Red Flavor #1
After the opening ceremony, the Student Council was always busy. Ludens was a place where unexpected events happened every day. None of the council officers complained about having too much work, though. Even taking that into account, this year's start had been overwhelmingly hectic.
Victorica, seated at the wide round table, finally opened her mouth after keeping it shut for a long time and asked for a conclusion.
“So, it is confirmed that the seal was destroyed by someone?”
The black-haired student sitting across from her answered.
“Yeah, you saw it too, didn’t you? How my shadow moved. I even cooperated with the Student Council for once, and you were having other thoughts?”
It was exactly as Enio had said. At the scene where the sealing facility had been destroyed, when Enio approached the shattered crystal and muttered something, strange stained shadows had risen from the floor and begun moving in all directions.
Manipulating shadows. It’s still such a disgusting and unpleasant sorcery.
Regardless of Victorica’s personal feelings, the sorcery’s effectiveness was outstanding. From the behavior of the culprits that the shadows depicted, it was clear that ‘someone’ had intentionally destroyed the crystal in the sealing facility. As a result, monsters had invaded the student and civilian residential areas, and the student sitting here was the one who had stopped them.
Admission File — Luke Merciless.
“……”
Victorica found this transfer student extremely displeasing.
Ever since this guy showed up, my peace has been completely shattered. If only he hadn’t fought with Victor.
Still, one had to strictly separate personal and official matters.
“For carrying a sword without permission, Luke will receive ten hours of unpaid service as punishment. Additionally, in recognition of his achievement in defeating monsters, we intend to grant him the ‘Special Weapon Possession’ qualification. What do you all think?”
At Victorica’s question, everyone nodded. They had all witnessed the transfer student Luke’s skills, and there was no falsehood in them.
“Perhaps this transfer student might even be able to find the culprit who destroyed the crystal. Then we’ll settle on that conclusion.”
One agenda item complete. At that moment, Secretary Shadi asked,
“Then, Victorica. Shall we move on to the main topic? Milone, bring that over.”
“Ah, yes! I’ll get it!”
Milone, who had run off somewhere, returned carrying a plate covered with a round lid. She placed it on the table and opened it, revealing a sticky red mucus that drooped down, causing everyone to make faces like “Ugh” or “Eww.”
Secretary Shadi said,
“This is the mucus from that 1st-Tier monster, the Bomb Wildling, right?”
Milone’s deer-like eyes sparkled.
“Is it really a 1st-Tier monster? I’ve never even seen one before…”
At the first-year Milone’s words, everyone’s expressions turned awkward. It was the same for all of them. Seeing a 1st-Tier monster with your own eyes was an extremely dangerous thing.
Shadi added an explanation.
“Daily verified it. That guy loves spreading all sorts of rumors, but when it comes to monsters, he’s the real deal, right? That’s why he got into the Newspaper Club too.”
Daily Rumor. Everyone knew that although he was an untrustworthy person, no one had more knowledge about monsters than him. If he said this mucus belonged to a 1st-Tier monster, then it probably did.
At that moment, Enio spoke.
“No, verification like that wasn’t even necessary from the start. Because the Victor who brought it said so with his own mouth. That guy doesn’t lie. Everyone here knows that well, right?”
Good grief, since when did you become Victor’s spokesperson?
Victorica wanted to snap back but kept her mouth shut. Because Enio had casually placed a brooch he was holding onto the table. It was a hexagonal brooch gleaming with platinum light.
“It’s the proof of a top adventurer. It’s a brooch given to those who complete 1st-Tier requests at the Hall of Adventure. Rather than whether this is real or not, we should focus on ‘how they did it.’”
“Um…”
The first-year Milone hesitated.
“This is just a personal question, but… are 1st-Tier requests that difficult to complete? Since we don’t go on practical training until the middle school division, I don’t really have a sense for it.”
As a first-year, Milone still had a lot she didn’t know. The kind Secretary Shadi answered for her cute junior.
“Usually they’re done in groups. Last year, the Swordsmanship Club completed about four 1st-Tier requests, right? It was catching plain wolves or something. That’s how they got certified as an outstanding club.”
“Then it’s not completely impossible?”
“That’s right, but if it was done by just two people, the story changes. Especially when one of them was Victor, who wasn’t even holding a sword. That means…”
“Anyone can do it.”
Victorica answered calmly.
“If Victor, who wasn’t even holding a sword, could do it, then anyone can. As long as they find out the method.”
A 1st-Tier request that anyone could complete. It was news that would make every student at the Student Council—no, every student at Ludens—cheer with joy. Because completing 1st-Tier requests would allow them to obtain Rene while also raising the students’ stats.
Then they could advance toward even more dungeons. If they trained themselves more and more like the heroes and seniors of old, finding the crown that the ancient king Gilgamesh had hidden might not be just a dream.
But for some reason, Victorica’s feelings were becoming extremely complicated.
What on earth is that Victor guy doing now? Were you always the type to stir up so much trouble?
No, it wasn’t just Victor that was bothering her.
“So as a fellow club member, I asked Victor what method he used. And the method Victor told me was to drink the soup and—”
That black-haired Enio chattering over there.
That guy has been approaching Victor lately. He even joined the same club? Enio, who had zero interest in club activities? His intentions are so obvious.
Victorica felt that she must not let Enio get close to Victor.
Because Victor knows all sorts of information about the Arclight family, I need to keep his mouth shut. Yes, that’s the reason.
Having concluded her feelings that way, Victorica opened her mouth as the meeting was drawing to a close.
