I've Got a Troublesome Feeling

I've got a troublesome feeling.

I was flustered.

Asking out of nowhere if I was already married—what kind of opening gambit was that?

Could it be… the thing I was thinking of?

I wasn't ready for that yet.

"Well, if you already have a fiancé, it'd put a lot of constraints on other things, wouldn't it? That's why I asked."

"Other things… such as what?"

A strangely tense silence settled over us.

After fumbling for a long moment, Roxanna finally opened her mouth.

"Basically, I'd like you to become our exclusive personal chef."

"…Excuse me?"

Is she kidding?

How on earth did "are you married?" lead to this?

I let out a sigh.

I was almost curious about the wiring of that brain of hers.

"His Highness the Crown Prince took quite a liking to your cooking last time, and after experiencing your skill firsthand just now… Carmilla, you're talent I refuse to let slip away, no matter what."

I already knew how much she liked my food from the way she'd cleaned her plate, but still…

In more ways than one, this was an awkward request.

"Right. I got so carried away I forgot to say this."

Before I could get a word in, Roxanna rose from her chair…

…and suddenly bowed her upper body in a formal, refined gesture of respect.

"The food was truly delicious. You have my thanks."

As I took in that polished motion, a familiar window appeared before my eyes.

This again.

The same kind of message window that had appeared when I fed Luca stew in the past.

The timing felt a little random, but this time there was clear progress—a level-up—so I could file it under good news for now…

Come to think of it, something's different from last time…

There were a few points that bothered me more than before.

First: the deficiency had only been relieved "in part."

With Luca, the message had said the deficiency was completely resolved. I still didn't know what that deficiency even meant, but this time it was only a partial amount—a smaller unit of relief.

Did that mean whatever lack this girl was carrying couldn't be filled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by something this small?

Second: the special reward.

Since I'd supposedly hit Roxanna's tastes perfectly, I'd expected something impressive…

And yet all it said was that her Favorability had gone up by fifty.

So it was basically just an affection boost… for a "special reward," wasn't that a little stingy?

Was her Favorability really worth that much?

I had no idea.

Compared to Luca, though, I'd gotten nearly twice the experience and leveled up, which was solid enough… so I'd set it aside for now.

Because the truly important thing was this.

Roxanna's full name.

As I carefully read through the now-familiar status window—I'd seen it a few times already—I noticed something strange.

Roxanna El Ignas.

That was far too grandiose a name for a mere bodyguard.

It was so lavish it almost gave me the gut feeling it belonged in an entirely higher category…

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I knew that naming format well.

That's… an imperial surname, isn't it?

A sense of dissonance settled over me.

From my knowledge of the game, the empire's next emperor was Adrian.

After successfully graduating from the academy, Adrian El Ignas would clean house within the empire, finish that purge without a hitch…

…and then resume the Ignas Empire's wars of conquest, becoming a threat to every other nation on the Rodoros Continent. That was what I knew.

And that was something close to unchangeable canon.

Once I'd learned that this insufferable male character would block the paths of all my favorites, I'd tried across multiple playthroughs to stop that tyranny somehow…

But whether some hidden condition was locked away or not, every attempt of mine had failed.

Which made this strange.

A surname of far too high a station for a mere bodyguard.

Looking back, her performance in the bodyguard role had always felt somehow off.

And even with all my knowledge from replaying this game countless times, Roxanna's presence had been strangely hazy.

I'd found her odd from the first time we met.

Had Adrian even had a bodyguard like this?

If I'd been able to meet her, she would have lit up my girl-character radar and been impossible to forget…

And yet even for me, Roxanna had been a complete unknown.

Naturally I'd written her off as a no-name NPC, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but once you dug into a status like this, that became a problem.

Putting all of the above together, my conclusion could only converge on one thing.

A false identity.

Haa… I've got a troublesome feeling about this.

I didn't know the reason.

There had to be some purpose for coming into the academy under a disguise like this, but I didn't have enough clues to deduce it.

And even if I did, I couldn't go digging right now.

Anything tangled up with the imperial family inevitably came with danger attached.

In short: knowing was poison.

If I knew, the moment would come when I'd have to lie, and if I lied, I'd have to keep covering it up.

The more I knew, the more lies I'd have to invent… and the higher the odds of getting caught.

Unfortunately, I was not a species gifted at that kind of deception.

Besides, just a few days ago I'd run into those thugs tracking Luca and felt the pure helplessness of having no power to fight back.

Risks I couldn't yet carry? No thank you.

"…So. I'd like an answer."

While I'd been lost in grim contemplation, Roxanna was staring at me with a puzzled look.

With that pretty face of hers, the girl who'd just dropped a massive bomb on me tilted her head as if she had no idea what she'd done.

Thinking about it properly, that was pretty infuriating.

