Episode 722
by Cristae‘In that case, I have no choice but to do my best as well.’
Lee Han swiftly accepted reality.
Of course, there was no way a club inside Einrogard would be only warm and friendly.
Tap—
Fortunately, before coming to the kitchen club, he had packed some food supplies in his backpack just in case.
Imperial eastern butter, salt, pepper, cheese, pre-salted chicken, oil, mushrooms, flour, and more.
Lee Han planned to prepare two dishes: a potato dish and a chicken dish.
If he’d had more time, more ingredients, and more people to help, he would have tried a variety of dishes—but now was not that kind of situation.
Lee Han boiled water in a pot, cooked the potatoes, and mashed them. Then he seasoned with salt and sprinkled pepper.
He spread butter on a pan, layered cheese, then potatoes with a little mushroom, then cheese again…
Most of the seniors, focused on preparing their own dishes, didn’t notice, but one next to Lee Han sensed something unusual.
The fact that a second-year student even took out that amount of ingredients was already surprising.
“…Wait. Junior. What dish are you making?”
“Potato gratin?”
“Potato… gratin…?!”
“You don’t know it?”
“I do know it, but. Well. Isn’t potato gratin usually like this?”
The kitchen club senior explained, with a confused expression, the Einrogard-style potato gratin.
Boil and mash potatoes, then layer boiled and mashed potatoes on top, then more potatoes on top of that, and finally cover with potatoes and bake in the oven.
“Isn’t that just baked potatoes?”
“W-well, I suppose… But it’s still gratin, isn’t it?”
“I don’t think so…”
The shocked senior muttered to himself.
-Was it? Was that gratin? But then, what have I been doing so far? Who am I? What is Einrogard?
The interruptions didn’t end there.
When Lee Han finished the potato dish and took out the chicken, a senior nearby pulling out the hard bronze feathers of a bronze goose joined in.
“Rock chicken, huh. You picked a pretty good ingredient. It’s hard enough to break your teeth, but if you cook it right, you can at least chew and swallow it!”
Wishing to show off his knowledge to the junior, the senior explained various methods to tenderize rock chicken.
From aging it in a jar mixed with five types of deadly poison for a month, to borrowing an alchemist’s acid.
‘It’s just an ordinary chicken I bought outside.’
Lee Han felt a little guilty as the senior kept elaborating.
In fact, it wasn’t rock chicken at all.
“So, junior. How are you going to cook this?”
“First, I’ll sprinkle pepper and cook it in an oiled pan.”
“?!”
The senior was surprised at the overly luxurious dish.
‘Pepper’ and ‘oil’ were words almost unbelievable in Einrogard.
But the junior, unaware of the senior’s shock, went on explaining.
“In another pot, I’ll make a sauce to go with the chicken, using broth with butter and flour boiled together. I’ve also got parsley from the garden, so I’ll add that too. It’d be better if I had more spices, but since it’s still early in the semester… How would you cook it, senior?”
As he explained, Lee Han was genuinely curious for the senior’s advice.
The senior, for some reason, answered with a somewhat deflated face.
“I’d just put it in water and boil it.”
“……”
The kitchen club was one of the clubs in Einrogard that hired the most in-house mercenaries.
Not only did they store many precious ingredients, but sometimes riots or attacks broke out even during meals.
-Today’s menu has been simplified due to a spirit flood. First, there’s seaweed lasagna without noodles, cheese, or sauce, seaweed soup, seaweed cookies…
-…You thieving bastards, you want to charge a gold coin for this!?”
-Gluttons. Just eat what you’re given; what are you whining about!
-Hah! Flip the tables! Open their storage! There’s meat stacked like mountains in their storeroom!
When Einrogard students got too hungry, they tended to become sensitive and violent.
And most Einrogard students were generally hungry.
So if the kitchen club’s menu quality dropped below a certain point, the cafeteria sometimes turned into a battlefield.
Even when it didn’t go that far, there was always some complaining.
“This is supposed to be worth a gold coin?”
“Wahaha. If you don’t want it, get out…”
“I’d pay ten gold coins for this!”
“?”
Falkrius paused at the student’s reaction.
A friend next to the student hurriedly cautioned him.
“Shut up! What if they actually raise it to ten!”
“???”
Falkrius suspected this was some trap or new scheme, but to his surprise, more students began reacting like that.
“Finally, the kitchen club has come to its senses! Yeah, this is what the Saint Iactus Club should be!”
“This is the first time I’ve eaten something without breaking a tooth! Only make it like this from now on!”
“??????”
Suspecting maybe the juniors had put some psychoactive substance in the food, Falkrius headed to the back.
But to his astonishment, a rich and delicious aroma greeted him. All the assembled kitchen club members were looking at the junior with eyes full of awe.
“…W-what happened here?”
“Senior, look at this!”
Following the members, Falkrius took a serving of food that Lee Han had made.
And handed over a gold coin. Lee Han, as a fellow club member, declined.
“I’m all right.”
“Puhuh. I’m not! Hey, everyone who already ate, pay up.”
“……”
“……”
Groaning, the seniors handed over their coins.
