Chapter 14 - I Became the Daughter of the Academy’s Villain

Episode 14 14 - The Correlation between Happiness and Growth The buffet offered a hundred types of dishes, abundant enough to be leisurely enjoyed in the air for ten days. All I needed was to clear ten dishes a day. Since the journey to our destination would exactly take ten days, this was a piece of cake for me. "Ah!" "What seems to be the problem, young lady?" "I’ve just realized the trap." Jonah's demeanor changed immediately as he knelt down to fix my shoelaces and asked in a hushed voice, "...If I may be so rude, may you explain what trap you've noticed?" "It’s about the quantity. I am not convinced that just any dish scooped onto the plate will be registered in the food lexicon." "I don't quite understand what you mean." The one-serving judgment criteria of the food lexicon is a major issue. What if a plateful of hodgepodge from the buffet isn’t recognized for lexicon collection? What if only the dish that is most abundant on the plate is included? "To think that I cannot enjoy the fun of picking various dishes for my plate... to have to stuff a plate with only one type of food, ten times, and for ten whole days…" No matter how much I loved collecting, this amount qualified as culinary torture. Wait a minute. But is there any reason it must be filled to count as a serving? A buffet is meant to enjoy as much as you want. Even a mouse-sized amount on a plate could succeed in collection if it’s the only item. Click Click As I excitedly grabbed the tongs, thinking about what to put on my plate, I heard a somewhat incredulous voice, "You sure shift moods quickly." "Look over there, isn’t that little miss who can’t even reach the side dishes adorable?" "Oh my. Reminds me of the youngest child I left at home. Ho ho ho." Customers who had come for an economical meal occasionally looked at me and chuckled. With a face on the brink of tears, I clutched at Jonah’s sleeve desperately. "Jonah… I can't reach the food storage…" "Your mood swings are quick in a not so favorable sense, too." With Jonah’s help, I was able to receive some food. "Are you truly content with just one chocolate chip?" "I'm starting off lightly." "You don’t know how to eat, just like a wee mouse." "Ah, you fuzzy dough ball!" "This is how you eat food." Beside my table the ape man, who had piled his plate high like a mountain, was shovelling food into his mouth voraciously. The hearty eating aroused a competitive spirit within me, akin to watching a food fighter or a big eater streamer, but current testing was the priority. Crunch Crunch "......" "Would you like some more?" "Yes......" The cookie was devoured in an instant, and the next menu item was… "Chocolate chips again?" "This time I'll have four more!" I would keep going with the chocolate chips until I was certain they were counted as a portion! Just when I felt I had done enough, I felt a slight headache as a notification popped up. [Normal recipe <Chocolate Chip> has been collected in the Food Lexicon.] [There are no unique effects from collecting a Normal recipe.] After the success with the chocolate chips, I proceeded with the single-minded strategy of filling my bowl with just one type of dish until it was full. … [Normal recipe <Mushroom Soup> has been collected in the Food Lexicon.] [Normal recipe <Crab and Avocado> has been collected in the Food Lexicon.] [Normal recipe <Salmon Sushi> has been collected in the Food Lexicon.] [Normal recipe <New York Strip> has been collected in the Food Lexicon.] [Normal recipe <Melon> has been collected in the Food Lexicon.] … Like an ant carrying food, I diligently transferred dishes into my mouth. Naturally, Jonah, who served the food onto the plate, exerted immense effort. Yet, his unwavering dedication to filling my plate was profoundly appreciated. "You seem to be doing well without training today; you're eating without breaking any dishes." "If I got tired without even losing strength, I couldn't even swing a sword!" No matter how frail I might be perceived, consistent training had surely improved my stamina to some extent. "2kg weights…" Jonah muttered to himself, looking serious and thoughtful beside me. His presence felt especially appreciated and guilt-inducing today. "I'm sorry." "Why are you apologizing all of a sudden?" "Just because." Jonah looked down at me with his usual ferocious eyes and spoke gruffly, "I am proud of you, miss." "Me?" It was a compliment I had never once heard while only playing muscular male characters. "You don’t fuss over side dishes and don’t whine about the difficulty of training." "…Is that really a compliment?" "It is. When I think of what others your age are experiencing day-to-day, your dedication and earnest effort for academy admission are nothing short of awe-inspiring." At the next table, the ape man watched with keen interest and Giselle with a world-weary face. Receiving compliments in front of others was slightly embarrassing. "I believe in you. Your efforts will never be in vain. Perhaps one day the master himself will acknowledge you and call upon you." "Ah, that's a bit." "Don’t