Eating sweet things was a great way to recover mentally and spiritually, and the jams that Uregor brought with him did just that.
There were all sorts of jams, including strawberry jam, raspberry jam, and fig jam. The students that had a taste of them all fell into a state of bliss as if they were drunk.
‘How pitiful.’
Professor Dwarf looked at the first years and felt sorry for them. As a professor working in the academy, he knew that the freshmen were having a tough time.
Unlike their seniors, the freshmen weren’t allowed to leave the campus.
“Eat to your heart’s content. You never know when your next meal will be.”
“Thank you, Professor!”
Deliciously cooked meat. Butter and jam to go along with the bread. A beautiful scenery consisting of a flowing river. The students were having a great time eating and drinking with their friends.
While the first-years were taking a break after having had their fill, Professor Uregor was starting to clean up.
“…Wait. Why am I missing a jar of jam?”
“Sorry, Professor.”
“…”
He became speechless when he saw Yi-han shamelessly take out the missing jar from underneath his cloak.
‘The freshmen this time round are a different breed indeed!’
***
The mana-enhanced boars that they caught were much bigger than they initially thought.
Even after smoke-drying a large quantity of meat and stuffing themselves with as much food as possible, there was still a lot left over. Professor Uregor had even taken several chunks of meat to store inside his hut.
“What should we do with all these?”
“Professor. Is there a way we can store this?” asked Yi-han.
Uregor nodded in response.
“Of course.”
“!”
“Freeze it using ice magic.”
“…”
“…”
The students glared at the professor. They had failed to cast during Professor Troll’s class. How were they supposed to suddenly use freezing spells?
“Anything else?”
“Well, there is another method.”
“And that is?”
“Ask for an ice spirit’s help. FYI, I can use both.”
“…”
“…”
The freshmen exchanged looks.
‘Shouldn’t have asked this professor in the first place.’
‘Right.’
Noticing the looks in their eyes, Uregor let out a dry cough.
“Sorry, but at your level, there’s no way to preserve the meat.”
“What if we ask for your help?”
“That wouldn’t be fair now, would it?”
“Um…then would you two mind if I share some of the meat with the others?” Nilia asked.
They had caught the boars together, which was why she asked for permission from Yonaire and Yi-han.
“You can do whatever you want with your share.”
“Yeah.”
“I-I see. Thanks.”
There was a slight blush on Nilia’s face as she was moved by the two’s generosity. She wasn’t close yet with the other students in her tower. They were bound to be hungry by now, and gifting those students some meat would be a great way to become friends.
There was a saying in the mountains that whoever shared food during troubled times would become great friends, which applied here as well.
Feeling embarrassed, she suggested that the two do the same.
“Why don’t you also share it with the students at your dorm?”
“…For money?”
“That’s a brilliant idea.”
Both Yi-han and Yonaire both liked the idea very much. However, Nilia quickly waved her hands.
“No, not for money, but for-”
“She’s right. Students of the Blue Dragons should have deep pockets. There’s nothing wrong with having them pay a little in exchange for some food.”
“Yeah! We’re essentially doing them a favor!”
Yonaire fully agreed with what Yi-han said. Other students of noble descent might label such behaviour as disgraceful, but these two just happened to be the most materialistic people out of the bunch.
Yi-han’s ideology was “earn a shit ton and live a comfortable life” whereas Yonaire’s was “every coin counts when building an alchemy workshop”.
Now that they had come to a consensus, they shook hands.
Nilia, who was the only normal person in their group, was bewildered when she saw this.
“…You really plan on selling food to your friends?”
“Wanna join in?”
“No!”
Nilia stomped her feet in frustration.
“That’s…you know, not right!”
“Nilia, think about it. Won’t their pride be hurt if we just hand them food?”
“Exactly, we’re doing this for them.”
“…”
When they brought up the matter of a noble’s pride, it sounded somewhat convincing, but Nilia wasn’t one to be tricked that easily.
“Well, I’m going to hand them out for free.”
“Do whatever you want. But know this, Nilia. You might regret it in the future.”
“Yeah. Friendships don’t last forever, but money will never betray you.”
“But would they really consider you two as friends?”
“Who knows? All we’re saying is that money-”
“No, I don’t want to hear this anymore!”
Uregor, who had been sipping on coffee while sitting comfortably on a chair that was in front of his hut, shook his head when he saw this interaction.
‘These three are bound to cause trouble if they’re together.’
Since the academy recruited freshmen from all over the empire, all sorts of students were gathered there.
The three students in front of him were diamonds in the rough, with both talent and passion. However, he could clearly see the word troublemakers written on their faces.
***
The Tower of the Prideful Blue Dragons.
The dormitory was located quite a distance away from the academy’s main building, and the moment students came out through the front gate, they would be greeted by a refreshing breeze from the lush forest around them, and the expressions on their malnourished faces would become soft, if only for a short while.
“…?”
However, things were a bit different that day.
Fzzz, fzzz-
They were instead greeted by the sound and smell of meat sizzling.
“Hey there. Have you eaten yet?”
“It’s a wonderful night, isn’t it?”
“…??”
“????”
The students that came out were confused to see a tall boy and a red-haired girl waving their hands at them. They were the descendants of Wardanaz and Maykin, and they each held tongs in one of their hands.
