…What’s This?

There is a school cafeteria in Maris as well, but it’s mostly used by commoners or lower nobility.

No matter how carefully it’s prepared, due to the nature of mass-produced meals, the quality is at best that of good mass-produced food.

While it may be sufficient for a meal, it’s naturally considered inadequate for those pursuing fine dining.

Ironically, this issue sometimes arises even among the common people who are the main users.

The school cafeteria focuses on nutritional meals, so they don’t serve preferred foods like chicken.

“Here you go, take this.”

“I’ll eat it well, thank you.”

For that reason, I’m currently visiting a tavern in the school town.

What the owner handed me at the outdoor counter was the chicken I had eaten with Mr. Lloyd at the training ground before.

Even though it’s lunchtime, seeing how crowded it is, it seems to be a well-known delicious restaurant… but it’s still disappointing that there’s no seasoning other than the salt brine.

Come to think of it, wasn’t the seasoned chicken I used to eat where I lived only created in the late 20th century?

To recreate what was eaten back then, I’d have to develop it myself. Let’s see, what ingredients are needed? First, there needs to be ketchup, and then gochujang…

Damn, where am I supposed to find gochujang in a Western fantasy setting?

“Aaack!!”

As I was thinking about this while continuing to walk, suddenly.

A scream rang out from the square. Along with it, the gazes of people around focused on one spot.

What’s this? A fight?

Curious, I made my way through the crowd, and a muscular man lying on the ground bleeding in front of the fountain greeted me.

Rectangular bloodstains scattered all over the ground…

No, looking closely, they’re not blood but cards.

“Hahaha!! You said you traveled the continent looking for strong opponents, but is this all you’ve got?!”

A man laughing triumphantly while standing in front of the muscular man who had spilled the cards.

Judging by his attire, he seemed to be a student, but the relatively older muscular man wore a frustrated expression, as if he had been thoroughly beaten.

“Ugh… I never thought there would be such a strong duelist in Maris.”

“In Maris? No, you’ve got it wrong. I am the strongest duelist on this continent!!”

The student spread his arms wide while standing over the fallen muscular man.

“Bow down, commoners! For I am the strongest warrior on this continent!! Hahahahaha!!”

As his boisterous laughter echoed through the square, the people around started looking at him with bewildered eyes and shrugging their shoulders.

There was an atmosphere of “What on earth are you doing with cards in broad daylight?”

“Mom, that person…”

“Shh, be quiet.”

As the crowd dispersed one by one, looking at him as if he were crazy.

Soon, only the fallen muscular man and the male student were left alone in the empty square.

“Tch, these ignorant masses who can’t recognize my greatness…”

Isn’t it weirder to think you’re great just because you’re good at a card game?

Judging by the emblem he’s wearing, he seems to be a second-year high school student… Well, I can understand him losing his mind, since next year he’ll be busy with coming-of-age ceremonies and graduation exams.

“Hey, student.”

But regardless of that, I don’t think the card game itself is bad.

Rather, if one spends a lot of time in one place, having a hobby that can be enjoyed in a room isn’t a bad thing.

“If it’s alright, could you tell me where to buy those cards?”

Come to think of it, I used to play card games in my previous life too.

I hope she would like it too.

---

After spending some time on the street like that.

“Dale, did anything happen while the teacher was gone…”

The moment I returned to the infirmary with my purchases in my arms, I felt something rushing at me from the front.

For a moment, I tensed up in wariness.

But for some reason, mana didn’t gather in my body properly, and by then the attacker was already hugging me… no, it wasn’t an assassin, it was Dale.

I was late in noticing because I didn’t expect this child to do this.

“Haha… Did you miss the teacher that much?”

The small boy tightly hugging my waist and burying his face.

The strength of his embrace showed how much he had felt my absence, but if we stay like this, it will only be troublesome for both of us.

Belatedly realizing what he had done, Dale startled and stepped back.

