Since then, the booth operation went smoothly.
As the formidable Class B booth wobbled, customers who were supposed to go to Class B ended up coming to Class A instead.
Among them, Rena had a significant share. As she tirelessly cooked alone, she realized a more efficient method.
The egg covering the omurice requires precise fire control. If it’s too weak, the egg won’t cook, and if it’s too strong, it’s likely to burn.
Making one at a time is easy. It’s not that difficult, so even beginner cooks can manage it well.
But if she only made one at a time, she wouldn’t be able to keep up with the number of customers pouring in. The timing of providing meals had been repeatedly pointed out as a downside at the explosively popular Class A booth.
Rena had to focus on multiple dishes at once.
Controlling the fire while cooking several at the same time is no easy task. For an ordinary person, it’s nearly impossible.
But she pulled it off.
That’s because she had done it so many times before. Controlling the fire, that is.
“Bloom.”
She seemed to have transcended to a new level as a seasoned flame mage. The previous duel with Wendy had an influence, no doubt.
In any case, she resolved the only flaw in the Class A booth, which was the timing of cooking. The quality of the food also received positive feedback.
This was in stark contrast to a certain booth that showcased the worst service by pouring strawberry syrup on a customer’s head.
The operation of Class A’s booth was smooth. Suspiciously so.
“…I admit defeat.”
Eventually, on the second day, Wendy from Class B acknowledged her defeat. The gap had widened too much to turn it around on the third day.
Since they hadn’t set a punishment for losing in advance, they couldn’t humiliate her further, but for now, they decided to be satisfied with breaking her high pride.
She held back from turning her into the same situation as Lucia.
Thus the night of the second day passed, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the final day of the festival.
Teresa, who had substituted for Rena as the class representative in her absence, stood in front of Rena and Iria at the booth on the last day.
Now that she thought about it, the two had been working for two consecutive days. Others gradually dropped out, claiming it was hard.
“You’ve worked hard, so feel free to go have fun. We’ll handle the sales on the last day.”
“Huh? Didn’t you say there’s no one who can cook?”
“We can hire someone with money!”
Teresa gave a thumbs up as if there were no problems. Class A’s booth earnings over the past two days had exceeded expectations.
They could cover the cost of a day’s labor. Teresa also played the role of accountant managing the money in Class A, and she paid Rena and Iria for their two days of hard work.
Originally, the principle was to distribute the profits equally, but since the two had particularly struggled during that period, she added a bit more.
No one expressed dissatisfaction with that.
“Is it okay to give this much?”
The money bag received was heavier than expected. When she counted, there were as many as 60 silver coins.
Rena asked with a puzzled expression, but Teresa nodded as if it was fine.
“It’s okay, so hurry and go rest. If we leave everything to you until the last day, it’ll be uncomfortable for us. It’s a festival, you should have some fun too.”
“Hmm…”
If you put it that way…
Rena thanked them for their consideration and left the booth. Iria was following her. Now she had to think about what to do from here.
*
Today, it was a day when Iria didn’t have to work. Her classmates had considered that.
Now she had to think about what to do.
In fact, it was easier for Iria to simply carry out what she was assigned. If given freedom, she wouldn’t know what to do and would prefer to just stand still.
Was that because she fundamentally felt emotions as dull? In fact, anything would do.
For Iria, the world was no different than black and white. No matter what she saw, she found it difficult to find differences from what she already knew, and she felt no excitement either.
What’s the difference in a festival? Everything would look black anyway.
The only time she felt alive was when she consumed people. She was a being that could only feel emotions when consuming humans.
A festival?
It was just a return to the mundane after experiencing the unusual of turning the Empire into an enemy. No other feelings existed apart from that.
If only she were a little more human, would her feelings have differed? If only slightly more of her past were present, would something have changed?
The world did not change for Iria. Left alone in a colorless space, she thought all by herself.
Because nothing changed, she had no expectations, and she merely moved her body to find color in a black-and-white world.
“I’m fine, so Rena, you go have fun alone.”
“What do you mean by that!”
“…?”
Rena grabbed Iria’s wrist, who was standing there in a daze.
Even while being pulled with her wrist held, it seemed she didn’t understand what was happening.
“Let’s go together! Didn’t we promise?”
“…?”
Iria’s eyes widened.
At the moment she was tugged along by Rena, the black-and-white world briefly appeared bright.
Today, she seemed unusually flustered. Blinking at that spot, Iria quietly followed behind Rena.
Curiosity arose from the unfamiliar sensation she felt for the first time. Right now, Iria was following Rena due to personal feelings.
