The Pre-Semester Was Always a Battlefield #4
I took after my father and was quite skilled at cooking. Yet when it truly mattered, I ate without care. There was never enough time to spare any thought for meals. It was not eating for enjoyment but eating to survive. Taste and nutrients were secondary concerns. That mindset, however, was a mistake. Neglected eating habits always return with crushing interest later. Poverty carries interest, and that interest is poor health. This time, things would be different.
“Two cups of water. Add approximately four hundred milliliters more, boil for five minutes, then skim off the impurities.”
Victor appeared to have no connection to cooking and no discernible talent for it. From my experience, however, he was the type who performed when he set his mind to a task. True to his rigid personality, he approached everything with meticulous precision. He was the sort who would feel physically uncomfortable if he deviated even slightly from the instructions printed on the back of a ramen package. Cooking done with such discipline at least never resulted in failure.
While the soup bubbled vigorously, Shadi had been wrinkling her nose at the pungent aroma of the Herb Grass. She suddenly sniffed again.
“...The bitter smell really has disappeared. Has my nose gone dull? What do you think, Milone?”
“I feel the same, Senior Shadi.”
“......”
The only one maintaining perfect silence was Victorica. If I let it simmer a little longer, it would become the two-tier dish Luxury Herb Soup that Nike and I had shared before. But I still had one secret weapon left: the three-tier ingredient known as Mainland Egg. I cracked it in and stirred thoroughly. At last, a brilliant starburst of light erupted from within the pot.
I did it! A great success! The dish has been perfectly completed!
“Now, please sample it.”
I ladled the soup into bowls and set them before the club review officers. Secretary Shadi and Treasurer Milone simply stared at each other with wide eyes. The first to move was the youngest, Milone, who was scheduled to enter the high school division as a freshman this year.
“Th-then I’ll try it first. It still looks reddish even after the egg was mixed in. Is it because of that strange grass? I wonder how it tastes...”
Yes, this was the sort of role a youngest member was supposed to fulfill. Milone lifted her spoon and took a mouthful of the faintly red soup.
“Mmm—!?”
Her expression transformed strangely, and she immediately began scooping more. Shadi looked flustered at the sight.
“Hey, Milone! You have to tell us how it tastes!”
“H-how can I even describe this...! Senior, you should try it yourself!”
“To think I would be told to eat something cooked by that Victor of all people...”
Shadi’s elegant, model-like face twisted into a slight frown. What was so strange about Victor cooking? Honestly, even I would have been suspicious. Still, I had to say something.
“Eat. And evaluate it thoroughly. That is your duty.”
Scrape the bowl clean down to the last drop.
“Victor, were you always this talkative?”
Shadi let out a long sigh before picking up her spoon. She took one mouthful, and her brown eyes widened dramatically.
“Wh-what is this? It tastes better than the hundred-thousand-Rene lunch I had at the shopping district earlier?”
“Do not compare my Luxury Herb Soup to mere restaurant fare.”
“Look at him acting all smug. It’s irritating. So irritating, yet...”
Unable to overcome her own desire, Shadi kept spooning up the soup. “Why does something Victor made taste this good? I don’t understand. I really don’t. Even on the mainland, I’ve never had anything like...”
It was the exact moment my hypothesis—‘One-tier food works even on student council officers’—proved correct. I spoke to Victorica with even greater confidence.
“Victorica, you should eat as well.”
“......”
While Milone and Shadi devoured their portions, Victorica maintained a calm silence. She stared at the soup in her bowl for a long time before finally lifting her spoon and taking a bite.
“It’s delicious. Though it frustrates me to admit it.”
“I am glad.”
“Dried jerky and mainland eggs are cheap ingredients. They are three-tier materials designated by the gods. I do not know about the herb grass, but to create something like this from easily obtained ingredients...”
“Even inexpensive things can produce astonishing results when combined properly. Much like you and that girl Nike over there. They may appear cheap, but they possess such potential. Are you criticizing my discernment for failing to recognize that?”
What was she talking about, discernment? I remained silent, so Victorica continued.
“And you never told me you could cook like this.”
“Is that so.”
“You never told me. You never cooked for me. At this point, I no longer know which parts of you were real.”
Victorica set her spoon down. Her words were cold, but she had finished every drop of her portion, so I could hold positive expectations. I asked, “What is your verdict on the review?”
Victorica closed her eyes calmly. While I felt a slight tension, the freshman treasurer Milone—who seemed even more anxious than I was—clacked her abacus and spoke rapidly.
“...If you can keep producing food of this quality, the economic benefits will be enormous. It is not just the taste; I feel strength overflowing from my body. Perhaps it would even be possible to clear dungeons in this state and bring back even more resources to Ludens...”
