Sweet things restored a person's spirit and revived their soul.
The jams that Professor Thunderstep brought did exactly that.
Students who slathered their bread with strawberry jam, raspberry jam, fig jam, and more, wore expressions like they were drunk.
"Tsk, tsk."
The dwarf professor looked at the first-year students with a pitiful gaze.
As a professor at this magic school, he knew all too well how tough things were for the freshmen.
Upperclassmen could at least go out, but freshmen had to endure life inside these walls...
"Eat up while you can. You won't get to eat like this for a while."
"Thank you, Professor!"
Thick, well-grilled meat, sweet jam and butter spread over bread.
Flowing spring water and good friends to share it all with.
Everyone ate and drank happily.
While the freshmen were catching their breath after eating their fill, Professor Thunderstep began cleaning up himself.
"...Wait. Why is one jar of jam missing?"
"I'm sorry, Professor."
"..."
Seeing Ian shamelessly pull a jar of jam from inside his cloak left Thunderstep speechless.
'These freshmen... they're really something else!'
The size of the pig enlarged by magic was more impressive than expected.
Even after eating their fill and smoking as much meat as possible, a lot still remained.
Even after Professor Thunderstep took some to hang in his hut.
"What should we do with all this?"
"Professor, is there any way we can store this?"
Ian asked, looking at Thunderstep, who nodded.
"There is."
"!"
"Use ice magic to freeze it."
"..."
The freshmen glared at him.
They could barely manage to cast Light Creation properly and had to practice again with the troll professor next class. How were they supposed to use ice magic strong enough to freeze meat solid?
"Isn't there any other way?"
"There is."
"What is it?"
"Summon an ice spirit to help you. For reference, I can do both."
"..."
The freshmen exchanged glances. Then, they came to a silent agreement.
'Let's just not ask this professor anymore.'
'Yeah.'
Perhaps realizing this, Thunderstep cleared his throat and said,
"Sorry, but with your current skill level, it'll be impossible to preserve all this meat."
"If you could cast the spell for us, Professor..."
At Nelia's suggestion, the dwarf professor flatly refused.
"That wouldn't be fair."
"Hmm... Can I share it with my friends then?"
Nelia looked at the two for approval since they had caught the pig together.
"It's your share, so do what you want."
"Yeah."
"T-thank you."
Nelia blushed slightly, touched by their consideration.
She hadn't gotten close to many of the other students in the tower yet, but gifting this meat to her hungry friends would be a great way to build rapport.
Just like in the mountains, there was truth in the saying: "He who shares food with you when you're hungry is your friend."
To hide her embarrassment, Nelia made a suggestion.
"Why don't you guys share some too?"
"Oh... For money?"
"That's actually a great idea."
Ian and Yonell admired Nelia's suggestion. Flustered, Nelia waved her hands.
"No, I didn't mean for money..."
"Well, students who got into the Blue Dragon Tower are mostly rich. There's nothing wrong with being generous with food and earning a little money in return."
"Exactly! We're being kind to our friends."
Yonell nodded in agreement with Ian's words.
Some nobles might have scoffed, calling it disgraceful, but unfortunately for Nelia, the two nobles here were extremely practical.
Ian, who believed in "Work like a dog to eat well and live well."
Yonell, who believed in "Save every coin for my alchemy workshop."
The two shook hands with looks of perfect understanding.
Of course, there was still someone sane.
Nelia asked in disbelief.
"...Are you seriously planning to sell food to your friends for money?"
"Are you joining us?"
"No way!"
At Ian's question, Nelia stomped her feet.
"Isn't that... isn't that a bit much?!"
"Think about it, Nelia. If they receive it for free without giving anything in return, how hurt will their pride be?"
"Exactly. We're being considerate of our friends."
"..."
The two nobles were making a rather convincing argument about noble pride, but Nelia wasn't buying it anymore.
"...I'm just going to gift it to my friends."
"Do as you like, Nelia. But you might regret it."
"Yeah, Nelia. Friendship might disappear, but gold coins will stay."
"Do you really think they'll see you as friends?"
"Maybe. But there's a better way. Gold coi—"
"I'm not listening! Both of you, be quiet!"
Professor Thunderstep, sipping coffee while sitting on a chair outside the hut, shook his head as he listened to the three argue.
'Those three... if they stick together, they're going to be a handful.'
Since freshmen were gathered from all over the empire, there were all sorts of students here.
Those three were talented, passionate, outstanding individuals, but...
Beyond that, they had "troublemaker" written all over their faces.
The Arrogant Blue Dragon Tower.
Located far from the main building of Einrogard, this dormitory greeted freshmen with the refreshing scent of a forest infused with the presence of spirits the moment they stepped past the main gate.
Even students worn down by the barren, meager meals softened their expressions temporarily when breathing in this air.
"...?"
But today, the atmosphere was a little different.
Ssshh— sizzle—
There was a mouthwatering smell in the air, like meat grilling over a fire.
"Hey! Did everyone eat well?"
"What a great evening!"
"????"
The students who had come outside were startled to see a tall male student and a red-haired female student waving at them.
They were the freshmen from the Wardanaz and Maykin families.
And in their hands — were meat tongs.
Crackle, crackle—
Ihan threw some firewood into the campfire set up beneath a large iron plate. On top, slices of meat sizzled deliciously as they cooked.
