Chapter 118 - 20

Right now Kyouka and Megumi were walking towards the cafeteria. They weren't there for lunch, but to find Princess Freya and Princess Iris. After entering the cafeteria, they were confused because the situation was very crowded. Apart from the academy students, the teachers, and the principal, the cafeteria also contained people from the tower who had come out for lunch.

Kyouka was forced to go around the cafeteria looking for them. But the search results were in vain. They couldn't find Princess Iris or Princess Freya in the cafeteria, So they decided to ask the students there. They thought one of the students who had lunch there knew about Princess Iris and Princess Freya's whereabouts now.

"Sorry, have you seen Princess Freya?" Kyouka asked one of the students who passed in front of her.

"I didn't see it, Miss Hero." The student answered nervously.

"Thanks." Kyouka and Megumi keep looking for Princess Freya and Princess Iris. They had asked several students but they received the same answer. Until they ask a female student and get the answer they want.

"I saw Princess Freya going with the Princess Iris group heading to the West Garden."

After hearing the student's answer, Kyouka and Megumi quickly rushed back to Hikaru's place to inform him.

Hikaru is currently chatting with the Princes and Princesses. There are Princess Reina, Princess Aishia, Prince Fritz, and Prince Albert. When he noticed the appearance of Kyouka and Megumi, he immediately asked them.

"Megumi, how is it? Did they accept the invitation?" Hikaru couldn't wait to hear their answer because he had been waiting there for a long time. Luckily the Princes and Princesses didn't mind waiting with him.

"They went to the western flower garden. Maybe they're having lunch there. We'd better catch up!" Megumi told him what the female student had told them.

"Okay. Alright. Coincidentally, I also like the environment there. Let's go Princess Aishia, Princess Reina." Hikaru only invited the Princesses and made the Princes a little annoyed to hear that. He walked towards the western garden first along with the two Princesses.

"Let's go...Prince Albert, Prince fritz." Kyouka who saw the look on their faces quickly realized what they were feeling. She invites them instead of Hikaru. Finally, the two Princes smiled and went to follow Hikaru from behind. Kyouka sighed and felt tired from dealing with their behavior.

After arriving at the western garden, Hikaru and the other heroes were amazed at the sight in front of them. They could say that this garden was more beautiful than the gardens in other areas. In addition, they were surprised by a tree similar to the cherry tree in Japan.

Not long after they walked, they saw a group of people sitting on mats under a tree enjoying their lunch. When the others looked at the people there, only Kyouka was fixated on the food they were eating. Because it was Japanese food that she knew very well. She walked faster and got ahead of Hikaru in front of her. Kyouka's sudden change in behavior made them confused.

"Where did you get all that food from!?" Kyouka subconsciously shouted at them.

***

"Eh?" Princess Freya and the others were shocked to hear Kyouka's sudden scream. They were annoyed by her impolite actions.

"Miss Kyouka, can you be a little more polite? We're all having lunch right now and you're yelling at us?" Kalya said coldly to her.

Hikaru who came with Kyouka also froze after hearing her scream. He didn't expect the calm Kyouka to suddenly turn out like that.

"Kyouka! What's wrong with you?" Megumi realized that Kalya and the people who were with her were annoyed by Kyouka's behavior. She ran to Kyouka and pulled her back. But Kyouka broke away from her and asked them again.

"I'm sorry. I got carried away when I asked before. Because the food you are eating is similar to the food from our original world." Kyouka this time asked more calmly. But the reactions of the people who heard it were the opposite of the current Kyouka. In particular, the heroes that were summoned from another world.

"Kyouka! Is it true what you said?" Hikaru asked him first then looked at the food in front of Princess Freya. He trembled slightly after noticing the similarity of the food to Japanese food.

"She's right..." Hikaru muttered and was heard by Sintaro and Megumi. They walked closer and saw the food too. The reaction they gave was the same as Hikaru's.

The behavior of the heroes made the Princes and Princesses confused. They wanted to ask but quickly gave up after seeing the current state of the heroes.

"Can I hear your answer?" Kyouka finally asked a third time.

Everyone there looked at each other then their final gaze fell on Ziel. Kyouka looked at their gestures and looked at him as well. She raised her eyebrows after seeing the boy with black hair and facial features similar to that of a Japanese.

"Haa...Miss hero. Can I answer it after we finish our lunch? Wouldn't it be very annoying and impolite for you to ask like this?" Ziel didn't expect that Kyouka quickly recognized the food. Whatever answer he gave, he felt something troublesome was coming his way.

Kyouka frowned after hearing his answer. Before she could say anything, Sintaro shouted at him first.

"What are you saying, you bastard!? Don't you know that we are heroes summoned from another world? Shouldn't you be respectful to us and answer our questions right away!?" Sintaro felt angry after seeing Ziel's attitude towards Kyouka.

"Is the hero that great?" Ziel asked nonchalantly.

"You... don't you know that we heroes are summoned to protect this world?" Megumi was confused about how to answer that question.

"But, you haven't done anything for this world that makes you worthy to be called a hero, don't you think?" Ziel returned Megumi's question to her. His words made not only the heroes tremble, but also everyone who heard it.