“Enio.”
“Hmm? Why is Lady Arclight calling for me?”
“Stay behind after this and talk with me.”
Her voice was quite serious. However, Enio’s response was relatively relaxed.
“Really? A personal story?”
“Yes. A personal story.”
“I see. Perfect timing—I had something to tell you too. This isn’t a personal story but one as a ducal family, so prepare yourself. It’s about the Reshguard Forest.”
Two days had passed since the start of the new term. The only event that had occurred in that time was my group assignment. Teacher Berjurak, who had examined the stele I brought, gave a rather positive evaluation: “It has sufficient value as historical material. I’ll pass this on to the History Research Society.”
If I maintained this pace, even in A-1 class, getting into the top ten and receiving a scholarship would be practically guaranteed, wouldn’t it? I felt extremely good.
However, Nike was on the verge of tears.
“What should we do? People are tearing out all the spice grass…! And they’re catching tons of rabbits too…!? What should we do? The things we can gather keep decreasing…!”
Nike, who had entered the mysterious forest, was at a loss as she looked at the people swarming the woods. It had been a forest with hardly any human presence, yet yesterday and today, no matter where you went, it was as crowded as a famous restaurant.
Seeing Nike fidgeting restlessly was somewhat amusing.
“Nike, didn’t you say that everything that grows in the forest belongs to everyone?”
“But… Victor!”
“I know, I know. The rumor has already spread. This is faster than I expected.”
“Rumor? What rumor has spread?”
To Nike’s question, I answered simply.
“It must be the story that the ‘spice grass’ that grows in this forest is helpful. It’ll probably become even harder to find from now on. Because there will be competitors in gathering it.”
“T-then aren’t we doomed!?”
Nike looked like she was about to foam at the mouth. That was one way to see it. But my perspective was different.
Originally, spice grass was a 1st-Tier ingredient. It was supposed to be hard to find. Everything up until now had simply been good luck. It was a second-round special dish that raised maximum HP by 200, so discovering it so easily was the lucky part. Therefore, this level of misfortune was bearable.
“Within my calculations. There’s no need to waste time feeling anxious.”
“Huu… Yeah. We still have the Hall of Adventure, right? Yes, we had that! My throat stings a bit, but we get 5 million Rene each time we complete one…”
Nike laughed “Hehehe” while thinking positively. I had no choice but to give her a pessimistic outlook.
“From now on, we won’t be able to complete Bomb Wildling requests either. The guys who drank the spice soup will copy the exact method we used. There will be competition for that too, and naturally the Bomb Wildlings will be wiped out.”
“Eeeek…! We’re finished…!”
“No, as I said earlier, this is a reaction I had already anticipated. In fact, in some ways the response is better than expected, so I’m rather pleased. There are two reasons.”
“Two reasons…?”
Nike looked like she couldn’t understand. I simply told her, “Well, you’ll understand if you watch a little longer.”
And not long after, exactly what I had predicted happened.
“Uwaa, this is just a 2nd-Tier ‘Spice Soup’! I clearly followed the known recipe, so why? I even added an egg from the mainland at the end?”
“At least yours is edible! Mine turned into a ‘completely blackened lump’!”
Complaints rained down from every pot boiling in the forest. Why, did you think making 1st-Tier food would be easy? Rhythm and timing. Those two things have to be exact. Even I fail about once every ten tries. So what about the other students who were complete beginners?
“Nike, this is the first reason I mentioned. A stroke of luck without effort doesn’t last long. Everyone will realize that it’s more beneficial to bring ingredients to us than to cook it themselves.”
Now that spice grass had become rare enough for everyone to know, who would want to barely gather it only to waste it turning it into a ‘completely blackened lump’? We could just sit still, receive the ingredients, and cook them. That way, the time wasted gathering ingredients would naturally decrease significantly.
In reality, many students brought ingredients and held them out to Nike.
“Um, senior. I heard you make 1st-Tier food here. Is that true?”
“Yes! It’s not me cooking but Victor! The cooking fee will be 10,000 Rene!”
“Ugh, that’s expensive… But it’s better than just wasting the ingredients…”
Why else would the original shop be so popular? It’s a verified place. Thanks to that, I had to devote a lot of time to cooking. Fortunately, after countless cooking sessions, I acquired the Beginner Cooking skill, which reduced cooking time by 20 minutes and increased the success rate by a whopping 20 percent. At this rate, obtaining Intermediate Cooking was only a matter of time.
“Hehe, getting 10,000 Rene just for cooking. 10,000 Rene every 10 minutes, 60,000 Rene per hour…! Victor, at this rate we’re going to become rich!”
“How about it, Nike? Still anxious?”
“It… doesn’t seem like it anymore. So if that’s the first reason, what’s the second? The second one is also an amazing reason, right? Huh?”
“I’ll show you that from now on.”
I lifted a clean pot. Then I boiled water inside it. Bubble bubble. As the water boiled, people’s attention turned toward us.
“Is he making soup again?”
“This time I’ll watch the recipe perfectly. Then I can do it myself without spending Rene on cooking fees.”
Everyone seemed to have their own expectations. However.
Contrary to everyone’s predictions, what I took out this time was a sticky red liquid.
Hard-to-obtain ingredient. Eating it produces a fiery taste. There is no particular need to eat it, but if you use a special method, it seems it could be eaten more deliciously…?
“W-what are you trying to do with that, Victor? That thing, it’s not edible!”
To the trembling, flustered Nike, I simply answered lightly as always.
“You’ll see when you watch.”