"Of course not. Why do you think I opened this restaurant in the first place?"

"What? If it's money, I can pay you plenty."

I refused her flatly, and her face crumpled into a pout almost immediately.

It was fairly entertaining to watch, but it didn't change the fact that I had to refuse.

Whatever else, I had to stay alive first.

"Haa… To think you'd assume I was doing this for money. You must have taken me for quite the materialist…"

"It wasn't that?"

Of course, half of it was true.

I did need money. I'd opened the restaurant to raise funds for surviving from here on out.

For students suffering under those nightmarish cafeteria meals, my cooking would be something close to salvation.

Simply put: demand far outstripped supply.

It was a get-rich-quick environment where the prices I could charge for food would shoot through the ceiling.

But that wasn't the only purpose.

"I wanted to create a small refuge for my fellow students suffering under St. Celestia Academy's dreadful school lunches."

That was the other half of my sincerity.

The thought of my favorite characters eating garbage cafeteria food had always sat wrong with me, no matter how I looked at it.

It was selfish, but luring them into the restaurant and farming Favorability sounded fun too…

And above all, to level my hidden skill—Lord of Gastronomy—I needed to feed the student body.

"Sharing the joy of fine dining with my precious fellow students… that is where my heart lies."

Come to think of it, the reason I'd first targeted Crown Prince Adrian had been similar.

His starting stats were absurdly high for an academy student, so I'd planned to stick a straw in him and freeload…

But now that I knew simply feeding someone wasn't enough to trigger it, I probably needed to look for another approach.

"Ahh, so you had such a noble purpose… My thoughts were far too small."

As if truly moved, Roxanna pressed a hand to her forehead and murmured.

They say sincerity reaches people—apparently even half-sincerity did the job.

"A place ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like this is meant for everyone… Hogging it all to myself would be pure greed. Yeah. I've learned a lot today."

"That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only means you acknowledged my cooking that much. I'll gladly accept the sentiment."

"Well. You won't refuse me becoming a regular here, at least, right?"

With that, Roxanna held out her hand.

At the gesture that seemed to say go on, take it, I opened my palm…

"This is a token of my goodwill. Looking forward to more from here on."

…and roughly fifty gold coins poured into it.

What the hell.

Why were this woman's hands so generous?

"Uh, um… Isn't that a bit much for a single meal? Compared to the cost of ingredients, it's far too generous…"

"Keep it. I got more than just fine dining out of that meal just now… so consider it fair compensation."

Is she serious?

The moment I realized my entire net worth had just been multiplied by one-point-five, an irresistible wave of satisfaction surged up through me.

Imperial family for the win.

Turns out the old saying was right—if you're going to do servant work, do it for a great house.

"I'm off. See you later."

"Please take care on your way!"

And just like that, Roxanna paid a fortune and coolly walked out.

Watching her figure recede beyond the window, I felt a complicated mix of emotions.

Joy that my first day of business had been so successful.

The weight of having learned a bothersome truth.

And… melted butter.

Oh no. Disaster.

"Haa… I completely forgot this place doesn't have a refrigerator."

I'd gotten so excited at the dirt-cheap ingredient prices that I'd bought a mountain of supplies at the market…

Only to realize, once I started putting things away, that I had nowhere to store any of it.

I dumped what I could into bowls for the moment and wiped down the filthy kitchen table.

"Well, I've got money now. Maybe I should try making a refrigerator tomorrow…"

Come to think of it, what had I been thinking about?

I'd gotten so distracted by the refrigerator problem that it felt like I'd forgotten something…

Eh, I'd figure it out later.

With that thought, a switch flipped in my mind.

From business mode to sleep mode.

The moment it did, the backlog of exhaustion crashed over me like a wave.

I felt like I could collapse on the spot, but I had to make it to the bed somehow.

If I didn't, I'd wake up tomorrow in the same horrific state as today.

"Yaaawn… I'm ridiculously sleepy."

I crawled up into the attic loft and buried my nose in the pillow.

"Luca, I left dinner for you in the kitchen. If you're hungry, eat… mm…"

I couldn't even finish the sentence before the tide of sleep swept over me.

It had been a long day.

Just a little rest.

The moment I thought that, my consciousness cut out.

It was an absurdly deep sleep.

Timing it for when the second-year lectures ended, I found the person I'd been looking for.

"Hmph. I listened out of curiosity when a freshman came looking for me… but you're remarkably rude."

"Given how earnestly I'm requesting this, I fully intend to pay a proper price."

"I have nothing to say to someone who approaches without manners. Why don't you get lost already?"

The one I'd sought out was the Ice Queen.

True to that moniker, she was a second-year student at the academy, a genius of ice magic.

Silvia von Espen.

In every sense of the word, a cold girl—and the future repair technician of my refrigerator.