, Ha-ni’s lunchbox was revealed.
It contained four types of fried food, grilled salmon cubes, beef and vegetable rolls secured with toothpicks, rolled omelets, salad, and small rice balls.
Seeing it, Kim Ga-eul’s expression began to waver violently.
“The second tier is just simple stuff, and the first tier is fruit to cleanse your palate.”
When he opened the bottom layer, fruits appeared: apples and pears carved into cute shapes, and strawberries coated in hardened chocolate.
Everyone except me—since I ate his food often—seemed shocked by Ha-ni’s culinary skills.
“Hey, don’t just stare, hurry up and eat.”
“…Is it me again?”
I picked up a beef and vegetable roll and put it in my mouth. Thanks to the light seasoning, the flavors of the beef and vegetables harmonized perfectly.
If Kim Ga-eul’s cooking was that of a fairly talented beginner, this was clearly in the realm of a professional.
“It’s delicious. You really are good at cooking.”
But I couldn’t make it too obvious.
Partly because I felt bad for Ga-eul, who was looking at me as if she were about to break, and partly because Lee Yu-na was next.
However, as if determined to drink from the poison chalice, Kim Ga-eul looked back and forth between her food and Ha-ni’s before picking up one of Ha-ni’s dishes and eating it.
Her face softened at the taste for a moment, then she fell into deep despair as she looked back at her own lunchbox.
Ga-eul, don’t be like that. Ha-ni is a heroine who doesn’t die until the middle of the story.
It’s only natural he has more specialties than you.
Wait, that doesn’t really sound like a consolation, does it?
“Phew. Well, I figured we’d all end up eating together anyway, so I packed plenty.”
Leaving the despairing Ga-eul behind, Lee Yu-na opened her lunchbox next.
It was a combination that boys would love: tenderly cooked chicken breast, smoked sausages with cross-cut grill marks, and what looked like handmade tonkatsu. There were also slightly spicy kimbap with chili peppers to cut through the greasiness of the meat-centric side dishes.
“Wow, it’s all the stuff I like!”
And then Lilac, who had suddenly become miraculously oblivious, blurted out that nonsense with a grin.
I bet Lee Yu-na and I were thinking the exact same thing right then.
That’s because she made it for you to eat, you idiot.
Ah, I made eye contact with Lee Yu-na.
She shook her head as if she’d read my mind, looking a bit pitiful.
“Illak, you eat this first.”
“Huh? Wouldn’t it be better if the judge stayed the same?”
“It’s not like this is a competition. Just eat it first. I’ll eat after you.”
If Lilac didn’t take the first bite, the atmosphere was bound to turn chilling again.
“Really? Well, fine by me. Mmm, it’s good! As expected, Yu-na’s cooking has the most familiar taste.”
Seeing Lilac eat happily, Lee Yu-na’s expression softened slightly.
Illak, you really need to be good to me and Yu-na, you bastard.
Ah, it is good.
Taking a bite, the difference was immediately apparent.
If Ha-ni’s cooking felt like the work of a professional, Lee Yu-na’s had the strong taste of skilled home cooking.
A flavor tailored to an individual’s preference carries the sense that the cook spent a long time thinking about that person.
“How is it? Yu-na’s a good cook, right?”
“Yeah, I’m jealous you have a childhood friend who’s such a good cook, man.”
So stop treating her like your designated chef and take better care of her, you prick. Don’t turn the kid into a villain.
As we began eating and chatting, Ha-ni’s and Lee Yu-na’s lunchboxes disappeared rapidly, while Kim Ga-eul’s emptied slowly.
It probably wasn’t intentional; people just naturally gravitate toward higher-quality food while talking and eating.
If they were eating mindfully, this wouldn’t have happened.
…Personally, I don’t like the whole “I guess I have no choice” act of pretending to help, but this was truly a situation where I had no choice.
I couldn’t just let the kid cry or be traumatized.
Mmm, soggy fried chicken is actually quite edible in its own way.
“Loser. You should just eat the other stuff… You don’t have to force yourself when it’s not even good.”
“No, this is actually pretty decent. It’s just that those two are too good. You’re about average.”
“…Loser.”
Our easily moved Miss Kim Ga-eul seemed touched again, as her eyes began to well up with tears.
“That was really delicious.”
Lilac, who had even finished off the fruit, lay down on the mat with a smile.
That con artist bastard. It was cheating for him to look that handsome even while lying down after saying something like that.
Since we were used to him, we just saw him as Lilac, but the people around us didn’t seem to feel the same. The whispering made it look like Lee Yu-na was quite uncomfortable.
Well, everyone except me was quite the looker, so it was only natural they drew attention.
To outsiders, it must have looked like two handsome guys, two pretty girls, and one extra were having a meal in a park full of roses.
As I scanned the people watching us, I spotted something interesting.
A massive man holding a soft-serve ice cream cone was arguing with a girl who was barely half his size.
“Ah, you moron! Who plays Whac-A-Mole like that?!”
“Hmph. A martial artist must show courtesy by focusing only on the opponent before them. I have resolved to duel the one in the center, so do not interfere!”
“Don’t give me that bullshit! That’s not how you play this game! If our combined score doesn’t pass the threshold, they won’t give us the doll!”
“Sometimes, there are things more important than prizes…!”
“Shut up! Pay me back for the entry fee!”
