Conquering the Academy with Just a Sashimi Knife (Novel) - Chapter 83 - Festival - Meeting (1)

Chapter 83 – Festival – Meeting (1)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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On the second day of the festival, just after midnight had passed.

Knock, knock.

A woman knocked on the door of the Headmistress’s office.

“Yeah, come in.”

No sooner had Media finished speaking than the door flew wide open. The woman bent deeply at the waist and greeted her. Her orange bob brushed once across her shoulders.

“It has been a long time, Headmistress.”

The woman who entered was All Mute, Khan Elizabeth.

Though she wore a costume emblazoned with the American flag, it suited the clean line of her body with remarkable precision.

“It really has. Since the last time was when you graduated, it’s been five years, Eli!”

With a bright smile, Media pointed to the seat beside her. All Mute bowed formally once again before sitting down.

“Anyway, welcome. Are you enjoying the festival?”

“Yes, I am enjoying it.”

“Goodness, you’re still just as stiff in the way you answer as you were when you were a student.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Are you following trends these days too? What was it, Soulless?”

All Mute wore a puzzled expression.

‘Soul? Less?’

She mulled over Media’s words for a moment, then replied.

“I do have a religion.”

“Oh my, and you still take words exactly as they’re said. Absolutely the same as ever.”

All Mute tilted her head. Media let out a sigh and shook her head, then suddenly spoke.

“Eli, you came because you’re curious about our Geom-ma, didn’t you?”

“……”

All Mute frowned as she thought of one face. A cadet with black hair. Borrowing Media’s words, his name must have been Geom-ma.

‘…But.’

The modifier `our` in front of his name bothered her strangely.

Media had never once referred to a mere cadet in such an intimate way. More than simple fondness drifted in her mint-colored eyes.

Tap, tap.

Media lightly tapped her temple. Shaking off her thoughts, All Mute let out a small sigh.

“What exactly is that cadet named Geom-ma?”

“Hmm, well. In what sense are you asking?”

“He handles the mental domain, doesn’t he?”

A faint hostility flickered in All Mute’s eyes. Media tilted her head slightly.

“But Eli, that’s something you can handle too, at least by temperament. So what’s wrong with our Geom-ma being able to do it?”

“Headmistress! I didn’t come here to play word games!”

As though she could not stand it any longer, All Mute slapped the side table. At once, the atmosphere in the Headmistress’s office turned sharp.

“Eli.”

“……!”

Media called All Mute’s name in a low voice. At the same time, the windows at her back began to crack apart in a chain, tsjeok, tsjeok.

“You’ve become quite rude while I wasn’t looking, haven’t you?”

The half-lidded pupils beneath her lashes were cold. All Mute’s whole body trembled in fine shivers as she looked at that expression.

The weight of her spoken would pressed down heavily on her shoulders. Media was only sitting there with her chin resting on her hand and gazing at her, yet All Mute’s heart pounded.

In truth, Media possessed another epithet besides `Sage`.

‘Tyrant Media.’

Though hidden beneath her languid appearance, those who knew Media’s true depth would never dare treat her casually.

It was said that when Media revealed her true intentions, even fellow Seven Stars like the Spear Saint and the Absolute Bow broke into cold sweat.

The fact that even the Elder Council could not handle her carelessly despite her standing alone was proof enough of her power. All Mute could feel a fragment of that on her skin.

‘What an overwhelming pressure.’

All Mute swallowed dryly. Media stared at her a while longer, then suddenly smiled brightly.

“How long are you going to keep standing there?”

“Ah, ah, my apologies.”

All Mute sat back down awkwardly in her chair. Only then did Media lean her body back against the chair.

“Sorry, I got a little worked up. I’ve been so stressed lately because of that bastard Sieg. Maybe I was a bit oversensitive.”

With a bitter smile, Media continued.

“Anyway, I don’t know what sort of rumor made you curious about Geom-ma, but because of my position I can’t tell you anything about a cadet. A Headmistress is supposed to treat all cadets equa-lly, right?”

“…Yes.”

“And Eli, there was something I told you over and over when you were a student here.”

“Yes?”

“If you’re curious, then use your feet. You remember, don’t you?”

All Mute sank into thought. Then, nodding in affirmation, she stood up.

“Thank you for making time for me, Headmistress.”

“Oh, between us, what’s there to thank me for? Though I didn’t really tell you anything. By the way, how long are you staying at the academy?”

“Originally I was scheduled to leave tomorrow at noon, but…”

“What, why rush? It’s a festival. Stay and enjoy it slowly…”

Media waved her off with a light flutter of her hand. Just as All Mute bowed and was about to head toward the door, a sudden question rose in her mind.

“Headmistress.”

“Hm? Is there still something else you’re curious about?”

After hesitating for quite a while, All Mute cautiously asked.

“What you said about treating all cadets equally… does that apply to that cadet as well?”

“Hmm, well. To be honest, our Geom-ma is less of a cadet to me and more of a…”

A strange curve formed at the corner of Media’s mouth.

“A man… perhaps?”

Click.

Without replying at all, All Mute shut the door and left.

An even greater chill rushed over her than before.

“That Geom-ma bastard, just what in the world is he…”

She muttered while rubbing the goosebumps rising along her forearm.

* * *

By now the festival was already nearing its end.

Last night, in the dormitory, I spent some time sorting out a number of thoughts. The previous two days had been without even a moment to rest. For some reason, the sight of my club members drenched in sweat under the blazing sun kept lingering in my mind.

‘Feels like we’re letting the festival pass by doing nothing but work.’

I reminded myself of what the true purpose of the festival was. We had started this whole thing in order to enjoy ourselves, but the sudden flood of customers had left the club members and me doing little more than labor.

