CH 53

Chapter 53

It has been two weeks since spring ended. The memories of the full and rich day are beginning to fade, and it is a time when the students of the Academy are starting to focus on their classes and other daily activities.

However, my two best friends are still trapped in the results.

“Ah, we were so close.”

“We were so close…! We were so close…!”

Until the Exiled Duke’s Daughter,...

Melinda sighs, not knowing how many times she has done it today, and Emilia’s eyes are filled with tears of regret. I wish they would stop patting my shoulders from both sides.

I finished all my classes today and am now shopping at the food store within the Academy. The students of the Academy live in the dormitories alone, so we have to do our own shopping.

My two friends who came with me, have been talking about the results of [spring] since earlier. I put butter, flour and eggs in my shopping basket while responding with nods.

Then I thought back to the order of the results of [spring], which was announced a few days ago.

10th place: Brian Marc

9th place: Fried Neher

8th place: Gadd Maysen

7th place: Sajad Mahajanjiga

6th place: Kyaran Goudes

4th place: Judith Ceden

4th place: Oswald Ceden

3rd place: Emilia

1st place: Rebecca Slutarch

1st place: Llewayne Huaverdon

The four events of [spring], [summer], [fall], and [winter] greatly affect the acquisition of the titles “Three Strong” and “Five High”, so I am off to a good start.

Melinda was apparently in eleventh place. She watched Brian, who was in tenth place, finish the goal, and unfortunately missed the top 10 finish.

Melinda, who clears this event with not just physical strength but also good strategies and intellect, is truly amazing.

Emilia also saw me and His Highness finish the goal similarly.

Immediately after, she apparently broke through the window and entered, lamenting that “I could have blown His Highness up from behind.” It’s somewhat dangerous.

While I comforted the two of them, I also put milk and glucose into a basket. Melinda cocked her head.

“Rebecca, are you making sweets?”

“Yeah. Are you two not going to my room today?”

“Yes! We’re going!”

“Okay, but suddenly?”

I brought the suddenly lively Emilia and the suspicious Melinda back to the dormitory.

I felt relieved inside. As usual, Emilia is carefree and Melinda has good intuition.

After serving tea and chatting for about 30 minutes, there was a strong knock on the door.

As per the scenario, she came to visit.

“Slutarch-sama, hello.”

“Oh, hello.”

The girl who came in has twin tails tied up with matching forest-green eyes like her brother.

It’s Judith Ceden, whom I met just two weeks ago.

Normally she is lively and energetic, but today she was fidgeting and playing with her hair.

“Um, Slutarch-sama, actually…”

“We’re in the same grade, you can call me Rebecca.”

“Okay, Rebecca-san. Actually——.”

Her sparkling eyes fixed on me. Knowing what’s coming, I swallow hard.

Today is the first day of the second part’s [event] occurrence.

“I was wondering if you could teach me how to cook…”

That’s right, [Cooking Event of Hell], is starting here.

Judith Ceden——According to the strategy book for the second part,

“Five-time champion, second-year student, green hair and eyes, Phantom Beast is an earthworm, sister of Oswald Ceden, note: cooking is deadly.”

Do you understand?

Yes, [cooking is deadly].

[Using the protagonist who is known as one of the three strongest and highest in female popularity, Judith comes to learn cooking. A terrifying event where someone ends up in the hospital just by choosing one wrong option, and for some reason it greatly affects the target’s likability.] is what it seems like.

As expected, it seems that the job has fallen to me, who is one of the three strongest, though I am not sure of my female popularity.

I am sorry, but I would like to ask for Emilia’s help here. His Highness was reluctant when he heard about this event from me, but I am sure that Emilia’s girl power is well endorsed.

“Emilia, Melinda. Judith wants you to teach her how to cook. We just happen to have the ingredients, so if you could help her out that would be great.”

“Wow, that sounds fun! Judith, let’s do our best together!”

“You’re surprisingly well-prepared.”

“It’s just a coincidence.”

The four of us stand in the kitchen with Melinda’s words and a smile.

Yes, the shopping was for this. We bought apples because they were cheap at the Academy, so we could make apple pie.

And here, I’ll activate the [secret move].

“Hey, why don’t we start by having Emilia show us a demonstration?”

“Understood!”

If I choose the hidden option, “I’ll show you the demonstration, so please watch carefully,” I can avoid a disaster, as it says in the strategy guide. My mother really is amazing.

I let out a sigh of relief as Emilia takes the knife in her hand. Her cute pink apron suits her very well.

“Now, Judith, please watch carefully.”

“Okay!”

Emilia smiled with satisfaction at Judith’s good reply and immediately put down her knife with a smile.

“First, let’s crush the apples into bits! Hmph!”

Crackle, crackle, bang!

“The skin is left on so it’s crunchy and delicious! It’s fine as long as you wash it properly! Let’s crush the rest the same way!”

Crackle, crackle, bang!

“Next, we’ll mix various ingredients and make them just right! We’ll use our instincts for measurements! We’ll also preheat the oven to a good temperature!”

Bang, bang, swoosh! Whoosh!

“We’ll add the secret ingredient——love, hehe! We’ll bake it well and, done! It’s finished!”

In front of the three of us standing with our mouths open, a plate was placed with a beautiful apple pie. No matter how you look at it, it was a freshly baked apple pie.

I clapped my hands together with a blank mind.

“Wow, this is amazing.”

“Rebecca, are you going to eat this?!”

“Emilia, this is great.”

“Even Melinda! Be careful! You’ll die if you eat this kind of thing!”

Ignoring Judith’s protests, Melinda and I took a bite of the cut apple pie.

“The light sound of a crunch. The pie crust melts in my mouth without leaving any residue on my tongue. The custard cream is not too sweet, the acidity of the apples stimulates my salivary glands. Oh, what is this? It’s incredibly…

“delicious…”

Melinda moaned next to me. For some reason, she was crying a little. I was also getting teary-eyed.

“Really! I’m glad!”

Emilia was jumping up and down with joy.

With that onomatopoeia of cooking that doesn’t seem like cooking at all, why is this possible? Did the protagonist’s correction work? Or is this the true femininity?

Or maybe, the sweets that she often made for me last year, were they also made with this muscle-kicking kin-kin-ky?

I no longer understand anything. I abandoned all my questions and just bit into the apple pie.

Judith, who had been fidgeting next to me, saw our reactions and decided to put some apple pie in her mouth.

And after a few minutes of comfort, she said, “I’ll come back after I can crush apples with my bare hands,” and left.

It seems that one gorilla has been added to this academy.