I've Gained an Investor
Even that dreamlike moment lasted only a short while.
The unexpected uninvited guest approached slowly, her face scrunched into a frown.
"Judging by the uniform, you are an Academy student… yet I do not recognize your face, so you must be a new student. What is your name?"
Huh.
She seemed somehow familiar.
Neatly tied silver hair, a sharp impression. A pristine uniform without a single crease out of place. And that strict manner of speaking to top it all off.
I remembered.
This girl was the student council president who strove for perfection in all things.
Elise di Rosenberg.
It's been quite a while since I last saw this one as well…
Above all else, the first emotion that rose in me was fondness.
In Chronicles of Rodoros you could never put her in your party, yet she was stuck with the exhausting role of overseeing the Academy facilities in all but name. She aimed for that cool-beauty ice-queen image, but her hopelessly ditzy side always made me laugh.
In short, she was like an old friend whose face I saw every time I returned to the Academy.
For a girl like that, I ought to show a little goodwill of my own.
"My name is Carmilla de Valin. I am a first-year student of St. Celestia Academy. Today, circumstances have led me to borrow the kitchen of the old school building."
"Understood. Carmilla, I am telling you this in case you are unaware, but the old school building is a restricted area for students… Hm?"
Without the slightest change in expression, I lifted my knife and sliced off a piece of the whole pork belly.
I portioned the meat onto a small plate, took it up with a fork, and walked toward her.
"What do you think you are doing?"
"Well, you can tell just by looking, can you not?"
What I held out was a plate of freshly cooked, utterly appetizing pork belly.
"Th-this violent visual is…"
"I merely purchased some pork belly from a nearby butcher's and grilled it with care."
Gulp.
Somewhere, the sound of someone swallowing hard could be heard.
"Why… are you giving this to me…?"
"Hm? If one has something good, one shares it. Is that not the noble heart of an aristocrat?"
"That may be true, but…"
Her reaction had been odd from the start.
Her gaze remained locked on the meat, yet she could not quite bring herself to reach for it.
There seemed to be some psychological barrier I did not know about.
Does she hate pork, perhaps?
Come to think of it, I recalled that pork belly was a cheap cut, which was why it had been inexpensive.
Well, a noble would probably prefer slicing into a beef steak anyway.
"Oh my. If you do not wish to eat it, you need only have said so."
A shame, but I can just give this to Luca instead.
The moment I spoke and moved to take the plate away…
"A-ah, no! I-it's not that I dislike it that much."
What exactly is she trying to do here?
"Hmm, then what could it be… Aha. So this is what you wanted."
I've only had one bite myself so far.
This strangely teasing meal made me wish she would just make up her mind already.
With that thought, I used the knife to cut the meat into neat, bite-sized pieces.
"Say 'aah,' if you please."
Then I strode boldly forward and thrust the fork straight toward the student council president's lips.
This ought to get her to eat it.
"Hngh…! So it is a bribe! Indeed, there is no other way to see this but as a bribe, is there?"
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Are you in your right mind, Carmilla?! Not only have you engaged in illegal cooking within the sacred grounds of the Academy, but you dare try to buy off the student council president—me—with this… this… utterly alluring and violent food…!"
"That is a misunderstanding, Elise. I have approached you with pure goodwill from the very beginning…"
"It is clearly a lie. In a school that serves such ascetic meals, to present such luxurious cuisine can only mean something underhanded like that, can it not?!"
Behind Elise's silver-framed glasses an earthquake had begun; her trembling pupils darted madly between my face and the golden pork belly speared on the fork.
The crisply fried skin. Beneath it, fat melted into translucent richness and meat swollen with juices. On top, coarse salt glittering like jewels.
Looking at it makes me want another bite myself…
With that thought, I had no choice but to hurry her along.
"Come now, come now. Set the trifles aside and have a bite. Food always tastes worse once it cools, you know."
"Ugh, nngh…! As if I would be swayed by the mere aroma of perfectly cooked pork…! Th-this is a clear violation of school rules—n-no… this is violence!"
Elise squeezed her eyes shut and staggered backward. Like a holy knight confronted by the temptation of a great demon, she clamped both hands over her mouth and trembled from head to toe.
"Today…! Today I shall consider this a simple mistake in my inspection route! Clear away that demonic temptation of a dish at once, Carmilla!"
Bang—!
Elise fled, slamming the iron door behind her. Even as her hurried footsteps faded down the corridor, I could not understand it at all.
"My, how fussy she is being."
In the end I popped the now-homeless piece of meat into my own mouth.
Still delicious.
The savory richness of the soft fat, the juicy burst of the meat… and the salt seasoning it so perfectly that I felt I could eat it forever.
Why on earth did Elise leave without eating this?
I truly could not understand it. Creating her own loss like that.
What a waste, what a waste.