At the sound and the smell, someone's stomach let out a loud growl.
Gulp—
"Come on, everyone. Eat up. I caught this just for you."
"Re... really?! Are you serious??"
The freshmen's eyes widened in excitement.
Even if they were all from famous noble families, at the end of the day, they were still just boys and girls.
In a situation where their stomachs were practically sticking to their backs from hunger, this kind of barbecue party was almost impossible to resist.
"Yeah. But just hand over one Imperial silver coin each."
"One Imperial silver coin?"
In a normal village outside, this kind of grilled meat could probably be bought with just a couple of small coins.
But this was an isolated school.
Even if they charged three times the price, there was no competition.
"That's all?! Isn't that way too cheap?"
"Haha. Do you think we're doing this to make money off of you? We're only asking for that because we thought you might feel uncomfortable just eating for free."
"Exactly."
Ihan and Yoner spoke to the students with kind smiles.
The students were deeply moved.
As expected of nobles from prestigious families — they were different.
So generous.
In a situation where everyone was starving and exhausted, it wouldn't have been strange for them to eat alone if they had food — but these two had gone out of their way to set up a grill and campfire to share with their friends!
"Wardanaz...!"
"Maykin...!"
"Come on now. The meat's going to burn. Hurry up and pay so we can eat."
"Wait, I don't have any silver coins."
"Me neither."
The students from the Blue Dragon Tower hesitated. They had come in with practically nothing — of course they didn't have money.
Ihan, with a look that said 'don't worry,' held out a piece of paper and a feather pen.
"Just write your name and the amount here and sign it. No need to pay now — we'll settle it all at once later."
"You're... you're a genius, Wardanaz!"
"What an incredibly convenient method!"
Scribble, scribble—
Driven by hunger, the students' intelligence seemed to drop a little.
They hurriedly signed and then ran toward the grill.
Chomp, chomp, nom nom!
Ihan rolled up the paper, tucked it into his chest, and watched the scene with satisfaction.
'I didn't expect this to turn into such a business opportunity.'
Some might ask — do you really need to go this far just to make a little money? But money was something you had to earn whenever you could.
And one silver coin wasn't exactly small change. In a place where you couldn't even dig up a single coin from the ground, a silver coin was worth even more.
If this situation — where the freshmen couldn't go outside — continued, Ihan's pockets would only get fatter.
"Paliek, no need to force down cold rice balls. If you fry them up here in the meat grease..."
"You're... you're a real genius, Wardanaz?"
"It's just everyday wisdom."
Ihan patted the students on the shoulder.
Since he'd collected silver coins, this much service was only natural.
The students, stuffing meat into their mouths as if someone might steal it from them, looked so moved they might unanimously elect Ihan as the first-year representative if asked.
"Wardanaz! Wardanaz! Wardanaz!"
"Maykin! Maykin! Maykin!"
The noble students cheered the two family names with mouths full of meat.
Hearing the cheers, Gainan, who arrived late, looked around with wide eyes.
"W-what's going on??"
"Oh, Gainan. You're here? Want some meat?"
"What?! There's meat?? Really??"
Gainan was about to rush over, deciding he could hear the story later.
Tap—
But he couldn't move. Ihan grabbed his shoulder.
"Why?!"
"One silver coin."
"...You're... you're charging me?"
"If I gave it for free, everyone's pride would be hurt."
"Well, that's true. But I don't have any money right now..."
"No problem. Just write your name and amount here and sign."
"Ihan...!"
Gainan looked at him with a deeply moved expression.
Such kindness.
True friendship really could be found at school.
Thanks to the sudden barbecue party, the students of the Blue Dragon Tower looked a bit healthier.
But that didn't mean the boring lectures became any more enjoyable.
When they saw the title of the required lecture, "Basic Magic Ethics Education," the students scowled.
"Ethics education? What do they take us for?"
"Isn't this kind of thing for commoners? Why would nobles like us, who understand honor, need to learn this?"
"Exactly. Unbelievable."
'Wow, they really have a talent for complaining in the most annoying way possible,' Ihan thought to himself.
It was only because there were only Blue Dragon Tower students in the classroom. If there had been students from other dorms, there would've been a fight already.
The surprising thing was that they weren't saying this out of malice.
They were saying absolute nonsense with the purest of hearts!
Everyone was having such a "good morning."
"..."
With a telepathic magic that hammered into their heads, everyone's faces froze.
It wasn't because of the magic.
It was because the voice was extremely familiar.
'No way...'
Hello! You iron-headed fools!
"..."
Instead of entering through the door, a giant skull suddenly popped out of the ceiling with a 'poof.'
It was the headmaster of the academy — Osu Gonadaltes.
Isn't life at this new academy fun? Isn't it exciting to live on your own strength after being sheltered within your family's walls?
Of course, no one answered. The lich headmaster looked around in surprise.
Would you look at that. You must have eaten something. You're moving faster than I expected! I thought it would take over a month before you could even move!
"What do you mean by that, sir? Were we supposed to find food on our own?"
Of course. I told you to take care of yourselves.
"Is that what you meant? I still don't understand why we had to do something like that..."
-Silence!
"Mmmpf!"
The voice of the student who raised his hand disappeared instantly. The lich headmaster nodded his skull in satisfaction, the sound of rattling bones echoing creepily.
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