CH 462

The next morning. I woke up early as usual, and after finishing my daily routine of yoga, I got ready and headed for the dining hall.

“Good morning.”

“Oh my, Cristea-sama, good morning to you too. The rice has just finished cooking.”

When I entered the kitchen in the dining room, Suzaku-sama was about to take the earthenware pot off the fire.

“Thank you, Suzaku-sama.”

“This much is nothing.”

Today Suzaku-sama had her hair pulled back into a single bun, giving her a crisp look.

Perhaps it was because I told everyone to be thorough about hygiene when I taught them how to cook, she started to tie her hair in a bun when she cooked.

I recommended that she wear a triangular bandana, but she gently declined the suggestion. I thought it would look good on her.

I took out my usual apron and bandana from my inventory, and quickly put them on.

Kurogane and Mashiro wiped off the table, and I also asked them to prepare the cutlery.

“Now then, what should I use for today’s miso soup?”

As for the dashi (soup stock), Miria had left me kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) in a bowl of water, so I took it out of the refrigeration room and had Suzaku-sama strain it through a colander into a pot.

I think a combination of kombu and niboshi (dried sardines) would be better for miso soup, so I’ll have to check with the Bastea Company next time to see if they have niboshi.

Oh, I wish I had some tofu or fried tofu here… to get nigari (bittern), I’d have to make it with sea salt, which is going to be difficult to do for me now…

I think I’ll still try to find legumes similar to chickpeas and experiment with them. I’m sure I can make tofu from chickpeas without nigari…

I would also like to have Koya Tofu (freeze-dried tofu), but I wonder if it exists in this world. I love eating Koyu Tofu with my dashi.

But I don’t think people can understand what “Koya-Tofu” is in this world. Oh, I wonder if they woulld understand if I told them it’s freeze-dried tofu instead?

After I get settled, I’ll have to go back to the Bastea Company.

I cracked the eggs and beat them rhythmically, then added dashi mixed with soy sauce and mirin and mixed it in further.

I poured oil into a frying pan over medium heat, poured in the egg mixture, and when it was half-boiled, I rolled the egg from the back to the front, pushed the rolled egg to the back, poured in the egg mixture again, and repeated the usual procedure… until the dashimaki tamago was complete. I made a few of those, cut them into bite-size pieces, and put them on a platter.

After that, I grilled the Sharken with salt…

Everyone eats a lot of food, so it’s also a lot that needs to be prepared.

I decided to continue with the buffet style because it would be hard to serve the food otherwise.

“Good morning, Miss Cristea.”

“Wassup, Missy. Morning!”

In the meantime, Sei and Byakko-sama, who had finished their morning practice, came to the dining hall.

“Good morning. Sei, Byakko-sama. The meal is already finished, so please go ahead.”

“Yay! Oh, it looks yummy!”

“Tora! Wash your hands before you eat!”

Byakko-sama was in a good mood and was about to pick up the tray to put the plates on, when Sei gave him an exasperated slap and scolded him.

“Yeah, yeah. Clean. And that’s it.”

“Tora! Geez, you… I’m sorry for being late. You can leave the clean-up to us.”

“Fufu, I’m sure you are hungry after your morning practice. Don’t mind it and eat up. I will take your word for it that you will do the dishes and clean up.”

I watched as Byakko-sama and Sei began to serve themselves, and began to clean up the cookware.

Frying pans are made of iron, and they rust easily if not taken care of properly, so I can’t leave this to them.

I have raised this pan from the ground up to be used exclusively for eggs, after all.

I told Kurogane and Mashiro to start eating as well, but they waited until I sat down.

They seemed to be concerned about me because we only had breakfast together yesterday.

I’ll have to try to eat with them as much as I can, since that’s going to happen more often during the school year.

“Miss Cristea, there are classes only in the morning again today, right?”

“Yes. There will be no placement based on the results of the aptitude test for the rest of the week, so it should only be a general education class.”

Newly enrolled students take general education classes such as reading, writing, and arithmetic in the auditorium where we took our exams until we are divided into classes according to the results of the aptitude tests and exams we took yesterday.

After we are divided, we will continue to study general education in the auditorium in the morning for a while, and in the afternoon, we will study specialized subjects such as magic in each class.

Classes are divided by ability. If the amount of magical power is too different, or if there is a difference in magic that students can use, some children may feel inferior and may drop out.

In the event that a student has less magical power than others or can’t use magic well, Adelia Academy has prepared a course to learn specialized knowledge so that commoners and children of nobility who are not heirs to their households will not have trouble finding jobs after graduation.

As long as you have magical power, you can increase the amount of it while you’re still in the academy, or you can use your own effort and abilities to increase it even more.

The academy will not abandon a student unless they do something wrong, so as long as they don’t drop out of school, they will be able to get by.

At the beginning of the year, students are tentatively assigned to classes based on the results of the aptitude test, and then the teachers further assess each student’s aptitude throughout the year and assign classes for the following year.

“Do we get to choose our seats in the general education classes?”

“Erm, I wonder? I don’t think it was specifically decided, because there was no explanation that we should take the same seats as at the exam.”

“I see… we can invite Miss Mariel to sit with us too, then. I’m worried about that Miss Gruzier trying to do something funny again.”

Sei seemed to be anxious, so I replied to him with a smile, so he wouldn’t need to worry any further.

“Don’t worry. A lady of the Marquis household wouldn’t do something so reckless at the auditorium in front of so many eyes.”

… Probably.

“However…”

“Ah, but I agree with sitting near each other. We can discuss if we don’t understand something.”

“Y, yeah. That’s right.”

“Well, I’m going to get prepared, so please don’t forget to clean up.”

“Yeah…”

I finished my breakfast, took my dishes to the sink, and headed to my room to change into my uniform.