They’d already made no profit today; now there was extra expenditure.
Clatter clatter!
Falkrius, having emptied his bowl, looked at Lee Han with tears of emotion.
To make food this good inside Einrogard.
“The reincarnation of Saint Iactus has come here!”
“I’m not.”
“Puhuh, it’s a figure of speech! Come here, junior!”
Falkrius pulled Lee Han into a tight embrace. There was an audible cracking sound.
Lee Han was incredibly grateful he had learned swordsmanship and practiced channeling mana into his body.
Otherwise, he might have died right here.
“I’m so happy! Shall we fight those other club jerks again?”
“Maybe not…”
“Wahaha. Kidding! Kidding! Anyway, junior. Come by often, cook often. Just you being here would cut cafeteria raids in half!”
After giving Lee Han a rough pat on the back, Falkrius left, laughing.
The remaining seniors looked at Lee Han with darkened faces. Lee Han sensed an ordeal approaching.
‘So, that’s how it is.’
Lee Han had raised the kitchen club’s reputation, but had also entirely monopolized other seniors’ income.
Unlike easygoing Falkrius, the other seniors couldn’t help but feel resentment.
Preparing for magical combat, Lee Han waited for the seniors to open their mouths.
“…Junior Wardanaz.”
“Yes.”
“…Hire me!”
“Excuse me?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected statement, Lee Han was surprised.
Not a duel, not an ambush, not intimidation—hiring?
“No, hire me! Did you see the bronze goose I secured today? That guy only fainted picking mushrooms!”
“This guy’s crazy! All you did was pick up what was lying around!”
As Lee Han anticipated, a magic battle broke out.
…Between the seniors!
The kitchen club seniors began swinging their staffs and brawling.
Lee Han, calmly watching it all, immediately escaped the kitchen and ran from Falkrius.
“Senior!!!!”
“Hm?”
Falkrius, walking off in the distance, turned around puzzled as Lee Han came running.
“Got more questions?”
“The seniors are fighting. Please stop them!”
“Why?”
“……”
Glancing at Lee Han’s expression, Falkrius burst out laughing.
“Just joking, joking! Wahaha!”
“Haha. That was really funny. So, will you break it up?”
“No?”
When Lee Han glared, Falkrius quickly explained.
“Fights like that are better if you wait before getting involved.”
“Oh. So feelings cool down and they can reconcile…?”
“No, it’s easier to subdue them once they’re tired.”
“……”
Falkrius really did wait until the noise faded a bit, then dashed in.
With a crash and a few sad cries, Falkrius shouted,
-Wahaha. Come in!
All the seniors were kneeling, their staffs confiscated. Some muttered in frustration.
“Ugh. If I’d known Senior Falkrius would come, I would’ve prepared.”
“Puhuh. Sure, sure. But losers don’t have a say!”
Falkrius laughed and asked why the members had fought.
At that question, Lee Han tensed up a bit.
‘Hope I don’t get dragged in as well.’
It might be hard for Falkrius, head of a traditional club, to accept that seniors had brawled over working under a junior.
And frankly, Lee Han hadn’t fully figured out why the seniors were fighting to work under him, either.
“They fought to work under a junior?”
“Yes.”
“So who won?”
“Before a winner could be decided, you arrived.”
“Oh, no. Now you couldn’t pick who’d get in!”
Falkrius sounded regretful.
It would have been clean if only the winner got to join.
“…Senior. Senior.”
“Puhuh. Go ahead. What?”
“Uh… about this. Is it really all right if the other seniors work under me?”
“Wahaha, magicians don’t choose their assistants by age when they research!”
At Falkrius’ words, the seniors nodded with fake smiles, as if in agreement.
They weren’t trying to work under the junior because they were afraid of struggling to gather and compete for ingredients.
Rather, as true magicians, they knew skill mattered more than age.
“Isn’t research… a little different…?”
“Not much! We have lots of members who cooperate.”
Kitchen club members didn’t always cook alone.
Even gathering ingredients was mostly done by forming a party, and so sometimes they cooked together as well.
In fact, when someone prepared a big dish, it was almost tradition to hire several members to help.
It was often better for members to get stable pay than to risk injury collecting ingredients…
“Puhuh. Too bad, though, with no winner decided.”
“Um. Then why not just call it off?”
Lee Han, not wanting to have to give orders to senior members, brought it up.
But Falkrius shook his head vigorously.
“No! I’ve decided.”
“How so?”
“All the members here will join you!”
“……”
While Lee Han was aghast, the seniors sighed in relief and applauded.
The new junior could only be called the God of Ingredients.
Who else but the God of Ingredients could whip out that much food at once?
They had been worried they’d get beaten up one more time and not get in, but the club leader’s verdict was well considered.
“Of course, Senior Falkrius!”
“As expected of the Phoenix Tower—so just!”
Lee Han whispered urgently to Falkrius.
“Isn’t it a bit much for me to be giving orders to the seniors?”
“Hmm… Nope! You can do it! Wahaha!”
It was a good thing Lee Han had witnessed the earlier scene where Falkrius destroyed everyone.
Otherwise, he would have lost his mind and attacked the senior himself.