"Where is this...?"
The place Astina had brought Rudy to was her room.
"Didn't you say we were going for a meal?"
"Yes, we came to eat."
Astina had two concerns while making plans for a meal with Rudy.
The first was what to do with Luna and Rie.
She didn't want to bring them along like last time.
Weren't Luna and Rie the ones who were always with him when she wasn't around?
Astina had a desire to have Rudy all to herself.
That's why she thought of having the meal not in a public restaurant, but in the privacy of her room, where Luna and Rie would never suspect.
Who would think to have a meal in a dorm room on one's birthday?
Astina decided on the location and began preparations.
The rooms for seniors in the dormitory were quite spacious.
Large enough to accommodate a big dining table.
Astina asked people to bring a dining table into her room.
Her second concern was about the food.
She could have prepared a regular meal, but she didn't want to.
She wanted to prepare something memorable and special.
The problem was that it wasn't easy to prepare something special with food.
If she made something unique, it might not suit Rudy's taste.
But if she prepared just delicious food, it wouldn't fit the criterion of 'special'.
After much thought, Astina came to a conclusion.
Why not prepare the food she saw in Rudy's dream?
Astina had entered Rudy's dream and visited a wedding hall.
There was a buffet at the wedding venue, with dozens of dishes.
After finishing a conversation with an elder, Astina had asked if it wouldn't be a problem to eat a little bit of the food.
Astina didn't taste all the dishes but sampled a few.
She tried to recreate those dishes from her memory, both in taste and appearance.
It wasn't easy.
She didn't know the ingredients used and couldn't be sure if the flavors were accurate.
Then she remembered the restaurant in front of the academy that Robert frequented.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})It was a restaurant that served bean paste stew.
A dish that Rudy was unusually obsessed with, a dish Astina had never seen in her life.
She speculated that it might be related to the food from Rudy's world.
So Astina sought advice from the grandmother who was the owner of that restaurant.
"Alright, I'll prepare a few dishes for you. Oh, and tell that Robert fellow to pay his tab. That jerk owes me a lot of money."
Thanks to the elderly lady's generous help, Astina's plan proceeded smoothly.
She couldn't fill the table solely with dishes from Rudy's world, so she combined a few delicious regular dishes, dishes she researched from Rudy's world, and dishes prepared by the elderly lady, resulting in a rich and varied menu.
"Take a seat."
Astina reached out her hand to Rudy and spoke.
"I've prepared some food. I'm not sure if it'll suit your taste."
"It doesn't matter. I'm not picky."
Even though he said that, his face didn't seem too hopeful.
"Come in."
As Astina spoke, the door to the dormitory opened, and the food was brought in from outside.
"…?"
Upon seeing the dishes, Rudy widened his eyes in disbelief.
He couldn't trust his eyes.
Not just his eyes.
The familiar aroma wasn't something he expected in a place like this.
"I tried to prepare dishes you might like. That one is 'Jeyuk Bokkeum', a stir-fried pork dish, and there's 'Japchae', a dish you seemed to like at the buffet, and over there, 'Dwaeji Galbi', that's pork ribs…"
Astina listed the names of dishes she had heard from Rudy or remembered from the grandmother.
"How did you…?"
Rudy stared at Astina, utterly surprised.
"Didn't I tell you not to bring the others?"
Astina smiled.
The others wouldn't understand these strange dishes, not knowing Rudy's background.
This was a special event only Astina could prepare, and it gave her a reason to be alone with him.
"Now, let's eat."
Rudy looked at Astina with touched eyes.
In truth, Rudy had done a lot of research trying to recreate these dishes.
However, finding similar ingredients was a challenge, and there wasn't much information available.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Even if he knew how these dishes should taste, he was unfamiliar with this world's ingredients.
He had even asked the grandmother at the restaurant…
-Choose from the restaurant menu! Why are you making this old lady work more? Once that Robert pays his debts, I'll do it! Bother your master for me!
The grandmother grumbled and refused.
The reason she had honored Astina's request was actually because of Rudy.
-You're getting this for that little Astria kid, right?"
The reason the old lady at the restaurant turned down Rudy wasn't due to laziness but her health.
She couldn't stand for long periods, so she could only cook simple dishes.
However, for Rudy's birthday, she decided to show off her skills.
"Thank you… I'll enjoy the meal."
"Yes, eat well."
Astina nodded with a proud smile.
Meanwhile.
"Hey, where is he?"
"Where could he have gone?"
Luna and Rie.
The two had formed an alliance to search for the missing Rudy.
Together, they scoured the school.
Starting from the student council room to the professors' labs.
While rummaging through the labs, they discovered something.
"Rudy? Astina took him," Robert said.
Rie and Luna exchanged surprised glances.
"I knew Astina was here, but how did she take him?"
Robert didn't provide a direct answer to that.
If they were to find out that she had claimed Rudy first using magic, he didn't know what these two would do.