“Ah, I… I’m sorry. I just…”

“It’s alright, come over here. You must have been very hungry, let’s eat together.”

Can we eat in the infirmary where hygiene is important?

I placed the chicken on a table set up in the pantry directly connected to the infirmary, and took out drinks from the refrigerated box to pour for Dale.

A magical tool that accepts mana to function as a refrigerator, just like the windows in the school.

As I poured the chilled cola into a cup filled with ice, bubbles fizzed up.

“Isn’t this expensive?”

“It’s not that expensive.”

Cola is just a mixture of medicinal ingredients, fruit juice, and sugar, and chicken is originally a commoner’s food, so it would be criticized if it were expensive.

If anything, the more expensive option might be the school cafeteria at Maris?

Of course, even that wouldn’t be a burden for someone who could enter this academy, but the child in front of me didn’t even have that, and had been making do with leftover bread from breakfast for lunch.

“I’m really fine. Just the skin would be enough…”

“Tsk.”

“Ouch!”

I immediately flicked Dale’s forehead as he tried to reach for the crumbs left in the box.

He probably meant it as consideration, but to say you won’t eat in front of the Chicken God? If I allowed that, I wouldn’t be human.

“Dale. Although consideration and humility are virtues that people should possess, it’s also rude to decline what others have sincerely prepared. Are you trying to turn the teacher’s sincerity into trash?”

“Ah, no, that’s not… mph!”

I immediately put a chicken leg in his mouth as he opened it in surprise.

Dale unconsciously took a bite.

His blank face instantly turned into an expression of ecstasy.

“It’s delicious, right?”

Dale nodded with the chicken leg in his mouth.

The bright sparkle in his eyes briefly reminded me of the atmosphere when we first met.

Yes, forget psychology and all that.

When you’re feeling down, the best thing to do is to eat meat first.

“There’s plenty, so eat a lot. That’s how you’ll grow taller and gain weight.”

Saying that, I handed him another chicken leg, and Dale swallowed hard before bringing it to his mouth.

It’s so nice to watch him eat.

Chuckling, I added two more chicken legs to Dale’s plate.

“Thank you for the meal. Now, I should go study…”

“If you sit at your desk right after eating, won’t you just get sleepy and not be able to study?”

After the meal was over, I immediately cleared away the dishes and placed a deck of cards on the empty table.

“There’s still a long time until lunch break is over, so let’s spend some time together. Have you ever played card games before?”

“When I was in my hometown, I saw customers at the tavern playing cards. They had piles of money next to them while looking at their cards, but the atmosphere was really intense… It didn’t look very enjoyable.”

“…That’s gambling, not a game.”

Of course, you can’t enjoy it when you could lose your entire fortune and even your organs if you lose.

Of course, even poker or hwatu can be healthy games like sports if there’s no money involved.

I immediately set up the cards on the table and handed Dale a rulebook.

“First, sit here. I’ll explain the rules to you right away.”

The rules aren’t that complicated.

Each player takes turns playing, puts cards labeled as monsters on the field, and when they clash, the one with higher attack power wins. Besides field battles, you can also use magic cards or trap cards to turn the tide in your favor, and you win by reducing your opponent’s life points to 0.

Many cards may seem insignificant individually, but combining them to create synergy is one of the charms of such trading card games.

“Do you understand roughly?”

“Um, yes. I understand.”

“Then choose one from here. These are sample decks I made, and basing on these will help you build your own deck later.”

Soon, Dale started examining the decks I had prepared one by one.

An aggro deck that aims for a quick victory in the early game, a control deck that focuses on leading the overall flow of the game, a combo deck that guarantees an absolute victory by combining specific cards, and so on…

As these decks are built according to the standard tendencies of each strategy, it should be easy to get used to the game.

In the midst of this, Dale suddenly became immersed in reading the description of a card from the last deck he held.

“Do you like that one?”

“Oh, um… This description is a bit interesting.”

Dale asked while reading the card he was holding.