"You...!" Sintaro finally couldn't hold back his emotions anymore, he was about to hit Ziel but was stopped by Kyouka.

"Sintaro stop! All right, I'll wait until you're done with your lunch. We'll take a seat next to you. I hope this doesn't interrupt your lunch." Kyouka said coldly to him. She was offended by what he had said, even though it was all true. But something bothered her, she felt she had heard Ziel's voice somewhere but she couldn't remember it.

On the other hand, Hikaru just kept quiet after hearing Ziel's words. He didn't say anything wrong, they haven't done anything for this world. But still, he felt offended in his heart and hurt his pride. He couldn't act recklessly just like what Sintaro did, it would only damage the name of heroes in other kingdoms. Therefore he chose to remain silent and let Kyouka handle it.

They spread out their mats not far from where Ziel and his group had lunch. Princess Freya and the others continued their lunch and ignored the heroes picnicking next to them. Even so, their lunch looked pale in comparison to what Ziel and his group ate. This made Kyouka and the other heroes feel embarrassed. 

At the place where Ziel and his group had lunch, Princess Freya laughed and joked with the people around her. They don't seem to care about the heroes. Princess Freya was like a different person when she was with them. She looked happier and without anything holding her down. This made Prince Fritz speechless to see her.

(Is she usually like this?)

Prince Fritz muttered after seeing his younger sister's smile which was different from the one he usually saw. Princess Aishia had the same feeling as him after seeing her childhood friend's laughter. She never showed it to her.

"Ken, what are the names of these two foods? Sweet and melts in my mouth!" Clara asked Ziel after she tasted the dessert that he served.

"That's right, I can't stop eating it. Maybe I'll miss the taste of this food later." Princess Freya agrees with Clara.

"Hmm... You didn't serve this food before." Princess Iris muttered quietly so as not to be heard by the people around her. Currently, Ken is sitting flanked by Princess Iris and Clara.

"It's pudding and cheesecake." Ziel answered and poured some hot tea for Clara. He even kept hot tea in his space storage.

"Hmm... this tea and dessert. What a wonderful combination. We should eat like this more often in the future." Kalya smiled and enjoyed her cheesecake with tea that had been provided by Ziel.

"I agree with you, Miss Kalya." Beatrix nods at Kalya's words. She enjoyed the same food as her.

(Cheesecake? Pudding?)

The heroes imagined the taste of the food that Ziel had mentioned. They focused on imagining the food while they were still living in Japan. Kyouka is the only hero who has a different focus.

(Cheese? Is there such an ingredient in this world?)

She thought about it and intended to ask the Princesses about this. But she stopped because the people picnicking next to them had finished. Right now the main goal is to ask where the food came from.

"So can you tell me now?" Kyouka asked shortly after Ziel finished his lunch. She looked very impatient waiting for his answer.

"This is a recipe passed down from my family. You can see for yourself." Ziel gave him the paper containing the recipe for the food they had previously eaten. There are written ingredients and how to cook them. Ziel bowed his head to the heroes then left the place. Princess Freya and the others followed him away from there.

The heroes were stunned to see that, especially Kyouka. She thought Ziel would explain the origin of the food to her. But instead, he gave her a recipe without saying anything else. It's like he thought Kyouka was interested in the food and intended to cook it.

When kyouka came back to her senses, she saw Ziel and the others had gone far from that place, then she looked at the recipe paper in her hand.

"Princess Reina, are all the ingredients in this paper available in this world?" Kyouka gave the paper to Princess Reina.

"I'm sorry, Kyouka. I don't know much about it. You can ask Princess Aishia." Princess Reina smiled bitterly. All she knew was swordsmanship.

"Princess Aishia, can you check this for me?" Kyouka asked her doubtfully. Her relationship with Princess Aishia is not very close.

"Of course." Princess Aishia happily took the recipe. She was happy because she got the recipe for this unique dish. After hearing comments from people who ate it before, especially from Princess Freya. She became curious about the food because Princess Aishia also loved to cook.

Princess Aishia read it with a smile but then her smile stiffened. She frowned at the last words in the recipe that she didn't know.

"What's wrong Princess Aishia?" Kyouka asked her after seeing the change in Princess Aishia's face.

"What are cheese and jelly?" Princess Aishia looked at Kyouka and asked for an explanation.

"Is there no such ingredient in this world?" Kyouka was convinced by her suspicions.

"How could he make cheesecake and pudding without those ingredients? Did he make those ingredients himself?" Hikaru also asked from behind them. He finally couldn't contain his curiosity when he heard their conversation.

Kyouka just kept quiet and didn't answer his question. The other heroes also have the same confusion as Hikaru. But that wasn't what Kyouka was thinking at the moment.

"Princess Aishia, do you know the student's name?" Kyouka forgot to ask that earlier because he was in a hurry to leave.

"If I'm not mistaken, Freya once told me. His name is Ken... Ken Nijisaki." Princess Aishia tries to remember what Princess Freya once told her. Princess Aishia's answer made the heroes tremble.

"Isn't that a Japanese name?" Megumi asked Kyouka.

"Does that mean he's Japanese just like us?" Sintaro also looked at her.

"I don't know.. But it would be faster if we just asked him right?" Kyouka smiled and decided to meet Ziel again soon.