Preparations for Enrollment (2)
What is the greatest pleasure one can enjoy at an inn?
Sleep? A bath? The suggestive sounds drifting through the wall from the next room?
"Here it is—our inn's recommended specialty, crab-shell gratin!"
"Ooooh!!!"
Naturally, the greatest pleasure was the meal.
The other three could be enjoyed anywhere (more or less), but cooking was different at every establishment—each place had its own character.
At the mere mention of food, Thomas and Emily joined them, eyes sparkling as they surveyed the spread. A gratin loaded with crab meat and cheese sat at the center, surrounded by dishes of every kind filling the table.
Including Dantalion, who had casually climbed onto the tabletop, that made four of them…
"Well then, shall I dig in too?"
No—five, once César was counted among them, all lifting their utensils.
Thomas had been swept along by the natural flow of things, so it fell to Emily to raise an objection.
"C-César, why are you just sitting down like it's the most natural thing? You're not even part of our party…"
Of course her timid nature hadn't gone anywhere. César burst out laughing at her frightened-hamster reaction.
"Hahaha! While you lot were out, Miss Yoanna gave me permission."
"Uuuugh, even so…"
"Besides, isn't Miss Yoanna the one footing the bill?"
Dantalion, who had already snuck a bite of gratin, nodded in agreement. Emily had played her part admirably as bait—no, as a companion—but if one measured contributions, Yoanna's share was overwhelmingly larger.
There is no sharper blade than the truth. His words seemed to snag on some negative circuit in Emily's mind; her body went rigid.
"I-I'm just a useless freeloader…"
Left alone, she looked ready to shrink into something the size of a bean weevil. Yoanna chuckled softly and gently stroked Emily's hair.
"It's only because Miss Emily's gifts aren't suited to combat. Isn't that right?"
"Miss Yoanna…!"
Tears of gratitude welling up, Emily threw her arms around her. Thomas, who had quietly stolen a bite of potato salad, tilted his glass and spoke.
"Come to think of it, Emily's entering the academy too, isn't she? Definitely not as a knight or a mage."
"Then a civil official? An alchemist? Or a priestess? Any of those would be impressive."
César's casual remark seemed to soothe her pride. A little flushed, Emily thumped her chest and declared,
"Ahem. I am a seeker of the world—a priestess who serves Lord Ilias. I can work simple miracles, and I've read so many books that I'm rather clever, you know!"
"Hmm…"
"What is that reaction supposed to mean?!"
César and Thomas clinked their glasses with dubious expressions. Honestly… "clever" felt less accurate than "a bit of an airhead," didn't it?
"Well, being a priestess, she must be smart in her own way."
"Honestly, 'clever' is generous—more like a know-it-all—"
"That's so mean!"
With reactions this good, wasn't she practically asking to be teased? Under the tipsy men's ribbing, Emily whined and stabbed at the gratin. She hated a world that refused to believe in her. Food eaten in such a mood couldn't possibly taste good. It would be like chewing gravel…
"Wow, it's delicious!!"
One bite of gratin later, Emily was beaming, her appetite on full display. Cheeks stuffed, grinning foolishly, she looked every bit the pure country girl. Perhaps everything really was her own doing? Thinking as much, she dunked bread into her soup.
"Mmph… César, you've seen academy students often, haven't you?"
"Pwah~ Of course! It's been years since I retired and opened this inn."
"Then do you have any advice for us?"
"Advice, huh…"
César rolled salad around in his mouth and wore a nasty little smile—the kind of villainous grin that said he wanted to mess with someone. He pointed his fork at Yoanna and Emily.
"Do you know what bothers academy students the most?"
"Hmm. Is there some list of supplies we need?"
"Hardly. This is the Imperial Academy—you think they'd send students out to buy their own materials?"
Then what was the greatest nuisance? César spun the fork that had been pointing at them and tapped the table.
"Finding a house."
"But I heard academy students live in the dormitories…"
"That's during the term. There are breaks—the academy has about two rest periods a year."
In truth, even "rest period" was window dressing. How could you call it a vacation when you couldn't play and were expected to master what you'd learned in the field?
"Knights have it a bit easier… but the rest of them end up with so much gear they can't even stay at an inn."
So of course students looked for a place to spend the breaks. Plenty couldn't easily return home, and whether for commissions or practical training, staying near the capital was better.
"Anyway, once you start hunting for a house, the curses will just pour out of you."
"That bad? But considering the size of the city, finding a single empty room shouldn't be hard."
Emily tilted her head. This wasn't some tiny town—it was one of the empire's top ten gateway cities. How difficult could one vacant room be?
In the end, César had not been wrong in the slightest.
Yoanna and Emily rose early and spent the morning going around in search of empty houses…
"Ah… academy students, are you?"
"I'm sorry, but we don't broker buildings for academy students."
"Ugh… I don't need another headache. Find someone else!"
The agents treated the two of them as if they were plague-bearers. Most of them turned pale at the mere mention of the academy and sent them packing. So were the ones who didn't turn them away any better?
"This is a scam! The picture you showed us looks nothing like the real thing!"