you want to meet the master?" "It's not that I don't want to. It's just, kind of..." An annoying event, really. Random papa events might evolve into <Papa’s Request> or <Summon Home>, leading to more related events over time. Receiving a lot of support early on would mean sacrificing precious weekends to papa's requests, and vacations would vanish, spent obeying summonings to the estate. A narrative where the more benefits you get, the less freedom you have. Just as everything has its pros and cons, even aristocratic papas with all their advantages have their minor flaws. Requests from commoner papas or summons to their homes usually mean nothing more than showing a face and having a meal, but the vanity-filled culture of nobles is different. Hunting contests organized by the family. Gatherings of peers among the nobles. Random events that arise across the domain. A lineup of time-consuming events awaited me like a succession of hippos. "Are you afraid?" I couldn’t be a graceless daughter who spurns the papa who offered a hundred gold coins just because it's inconvenient. Pretending to be scared, I nodded, and Jonah pulled something out of his pocket and placed it in my hands. "What's this?" "If you persist in your training, miss, there will come a day when you will discover how to open this cubic." "Is it a riddle?" "If you manage to open this cubic, it might ease some of your fear towards the master." Hmm, a cubic. Should I try to bite it─. "You must not eat it." "…I was just going to try a nibble. Just a tiny bit." "Bringing anything to your mouth is a bad habit. This cubic, even if you tried to bite it, is hard enough to break your teeth. Please restrain yourself, miss." I was scolded. "That's quite endearing. What seems to be the problem? Employer, sir." "What you see isn’t all there is." The conversation between the ape man and Giselle brought forth a sense of shame at having been caught being reprimanded. "Will you finish your meal now?" "I'm going to train." To empty five more bowls today, I need to create hunger through exercise. …But perhaps the urge to escape this embarrassing situation may be greater, although I would not admit that reason because it's embarrassing. * * Dinner time. Having finished intense training, I came back to the buffet only to be so shocked that I nearly passed out. "My goodness!" "Are you okay, miss?" "How could such an inhumane thing happen!!" Jonah said with a told-you-so look, "That's why I told you, miss. It would be best to finish training early today." [Thank you for using our aerial buffet today.] [Our aerial buffet hours are from 8 AM to 5 PM, and we ask for your understanding if you arrive early or late.] [CLOSED] "I had no idea the buffet closed at 5 o'clock!" "It seems there's no helping it because it's a popular buffet." "What about my dinner then?" "There is an evening restaurant that opens during dinner time. Would you like to go there?" "…Let's go!" Although it's regrettable I couldn't eat all the buffet food, if I can fill up at the restaurant, it would be even-steven. "Leaf, aren't you coming?" "I have already finished my meal, so I will explore facilities that could be helpful to you, miss." I feel somewhat sorry. I have no interest in anything besides the buffet and the training ground, yet there she goes, diligently searching for me. For her sake, who is doing it not for her enjoyment but for mine, I should set aside a day to visit the places Leaf suggests. "Yikes!" That's what I was thinking. Until I saw the menu at the restaurant. "...Jonah. Why are the prices like this?" "It’s a night surcharge." "One gold coin per meal is crossing the line!" "Calm yourself, miss. That's the price for a set menu." "Oh." True enough. "It’s common knowledge that services used at night are more expensive than those during the day." "I'm sorry. I was just a bit shocked by the steep prices." "Do not worry, miss. I can cover the meal cost for you with the money we received from the master." "Really?" "You may consider it a gift from the master upon hearing that you acquired a Platinum Ticket." In the game, I would have been trembling with rage at the idea of emptying my initial funds just to eat ridiculously expensive food, endlessly hunting for cost-effective collection menus. As a player, I was overwhelmed with happiness at enjoying such luxury that I had never dared to experience before. "Jonah. I am so happy right now." "I too hope that you continue to grow and find happiness, miss." Suddenly, I felt mischievous. "What if I don't grow? Will you still stay by my side then?" "...Such a future will not come to pass. I too hope that such a future never arrives." "Why?" "The master has many scholarships... I mean, children under his care. He shows no interest in those who lack talent or are slow to grow." "And what about you, Jonah?" Jonah did not respond. A word from the author (author's afterword) All the dishes that Miss Oknodie eats are a collection of foods that a rare teddy bear would want to eat! The New York Strip steak, which I've only seen on Netflix's Hell's Kitchen. I wonder what it actually tastes like?