Chapter 35

034. Pink Chicks

D/Z SAGA.

Just by checking the facts, I, who played this game until the very end, know almost everything about Kelther's adventures.

And I still go over that plot in my head several times a day.

Because even if I try to avoid intervening as much as possible, there are a few episodes where intervention is inevitable.

Whether Eve is at the center of the incident, or Ayla is at the center, or the entire Academy is involved, or the Eighth Magic Department explodes.

So, to avoid that terrible disaster, I have to perform a full-body evasion maneuver while simultaneously extracting all the honey I can.

That's why I already know all the information about the main characters, villains, and heroines. Fortunately, Wolfram's memory is quite good, and he doesn't forget things easily. It's a good thing his brain is healthy.

Let's put aside the talk about responding to the future for a moment and think about the Jefrin Student Competition.

This competition awards prizes in five major categories.

The martial arts competition among the Knight Department, the magic competition among the Magic Department. It doesn't end there; Maestro and Yggdrasil also create weapons and clothes for evaluation.

And the somewhat different category is Magic Craft.

That is, creating magical accessories or artifacts for evaluation. To be honest, getting second place is easy.

Magic Craft is inherently a high-level skill, and the first place is so dominant that most people give up after entering.

That dominant first place is the Great Magic Merchant (大 魔道 商人) Regina Siella, the top student of the third year.

Her magic power is 21, higher than Ayla but lower than Eve. A genius among geniuses.

Moreover, she is not the main heroine of the Knight Department's Isolde or the Magic Department's Eve, but the side heroine of the Dr. Root.

If I form a bond with her and graduate, it leads to the grand prize ending for the Magic Department.

What I have to face from now on is a genius and a witch.

But there is a chance of winning.

"If this game directly borrows Jefrin's system, there is a chance for a one-shot comeback."

Then, what I need to do is turn that one-shot comeback into reality.

It might be difficult for Wolfram alone.

But with friendship, I can work hard, and if those two combine, I can achieve victory.

"Fortunately, I am not alone. I have friends who share my friendship, don't I?"

He clenched his fist and looked up at the sky.

Wolfram von Loewen格林 is not alone.

***

"I don't want to."

Eve refused.

"I'm sorry, but you are currently on a mission."

Rudika disappeared.

"Of course I have to help! The pay is... "

"Hey, you, shut your mouth and get to work!"

Nephty was busy.

"...I'm also going to participate in the Magic Competition. I'll be off then."

Ayla ran away.

...

Wolfram von Loewen was left alone.

***

Sitting at a table in front of the convenience store, he looked up at the sky.

What is friendship? What is belief?

The world has left me alone.

They say that even though the stars in the night sky seem to be close together from Earth, the distance between them is measured in light-years.

"Is this loneliness...?"

He felt a deep sense of loneliness.

***

But I can't give up just because of that.

If a person decides to live, they won't die.

I survived even when I was lying in a studio apartment for three days and four nights after my disk herniated while moving H-beams on a construction site and ran out of water.

"There is a way. There must be a way. I will definitely make it happen."

He thought about this while frying donuts, and by lunchtime, the bugs started to swarm.

It's good that Eve's consideration has led more regular students to visit this food truck, but to be honest, it's more of a burden now.

But who is Wolfram von Loewen, or rather, Lee Youngjin? I've done everything from manual labor to working at an amusement park during peak season, and I've thrown myself into all kinds of emergency support jobs to earn a good daily wage.

In such times, it's important to clearly set priorities.

First, I only sell a precise amount of donuts. All that's available is what I fried in the morning. I don't sell any more.

"Senior, did the cream run out?"

"It did. There's none left."

"Hmm. Then I'll have strawberry!"

"Sure."

The strawberry cream is more than usual.

"Senior, there's more strawberry cream than usual?"

"Just because the cream ran out. It's a bonus. Sorry about that."

"Ah... Yes."

"Enjoy it."

"Yes!"

One of the first-year juniors stepped back.

His cheeks were strangely red. Is it cold?

"What's the next order?"

"Me, I'll have one cheese cream."

"Got it. Please wait a moment."

"Yes!"

While taking the next order, a loud voice came from the side.

"Senior! Please take our order too! Cheese cream and strawberry! It's okay if you give us something rough!"

"I understand your urgency, but I can't do that."