Secretary Shadi picked up the thread. “Yes, Victorica. Unlike those smooth-talking mediocrities, he clearly has the qualifications. You said you would run a business, right? Can we eat it if we come by? Hm? Say yes!”
“Sales volume will be limited. And Victorica’s approval is still required. A club may only open with the approval of at least three review committee members.”
All eyes turned to Victorica, who still had her eyes closed. Several seconds of silence filled the room. Then her eyes opened.
“Very well. I approve.”
That was more willing than I had expected. However, Victorica added a meaningful remark directed at Nike.
“Miss Mokemoke, please make certain this time that the club is not abolished. Even a club novice like Victor might not fully understand what it means for a club to truly begin, but I believe you do, Miss Mokemoke.”
“...This time I’m different. I’m not alone anymore.”
“Indeed. But please, do not end up like someone who trusted another only to be stabbed in the back.”
Was it my imagination, or was there a barb hidden in those words?
“Then I, Milone, will now collect the club startup deposit from Senior Victor and Senior Nike. As announced, the fee is ten million Rene.”
Clink. That left me with seven million Rene. The once plump money pouch had become alarmingly light.
“Then I shall take my leave. Farewell, everyone.”
Regardless of everything else, our business here was finished. Lingering any longer seemed unlikely to produce favorable conversation, so I moved to depart the review room with Nike.
“Miss Mokemoke.”
Victorica called Nike back. Why now? If she spoke too much and our ‘lover’ contract was exposed, there was no telling what might happen.
Gurgle. Victor’s stomach throbbed. The situation of telling such lies as a ‘lover contract’ must have displeased him. You fool, keep that up and you really will turn into a sluggish boss monster. Endure it.
“What...?”
When Nike asked, Victorica took a calm breath and spoke.
“I made a mistake earlier. Calling you messy. You are the first person besides Victor to fluster me like that. That hairstyle suits you well.”
“R-really? Miss Victorica, you are incredibly beautiful too. Your skin is so fair...”
That was the end of their exchange.
“Haa, I thought I was going to die from the tension!”
Nike shouted as soon as we left the student council building.
“But we really succeeded on the first try! What on earth was that? That Luxury Herb Soup! It tasted better than the fancy dishes at the shopping district. Can herb grass really turn into something like that?”
“Now that I think about it, I did not manage to feed you any, Nike.”
When I finished cooking, there had only been enough for three bowls. After serving the review committee, nothing remained. Nike was the one who had gathered the ingredients, yet she had not received a single spoonful. The realization made me feel slightly guilty.
Even so, Nike remained cheerful. “I’ll get to eat tons of it from now on, right? Right? I know a few more spots where herb grass grows! Should we have some for dinner tonight?”
“Do not touch ingredients meant for products we will sell. Our remaining budget is only seven million Rene, which is tight. For the time being, we may have to survive by eating tree bark until the semester begins.”
“Euuu...”
Nike did not seem fully convinced, but this was reality. We had only just reached the starting line. Our debt remained enormous, and we had even taken out a loan to increase it. Yet Nike’s expression was surprisingly bright.
“Still, that was amazing! Did you see their reactions? They all ate it so deliciously! At that rate, we’ll gather money really fast, won’t we? Right?”
The situation had not improved at all, yet she could still rejoice like this because she possessed hope. Yes, hope. I declare with confidence that what the poor lack is not merely money but hope. The hope that tomorrow will be better. With that alone, people can smile even while mired in mud. Fortunately, hope was free.
“This is only the beginning. Nike, I will pick up the pace, so keep up.”
“Pace...? I don’t really understand, but now we just need to gather club members! I couldn’t get three and the club was shut down. Victor, since you were in the student council, you must have lots of friends, right?”
“This is bad.”
The pace dropped.
To maintain a club, at least three members were required. There were also matters such as participating in every club fair and demonstrating results, but the immediate issue was the need for three people. We already had Nike and myself. Two members of the Victory Cooking Club were secured. The problem was the remaining one.
I had assumed Nike would naturally have friends she could bring into the club. Instead, an iceberg appeared from an unexpected direction and everything went dark.
Nike said, “...I thought you had lots of friends, Victor.”
“Do I look like someone with many friends? To Victor, there are only enemies. You were angry the first time you saw me, were you not?”
“Th-that’s true. Then what do we do? I don’t have any friends either!”
“What do we do? The deadline is one week. We must promote thoroughly. It would be best to target the new high school freshmen first.”
When the new semester began, various events related to clubs would occur. It was a battlefield where existing clubs fought desperately over freshmen to secure even a little more funding. I never imagined I would be thrown into that chaos.
“No, this level of difficulty is not a problem at all.”
We only needed one more person. Just one additional member. If I told them they could eat one-tier dishes upon joining, the bait might attract so many that we would have to worry about choosing.
Time passed like that. Before long, it was the day the semester began.
“......”