It did not take long for me to make up my mind. Before opening up the booth, I gathered the club members together.

“Today we’ll only work until noon. After that, everyone gets free time. Sound good?”

The moment I said that, life returned to the faces that had been exhausted by all the hard labor.

The club members, their cheeks hollowed out from fatigue, nodded over and over. Among them, Weapon in particular let out an especially fierce cry of joy.

‘And he’s the one who suggested this whole thing in the first place.’

Once our booth, which would be the last one, opened up, customers came pouring in at once.

Perhaps because it was the final day, there seemed to be even more people than yesterday.

But the coordination of the club members, now fully adapted after two days, had become practiced. And because they all had the hope of being able to rest in the afternoon, everyone had straightened up and thrown their full strength into it.

“Um, Geom-ma.”

Chloe, who had been finely shredding green onions, spoke. At this point she was able to preserve the precise angles of the ingredients without even keeping her eyes on the cutting board. I clicked my tongue inwardly at the skill someone who had been a complete dud in cooking had reached in just two days.

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Do you happen to have plans for this afternoon?”

I did not have any plans set. I had been thinking I’d either just wander around aimlessly or go back to the dormitory, but judging by Chloe’s expression, she seemed to want to spend the rest of the schedule with me.

‘Come to think of it, she worked the hardest out of everyone.’

Since I could only wield a knife for fifty seconds a day, Chloe had taken on most of the kitchen work in my place. I had merely stood beside her, dumping in ingredients and adjusting the seasoning.

And before the festival started, Chloe had also said something similar. I thought over my words for a moment, then finally opened my mouth.

“I don’t have any plans. If you’ve got time, do you want to walk around the festival with me?”

“R-really!?”

As though she could not believe what she had heard, Chloe’s round eyes widened. Exaggerating only slightly, maybe to twice their normal size? I gave a small nod.

“That okay with you?”

“Of course!”

A thick flush spread across Chloe’s cheeks. Her lips trembled faintly.

Then she fixed her gaze back onto the cutting board.

Tang, tang, tang, tang, tang.

The blade struck the cutting board like a squall. A feat so close to a circus performance that it hardly seemed real.

For the level of skill she had reached in only two and a half days, her handwork was impossible to believe. A few customers even captured the scene with their camera lenses.

‘Chloe’s potential with a blade really was extraordinary.’

As I stared for a moment at the side of Chloe’s face, I felt a sharp gaze prick the back of my neck. I turned my head.

Ryozo was glaring daggers at me with her slanted eyes. My gaze met hers.

There was unmistakable anger in her eyes. Ryozo bit her lower lip once, then suddenly turned her body away.

‘Why is she so pissed off?’

I thought about the reason for a moment, then simply shrugged. The oddness of her expression did bother me a little… but whatever, she had probably furrowed her brow over Weapon again.

Letting out a sigh inwardly, I quickened my movements. I reined in the part of my heart that might have grown lax near the finish line.

‘A cook must treat customers with sincerity until the very last moment before closing.’

Words my first master had always emphasized to me.

‘To you it may be one meal among countless customers, but to that person it’s their first one.’

It felt as though I could hear his vivid voice again in my ears. I gave a short laugh.

“That old man really did know how to say the right thing.”

I tightened the muscles in my shoulders, sagging from fatigue.

* * *

At last, business was over.

I told the club members we would leave cleanup until tomorrow. There was only half a day of the festival left, after all. Their answer was unanimously `yes`.

The club members stretched, each one letting out groans of exhaustion, and then scattered to enjoy their own festivals. Only Ryozo said she was too tired and went back to the dormitory.

Apparently all the arguing with the reporters yesterday and today had worn her down.

‘Well, mental labor wears the body down more than physical labor does.’

I went back to the dormitory too. There, I rinsed the sweat off my whole body with cold water and then immediately came back out.

Because there was no air conditioner in the room, it was hotter inside than outside. It was miserable.

I checked the time on my phone. There were still roughly thirty minutes left until the time I had promised to meet Chloe.

‘I guess I’ll had to wait somewhere.’

I set out to look for a shady place to rest my body. As I moved my legs along briskly, I spotted a bench set beneath the shade of roadside trees.

It wasn’t far from our meeting place, and there were no people passing by, so it was quiet. A moment later, I dropped myself down and leaned my back against the bench.

For summertime, the breeze that brushed past my cheek was pleasantly cool. The humidity was low as well, so my body felt less sticky, which made it much more comfortable.

“…This is nice.”

I closed my eyes with my head tilted back over the backrest. The fresh scent of greenery drifted into my nose.

Sleepiness began to pour over me.

For a moment I considered just dozing off right there, but quickly pulled myself together and drove the drowsiness away.

‘The time for our appointment is coming up soon.’

Just as I was letting out a huge yawn with my mouth split wide, someone stopped in front of me.

An elderly man leaning on a cane. With the cane, he pointed to the empty space beside me.

“Would you mind if I sat here?”

I stared quietly at the old man for a moment, then shifted my hips aside and made room. The old man thanked me with a kindly smile and sat down.

A short silence followed. It had already been a quiet place, but with the awkward atmosphere added in, it became even more silent.

Then, after wiping sweat away with a handkerchief for a good while, the old man was the first to speak.

“The heat gets harder as you get older.”

“……”

With a blank expression, I gave the old man a sidelong glance, then looked ahead again and replied.

“What is it you want to say?”

At that question, the old man tilted his head and asked in return.

“What do you mean?”

“You came from far away, didn’t you.”

Keeping my gaze fixed straight ahead, I added the rest.

The old man only stared at me blankly.

“Head of the House Auditore, Altair.”

The corners of his mouth lifted.

“You have good instincts for a young man.”