“Um, can you win just by collecting cards in your hand without playing them?”

Ah, so it was the Exodia deck.

“Well, yes. Special victory conditions aren’t uncommon in these card games.”

Occasionally in card games, there are combo decks that secure victory by fulfilling certain conditions…

Among them, there are decks built around cards that systematically guarantee unconditional victory, which are collectively called ‘Exodia decks’.

It’s a proper noun that came from a TCG game that once gained cult popularity, but since then it’s been used almost like a dedicated term in other TCG games as well.

The sample deck that Dale is holding now was also created under that influence, and it’s a deck that guarantees ‘unconditional victory’ if you collect 5 cards with the same name.

“Do you like that one?”

“Um… Yes, I’ll try this one for now.”

He’s interested, but he’s choosing something difficult from the start.

In reality, Exodia-type decks require gathering parts in a limited hand, which means having more idle cards in hand, implying fewer means to respond to the opponent.

Of course, since the goal is to get this child to start enjoying the game, I should go easy on him to some extent.

“Alright then, let’s have a light practice game. First, shuffle your deck and draw five cards.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll give you the first turn, so feel free to deploy cards on the field as you like. It’s a practice game, so you can ask if there’s anything you don’t understand…”

“…”

“…Dale?”

In the middle of my explanation, Dale was staring blankly at his hand.

Feeling puzzled, Dale slowly placed his hand on the table.

“Um, all the cards are gathered…”

“What?”

What is this child talking about?

Confused, I looked at the hand he had placed down, and indeed, I could see that all 5 cards with the same name had been gathered.

It was the moment when complete victory was guaranteed by the rules of the game.

“Does this mean I win?”

“Well, yes, since that’s what’s written.”

Five cards that confirm victory from a deck of about fifty cards gathered in the first hand. What kind of ridiculous luck is this?

…Well, okay.

These things can happen in life. No matter how extremely low the probability, it’s not 0%.

“Well, let’s try again.”

Still, just in case, this time I carefully shuffled the deck on my side.

Worrying that the order of the cards might be straightened out, I paid as much attention as possible…

Alright. This should be fine.

“Now, let’s try again. Are you ready?”

“…”

“…Dale?”

Dale placed the hand he was holding on the table again.

Five cards needed for victory.

The same hand as before had popped out from the first draw.

“Um.”

Dale turned his round eyes towards me.

I was wearing a similar expression reflected in those pupils.

…What the fuck is this?

Is his ability to even nullify misfortune?

“Uh, uuu…”

But as if he couldn’t accept this as good luck, Dale’s face started to crumple into a tearful expression.

It was a reaction I hadn’t expected.

“Why are you suddenly like this?”

“But, but… When I was in my hometown, people who lost in games got really angry and grabbed others by the collar? So I was worried that you might get angry too, teacher…”

That’s because it was a gambling den where money and even organs were at stake.

Damn, this isn’t what I bought these for, what should I do now?

-Bang clatter!

As I was at a loss about what to do in this frustrating situation.

A sound of a door being violently opened came from outside the pantry.

“Teacher, are you here, teacher!?”

Following that, someone’s shout was heard.

Just as things were getting awkward, this is good timing, I thought as I put down the cards I was holding on the table and headed towards the infirmary, when I became aware of the smell of blood hitting my nose.

Indeed, the body of the student who had just entered the infirmary, supported by others, was covered in blood.

Although it looked serious to anyone who saw it, the first thing I felt when I saw them was wariness.

“…The Disciplinary Committee?”

Right, I had encountered the head of the Disciplinary Committee on the rooftop a few days ago.

So I thought that maybe the reason they came here might be about Dale’s personal issues.

“Our, our member! Please treat our member quickly! Please!!”

Of course, these kids shouting so urgently wouldn’t be asking for such a thing.

“Lay him down on this bed. I’ll check his condition right away.”

Whatever it is, they are students and patients, and I am a teacher and a doctor.

It won’t be too late to hear the details after the treatment.