The Academy Festival
In the dim cave, by the flickering lantern light, a woman was flipping through documents.
Her lazy gaze, indifferent gestures, and even her bare feet tapping lazily.
If someone unfamiliar with the situation saw her, they might think a top beauty was burdened with work.
But if they saw the hellish scene beyond her, the thought would vanish instantly.
“Haah… Disappointing. You guys. What is this? There's not a single useful piece of information.”
She had been moving without rest for days based on the information from the Imperial Special Intelligence Agency.
As a result, she had discovered several bases of the Luzens organization related to the Empire's terror.
Now that she had found them, the remaining task was simple: the extermination operation befitting the unit's name.
But even if they were handled well, they were just middle-level.
There was no one who could be called a head. No clue to the leadership.
It was like pulling weeds but not getting the roots.
She sighed again and stood up from her seat.
Her white feet shone unusually brightly. She was barefoot.
She had been wearing sandals originally, but the strap had broken during the resistance.
That was the end of it. The damage from raiding the seven bases was all.
She slowly walked, poking a corpse with her white toes.
“I expected it. The captured guys are just regular organization members, so it's strange that they know the leadership exactly. They wouldn't treat such important guys as one-time consumables.”
Even so, the reason Eloise was doing this herself was simple.
Because they ordered from above. No matter how annoying, you have to do it if asked.
'It's best to quickly find a man, get pregnant, and retire from childcare.'
And since I'm doing it anyway, a human man would be much better than an elf with narrow-minded pride.
Scratching her flat belly vigorously, Eloise fell into thought.
'Ultimately, I didn't catch the leadership… but it's not like there's no harvest.'
Even though I searched thoroughly, no leadership came out.
They were all middle-level who moved on orders from above.
I found all possible hiding places for Luzens remnants in the elf territory!
I'm not overconfident, but the search ability of my extermination unit is excellent.
But even though I and the unit members are really digging like this, nothing comes out?
The conclusion is one.
“You guys' heads… aren't many in our land?”
A bewitching smile appeared on Eloise's lips.
It seems I have to enter the Empire one more time.
*
“Festival?”
This is like being woken up by a hammer.
“Yeah. Karl. Didn't you know?”
“Hey, Schlippen. You're saying something obvious again. Karl obviously doesn't know. The academy festival is held in autumn, and Karl hasn't been to the academy during that time. You're really a young man with dementia, Karl.”
“Ah, I see. Sorry, Karl. You've never seen the autumn festival.”
“…”
You bastards… I told you not to beat the facts like that…
It's being mocked for jumping to the army after just one month of academy admission, right now?
“There is a festival held every autumn at the academy.”
“From 1st year to 4th year. It's a day that all the professors and other academy-related people enjoy.”
“The duration is 2 nights 3 days if short, or 4 nights 5 days if long.”
“The last few years couldn't be as grand as before because of the Luzens war. Even if long, it was just two days. Since the war is still going on in the south, we can't be indifferent.”
“…But now that the war is over, this festival is going to be amazing again, right?”
The Four Idiots nodded their heads saying 'That's right!' to my question.
Festival. The academy autumn festival. Nice. Good thing.
Just thinking about the previous life, festival memories aren't bad.
Since the academy here functions as a university, it's rather strange if there was no festival.
But there's one problem here.
“Hey, you guys.”
“Huh?”
“Why, Karl?”
“I'm a 1st year, so no problem enjoying the festival. But you guys, who are graduating class, shouldn't you be doing graduation assignments even during the festival period? You don't plan to just slack off during the festival, do you?”
You might get graduation deferral. But you're too carefree.
If it were me, I'd clench my teeth and say 'I will never get deferred!'
…Ah, damn. Suddenly, another nightmare from the basic training camp flashes.
During the shooting training, the instructor got really pissed because I didn't hit a single shot.
You bastard, you're just scattering precious gunpowder and bullets into the air.
I get it. I understand. I knew gunpowder isn't cheap.
But damn! How do I not hit it! I clearly aimed and shot!
Instructor! It was really accurate, and the target was clean, so I almost went crazy!
“Basic trainee Karl!! Are you joking?! Why are there more bullet holes in the side targets again?!”
“Sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!”
“Isn't it possible not to hit even one?! You won't graduate from basic training until you pass the shooting training! You'd better prepare for deferral!!”
Even now, I really don't know how I got through the shooting training.
Was it me who shot, or did the trainee buddy next to me help?
…Thinking about it, the guys on the left and right targets seemed to have missed a couple more than usual?
