32 A Glutonous Girl

As she got closer, she found out the stand where all the numerous utensils were put down. Grabbing all she needed, she stayed a little bit behind the group of five in front of her. Besides the mute shorty and grumpy, Leodagan was visibly deeply annoyed by the situation. However, as everyone served themselves, it was easy to see that the two low profile students were obviously following the son of the Magus Alexander. They were bearing the same arrogance that him and were probably the children of some high-ranked mages. When she managed to put her hand on one gigantic apple, she couldn't help but be deeply impressed by it.

If it wasn't at the level of Chief Lucio or even some of the best farmers of the Demonic Empire, this very fruit was enhanced by magic. Whoever did this manage to conserve the taste of the fruit and at the same time improved its output. Taking a small bit before she even sat, she found out that it was really well made. She definitely had to find the place where those numerous treasures came. For a normal human, eating only that stuff will make him naturally stronger, have his reserve of mana getting bigger and even sometimes helped to concentrate.

It was clear that to feed everyone here, a huge number of crops would be solely focused on that type of yield. However, for those to become like that, only a magician could do it. And from what she knew, the Massalia Kingdom had a huge shortage of those because of its location and its war with the surrounding nations. Well, whatever was the truth, she will find it soon enough. But as she pondered about that, Ronald was no better. Unlike the four others, he was just a commoner and everything he saw was new to him. Without managing to contain his curiosity, he finally asked to Istuienn.

"Those fruits are incredible, how is it possible to create such a huge apple?" Before the young princess managed to say a single sentence, a mocking laugh resonated behind her. This time, even shorty was smiling proudly. Anyone from the nobility will be taught that information because it was the very reason their kingdom was still standing.

"Of course, a commoner like you wouldn't know about this. I guess you don't even know about the long-lasting alliance between our kingdom and the Kingdom of Genablum?" The puzzled look of the previous peasant indicated his answer. This doesn't stop the laugh to keep going and even some older students shooked their head in disappointment. Even if he was a commoner, it was still an important knowledge that was known nearly everywhere. To be so ignorant was almost a crime at this point.

"As expected, but I have to say I am also sad about that. To be so dumb at this age, you didn't have any parents to teach you the most basic things? Even if you were an orphan, only by never listening to the ones in charge of it would you be able to not know this." This time, Ronald was extremely angered by the worlds of the smug Leodagan. He had no rights to insult his parents or his background. As he began to march toward the son of the magus, Istuienn stood between the two. She was also disappointed, but not by the lack of knowledge of Ronald but by the behavior of the other part.

"Enough Leodagan. No one should be discriminated by their birthplace in this place, especially by you. Let's go, Ronald." She grabbed the arm of the handsome red-haired boy and quickly distanced herself from the three others. This shocked shorty and grumpy but totally devastated Leodagan. He didn't think that by doing this, Istuienn would react like that. He only planned that by seeing the ignorance of the other boy, she would be disgusted by it. No matter what happened, he could not let her go like that. Not only because she was beautiful, but because his father planned to gain the trust of the future Archmage. He couldn't fail, no matter what was the cost.

None of them noticed the short Leilade that bypassed them. She only was baffled by the complete ignorance of that group. She knew right away that Ronald was now the only real friends of the princess and therefore unless he disappeared in a legit situation, she would always defend her. What she still didn't know was how this behavior was possible from the sister of Muirnë. Comparing the two, she found absolutely no resemblance besides their gorgeous appearance. One was capable of battling without fear against an old cultist with decades of experience, managed to not faint under the terrible pain that Leilade put her under.

If Leilade was conquering this place with the Demonic Army, she would immediately recruit Muirnë without any hesitation, but for the dumb and innocent Istuienn, she would feed her to her subordinates. She was still filled with more mana than the rest of those fools, meaning that the meal would be great. But to fall under the influence of a man that fast and without even noticing or resisting, she was literally worthless. She was at the same level as a captive falling in love with someone that tortured her. She was absolutely certain that if Muirnë was captured and tortured for months, the very moment an opportunity arrived, she would slaughter everyone. The fact that right now, even a step was a painful torture made the terrifying girl smiled a bit.

She caught up with the couple and heard the kind explications of the princess. That made Leilade raised her eyes in disbelief, but she still listened intensely.

"You see, a long time ago, our kingdom and Genablum were in a war. We managed to capture half of their territory until we realized that all the farms and granaries were totally empty. And the war was expanding our food resources to a point that even holding the foreign land was impossible. As for the numerous towns and cities that we captured, their inhabitants played the passive stance at first. To the point that we forgot about them and that's when we noticed the numerous traps that were laid at our feet. Poisoned wells, Rats eating all our food. They only focused on the fact that as a human, everyone had to eat and drink."