The resemblance to the description in the novel was startling.
The combination of a giant over two meters tall and a cute-looking girl.
Those two weren’t a couple with a heart-fluttering height difference, nor were they friends purely enjoying the event.
They were two people killing time while waiting for their boss, who was scheduled to commit an act of terror at this venue shortly. They were executives of the Villain Alliance—the main antagonists of this episode and the ones who were originally supposed to be the rivals of The Twelve Zodiacs.
“Phew, I won.”
“Won, my ass! Your score is a mess because you only hit the middle mole! Ah! Seriously!”
“It’s not like we’re too poor to buy a doll. Just deal with it.”
“It’s only good because you win it from a game!”
It was hard to believe, but it was true.
In fact, considering that The Twelve Zodiacs was an organization that would suddenly rise to prominence in the original work, these two could be considered among the most dangerous Villains at this point in time.
“Ah, whatever. Fine. Go buy some stir-fried noodles.”
“I don’t want to. That’s just a lump of carbohydrates.”
“Who said I was buying it for you? It’s for me!”
“Well, in that case, I must go.”
As the giant turned around, he suddenly stopped and looked at us.
“Ho.”
Oh, this was exactly like the original.
Enjoying combat with the strong and testing those with the potential to become strong.
Since that was one of the few hobbies that monster possessed, he had identified the person with the greatest potential to become strong among this vast crowd in a single glance.
“Ah, hey. What are you doing? I told you to go get the noodles! Don’t you remember being told not to cause trouble?”
“I’m just going to give a light greeting. It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone with that much potential.”
He approached us at a pace that was neither slow nor fast.
Whether it was the blatant bloodlust he radiated, Lilac, who had been lying down, and Kang Ha-ni, who had been chatting, both sensed him and stood up.
“You there.”
The massive man reached us and grinned broadly.
Good grief, I didn’t feel much when I read about this in the novel, but is this a bear or a human?
And true to his bear-like physique, he was very good at tearing people apart.
“The guy who was lying down. Let’s have a word.”
The group’s expressions soured at his incredibly blunt and confrontational attitude.
“You’re the strongest one here, aren’t you?”
Once again, the scene from the novel overlapped with reality.
— You’re the strongest one here, aren’t you?
In the story, the woman who stopped the man as he raised his fist was…
And as if the novel’s contents were becoming reality, a woman soon approached us.
“You…”
“That’s enough. How rude of you to bother these children.”
“Ah, you’re already here? I was just going to test him a bit. The kid looked quite promising.”
She was a woman with a model-like build and long, sky-blue hair.
Though hidden behind sunglasses, her eyes were likely a yellow hue resembling gold.
The leader of the Villain Alliance, Arcadia, and undoubtedly one of the strongest beings in this world, born with an S-rank Talent.
Kalia. That was her name.
“Test him? Don’t be a nuisance to the kids and come here quickly. They’re clearly here to have fun. Ah, I’m sorry. My companion has a bit of a bellicose personality and can’t help himself when he sees talented friends.”
She apologized to us, handing over a business card with her forged identity.
“If you’re still upset, contact me here.”
A-rank Hero, Seo Ha-neul.
It was her cover identity, but my friends seemed quite shocked.
“We’re a bit busy right now. I’ll be sure to apologize properly if you contact me later.”
She wasn’t particularly polite by nature.
The persona she was showing us now wasn’t her real personality either; it was a thorough act.
She was merely bowing her head slightly because she didn’t want us to become a nuisance and make her miss her timing, and because she was certain that people like us couldn’t possibly be variables in her plan.
“I had the impression that A-ranks were a bit stuck-up, but I guess not.”
“Hey, Professor Cathy is an A-rank Hero too, you know?”
“Well, the Professor is honestly a bit different from other heroes.”
Soon, this venue would turn into a chaotic mess due to the special device they had brought.
The intentional triggering of a Dungeon.
That was the nature of the terror they were about to unleash, and the reason why this Rose Festival would be connected to an Otherworld Dungeon.
The Alchemist of the Rose, a great figure from another world.
To claim the fruits of the Alchemy he had spent his life achieving, they were planning to turn this entire festival into a Dungeon.
And I, too…
Because there was something I was after, I had no intention of stopping the opening of the Dungeon itself.
Of course, that didn’t mean I planned to let innocent people die.
No civilians here would die.
Even if they acted a bit foolish at times, the protagonist of this novel, Lilac, and the others were here.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
I just figured they’d have to suffer a little bit, that’s all.
* * *
Tap, tap.
Kalia had been in a foul mood for a while.
“Ah, I’m telling you, I really didn’t plan on killing him. I just wanted to test him because the kid looked pretty good.”
“See? If you test him, you’ll end up throwing punches. Don’t you realize it’s a problem even if he doesn’t die?”
“That’s not why I’m angry.”
“Eh? Then why? Have you finally reached the point where you can’t stand the sight of this big guy anymore?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s probably just my imagination, but…”
“Yes?”
“One of those kids… had a scent similar to mine.”
“…You’re saying one of them has the Talent of Omnipotence?”
“No, I’m not entirely sure, but I just got a similar feeling.”
“Heh, if that’s true, we’ll have to secure that one too, won’t we?”
Hearing the giant’s words, she smiled.
“Well, it would be best if we could.”
It was a confident, fierce smile of a predator, quite different from the soft smile she had shown the boys.