It wasn’t long after entering the academy that I had a sudden thought.
Could a monster in human form coexist naturally with humans?
I was human once, but now I am not.
My living patterns, eating habits, and even my thought processes were different. I thought perfect coexistence would be difficult.
Humans and monsters do not communicate well. This wasn’t just because monsters couldn’t speak human language.
Monsters, unlike humans, are strongly influenced by instincts. Amy, whom I met in the underground prison, said she killed a human because she couldn’t suppress her instincts.
Last night, the human friend might just end up as a meal by morning. That’s the nature of monsters.
Yet, even so, I had never given up on establishing a relationship with humans.
Not now, but there was a time when I was once human.
If I hadn’t felt it from the beginning, perhaps I wouldn’t know, but there was a time when I felt emotions like them.
Those were things I had once possessed and had been forgotten.
I know what it means to feel emotions. Knowing what it feels like made me cling further to it.
I once thought that mixing with humans would help me recall those forgotten sensations.
Today, I was finally able to derive an answer to the question I had held onto for so long.
I wanted to be human. I still had lingering attachments to the emotions of the humans I lost.
Though it might be a wish that could be impossible now.
What was obvious to someone was something I desperately desired.
It may be selfish, but now, I had a desire to kill someone to return to being human.
After all, it was the same whether I remained as a monster or killed a human.
In the end, blood would flow regardless of the path I took.
I was a monster that went crazy at the sight of blood.
I was a monster that could only live by swallowing the blood someone shed.
*
The streets of the festival were bustling with people.
Today’s streets seemed to be more crowded as if trying to decorate the last day of the festival, which had been held successfully.
Booths operated by students from the same academy were lined up. The number was considerable as all departments’ students gathered.
There were so many different types that it was hard to look around all of them. It was a sight she hadn’t seen, as she had been too busy operating the booth on the first and second days.
Perhaps because of that, Rena appeared to be in a good mood. Iria didn’t seem entirely uninterested either.
“Hey! Let’s check that out too!”
It was a street vendor selling street food. Rena asked Iria if there was something she wanted to eat, but she didn’t show much interest in the food.
In the end, Rena bought a drink and handed it to her. Iria declined again, but after several prompts, she reluctantly accepted.
Even if it was human food, drinking was less burdensome on her body. Of course, if she drank too much, she would feel unwell, so she usually wouldn’t touch it unless necessary.
But that was just a treat for reminiscing about the time she was human. It couldn’t be eaten to fill her belly.
Iria took a sip, blinked, and her previously icy expression subtly changed.
“Hmm.”
“How is it? Tasty?”
“Yes.”
What she had at least touched today was quite tasty.
Perhaps it was the second best thing to human blood among the things she had eaten since falling into this world.
It wouldn’t do to let her condition worsen, so she only drank half and discarded the rest, but for a moment, she could feel a sensation similar to that of humans, and it wasn’t a bad feeling.
Next, she found one of the swordsmanship department booths.
It was a competition to see who could deliver a stronger impact using a measuring magic tool. It seemed they would present a prize if you got a higher score than the booth operator. As she got closer, a well-built man greeted her.
Seeing two girls, he had a slightly dismissive expression.
“What? You here to try?”
It seemed he recognized Iria’s name, but he was also a top student in the third year.
Generally, a second-year top student is stronger than a first-year top student, and a third-year top student is stronger than a second-year top student.
The difference between those who have gone through the academy’s curriculum and those who haven’t is significant.
Even a top student is still a first-year student. He didn’t seem to take them seriously. Iria turned her head towards Rena and asked.
“Should I give it a try?”
“Huh? Is that okay? Your opponent is a third-year senior.”
She stepped forward as if it didn’t matter.
‘Easy money.’
The booth operator, Ed, chuckled inside. In truth, that magic tool was intentionally manipulated.
The man had superior physical abilities compared to the girls, but human strength is influenced more by mana than physical ability, so gender doesn’t play a huge role in physical strength.
But what if the magical tool was modified to only recognize the minimal radius of mana?
Ed slightly adjusted the device to ensure it only detected pure physical power.
Thinking that the two in front of him would not win the prize, he chuckled.
Boom!!!
Until Iria threw a punch.
A loud impact echoed all around. There was also the sound of something breaking.
Ed didn’t understand what had happened for a moment. After the sound of destruction, the first thing that came into view was a swirl of silver hair from the movement.
Iria turned to look and said,
“I think this broke.”
“What, what?”
He had to pay for the amount of the destroyed prize.
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