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Chapter 15
“Going to Eat?”
So this is what it feels like to be in a good mood.
Excitement!
Fluttering!
Jiel fiddled with his well-filled pocket.
One big chicken skewer costs 1 cell, so I could eat 2,500 of them.
That huge chicken skewer he’d had before.
Three times the size of a normal skewer—he could eat 2,500 of those!
However…
“I want to try other food too.”
They say the world is wide and full of food.
But Jiel’s world was still small.
Naturally, the foods he had tasted were very few.
“Hmm.”
Standing where both the student cafeteria and the staff cafeteria were visible, he turned his head.
A tower rising not far away.
“I heard the food there is good.”
A restaurant he often overheard students talking about.
Lancaster’s Star.
A restaurant named after one of the early founders of Edelvine Academy.
Without hesitation, Jiel started walking toward it.
The closer he got, the more his heart fluttered.
“Hmm.”
Jiel suddenly stopped walking.
Someone he recognized was approaching from afar.
As the figure came closer, golden hair came into view.
“Oh? Teacher?”
“Student Delev Kundel.”
It was Delev.
Jiel stared at him quietly and asked:
“Coming back from training?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
“You smell like dust. Your heart rate is still a little rough.”
Delev made a baffled face.
“You… can see that?”
“I can. And you smell like wood.”
He had indeed come from practicing with a wooden sword.
But noticing the smell on his hands?
What… what kind of person is he?
For a former assassin, it was nothing special.
Even more so for someone once called a specter—like Jiel.
“Since there are no classes today, did you train harder?”
“Well… yeah. The selection trials are soon.”
“It must be important for you, Student Delev Kundel.”
“I have to surpass my brothers.”
Delev froze.
Why am I even talking about this?
“You mean Aken Kundel of the 3rd year and Agres Kundel of the 5th year.”
“Yes. My older brothers.”
“Why do you want to surpass them?”
“…What?”
No one had ever asked him that before.
Why surpass them?
Well…
If you’re born into a great household, isn’t that a natural goal?
“I just want to.”
“No particular reason?”
“The reason is… I just want to be stronger. And if I surpass them, Father will acknowledge me.”
“So becoming head of the family is your goal?”
“…More like…”
Delev hesitated, then sighed.
“No. I just want to get stronger.”
He couldn’t say the real reason.
It was a little embarrassing.
My brothers don’t play with me anymore…
When they were younger, they played with him often.
But after entering the academy, they changed.
They wouldn’t even spar with him.
That’s why Delev wanted to surpass them.
“I see. Understood, Student Delev Kundel.”
He never expected his teacher to ask this out of nowhere.
“But Teacher, where are you going? You don’t have class today either.”
“To eat.”
“Oh.”
Just then—
Growl.
Delev’s stomach protested.
A consequence of harsh training.
Delev was embarrassed, while Jiel simply looked at him and asked:
“Are you hungry?”
“Uh… yes… I am.”
“Then let’s go eat.”
“…Huh?”
Jiel suddenly remembered something he’d read recently:
“If you want to get closer to your students, doing something together is a good method.”
This seemed like the moment.
* * *
“Hm?”
Celia spotted Jiel and moved to greet him happily.
But then she saw who was beside him and tilted her head.
“Delev?”
Meanwhile, the two entered the restaurant.
Lancaster’s Star.
A place she normally had no reason to visit.
“Why are the Teacher and Delev… together?”
A student eating with a teacher wasn’t strange.
But the location was the problem.
“Even I’ve never been in there…”
Only a tiny fraction of Edelvine Academy’s students ever went there.
Even among staff, not many did.
It was just too expensive.
Celia, being from the prestigious Rihardt family, could go if she wanted.
But going once would erase her entire allowance.
“So is Delev paying?”
A reasonable guess.
Celia smirked.
“Wow, he’s really trying to impress the teacher?”
But wait.
Why try to impress the teacher there?
“…Could it be a family-level move?”
Her head grew complicated.
Thinking about it, Jiel was unusual.
He wasn’t a professor, just a lecturer.
Yet he never acted intimidated by noble families and treated every student the same.
During the first class, he even tripped Delev dozens of times!
There’s something going on. Definitely.
Even professors treated major family heirs with caution.
Not submissive, but still differently.
But with Jiel? Nothing.
“Steelheart… Steelheart…”
A family she’d never heard of.
Rumors were floating among the students.
Maybe it was a fallen house?
Or a newly named one?
“…Does someone powerful back him?”
Otherwise, how could a man act so clueless about worldly matters?
“That means…”
The Kundel family must be trying to form ties early.
The politics between great houses were beyond imagination.
Celia didn’t understand much—she was still young.
But one thing was clear:
A teacher eating with a student at such an expensive restaurant definitely meant something.
“The Kundels are no joke…”
This wasn’t the time to stand around.
Celia hurried toward the dormitories.
She needed to write to her family.
* * *
The meal was excellent.
At least, for Delev.
The teacher brought me to a place like this…
The Kundels were a great noble house.
So naturally, the meals he ate at home were top-tier.
The best ingredients, the finest spices, flawless chefs.
The dishes here at Lancaster’s Star were comparable.
Well, it is that kind of place.
It mostly served visiting dignitaries, wealthy students, and faculty.