"...Yes. I'm sorry... "

"No, I might make a mistake, so that's why."

"Huh?"

"You should eat something delicious even if it's just one. Sorry about that."

"Yes, yes."

And the second point: no matter how good the turnover is, I only take as many orders as I can handle.

When I worked at a really popular ramen shop in Hongdae, the Japanese owner told me something.

[This is it. The turnover rate is the life of a ramen shop. But there must be a clear temperature difference between the inside and outside.]

[What do you mean?]

[There are customers outside enduring the cold, but because of that, the staff inside shouldn't rush to increase the turnover rate. When customers endure the cold and receive their ramen, they should feel the temperature difference and the staff's friendly and relaxed service as part of the taste.]

Of course, the owner who said this was fired the next month for failing a surprise health inspection and returned to Japan.

But his teachings live on in my soul.

Yes. The customers outside might be in a hurry, but the priority is to serve the customers who ordered first. I have to make them feel that temperature difference.

That's how the donuts were sold out cleanly.

Now that today's business is over, I need to think about how to prepare for the competition after dinner.

Just as I was thinking about this and trying to wrap up the business,

"Senior, are you a bad guy?"

"A royal family member. Frustrated. But an ambitious person who gets back up. A hero who saved the first-years. But a bad guy... How about it? Do you have any donuts? We can taste them."

"Yellow chick. Green chick. You can go now. Pink chick, do you have some time? It won't take long."

"Y-Yes...?"

"Ugh, Senior's evil hand is on Milteau... We have to protect her!"

"No. Milteau is our friend."

"I'll give you two sets of donuts at this time tomorrow."

"Milteau! You must be happy!"

"Senior is an ambitious royal. It will be beneficial for Milteau too."

The two left, saying that. A fleeting friendship.

Milteau looked at the backs of her friends who had left, with the expression of a patriot who has lost his country.

"Pink chick. No, Milteau von Sabre. It won't take long. I have a few questions."

"Y-Yes?!"

"This is a pastry I made, and as you said, it's a buff-type snack made with my skills."

"Buff-type snack. Magical Sweet?"

"Call it whatever you like. Since it's a prototype, the buffs it gives are very weak, but how did you know right away?"

In response to my question, Milteau bowed her head deeply and, blushing with shame, finally spoke.

"...U-Um, it's an embarrassing story."

"Tell me."

"I'm naturally very sensitive to magic power. So I easily receive magical effects."

"Easily receive them?"

"Yes. So when I get hit by attack magic, it really hurts... I aim to join the Knight Department, but my physical strength is low..."

Milteau became depressed instantly.

Thinking about it, she is a character designed to be expelled from Kelther after being defeated once.

A character who was never set up to be strong.

The Magic Craft that can capture Regina Siella.

A buff-type snack that, when eaten on the battlefield, provides various buffs, including health recovery.

To realize this, I need someone who can test the buffs by actually eating it.

In that regard, Milteau, who guessed the buffs from the prototype, can be the best partner.

Now, how do I lure this chick.

"Professor said that the first-year top student should be given another chance, and after the suspension is lifted in two weeks, Kelther will spar with you. What are you going to do...?"

From Milteau's endless muttering, I got a hint.

"Milteau von Sabre."

"Y-Yes?"

"Do you want to beat that Kelther?"

"Y-Yes...?"

"As I said, this buff-type snack."

"Magical Sweet?"

"Yes. This Magical Sweet is a prototype. There's room for improvement."

"...Yes."

"So, if you eat it in its enhanced state and test it, isn't there a possibility?"

"Bu-But wouldn't that be against the rules of the test?"

"Don't others use one or two artifacts?"

"...Yes. They do. Depending on the family's status. But my family is a provincial baron... Our only specialty is milk..."

Long live the irrationality of Jefrin.

"Then you should use it too. But there's a condition."

"Condition?"

"Every day, eat this buff-type snack."

"Magical Sweet."

"Yes. Magical Sweet. Report on what buffs you receive, whether they can stack, and so on. How about it? Is it worth a try?"

"Bu-But..."

"Do you want to do nothing and lose to the top student, and curse your constitution for the rest of your life, Milteau?"

"...Yes. I'll try. I want to win too!"

Milteau nodded, her eyes shining.

Good.

I've hooked her.