Chapter 85

After practicing swings in the front yard, Godolphin and I entered the cafeteria.

In the cafeteria, several people were busily helping with the serving.

When the number of people suddenly exploded, the dormitory students, seeing me reluctantly helping Sola with the difficult task of preparing breakfast, started to help out on their own.

This is a dormitory with so many students.

We were given a certain amount of additional budget to hire more staff, and indeed, a few more staff members were added. However, I, who couldn't shake off my frugality, argued that if we were going to spend money, we should use it as much as possible on ingredients and research.

For some reason, everyone knew about this, and the expansion of the staff was kept to a minimum. The current arrangement is that any shortfall is covered by their own hands and ingenuity.

"Truly, you are something else.

In the Royal Knights, there are always those who suggest bringing chefs on field camps, but the students here don't seem to be worried.

When a camp is raided in a war zone, how much the presence of non-combatants can drag down the whole group...

No matter how much you explain it, those who haven't experienced it firsthand won't truly understand.

But the students here are preparing their own meals without a single complaint.

Many of them come from high-ranking families, you know."

As Godolphin narrowed his eyes, Sola poked her head out of the kitchen.

"Who's that? Godolphin?

You haven't shown your face here since you graduated 50 years ago. What wind blew you here?"

Sola, you've been here since 50 years ago...

And how old are you now?

"This is Ms. Sola.

For me, this place was a land of humiliating memories, a place I never wanted to return to...

Honestly, I never wanted to set foot here again.

...But seeing their shining faces, I finally found the courage to face my immature past, and I decided to come in and see Ms. Sola's face.

I'm sorry for the long absence."

With that, Godolphin bowed, showing the traces of his training.

Sola's eyes narrowed for a moment, as if she was moved, but then her face turned mischievous.

"Hehehe!

What's this 'Ms. Sola' nonsense? You're talking so formally.

I can still remember you being bullied by upperclassmen, crying in the bath at night without even turning on the light...

Time flies, doesn't it?"

Godolphin, still smiling, a vein popped on his forehead.

"Indeed, I have no such memory.

Perhaps you, Ms. Sola, have become senile in your old age, hehehe.

Well, it's true that I swore never to set foot in this place again when I advanced to a higher class.

In that sense, all my bitter experiences here have led to who I am today."

"Hehehe.

You've really changed, haven't you, 'Crybaby Godolphin'?

Well, that's fine.

I remember the day you left the dormitory clearly.

You said with burning eyes, 'I will never return here. This is our final farewell, Sola. Thank you for everything,' and walked away.

I thought, 'This boy has grown strong, and will continue to grow.'

...You were the hope of this dormitory for a long time.

When a student here lost confidence, I would tell them, 'Look at 'Indomitable Spirit.' He cried bitterly here, but used that as a springboard to become what he is today,' and I've encouraged many students over the years.

Well, the students here now are mostly excellent, so there's no need to tell them about your crying fits.

Would you like to have breakfast with us after so long?"

Godolphin, whose embarrassing past had been exposed in front of everyone, frowned and said, "Then I'll have breakfast with you after so long."

Today's breakfast was a liver sauce grilled Grittes Snake, so bitter it could make your mouth curl, and milk that smelled dangerous, as if it had been wiped with a cloth and then squeezed back into a glass, along with bread.

"I heard that you all enjoy the dormitory breakfast every morning, and I thought my memory had been biased over the years, making it seem worse than it actually was...

But this is clearly worse than what I remember.

To eat this without complaint, you all are truly something.

I can't possibly finish this."

Godolphin took a small bite of the side dish and a sip of the milk, then put down his knife and fork.

At that moment, the invincible man Al said with a full smile, "Mr. Godolphin!

That quote on the wall is what Mr. Zold taught Allen!

It's all about having the right mindset!"

Looking at the wall Al pointed to, there was a large framed sign that read, "When the mind is extinguished, even fire is cool."

"Hehehe!

Do you lack the mindset of 'Always in Battle'?

After 50 years, you're still the same crybaby Godolphin, how disappointing."

Sola's face immediately transformed into that of a mad scientist, goading Godolphin.

Godolphin, who had been clearly told in front of the students that he couldn't eat because he lacked the mindset of 'Always in Battle,' a vein popped on his forehead again, and he picked up his knife and fork.

"When I was ambushed in a war zone and returned scattered with my comrades, I survived for a week eating only tree bark.

Compared to that, this food is nothing."

"Hehehe.

If you're going to eat, stand on that magic device over there and grip the handle first.

It will make it easy to compare before and after data."

"...What is that?

I've never seen such a magic device..."

In the corner of the cafeteria, Sola pointed to a magic device I had made based on the health meter from my previous life, which the students use to record their data before and after meals.

"That's a magic device I developed at Allen's suggestion, which can measure and record one's magic power, the smoothness of magic circulation, and changes in properties.

Allen was so insistent that visualizing the effects would directly improve motivation and, in turn, results...

I spent 3 million reals on its development, with Sola's supervision."

...That much?

◆

After that, Godolphin, radiating a killing aura that could rival a battlefield, finished his breakfast and headed to the bathhouse with me.

"It hasn't changed.

Ugh.

This dormitory is like a time capsule, just as it was 50 years ago when I was here.

The only difference is the students'... ugh, the sparkle in their eyes."

Sss.

As he said this, something passed under Godolphin's feet.