Until now, it had been a cute love squabble, but using magic would escalate it into a potentially bloody conflict.
"Anyway, you should leave. I'm going home since I'm done here."
Robert said, gesturing towards the door.
"Yes... Thank you."
"Goodbye."
"Oh, Luna Railer,"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Robert called out just as they were about to leave.
"Help me tomorrow. I have some work."
"Tomorrow...?"
Luna tilted her head, a bit confused.
She didn’t have any specific plans.
"Aren't you on leave tomorrow, Professor?"
Luna asked.
She remembered seeing Robert's name on the list of professors on leave.
If he was starting his vacation tomorrow, there would be no reason for him to come to the academy.
Yet, he said he had work to do tomorrow, which confused her.
Robert looked at Luna, who had her doubts.
"I'm heading to the Railer territory tomorrow. I need you to guide me."
"You're coming to our territory, Professor? If you come unannounced..."
"I'm just dropping by. No need for any formalities. Just guide me."
"But, so suddenly..."
Luna wasn’t sure how to respond.
'Then... what about Rudy...!'
Luna felt a strong urge to protest to Robert.
If she went to her territory, Rie and Astina would be left with Rudy at the academy.
Anything could happen.
Seeing her hesitation, Robert glanced at Rie.
'I better not mention Rudy Astria now.'
Robert had initially intended to call Rudy to accompany him with Luna tomorrow.
Rudy had no idea, but Robert knew that Rudy would go if he asked him to, considering Rudy's personality.
Robert hadn't planned on keeping it a secret.
He had intended to discuss it after the exams, but Astina got there first.
If Rudy left, Astina would definitely follow, just as she had today.
If Rudy and Luna went together, Rie would undoubtedly want to join as well, which complicated things.
"Just do as I say. Think of it as a repayment for helping you with the mana stone synthesis."
"...Okay, I understand."
Luna replied, her face downcast.
She couldn't even celebrate Rudy's birthday and now she would be separated from him.
Her shoulders slumped.
'Professor Robert...'
She cursed Professor Robert internally.
Though the curse would turn into overwhelming gratitude the next day.
“Whew!”
Rudy let out a satisfied chuckle, patting his belly.
It had been a long time since he had eaten so happily and felt so good.
“That was delicious. Thank you so much."
"It's your birthday, so I had to do something special."
Astina said with a smile.
“If you ever want to eat this again, just let me know. I know all the recipes, so I can ask the family chef to make it anytime.”
“The family chef?”
“Who else, besides someone from our family, could prepare such dishes? The chef is usually at the academy, so just tell me whenever you want to eat."
“Astina…!”
Astina had thought long and hard about how to win over Rudy.
Usually, they said the best way to woo a man was through looks.
However, that was for ordinary men.
Rudy Astria was different.
If he had been an ordinary guy, he would have surely been smitten with Luna or Rie, given they were some of the most beautiful girls in the academy.
So, what should she do?
Astina decided to captivate Rudy's palate.
Win over his taste buds then win over his heart.
That was Astina's plan.
Astina, with her smile, opened her mouth to speak.
“More importantly, tell me about the Saint and the future.”
“Oh.”
Astina had come to the academy early not just for Rudy's birthday, but also to discuss the future.
About Saint Haruna and the events to come.
Astina only had a rough idea of these things, so the doubts in her mind hadn't disappeared completely.
“Understood.”
Rudy nodded, his expression turning slightly serious.
“So, Astina, you've discovered that the Saint has some relationship with dimensions, right?”
“Yes?”
“The reason I came here is because of the former Saint, Beatrice.”
“Beatrice?”
Upon hearing about the former Saint, Astina tilted her head in confusion.
“Do you know when former Saint Beatrice died?”
“...Wasn't it around the time the current Saint took her position?”
“Yes, it was about a year before I came."
About a year before Rudy entered the academy.
Saint Beatrice had died under mysterious circumstances, and Haruna, who had been designated as her successor, took her place.
Despite the Saint's death, the church didn't do anything big.
They merely held a funeral and did not investigate the mysterious death.
People were suspicious and protested, but the church remained silent.
Eventually, as time passed, the incident was forgotten.
“That incident wasn’t buried by the church.”
“What?”
“Former Saint Beatrice personally buried it.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Did you hear that the Saint has lost her vision?”
“You told me about it.”
“Yes, she lost her sight as the price for summoning my future self across dimensions.”
“Oh… So, by summoning you here...? But the timing doesn't add up?”
“A year before I took over this body...”
Rudy let out an awkward laugh.
“Actually, around that time... That's when I started to learn about this world."
“What?”
The timing was impeccable.
The moment Rudy, in his original world, encountered this world through a game, and the date of Beatrice's death.
“The price for summoning me across dimensions. The price for letting my other-dimensional self know about this world. For that, the former Saint paid with her life.”
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