So he was honestly shocked when they came here.
“Not very delicious.”
Jiel’s indifferent tone.
Has he been here often?
Throughout the meal, Delev watched him.
His dining manners were graceful and precise.
How he handled cutlery, the direction he placed his utensils, the controlled motions when cutting meat.
Not only that…
He never made eating noises and displayed perfect table etiquette.
He’s definitely different… Maybe the Steelheart family really was prestigious?
If so, Delev would’ve heard of it.
Just what did this man do before?
And to be so comfortable in such an expensive place…
Does he have high expectations for me?
Delev felt touched.
After that humiliating first class, he had mixed feelings—resentment, curiosity, confusion.
But he’d worked hard every class since.
And recently, he’d even received unexpected praise.
This must mean he wants me to improve.
A special student.
A favored student.
Otherwise, why treat him to such an expensive meal?
The most special among 40 students.
He needed to work harder.
Pass the selection trials.
Win at the exchange meet.
“Thank you for the meal, Teacher.”
“Was the food good?”
“Yes, it was delicious.”
Then Delev asked:
“But you said it wasn’t that delicious for you… did you not like it?”
“That’s not it. I simply ate something tastier recently.”
He meant the chicken skewer.
But to Delev, it sounded like:
He must’ve been to an even more incredible place…
People have preferences.
Jiel too.
He had only recently realized his.
And his palate preferred simple, quick food—like the skewer he bought from the carriage—not this complex, time-consuming cuisine.
“If you’re done, let’s go.”
“Ah, yes, Teacher.”
Just then, a server approached.
“Did the meal suit your taste? Here is the bill.”
Freeze.
Jiel’s eyes shook when he saw the total.
“……”
Delev didn’t notice, but Jiel’s hand trembled ever so slightly as he accepted the bill.
Shake shake shake…
My salary…
2,400 cells.
The exact amount on the bill.
His freshly withdrawn monthly salary: 2,500 cells.
He had not expected it to be this expensive.
His mood sank.
So this is what it feels like to be upset…
“Teacher?”
“……”
“Um… Teacher?”
“Ah. Student Delev Kundel.”
Jiel paid.
The meal was eaten, after all.
His mood wasn’t great, but what could he do?
“Thank you again, Teacher.”
“Ah. Student Delev Kundel.”
“I didn’t think you’d treat me here. This place is insanely expensive.”
“Is it?”
Jiel silently vowed:
He would never come here again.
“Yes. One meal here costs almost as much as my weekly allowance.”
“……”
Another vow.
He needed to become wealthy someday.
“Your allowance is generous.”
“My father raises it by 1,000 cells every grade.”
“I see.”
A new emotion stirred in Jiel.
Jealousy.
As an assassin, he never worried about money.
Not because he had a lot.
But because he had no reason to spend it.
The skewer he ate was the first time he ever bought something for himself.
Before that, any money he handled was simply to deliver during missions.
Money is extremely important…
He hadn’t expected this expense.
He felt terrible.
Jiel decided:
No more wasteful spending.
With 100 cells left, I must survive until next payday.
One more thought surfaced.
If I become a professor, the salary must increase.
Lecturers receive slight annual raises, but only if their contract is renewed—and the raise isn’t large.
I must become a professor.
A reaffirmed goal.
“Teacher, I’ll repay you next time.”
“No. That’s unnecessary.”
“But you treated me to such an expensive meal.”
“A teacher must not accept anything from a student. It harms fairness in the teacher-student relationship.”
“My father said… if someone gives you something, you should give back.”
Jiel shook his head.
“I cannot accept that.”
“But…”
Then Jiel recalled another line from the book.
“If you insist on giving something, repay me through your growth. That is enough.”
Thump thump!
Delev’s heart pounded wildly.
So cool.
Buy an expensive meal—and ask to be repaid through growth?
“Understood, Teacher. I’ll work hard.”
He accepted it.
The book had worked.
Books are useful.
He needed to read more from the library.
Knowledge from books truly helped.
“It’s late. Let’s return.”
“Yes. Teacher, where are you going?”
“To the staff dormitory.”
“Oh. Let’s go together—it’s right next door.”
“Ah. Yes, it was. Very well.”
The two walked side by side.
Thinking entirely different things.
I must figure out how to live on 100 cells until payday.
I should write Father and brag… but will he know the Steelheart family?
A night deepening the bond between teacher and student.
Delev felt good.
During the first class, he felt humiliation, frustration, and a strange hostility.
But he also wanted acknowledgment.
He wanted to be recognized by the teacher who had pushed him so hard.
He had received praise recently, and today even a lavish meal.
Then…
Ending the day like this felt lacking.
Maybe it was the food giving him energy…
Or maybe he was just in a good mood.
“Teacher.”
Delev stopped walking and looked at Jiel.
“I’ll go in a bit later.”
“Is something wrong?”
“I want to train more before going in.”
Jiel looked at him quietly.
He must be thinking I’m admirable, right?
Click.
Jiel opened his pocket watch and replied flatly:
“It’s past 9. Curfew is soon.”
“……”
“There will be penalty points after 10.”
Of course.
A teacher with zero flexibility.
“…Yes. I’ll go in.”
Delev drooped.
But then—
“However, if you accompany your teacher, it does not violate regulations.”