"Ahem. Paintings always contain the artist's personal impression, don't they?"
"There's a limit! The walls are about to collapse from insect holes—and you call this a house?!"
"If you don't like it, don't sign."
No, they weren't better. If anything, they only showed properties they knew would be hated, needling the girls' nerves with the ease of long practice.
In the end, after a thoroughly wasted first day, Yoanna and Emily returned to the inn. The moment they opened the door, César—looking as if he had expected exactly this—served them a dish piled high with meat. Emily shoved food into her mouth as if she had forgotten all shame.
"Seriously, mmph, the people around here, mmph… have awful personalities!"
"Hahahaha! Didn't I tell you house-hunting is no ordinary nuisance?"
César cackled as if he'd known all along and offered Emily a glass of cold water. From the start, the locals of this region had little fondness for academy students. It wasn't anything as petty as jealousy. If anything, the academy students had given them the reason first.
"Was it before I settled here? Academy students caused quite a bit of trouble in the city. That's why the townsfolk don't like them."
"What kind of trouble?"
"All sorts. Throwing their weight around with their status, or completely wrecking a house someone worked hard to arrange for them."
Graduating from the Imperial Academy guaranteed at least a knight's standing. These days the academy, aware of the problem's severity, supervised its students strictly—but unfortunately, past deeds did not simply vanish.
"Ugh, why do we have to suffer because of seniors we've never even met…"
"The merits and demerits of the previous generation are always inherited by the next. Your seniors may have been absolute bastards, but thanks to the academy's reputation, you two can walk around with your heads held high, can't you?"
It wasn't wrong, but that didn't make it any less irritating. After the meal, Yoanna and Emily decided to rest in their respective rooms. Unless they found another approach, securing a proper house would be difficult.
"Ah, this is apple pie. My wife made it—there's cinnamon in it, and it's fantastic."
"Thank you. We'll enjoy it."
Of course they couldn't give up dessert. Yoanna took the apple pie and went straight to her room. She carefully set Dantalion down on the bed.
"Lord Dantalion, may I have permission to offer this apple pie as an offering?"
"Mm. You may."
Calling an apple pie an "offering" as if it were something grand… Permission granted, Yoanna beamed and sliced the pie. She held out a piece to Dantalion.
"Say aah~"
"……"
Even so, asking a demon to do something like that was a bit much. Stretching out like a slime, Dantalion absorbed the apple pie. The crisp texture, the tart apple, and the distinctive fragrance of cinnamon were all rather good.
Fine cuisine, indeed.
Even the cooking of Hell or Heaven was not always the best. The pleasure of taste changed with every world, every dimension, every region, did it not?
Yoanna had gotten so carried away that more than half the pie she was feeding him was already gone. When she held out another piece, Dantalion cleared his throat.
"Ahem. I've enjoyed it enough. If there's something you wish to ask, ask it."
"As expected, Lord Dantalion had already noticed my worries."
"You never put off anything you can handle yourself."
Yoanna cleared the plate and dropped to one knee. Honestly, considering she had just been feeding him like an animal, the sudden formality felt odd in places—but everyone had their own standards.
"If it's a residence I'll use during practical training, I can't choose carelessly."
"A sound judgment. Three years may feel short, but it is time enough to experience and gain a great deal."
"Then what method would be best for finding a house?"
"A strange question."
"Pardon?"
Yoanna looked at him, puzzled. But it truly was a strange question—because she already possessed the means to solve this problem. Otherwise, what had been the point of the time she had spent in her hometown?
"Use what you're good at, and the problem will resolve itself easily."
"What I'm good at…"
Dantalion nodded. Wasn't this exactly why he had obtained Jijang Bosal's sermon for her?
If the problem is one of the heart, simply ease the heart.
There was no need to speak for every academy student. If she could simply change the evaluation of Yoanna as an individual, the rest would take care of itself. Given her gift for words, it was a problem she could solve.
She seemed to grasp the answer as well; she nodded.
"I see. So that is what you meant."
"Do you understand?"
"Yes."
Her gaze filled with certainty, as if she had caught the solution. Of course—this was the wisdom he had gifted her for just such a moment—
"You mean I should raid a sinner's hideout and make it my residence. It costs nothing, and I can punish crime at the same time—two birds with one stone."
"……"
Why did she interpret it that way?
Dantalion looked at Yoanna with a dubious expression. Considering how clean her name remained, she clearly wasn't drunk on killing, and yet…
"Lord Dantalion?"
"No. What I meant was not that you should hunt sinners, but that you should befriend the local people and receive their help."
"But punishing sinners saves money, benefits the world, and would please you, Lord Dantalion—three birds with one stone…"
Yoanna trailed off, looking genuinely disappointed. Her dejected face made it plain she was dying for permission. But this was for Yoanna's sake. She herself didn't intend to spend her entire life hunting down sinners, did she?
"…Once you've found a house, I will at least permit you to look for sinners."
"Lord Dantalion…!"
Her intentions weren't bad, so this much should be fine. At the sight of Yoanna's delighted face, Dantalion smiled warmly. Was this what people meant by carrot and stick?
He could only admire his own cool-headed judgment.