Tadak, tadak-
A makeshift grill had been prepared by starting a fire and placing an iron plate on top of it. When Yi-han added more firewood to the grill, the sizzling became even louder.
The smell and sound coming from the grill were unbearable, and soon enough, someone’s stomach growled.
Gulp-
“Come grab a bite. These are for you guys.”
“C-can we really?” someone shouted, their eyes almost popping out.
Though they came from noble families, they were still children in the end, and the allure of a barbecue party was something these famished students could not endure.
“Yeah, but you have to pay us one silver coin each.”
“As in one imperial silver coin?”
Outside the academy, they could eat as much meat as they wanted with two or three copper coins. However, things were different here. Even if the price was inflated to three times the norm, no one was there to compete with them.
“One!? That cheap?”
“Haha. You think we’re trying to do business here? We’re just collecting these fees so you won’t feel uncomfortable while eating.”
“Yup.”
Yonaire and Yi-han said this while smiling kindly to their peers, almost making the latter cry.
‘Those that come from powerful families are different after all! To think they’re so kind!’
While the others were busy trying to feed themselves, these two were actively trying to help their friends, even preparing a grill for them!
“Wardanaz…!”
“Maykin…!”
“Now, now. If you don’t hurry, the meat’s going to burn. Eat up.”
“Wait, but I haven’t brought any money with me.”
“Neither have I.”
The students of the Blue Dragons felt troubled. They had entered the academy with nothing but their clothes, which meant they didn’t have any money with them.
Yi-han took out a paper and quill, saying they didn’t have to worry.
“Just write down your name and the amount you owe before signing. Instead of going through the trouble of paying every time, you can just pay it all at once in the future.”
“That’s brilliant! You’re a genius, Wardanaz!”
“I never thought of such a convenient method!”
Ssssk, ssssk-
The hungry students were not in the right state of mind, and they eagerly ran to the grill after signing their names.
Gobble, gobble, chomp, chomp-
Yi-han smirked as he quietly rolled up the paper and put it in his breast pocket.
‘Business is blooming.’
Some might think it’s not worth going this far for chump change. However, it was best to earn while he could, not to mention a silver coin was anything but chump change. Money didn’t grow from trees after all.
If the ban on freshmen leaving the campus stayed for a long time, he would no doubt be able to earn a handsome sum.
“Parliak, why are you forcing yourself to eat those cold riceballs? If you add some oil to the plate and stir-fry the rice along with the meat….voila!”
“Y-you’re a prodigy, Wardanaz!”
“It’s a life hack,” he said while tapping the student’s shoulder.
He was willing to provide such services as he had received a silver coin.
The students gobbled up the meal voraciously as if they feared others would take it away from them. If they had to pick a student representative for the first years right now, they would no doubt nominate Yi-han for the job.
“Wardanaz! Wardanaz! Wardanaz!”
“Maykin! Maykin! Maykin!”
The nobles chanted while chewing their food. The chant was loud enough to attract the attention of Gainando, who came out of the dormitory looking befuddled.
“W-what’s going on here?”
“Oh, Gainando. Wanna have some meat?”
“Meat!? For real??”
Gainando lunged at the offer. The explanation could wait.
Tak-
However, he was stopped by Yi-han who grabbed his shoulder.
“Why’re you stopping me!?”
“Pay up. It’s a silver coin.”
“…W-we have to pay?”
“I wouldn’t want to hurt your pride.”
“You’re right. But I don’t have any money right now…”
“Worry not. Just sign your name after writing down the amount here.”
“Yi-han…!”
Gainando was touched. Such generosity!
True friendship had blossomed inside the academy.
***
The unannounced barbeque party had somewhat brought color back to the cheeks of the students that belonged to the Blue Dragons.
However, that didn’t make certain classes any less boring.
was a mandatory course that made the students frown.
“Ethics? Why would we need to learn that?”
“They should just teach it to the commoners. Honorable nobles such as ourselves have no need for such teachings.”
“Yeah. Who do they think we are?”
‘They really have a way with words even when complaining,’ Yi-han thought to himself.
Fortunately, the classroom only had students from the Blue Dragons. If students from the other towers heard what they said, a brawl would’ve occurred by now.
What’s surprising was that there was no ill will behind what they said. In other words, what they said came from the bottom of their heart!
Good morning everyone.
“…”
“…”
When they received the telepathy, everyone’s expression became stiff, and it wasn’t because of the magic itself.
The voice that was transmitted directly to their brains sounded awfully familiar.
‘You’re joking…’
Hellooooo, Ironheads!
“…”
A giant skull appeared not from the door, but from the ceiling. It was Os Gonadaltes, the principal.
Enjoying your time at the academy? I bet your hearts are pumping. After all, you’ve all lived sheltered lives, and this must be your first time trying to survive by yourself!
Everyone remained silent. The lich principal looked around for a second before voicing his surprise.
Would you look at that? You’ve had something, haven’t you? Huh, that was kind of quick. Thought it would take you guys at least a month!
“What does that mean? We were supposed to get our own food?”
Yeah, I told you to get whatever you need yourself.
“And this was what you meant by now? Why do we have to go through all this in the first place…”
– Silence!
“Umph! Umph!”
The voice coming from the student who had his hand up immediately ceased.
Satisfied, the lich principal nodded, which caused an eerie rattling sound.
