Conquering the Academy with Just a Sashimi Knife (Novel) - Chapter 82 - Festival - Sashimi Sword Saint (2)

Chapter 82 – Festival – Sashimi Sword Saint (2)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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At the end of the day, the true purpose of this festival was the club booth.

There was no grand reason like spreading Korean cuisine to the whole world. I simply wanted to make memories I could share with the club members. But as always, unexpected bad blood and farce got tangled into things.

That had been yesterday afternoon. But perhaps my great worries had been groundless after all.

Right after it happened, I had expected reporters to come swarming over and shove cameras in my face, but yesterday passed more quietly than expected.

After breathing a sigh of relief inside, I had wanted today, the second day of the festival, to be a day where I could simply enjoy my own festival in peace…

“Customer with waiting number 238! We’ll seat you now!”

Weapon briskly scanned the tickets. In front of him, customers stood lined up like a train.

Even in the blistering heat, with sweat pouring down, the end of the line was nowhere in sight.

Tang, tang, tang, tang, tang!

Chloe prepared the ingredients with nimble hands.

Her handwork was so fast that afterimages made it look like she had several arms.

Despite the busy motion, the prepared ingredients vanished from the cutting board in no time.

“This is interference with business. Sorry, but please leave.”

At the entrance to the booth, Ryozo stood with her arms folded and blocked a crowd of reporters.

Hana senpai, her lenses gleaming beside her, helped out. No matter how the reporters pleaded, the two of them firmly turned them away.

“I’m reporter Han Sang-hun from CBS! Couldn’t you let us see Mr. Kang Geom-ma for just thirty seconds, no, fifteen seconds?!”

“Are you unaware that interviews without prior arrangement are prohibited?”

“No, really, I’m just asking to take a single photo of his face!”

“He said he doesn’t want to, and you’re still going to keep this up!? If you don’t want your whole broadcasting station hacked, then please go away! We’re already busy enough as it is!”

“W-what! Are you threatening a reporter right now!?”

“Hah, where else could you find such a gentle threat? What a ridiculous bunch. This place is so crowded because of you people that we’re about to burst. Go ahead and take it as far as you want!”

After arguing for quite a while, the men finally dragged their feet away. Smacking their lips, they wore expressions that said they would be back again.

Buzz, buzz.

Heads packed the booth so tightly there was no air conditioning to speak of. Even with sweat gathering at their chins, the customers paid no mind as they gulped down the bright red stew. Female customers lifted their smartphones over the food even while eating.

“Hey, hey, what tags did you use on your feed?”

“Hashtags `Sashimi Sword Saint`, `kimchi stew`, `Korean food`, like that!”

“Holy shit, I’m using that exactly too.”

“Right? It’s kimchi stew made by the Sashimi Sword Saint, the views are gonna explode.”

I stood there blankly and looked at the customers.

‘Sashimi Sword Saint.’

The reason for this entire situation. Yesterday evening, just as if they had been waiting for it, articles poured onto the portals.

It had been natural in a way. Mao Lang, star of the continent, had been defeated by an ordinary cadet.

That much I had expected, and I had already warned the club members about it beforehand.

But among all the articles out there, one of them had apparently captured everyone’s attention.

‘The monstrous newcomer ‘Sashimi Sword Saint’ who brought the Star of the Continent to her knees’

Perhaps because of the sharp sting of its differentiated title, that article drew countless comments and an enormous amount of interest.

In the most literal sense, I had become famous overnight.

‘…Sword Saint.’

The title that Miracle’s Blessing M had locked away through its system.

According to the proper story, it would have belonged to the future Sword Emperor later on.

In fact, because he had now declared his retirement, it should have become a lost title.

‘So then why, of all things…’

That mantle had suddenly been placed upon me. Of course, its meaning in this case was strongly tinged with mockery.

‘This is so fucking embarrassing.’

That had been my impression yesterday when Ryozo let out a snort and showed me the article while we were cleaning up.

