Yena’s Cooking Class.

The precious tobacco ash in the pipe was gradually burning away, but he couldn’t think of smoking it.

He couldn’t even open his mouth.

The words from the secretary gave him such shock that they stiffened his body, and he couldn’t show any reaction.

“Say that again.”

Only after some time passed did he barely manage to utter a sentence mixed with a few words.

“We have succeeded in deriving a list of suspects for the diving equipment incident you mentioned, Administrator.”

Even then, as he listened to the secretary’s words again, a feeling of emptiness swept over his heart once more.

‘I wished it was just a delusion.’

A part of him hoped it was a misunderstanding.

Although the possibility was extremely low, he hoped Yena’s equipment had simply malfunctioned.

No matter how much circumstantial evidence there was that an unknown person had damaged the equipment, he wished it was all just a dramatic coincidence.

“Ha, haha. So there was a culprit after all.”

But the truth of the world is cruel.

The fact that someone really wanted Yena’s death pained his heart and made him feel regretful.

Crackle─

Gartel puffed on his pipe, from which white vapor was bursting, if only to try to ventilate his stifling feelings, to cool his heating head.

“Phew…”

He blew out smoke as if expelling the lump in his chest.

“Secretary.”

“Yes, Administrator.”

Then, with a somewhat calmed heart.

Thud─

Gartel leaned his arms on the railing and looked out the window in a space where only he and the secretary were present, opposite to the bustling end of the corridor.

“What do you think when you see the cadets?”

“The students… you mean?”

“Yes. The children who have just entered the military academy and are growing up happily and joyfully while spending their days.”

And as time passed, he continued speaking in a gentle voice while gazing at the sky embracing the crimson sunset.

“They are the ones who will become the torches to brighten the future of the deteriorated Empire, aren’t they? I always feel grateful, along with the feeling that we, who have already walked the path of officers, should take care of them.”

“That’s right.”

“Are you very worried about Yena? Your complexion doesn’t look good. If it’s too hard, maybe you should take a short rest…”

When the secretary asked with a voice mixed with concern as they continued their conversation,

“No, there’s no need for that. I’m not particularly tired. I just asked because I felt amused.”

He cut off the words abruptly and smiled gently.

‘I must make them pay dearly.’

The secretary’s words were absolutely right.

Before being a girl I pay attention to, Yena was a cadet of the military academy who would make the country great again in the future.

Isn’t touching such a precious child equivalent to threatening the Empire? There’s a need to eliminate them cleanly.

“Haah.”

A chest lighter than before.

And anger filling that space instead.

“How many suspects are there in total?”

“Considering all conditions, including officers whose schedules were open at that time, and high-ranking officials who have the authority to tamper with equipment, the total number derived is five.”

“You are to quietly pick out one of them, by any means necessary. If you need anything, just ask.”

“…I will obey your command.”

Gartel ordered the secretary based on emotions that made his murderous intent boil.

“And when you uncover their identity, don’t tell anyone and bring the list directly to me.”

“Understood.”

“I plan to completely crush them, whether by sending them to the Federation’s gulag or the Empire’s gallows.”

“Ye-Yes.”

Meanwhile, he stared at the setting sun with a grim gaze.

‘This is the maximum help I can send you, Yena.’

I’ll clear away the rocks you can’t break as much as possible. After that, you’ll have to overcome the eventful times on your own.

“I hope you grow well.”

Wishing that Yena would become a daughter of the Empire who brings winds of change to this chaotic country,

Rattle, thud─!

Gartel closed the window and moved his steps towards the hall bustling with instructors.

---

“Ugh, I’m hungry…”

“How much?”

“So much! We didn’t even have breakfast.”

Erika sighed deeply while clutching her lower abdomen.

The occasional rumbling sounds proved that she was experiencing considerable hunger.

‘We certainly didn’t eat.’

I fully understood her feelings.

“Chirp, chirp──”

“Chirp chirp, chirp, chirp chirp──”

The sun had set, and evening had arrived with crickets chirping incessantly, yet we hadn’t eaten anything.

Moreover, the fatigue level would be even higher because we had moved vigorously while dealing with monsters, consuming energy.

We had also faced many monsters.

“Rina, how many monsters have we caught so far?”

When I asked Rina, who was right in front, an answer came back in less than a few seconds.

“Ten in total.”

And it was as she said.

Even after bringing down the giant monster species in the morning, we had encountered and fought various specimens, so tiredness that wouldn’t be strange to sleep right away had accumulated in the team members’ bodies.

“Huff, huff…”

Wolf, breathing roughly up ahead, was no exception.

‘Seems he wants to keep his pride.’

Whether he wanted to make up for his past of hiding cowardly after getting scared of the giant monster species, or to vent the irritation that had arisen from the discord with me, I didn’t know.

Bang─!

“Just die!”

“Ki-Kiririk!”

At the forefront, as he steadied himself, he killed the monsters that appeared one after another with his characteristic water attribute magic.

‘Strong against the weak ones, is that it?’

The problem was that they were all weak specimens reaching Grade 8, no, Grade 9.

As soon as a slightly higher-grade one appeared, he would retreat to protect himself, so in a way, you could say nothing had changed.

“You say you’re afraid of monsters when I’m catching them like this? Don’t you see this giant rat corpse in my hand?”

“Alright, stop fighting and let’s move forward, Wolf. It’s getting dark, and we should find a place to spend the night soon.”