She sighed while trying to remember all the information.

"In less than a month, the king of that time realized that it will be impossible to continue the war. The troops were hungry and the numerous secret stashes filled with food by the local populace were defended or simply destroyed. We had to lower our head and flee. It was then that Genablum offered something that no one would have thought. They only had two direct neighbors, if you don't count the small impractical path between Pankow and them. Us and the barbarians at the South. They could defend against one enemy, but against two would be too costly. So they offered a deal, that is still ongoing. They will supply us with food, like this one, and we will defend them from that side."

"So, you are saying that in exchange of food, you just offer protection? But if they are that weak, why not try to conquer it once more?"

"Did you listen to any words I just said? We were defeated, and I didn't even talk about how outrageous our attack was. We attacked at the same time that the annual harvest war happens between Genablum and the barbarians." This time, the princess was really angry since Ronald didn't look like he was listening to her. Seeing this, he had no choice but to defend himself.

"Sorry, I just thought that we had the best army."

"Currently yes, thanks to the creation of the 13th Legion. No one dared to do something so bold but it was before the arrival of the dark gods. Anyway, going back to the topic of the fruits, they all came from Genablum. We have no way to replicate the process but since we are allies, that's fine. Just know that everything coming from the Grey Lands are as potent as those." She quickly forgave Ronald but the boy still was as puzzled as before.

"Grey Lands?"

"Yes, the region of Genablum were the most important concentration of magic farms are located. Near an extinct volcano that still spread mana all around it, guarded by the Grey Wolves, yes, yes, I will explain that too. Logical, best farms are protected by the best army and you can guess the result. That's just one the numerous trade ongoing between our two nations, there will be a course about that or you will be able to read it at the library. Now, guess what is my favorite color?"

"Eh, red?"

"Oh, you are so smart …"

After hearing what she needed, Leilade quickly distanced herself to not lose some neurons. She was still baffled by the behavior of the princess, discussing politics and serious stuff and then asking such a dumb question. From the looks of it, the Kingdom of Genablum will be a great addition to her power. It was better than this backyard country. Managing to improve the yield of their farms, capable of being cold-hearted and using a scorched earth policy, targeting the vital point of an invading army and striking a profitable deal without holding grudges. If the current king had half of the wits of the previous one, she will find hard to believe that the nation was not flourishing.

Instead, she ended up in a nation turned toward war and therefore forgetting to improve from the base the potential of its citizen.At the same time, it was normal that the mind of the royalty was more concerned by the surrounding enemies. She just wanted to see how the Academy of Magic was doing in the other nations, to measure the global level of their magicians. Finally arriving at the final stand, she saw numerous pieces of meat. However, it was guarded by two magicians and she saw some older students putting their card near another orb.

So, the vegetables are free, but the good stuff, probably the meat of a magical beast, is exchanged with something. "What is this something?" She slowed down and saw none of the five other students getting even closer to that stand. So, from the looks of it, it was not available for the first year or they couldn't get their hands on it. Since she couldn't grab anything else, she sat down on an empty table. Most of the table was for 4 persons and some longer could be occupied by a group of 12. At that time, most of the students already ate and a large portion of the table was occupied by only one or two humans.

She unnoticeably grabbed the attention of many people after sitting down. The reason? Well, her plate was filled with vegetables and she clearly took the same amount that five normal kids could have taken together.And when she devoured it quickly without any pause, the people looking at her were petrified. In less time than the rest ate one meal, she had consumed five and from the looks of it, she was not fed.

(You are grabbing some unnecessary attention. Please restrain yourself with just three portions next time.)

Only when she raised her head did she noticed the few children that looked at her like she was an alien. "Maybe the Viscount was right." Even Leilade had to admit that she ate a bit too much and too fast. Even grumpy lost his impassive face and had his mouth wide open. The fruits and vegetables were nothing compared to a normal human, mainly because a living being had a soul that could be absorbed, but it was still extremely important for her that such a thing existed. Because if she had to cast a lot of spells, she will expand her mana without being able to replenish it.

Without even looking back or saying a word, she left the canteen and saw some of the new students that were quite late appearing. None tried to engage in a conversation with her, and all avoided Leilade. Only some older girls looked at her weirdly because of her outfit, but her head was feminine enough to not cause any problem. She used her card, entered her bedroom and began to fall asleep. Tomorrow will be important and she wanted to have her body at its perfect condition.