CICN 50

Chapter 50

There were many dishes on the lunch menu that Ebi had never even heard of—just like with dinner.

Even the ones she had heard of, she had never actually seen in person.

Overwhelmed by the spread of various dishes, Ebi looked confused.

Seeing her hesitate, Irene spoke gently.

“Is it because you want to eat everything?”

“No, it’s just… there are so many foods I don’t recognize, I don’t know what to choose.”

“You don’t recognize many?”

Irene looked over the menu.

Perhaps recognizing that children from noble families often experienced stress over meals, the academy always prepared a wide variety of dishes.

Still, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly strange on the menu.

“What’s ‘Flamiche’…?”

“Huh?”

“And I’m not sure what ‘Choucroute’ is either…”

Ebi’s voice grew quieter and quieter.

The headmaster had done their best to make sure they were never left hungry.

Thanks to that, while there might have been days with smaller portions, there were never days they went without food.

But still, there had been limitations.

Where others might mash or grate potatoes to cook them in a variety of ways, the orphanage Ebi came from had neither the time nor resources for complicated dishes—the priority was to simply stave off hunger.

So Ebi only knew how to boil or stir-fry ingredients as they were.

To her, the academy’s cuisine might as well have been written in a foreign language.

Just then, Ruska returned with his meal.

“Wow…”

In a deep dish were all sorts of ingredients, and tomato sauce was steaming on top.

The aroma made Ebi swallow unconsciously.

Until now, she had thought sandwiches packed with fillings were the best.

But seeing freshly cooked food like this, she finally understood why no one else was eating the sandwiches.

Ebi asked Ruska what the dish was called.

“Want to order the same thing?”

“No. I want to try something else I don’t know. What are you going to order, Irene?”

“Hmm… what do you want to eat?”

“I think I’ll try something different from what the three of you got.”

That way, she could see as many different dishes as possible.

Finally catching on to Ebi’s motive, Ruska suggested,

“Want to just order everything?”

“Huh? But there’d be too much left over.”

“It’s fine. Arsel and I can finish it all. So let’s each try a bit of everything.”

“Who said we are going to eat all that?”

Arsel sighed behind them, but Ruska ignored him and walked over to the counter, soon returning with a large tray piled high with plates.

He placed all of them on the table.

“Are you sure… this is okay?”

Ebi stared in awe at the table now covered with dishes.

It was just a school lunch, but it looked even more lavish and abundant than a banquet table she’d seen in books.

Still, this wasn’t the time to be marveling and emotional.

“If we don’t finish all this, we’ll get penalty points…”

At first, leaving food didn’t incur penalties.

But students soon began refusing dishes and throwing them away, claiming they couldn’t eat them.

Worse, the more food they wasted, the more noble it was considered.

So more and more students started doing it.

When dinner came around, Ebi had been shocked by the amount of food thrown away by the staff.

Apparently, the academy had decided the issue was serious enough to implement a new rule: anyone who left food would be penalized.

“Even if things have become abundant again after the war, this level of waste is just…”

Older professors welcomed the new rule, complaining that kids these days didn’t understand the value of food.

Of course, the students weren’t happy.

But regardless, the rule was now in place, and they would definitely be penalized if they left anything behind…

“I’ll portion out a bit of everything for you.”

Ruska stood up and carefully distributed small servings of each dish onto clean plates.

Irene did the same. Meanwhile, seeing the two in motion, Arsel headed back to the counter and brought drinks of various kinds.

It was the first time the four of them were eating together, yet they worked in sync as if they’d been doing this forever.

“I’ll help too!”

Seeing the three of them bustling about, Ebi stood up.

But Irene naturally pulled her back down into her seat.

Ruska and Arsel also motioned for her not to get up.

“The table’s too high for you.”

“And the plates are heavy with all that food.”

“Your hands are small, you might not be able to hold the cup properly.”

The three of them gave her undeniable reasons to just stay seated.

Is this really okay?

Ebi couldn’t shake the feeling that she should be the one preparing food for them.

While she sat there anxiously, the three had neatly portioned out the food and finished setting up the meal.

“Well then, let’s eat.”

After a brief prayer, the four picked up their forks.

Ebi was amazed at how diverse and neatly arranged the food was.

She wasn’t sure what to eat first, but Irene helpfully pointed out the names and ingredients of each dish.

“This one’s a traditional dish from the west. Looks like the recipe was adapted to a more central style…”

“This herb is called Tarmé. It has a sweet, honey-like scent, so it’s used a lot in southern cuisine. Try this—it’s a southern dish!”

Ebi tasted the dish Irene had recommended.

A sweet fragrance and a unique herbal flavor filled her mouth.

If she’d tried it without knowing anything, she would’ve been confused, but with Irene’s explanations, everything felt fascinating and fun.

And that wasn’t the only enjoyable part.

The table was packed with food. Worried about penalty points, she’d resolved to eat as much as possible, even if it hurt.

But then—

“Wow…”

Ebi couldn’t help but gasp.

Ruska, sitting across from her, was practically inhaling the food.

It was like magic.

One moment he had a chicken leg in hand, and the next, only the bone was left. A big hunk of pork disappeared after just a few bites.

And yet he didn’t look messy or greedy.

Despite the speed, he ate so neatly.

“Still, isn’t it too much for Ruska to eat all by himself?”

“Why do you think I’m eating it alone? Look at Arsel.”

Ruska pointed to Arsel sitting next to him.

“Ruska, don’t point at people.”

Arsel frowned slightly but then picked up his utensils.

His fork and knife moved with elegant precision.

Ebi had expected slow, textbook-perfect etiquette…

“Huh?”

But though he was more graceful than Ruska, Arsel was eating just as much.

The two of them devoured the mountain of food as if it were nothing.

Ebi was so awestruck that she forgot to move her own fork and just watched them.

Irene also looked amazed.

“I never thought I’d be so mesmerized watching someone eat…”

In the end, far from leaving leftovers, Ruska even went back to get more of his favorite dishes—twice.

* * *

I ate way too much…

Ebi poked her now-round belly.

The unfamiliar dishes had been so interesting and tasty, and with Irene explaining each one, she’d ended up eating much more than usual.

But it was fun.

It was the first time she’d enjoyed a meal this much since arriving at the academy.

Though… being stared at was kind of scary.

Just as the four of them were finishing their meal, the students who had just finished class entered the cafeteria.

They stared in disbelief at the four of them sitting and eating together.

Especially the students who usually stuck close to Isriella—they looked utterly shocked.

Irene glanced at them, smirked once, and didn’t look back.

After their meal, the four had to go their separate ways.

They had different classes scheduled for the afternoon.

“If only we could choose our required subjects too… then we could’ve taken them together.”

Irene sounded disappointed, but there was nothing they could do.

Arsel and Ruska had swordsmanship class, and Irene also left Ebi’s side.

“My last class ends pretty late. But we’re still having dinner together, okay? Don’t forget!”

Ebi nodded enthusiastically at Irene’s words and waved goodbye.

She hurried to her classroom, only to see students coming out.

Inside, a notice was written on the blackboard: the professor for today’s class was feeling unwell, so class was canceled.

It would be rescheduled for another day and time.

Ebi memorized the new schedule and left the room.

“My stomach’s full, and it’s nice to have a break…”

She suddenly had a lot of free time.

Where should I go?

She didn’t want to just go back to the dorm. The sun was shining beautifully.

Then, a thought occurred to her.

Come to think of it… where exactly is Professor Sian in the academy?