"Wow. Defeating the strict Elise like that—impressive."
As I was thinking that, an unfamiliar voice reached me.
"Haa… I seem to be meeting a great many new friends today."
Unfortunately, it was a male voice.
Which meant I had no idea who he was.
While playing Chronicles of Rodoros I had never once put a male character in my party and never paid them any attention… so unless he was a marquee main character, there was no way for me to know who he was.
I only ever cared about the female cast, after all.
"Heh, I'm happy to hear you call me a friend."
Even more unfortunate was the fact that the one who appeared was a slender, pretty-boy type.
Flashy blond hair and a relaxed, snake-like smile that curved his eyes.
I hate this pretty-noble type the most.
If it had to be a guy, at least give me a hearty older brother or a warrior whose back I could trust—not this delicate flower.
"My name is Roen Lacroix. I'm from the merchant guild Libra."
"I am Carmilla de Valin. Kindly state your business."
"Such a cold reception hurts my feelings. That kitchen you're using—my chef used to manage it, you see."
"Aha. I was just wondering about that. A kitchen without a single soul in it being this clean felt terribly unnatural."
"Yeah. The cafeteria food here is disgustingly bad."
Hmm.
Judging by the way he spoke, at least his palate seemed sound.
"Well, I am of the same mind on that point."
"They serve nothing but oatmeal mush every single day."
"That is the absolute worst. One can hardly even call it cooking."
"Hahaha! Right, right. It's been ages since I met someone with such proper taste. The students here put on airs and claim this garbage cafeteria food is delicious, or that they appreciate St. Celestia's ascetic discipline."
After a hearty laugh, the boy made a rather bold proposal.
"Great. I'll be direct. I want to hire you as my personal chef."
"I refuse."
"Oh? Why? I'll pay you handsomely. I may not look it, but I'm a successor candidate of the merchant association."
Why, you ask?
Because I don't cook just to serve it to the likes of you.
"This young lady has greater ambitions. It would be troublesome to be bound to a single individual."
"Greater ambitions, huh. I can't even begin to guess. May I ask what they are?"
"Haa… Very well. Using the kitchen is a sort of debt, so I suppose I can tell you."
Ahem.
I cleared my throat briefly and spoke.
"The present cafeteria meals of St. Celestia Academy are, to put it simply, far too focused on nutrition alone."
"Yeah, I agree."
"Of course, providing quality nutrition to growing talents is fine… but I would capture both flavor and nutrition."
It sounded like self-praise, yet it was an obvious fact.
Before transmigrating, I had run a fairly successful little restaurant, after all.
I could make the numbers work. Of that I was certain.
"Therefore, I shall bring about a revolution in this Academy's cafeteria meals."
I had first thought of it when I ate that oatmeal mush on day one.
Capturing both taste and nutrition was entirely possible. Even the school lunches I ate in my previous life had at least a baseline of flavor.
In that regard, St. Celestia Academy's cafeteria was terribly half-hearted.
They claimed it was for nutrition, but there was no need to cling to flavor this wretched.
I could only wonder why not a single student had ever protested.
"A revolution… Quite the seditious word you've chosen, Lady Carmilla."
Roen wore a faintly excited expression as he spoke.
"What you're trying to do is no different from raising a banner against the Goddess's will. You know that, right?"
"Aha. So the Goddess commands us to eat this cafeteria food… Is that written in the doctrine?"
"Strictly speaking, it's not wrong. The Goddess said, 'Shun gluttony,' and so this school, founded upon the Goddess Church, clings to extremely ascetic meals."
"Hmm. Even so, I doubt She wished for Her followers to eat nothing but tasteless meals."
"What can you do? Religion has always been interpreted by the followers, not the founder."
Roen shrugged.
I thought it over carefully, but he wasn't wrong.
"In the end, your desire to make better cafeteria food is fine, but it's realistically impossible. So instead, become my personal chef…"
"Who ever said I would improve the cafeteria, Roen?"
"Huh. It wasn't?"
"Haa… I assumed that as a successor of the merchant association you would have understood at least this much."
As we talked, I realized there had been a slight misunderstanding.
Change the cafeteria? Why would I?
I couldn't even begin to count how many people I would have to persuade.
Starting with the headmaster, then the opposing faculty, the students…
Even if I became student council president myself, it would be a hard fight.
Besides, I had no intention of climbing into such an ill-fitting seat.
In that case, I would simply…
"I shall open a restaurant for the students somewhere outside the school."
I only needed to do what I was best at.
"And I shall set the prices high and rake in the sales. In this school overflowing with demand for delicious food, is that not the optimal way to make money?"
Clap clap clap.
Upon hearing that declaration, Roen suddenly began to applaud.
"Magnificent."
With genuine admiration in his voice, Roen made yet another bold proposal.
"All right, I've decided. I'll invest in you."