All they had done was attach `sashimi` in front of the title `Sword Saint`, which ought to have been honorable, and yet its weight had become infinitely lighter.

Anyway, our little modest booth thus ended up being called `kimchi stew by the Sashimi Sword Saint`, and customers came pouring in from everywhere.

“President! Is the stew still far off? We’ve got to seat the customers with waiting number 250 next.”

Weapon poked only his head into the booth and spoke. I pulled my wandering mind back together and moved my hands, but suddenly asked.

“Weapon, about how many waiting numbers do we have?”

“Hmm, the ones we’ve printed out so far go up to 674. There are more than that, but we ran short on ticket paper, so we’ll have to buy more later. Counting the ones we couldn’t print, it’s probably over 1000 by now.”

“……”

Even in my previous life, when I had been the best knife man in the country, business had never gone this well. Of course, there was no badge of honor more glorious than people eating deliciously, but…

‘This has gone way too far.’

Even the ingredients I had thought would be more than enough were being sucked into the earthenware pots in no time. I looked at the side of Chloe’s face.

I felt sorry for her as she kept chopping with sweat pouring down her face. I could already see her fingers trembling from severe exhaustion.

‘We’re desperately short on hands.’

And yet driving away the people who had come all this way would be a disgrace as a cook. So while my hands moved mechanically, I kept searching for a solution.

“Whew, Master. In all my life, I’ve never seen a shop so busy. Isn’t that right, Nox?”

“…Yes.”

At that moment, Mansur, the owner of Korean Sushi, and Nox showed their faces. Chloe, who was lost in the ecstasy of her knife work, did not even notice Nox.

The sudden visit was welcome, yet also chaotic. Letting out a deep breath, I said.

“Boss, I’ll come see you personally another time, so for today…”

When I trailed off, Mansur tilted his head. Then he burst out into hearty laughter.

“Hahaha! We didn’t come as customers, Master.”

“Then what?”

“Yesterday, I happened to see the article and thought this place would be overflowing today. So Nox and I came to lend a hand!”

As he said that, Mansur patted Nox on the back. Nox stood there awkwardly with his head lowered.

I looked back and forth between the two of them.

It had only been a single brief meeting, yet I felt nothing but gratitude that they had come all this way for me.

But sentiment lasted only a moment. The mouths of customers did not wait.

“Then I won’t refuse.”

I nodded. Mansur rolled up his sleeves, teeth bared in a grin.

“As your disciple, isn’t this only natural! If anything, I’m the one who should be thanking you, Master. Or should I call you Sashimi Sword Saint now?”

“…If you’re going to joke around, then go home.”

“Hahaha, it’s a joke, a joke! Alright, Nox, you get ready too. Ah, right. Master, just so you know, this kid was the one who told me about the article yesterday. He was even more worried than I was.”

“B-boss!”

Nox’s face turned bright red. I gazed at him for a moment, then laughed quietly.

‘That bastard’s concern for his little sister really was…’

After standing there awkwardly for a moment, Nox tied on an apron. Then he helped Weapon deal with the customers. The practiced business smile he wore was far more polished than before.

Mansur too stood beside Chloe and took hold of a knife hilt. The sashimi knife that shredded green onions into fine strips moved like a swift sword.

“……”

Only two hands had been added. Yet the reassurance they brought was more than double.

I closed my eyes and opened them again. Sweat kept running, the sharp spiciness stung my eyes, and the lively noise battered my ears.

Even so.

“Haha.”

For some reason, I could not stop smiling.

* * *

“Hooo.”

A long sigh slipped out. Standing outside the booth, I kneaded my aching finger joints. Blisters had already formed there.

“…I couldn’t do this kind of thing a second time.”

It was late afternoon, when the sweltering heat was starting to sink beyond the horizon. The booth, once packed wall to wall with customers, had emptied out completely. Staring at it blankly, the quietness felt almost unnatural now.

“Still, it really was fun.”

