There was a huge commotion over in the cafeteria where Oriole and her party gathered. Even the Impenetrable Shield could not stop everyone. Negotiations broke down when the hungry mafia heirs and heiress understood the person they wished to see the most that morning wasn't coming.
"Boo! Who are you? Where's our cute chef? Call him out!"
Match growled lowly and shoved the boy who said that. "Watch it," he warned and ignited his hand on fire as a real threat. "That cute chef is Guild Survivor's advisor and a man under the Seer's protection. I may not be able to kill you here, but I can definitely do so in the event. Watch your tongue if you want to live."
The reminder that Zen was indeed under Liu Feng's protection made the crowd sombre. They were simply too used to that civilian behaviour by Zen that it slipped their mind. Most of them like Zen enough to not kill him in the event and let him go if they passed him by. Some even came here intending to offer Zen a place in their party for protection. Who knew that he was already snatched by Guild Survivor and offered such a lucrative position? Luck loves the devil and the fools. Zen truly was the embodiment of a lucky lamb in a den on wolves.
Seeing how the crowd piped down, Oriole shakily continued her announcement using her voice projection skills.
"Guild Survivor has an offer. To everyone who sides with Guild Carnage and supports them, we will show no mercy. If you remain neutral, we will grant you protection and shelter during the game. You may even farm for points. Our capable advisor has discovered a few good hunting grounds, and we can share them with anyone who wishes to ally with us during this event. Of course, we will compensate everyone accordingly. Those who can catch the black egg and bring it to us in one piece will be paid 500 credits for every black egg undamaged."
Oriole's voice projection skill covered half the school, and even those in their dormitory room could hear her. The decision was not difficult for any sane self-preserving human. Instead of getting in between two tigers, they would rather stay out of the way and watch the fight before swooping in for the leftover spoils like vultures.
However, the people within the cafeteria had divided thoughts about the reward.
"500 credits? Can I trade them with good meals by chef Zen instead?" someone asked. "I don't think the set meal worth 500 credits can compare to a simple egg sandwich that Zen makes."
When the point was brought up, those in the cafeteria started to ask about payment alternatives. As Party Freedom could not make such decisions, Oriole hurriedly reported back to the higher echelon, but Zen was not contactable. He was in a private world, and there was no connection.
The girl did not want to approach Liu Feng or Akiko because they were scary, so she looked at the competent party leader with doe eyes.
Match gulped, and his heart pounded. The girl was faking her innocence. He knew it. Apart from Zen, there was nobody else in this godforsaken academy who could be described as pure. However, he was still a youth with hormones. Seeing someone as cute as Oriole was like drinking sweet poison. He might die in her hands one day, but Match didn't care too much at this point. He searched for the Guild Master and sent her a message about the crowd's request.
Akiko was in the dungeon with Liu Feng, farming a boss on the sixth floor as the Lamia Queen charged at them. The poisonous spit and destructive tail strike would have taken out anyone else. However, against one of the best assassins, she stood no chance.
"I'll leave her to you. Match texted me."
Liu Feng nodded and landed a kick on the Lamia Queen's skull, crushing it effectively under his heel. "What did she say?"
As the dungeon offered them rewards, Akiko ignored it in favour of relaying the Party leader's message.
"They want to be paid in food instead of credits for capturing the black egg."
For a moment, nothing happened and Akiko wondered if it was alright to decide on behalf of Zen when she heard Liu Feng's cold laughter.
"Asking for food payment from my personal chef? How bold. The Lau Triad doesn't give charity. If they want something, they must pay for it. If they don't want credits, they'd have to pay for the food they want my personal chef to make. However, as appreciation for their assistance, I can offer them a discount. Only 300 credits per meal. How about it? No special food requests. They eat what Zen makes even if it's only a sandwich."
As expected. Akiko did not think the possessive Seer would allow Zen to be taken advantage of. However, she was the Guild Master. She had to think about the advantages of the guild.
"You don't mind if I make price adjustments or send a mass guild recruitment notice, do you?"
Liu Feng caught on quickly and shook his head. "If Zen wants to cook for guild members, he can. I'm not in any position to stop him, but my meals are a priority. You guys can have leftovers, although Zen has the right to stop if he doesn't feel like cooking for those scums."
Akiko agreed. In this place where food was the only comfort to them, Zen was a very important person even if he was not the guild's advisor. In the underworld, kind people get taken advantage of. Zen should learn to decline sometimes, but they were simply too in love with his cooking to ask him to take a break.
When Match received the Guild Master's reply, he forwarded it to Oriole, who made the next shocking announcement.
"From today onwards, Guild Survivors will claim the kitchen as their territory. Anyone who wishes to eat should order from the cafeteria at the usual rate for the academy's regular meals. For those who wish for Zen's cooking and are not part of Guild Survivor, a discounted rate of 300 credits per meal will be charged. This is a decision by the Seer and the Death Princess."
Hearing this, nobody argued. The kitchen became deathly silent as everyone logged online to send their guild applications or check their credit balance.
In the boss dungeon, Akiko blinked. "Liu Feng, we may need to run this dungeon a few more times. I'm getting an influx of guild applicants all of a sudden."
The Seer smirk. "What for? We're moving to the higher floors for better drops. The newcomers can farm scrapes on their own. This amount of snakeskin is meant for our party only. You didn't honestly think I would do this for the other losers, did you?"
Akiko said nothing. She should have known how self-centred this man was.