"...What was that?"

"Eh?

Oh, that's the automatic cleaning robot, Lumbro v3.

If you supply it with water and magic, it will clean and sweep 24/7.

Fey made it."

"...A robot?

...You should be careful about releasing it to the public, as it could take jobs away from many people."

"I've left the fine-tuning to Fey, the developer, so I'm not worried.

...You said this place hasn't changed, but we've made various improvements to the environment.

We don't need unnecessary, ostentatious decorations, but we're not satisfied with the current state in terms of efficiency.

For example, we've installed a sauna in the bathhouse to help with recovery.

Oh, the maintenance costs are so high that most of the new budget for the dormitory is gone."

The reason I have the authority to decide how the dormitory budget is spent is because I'm the deputy dormitory head.

Originally, Senior Rio was the nominal dormitory head, but he said, "I'm busy and often absent, so I'll leave everything to Allen," and handed over the responsibility to me.

Mostly, the only major addition using the dormitory budget was the sauna. The other small items are all samples developed by the Magic Device Research Club.

Godolphin's eyes widened.

"Really!

A sauna in a school dormitory.

That's a great idea.

I'm a big sauna fan.

I rarely get to use one because there aren't any nearby, but if there's one here, I might visit the dormitory from time to time."

Saying that, we entered the morning bath.

The water temperature, like a 'flying hot' sake, was 55 degrees, hot enough to shock even the people of Kusatsu.

By the way, I don't use the sauna in the morning.

I use it to recover from muscle fatigue, which peaks later in the day.

Explaining this, I said, "Since it's a day off, please use the sauna as long as you like," and left the bath first.

Lio had just entered, so he didn't need a guide.

◆

After Allen left the bath, Godolphin, despite his age, excitedly headed to the sauna.

He had been busy lately and had been using the school's simple showers, so this was a good opportunity to relax his stiff muscles after a series of meetings.

Thinking this, Godolphin walked to the sauna, trying to suppress his excitement, and was shocked by the temperature.

Cold...

The sauna was so cold it reminded him of the ice dragon hunt in the Yuharad Mountains.

"Old man?

Why are you here?"

Lio, who had entered the sauna earlier, asked Godolphin.

"Well, I wanted to see how everyone lives their daily lives.

I followed Allen Lovene's morning run and took the opportunity to look around the dormitory.

But... a cold sauna is quite a unique idea."

Saying that, Godolphin sat on the upper bench diagonally behind Lio.

At that moment, several people gasped.

?

"What is it?"

"Lio...

This ice sauna is set to minus 30 degrees.

Allen says that icing is important for recovery and muscle growth.

If you sit down without drying off and without a towel, your buttocks will stick to the bench and you won't be able to get up."

Godolphin tried to stand up, but his buttocks were firmly stuck to the bench.

He could force himself up, but the suction was so strong that he could feel his skin tearing and bleeding.

One of the students who had entered the sauna earlier rushed out, fetched water from the bath, and poured it over Godolphin's buttocks.

With a hiss, Godolphin's buttocks came off the bench.

"Everyone does the same thing the first time.

If you dry off properly and sit on a towel, you'll be fine.

In an emergency, you can press the red buttons scattered around to stop it."

"I'm sorry, I was a bit too careless."

Godolphin apologized sincerely, but his pride as a top-notch sauna user, honed in the sauna-rich Vankish territory, was ignited.

◆

There are two types of men who enter a sauna.

Those who fight themselves and those who fight others.

Godolphin was the latter.

However, when a stubborn person of this type happens to enter the sauna at the same time as another similar person, tragedy can occur, whether in another world or on Earth.

Lio had entered this ice sauna a little before Godolphin.

All the students who had entered the sauna before Godolphin had been replaced by different people, except for Lio.

Godolphin was already so cold that his teeth were chattering, but as long as Lio, who had entered before him, was still there, he couldn't leave first.

Moreover, Lio, though silent and eyes closed, was clearly aware of Godolphin.

It was obvious that Lio had set his 'goal for today' to be the timing of Godolphin's exit.

His legs were shaking, and his lips and extremities, such as his ears, had turned blue.

No good...

Lio is almost frostbitten.

How stubborn can he be...

I, who entered first, should leave first to show respect to the senior sauna user!

Moreover, the lower bench seems to be colder, judging by the sensation in my feet.

There's no way I, a top-notch sauna user, can leave first!

While thinking this, Godolphin started to feel sleepy.

No... I'll die if I fall asleep.

I have to settle this before the promising young man is irreparably damaged, using adult tactics.

With that in mind, Godolphin stood up and walked straight to the exit door.

Lio, who had already reached his limit, stood up as if to follow Godolphin.

But then, Godolphin suddenly stopped, stretched his Achilles tendon in the space in front of the door, and sat back down in his original spot.

Lio, who had stood up to follow Godolphin, stood there in shock.

Hehe.

To fall for such a basic feint, Lio still has a lot to learn as a sauna user.

Godolphin chuckled to himself.

But Lio, his blue lips twisted into a grin, started doing squats on the spot.

Then, he sat back down in his original spot.

How ridiculous!

How stubborn can he be!

"Both of you, stop being stubborn and get out already?"

Coco, who happened to be there, called out, but the two remained silent with their eyes closed, ignoring her words.

Thirty minutes later, two frozen mackerels, wrapped in towels, were rolled out in front of Jue.