I muttered while crunching down on an ice cream. The endless-looking stream of orders had been dealt with smoothly thanks to Nox and Mansur.

And besides, though I had never set up the booth with profits in mind, the earnings had been enormous too. Even after splitting it all up, everyone would get a considerable amount.

‘Though aside from me, none of them are exactly desperate for money.’

Even so, a satisfied smile lingered on my lips.

Step, step.

At the quiet sound of footsteps, I turned my head.

“Oh, Nox. What about cleanup?”

“…Well, it’s mostly done by now. It looks like we’re short on ingredients for tomorrow, but the boss says he’ll bring some from the shop.”

“Oh, that’s a huge help.”

“Be grateful to the boss, not me.”

“You bastard. Getting shy, are you?”

When I grinned, Nox showed me a strange expression.

“Anyway, thanks to you, one burden’s off my shoulders.”

Just as I was stretching and about to stand up.

“Kang Geom-ma, do you happen to have some time later?”

“I’ve got time. Why?”

Tilting my head, I asked. His expression was unusually serious.

“It’s just…”

Nox moved his lips a couple of times, then lowered his gaze and spoke.

“The family head wishes to see you, Kang Geom-ma.”

“……”

Nox’s voice rang out quietly. Even the one speaking seemed to have mixed feelings.

Well, it was an utterly unexpected variable.

‘The head of the House Auditore.’

The Old Man of the Mountain, Altair Auditore.

The head of the shadow family and the man called the greatest assassin of all time.

He was someone who operated in the darkness, supporting the order of hero society from the shadows.

Because he never showed himself on the front lines, rumors circulated that even his very existence was uncertain.

‘The fact that someone like that wants to see me means…’

I could roughly guess what was in the background.

It had to be connected to the academy’s Elder Council, the people who had commissioned my assassination.

‘Though naturally, it won’t be only that.’

He too must have been watching the duel between Mao Lang and me. He would also have seen that I could handle the mental domain. They say that those who could wield a domain could recognize another even from afar. Since I myself had been a target only until recently, there were bound to be many questions in his mind.

“Hmm.”

As I fell into thought, Nox stared at me closely.

“As far as I know, this is the first time the family head has ever taken an interest in an outsider. And he almost never shows his face in person either. I doubt he would appear even if Seven-Star-class heroes requested an audience.”

Nox shrugged and added.

“To be honest, asking you was merely a matter of formality. Naturally, you’d want to meet him too, wouldn’t you? There must be plenty you want to ask.”

I stared quietly at Nox as he said that. His red eyes were fairly calm.

Today I owed him one. The day had gone as smoothly as it had only because of Mansur and Nox, and I had been planning to repay them later.

And now, at just the right moment, he was making something that was not quite a request of me.

It was not even especially difficult to grant. It would probably amount to nothing more than exchanging a few brief words.

Thinking that, I had already made up my mind to a certain degree inside.

I shoved the ice cream, which had been melting drop by drop, into my throat. Then I dusted off my backside and stood up. Without taking his eyes off me, Nox continued speaking.

“Cleanup is probably nearly done by now as well. Change your clothes and come with me immediately. I’ll guide you to where the family head is.”

After he said that, silence fell. When I gave no particular reaction, Nox opened his mouth again.

“…Why aren’t you saying anything?”

I answered with a faint smile.

“I don’t want to go.”

“…What?”

Nox’s eyes widened in complete shock. It was a face that had clearly never expected such an answer. Stammering, he asked.

“W-why on earth?”

If I followed Nox, I would probably hear about the internal investigation surrounding me. It would likely be a meeting with more benefit than risk.

That was true, but.

Nox, who had been left speechless, stared at me.

I scratched the back of my neck and explained my reason briefly.

“Too much hassle.”

“……”

“And I’m tired.”

The orange sunset slowly began to drain from the scenery.

“Thanks for helping out today.”

I turned around and waved one hand loosely in farewell. Behind Nox, standing there blankly, his shadow stretched out long.