Rather, as he tried to show off after catching one small monster, the contempt I harbored inside grew even more.

‘I never knew the difference between families could be this stark.’

He’s far too lacking to be called a child of a noble family with close ties to the imperial family. I know he’s the eldest son, the heir to the family… It’s the first time I’m curious about someone’s childhood.

How was he raised?

If Wolf’s father is the head of the Imperial Conservative Party, he must have been wealthy, but how did he end up with such a personality, and what kind of person is the head of the Imperial Conservative Party?

“This place seems nice and comfortable.”

As I was continuing my deep thoughts, I suddenly heard Rina’s words and stopped thinking to look around the dimly lit surroundings.

‘It’s clean.’

As Rina said, it was a decent area compared to where we had been.

Unlike the surroundings where insects swarmed and visibility was hindered by grass and vines, the presence of just an open space created a sense of cleanliness.

“I’m satisfied wherever you say, Rina. I don’t know what the two behind will say though.”

Wolf sneered while shaking off the blood on his hands.

Although Rina had prevented the worst outcome of the team scattering after dozens of minutes of persuasion, it seemed he still harbored my words deep in his heart.

“She’s just a kid with a lot of complaints, right?”

“Wolf, stop it.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t intend to fight anymore either. I just wanted to say that you shouldn’t associate with commoners who can’t understand the grand intentions of nobles.”

“…Haah, alright.”

Isn’t he glaring at me with his eyes wide open like that while speaking?

I was certain that the emotional residue from the morning’s argument still remained deeply in his heart.

“It’s not bad.”

“I-I… I mean, I don’t have any objections either.”

Of course, whether he ground his teeth and sent warning messages or aimed at me with eyes full of murderous intent, I, who had no interest, didn’t even give him a glance.

“Then you and Erika agree too?”

“Y-Yeah!”

“Yes.”

I just answered Rina along with Erika with my usual expressionless face.

Splash─!

Confirming that no one objected to the proposal, Rina immediately splattered the blood of the giant monster we had subdued in the morning towards a nearby tree.

“Wasn’t it good that we brought it?”

“…I didn’t think you’d have this idea.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

It was an action to prevent possible monster invasions, and a method I had directly suggested.

If it were a low-grade specimen, monsters might rather gather, but the owner of this blood trace was a Grade 4 monster, belonging to the upper predators in this forest.

In the end, this scent will act as a deterrent to keep monsters away, and we should be able to rest more comfortably.

“This should be enough.”

After creating sufficient blood traces all around, Rina unpacked the luggage she had been carrying on her shoulder and put it down on the ground.

An oil lamp.

Extra combat rations to last a day.

Small tools like a pocket knife.

“First, let’s each fill our stomachs.”

As soon as she finished organizing the items given by the instructor just before entering survival training, she lit the lamp to brighten the dark space and distributed the food.

“Here’s yours, Yena.”

“Smells good.”

Of course, food was delivered to me as well.

More precisely, a cylindrical iron can with Imperial language printed on it, and a few paper boxes that might contain something edible.

‘How long has it been since I’ve seen this?’

I smiled with my eyes in delight.

Crunch, squeak─!

I cut open the tightly sealed can lid using ice magic, and unwrapped the food wrapped in rough paper material with bare hands to check its contents.

‘Indeed, it smells like food.’

Then the smell of soup made with kidney beans and carrots, and the characteristic flour scent of rye bread wafted over.

A very familiar composition,

It was the standard Imperial Army combat ration.

Unlike in the past game, the smell of ‘real’ food is wafting. Maybe because I’m seeing it in reality, but somehow the visuals seem more vivid.

“Hmm…”

“Chirp chirp, chirp──”

“Gyaaa…”

While the crickets’ cries and occasional monster roars pierced my ears, I quietly closed my eyelids and enjoyed the sweet fragrance tickling the tip of my nose.

“Ugh, why won’t this open?”

“Is there a problem?”

“It’s just, I don’t know how to deal with this…”

However, all these items must be unfamiliar to other cadets. Erika, too, seemed to be encountering combat rations for the first time, sweating and struggling.

“I-I’m hungry, but…”

Her expression, unable to eat despite having food right in front of her, and overlapped with hunger, was truly pitiful.

‘I should help her.’

Perhaps because her face resembles a squirrel, doesn’t she look just like a sad squirrel now? While I might not care about others, Erika is an unparalleled comrade,

“Want me to try?”

“Y-Yeah.”

I immediately approached her.

Click─!

And in a moment, not even a few seconds later, I opened the can and took out the food, solving her problem.

“Thank you, Yena! Now I can eat…”

“No.”

“Hm, no?”

“It tastes bad if you eat it like this. I’ll cook for you, so just bring me a few tools from that backpack.”

“R-Really? Okay!”

But once I start helping, it’s human nature to see it through to the end. I gave one instruction to Erika, whose eyes were sparkling like a child seeing a hot air balloon for the first time.

‘I wonder if I can make it well in reality too.’

To verify my own ‘Imperial Combat Ration Cooking Method’ that I had honed through countless game plays in the past.

Aren’t you curious?

Whether the hand movements I had honed in the game would be effective in this world, and what kind of taste it would have if I successfully finish cooking.

“He-Here!”

“Thank you.”

Hiss─!

Finally, when Erika brought something dangling, I lit a match and took out a palm-sized cast iron pan from among the things she had brought.

“…Let’s give it a try.”

And with a smile on my lips, I poured the stew.