“Hey. Karl. What do you think of us. We're doing graduation assignments well, and our test scores aren't bad.”
“Yeah. We're all in the top ranks, Karl.”
“But you say you might get graduation deferral. What the hell is that.”
“It's just because the lecture scores are lacking.”
“In other words, even if you don't slack off and study during the festival period, it won't change much.”
I've been too busy and stressed out living my own life in this life, so I haven't worried about others.
'The motive of my previous life was to worry about my own worries instead of others.'
But at this very moment, the futures of two marquises and an imperial count are worrying me.
This guy is also not normal, but at least I'm not a neet, right?
Conversely, those guys are all successors. They are the family neets. The next heads!
How can such guys be like this. Marquises… Imperial counts…! How do I deal with this!!
“So, Karl. We have something planned this time.”
“Don't do it. Please. Just do nothing and quietly lock yourself in the library. That's what graduating class is.”
“Kahaha! It's already too late! I already applied for the booth and prepared the tents!”
Why are they so good at execution. Don't they think before doing it…!
“Huu huu… So. What do you want to do.”
“It's nothing special. What we think is this!”
The guys handed me… several cookbooks.
“What, are you planning to set up a cooking booth?”
“That's right. The last gift from the seniors to the juniors! How is it, Karl. Just hearing the name makes your heart warm, doesn't it?”
My head goes blank and the moment I eat, the fatal disease 'graduation deferral' seems to come.
I tilt my head and receive Joachim's cookbook first. Then I roughly look through the content…
“Wait a minute. You guys… Can you really make all this?”
“I've practiced it several times. Don't worry.”
“No, damn. It's not about practicing. Can you make it at a level that people can eat?”
The cookbooks they handed weren't simple snack recipes.
It's a formal course cuisine. It has to be eaten at a luxurious restaurant.
Apart from that, one thing is certain: it won't be easy to do at the festival.
At first, I tried to understand. Yeah, those guys always ate delicious things.
Not ordinary nobles, but the famous marquise family and imperial count family recognized in the Empire.
It's not strange to do such nonsense even at the stressful festival place. Damn…
“…Damn! You crazy bastards! Do you have a brain!? You're renting a tent to do temporary business, but what? You're going to make super luxurious cuisine?”
“Ugh! Why, why! Karl! You have to do at least this much…”
“If you do that much, can you handle it?! It's just a few practices for cooking, but how the hell are you going to make what's in that cookbook!”
Are these kids really the ones who experienced the academy autumn festival 3 years before me?
Or is there a rule for operating such booths at the academy festival that I don't know?
I couldn't hold back anymore and immediately went to meet Senior Marcus.
He was saying things like the TA work is busy, the grad student is too sad. But when I asked, he sighed 'Ah' and grabbed his forehead.
“Karl.”
“Yes, senior.”
“Go and talk to those kids.”
“I was going to talk to them anyway. If they don't listen, I'll knock them out and hang them on the clothesline on festival day.”
“Don't go that far.”
The next day, I grabbed the Four Idiots and started discussing urgent countermeasures.
“…Got it? Super luxurious cuisine is canceled. The rotation rate is stupid, and the materials, preparation time, and labor cost… that's fine. Anyway, considering all that, it's too much trouble.”
“Karl. It's not for making money, so do you really need to argue?”
“It's not because of money, Alexander.”
It's for your juniors and my reputation.
I don't want to hear that my classmates are just superficially okay but actually idiots.
And then I might get the same evaluation!
“Anyway. The items you sell during the festival period are decided as these.”
“What are we selling?”
I hand out a guide booklet I scribbled for about an hour.
The Four Idiots, who were eagerly flipping through it, soon tilt their heads.
“What the hell is this, Karl? It's fish, why are you using flour?”
“What is this round thing. What's inside… sugar? Can you make it with just this?”
“Always starting from after dinner? Ah, that means enjoy the festival until then, Karl?”
The guys are grumbling about why from dinner, and whether this will attract attention.
'To be honest, I don't know. I don't care. Whether you succeed with the food booth or not. This is just filling my own stomach 100%.'
During the army days, do you know how cold it was only in winter. I really thought I was going to die.
Every time, the memories of fish bread and hotteok from the previous life were so clear that I thought I was dying.
I missed that time when I was blowing hot air and saying Ah hotte! so much!
'So, you guys make it. I'll eat it.'
I've suffered a lot because of you guys lately, so I can legitimately make you work! Damn!