Star Academy.
Edith and his new friend, Virgia, appeared in the cafeteria. Don't misunderstand, the noble young master of the Miller family, Edith, was not interested in the food in the cafeteria at all. He was just simply accommodating his new friend, Virgia, who was of common birth.
Edith, although proud and had some minor flaws in his behavior, had one obvious virtue. That was when making friends, he never looked at the other's background. According to him, there weren't many people in the whole Star Academy who would be wealthier than the Miller family, in front of him, everyone was equally poor.
Ever since that damned Conjugate Tree gave him a large branch, Edith, who held the huge staff made from this branch, had been ridiculed by all his previous friends. This staff, after trimming and polishing, was a bit smaller than when he first got it, but it was still nearly a meter long and thicker than Edith's arm.
These days he had been carrying around this staff that couldn't be put into the ring of the spatial gate, and he looked much stronger than before. His pale face also became rosy, and the contours of muscles could vaguely be seen on his arms, he was no longer the fragile young master.
Virgia sympathized with Edith, he too had received an extremely large staff. But he didn't think it was something to be ashamed of. Virgia was tall and burly, with short hair standing on end. Anyone who saw him would think he was a warrior rather than a mage. Looking at the huge staff behind him, they would also think that this model of staff suits him perfectly.
"If anyone laughs at you, just hit their butt hard with the staff!" Virgia told Edith like this.
After the two became friends, Edith finally set foot in the academy cafeteria, which he had avoided after his first visit. He held in his hand a delicate lunchbox prepared by his butler and sat at the dining table.
Virgia greeted him and hurried to get his food. Virgia ate as much as a calf. His mother always said that if it weren't for the free meals at the academy, their home would be bankrupted by Virgia's appetite.
Edith unpacked the lunchbox and took out the steak and black truffle chicken salad. These were prepared by the chef in his house opposite the academy, and the butler had them delivered to him within ten minutes. Edith was bored of cutting the steak and couldn't raise any appetite. It was always the same dishes every day, no matter how precious the ingredients were, he was fed up. If he had to name the meal he missed the most, which wasn't even a proper meal, it would be the two meatballs he ate in the Midnight Swamp.
After experiencing a long journey, being exhausted, being captured by The four-winged thunder hawk, and finally eating those two meatballs when he returned to the mercenary camp, it was simply stunning for Edith. Even if he thought of the meatballs, he couldn't help but think of the Dragon Flame Restaurant and the black dragon owner of the restaurant, and it brought up some unpleasant memories. But now he was in the Silver Imperial City, thousands of miles away from the Midnight Swamp. That black dragon, no matter how bold, would not dare to appear here!
At this thought, Edith suddenly felt a bit better, and he took a big bite of the steak, imagining that he was eating the delicious meatballs.
Virgia finally came back, and the food on his plate was piled up high. Two croissants, a pancake, a piece of cheese, two small pieces of pitiful roasted cod, and a small plate of cabbage and peas. Seeing all this food, Edith suddenly felt his steak was not bad.
However, this time Virgia didn't sit down as usual but left again. Not long after, he brought back a plate, the food on it was skewered with bamboo sticks, emitting an attractive aroma.
"When did the cafeteria start having grilled meat?" Edith asked puzzledly. What puzzled him most was that the small plate of food had an aroma that far surpassed his steak!
"This is not grilled meat, it's called fried skewers, a new food in the cafeteria." Virgia also felt lucky, there were so many types of meat in it, although he couldn't take too much of each, just this plate would cost a lot of money if he had to buy it outside. He counted the several kinds of fried skewers he chose: "Potato chips, fried chicken tenders, crispy fried rice cakes, fried gluten, pumpkin pancakes, sweet potato fries, and this one is called... starch sausage!"
Edith didn't know when he put down the cutlery in his hand and looked at the plate of fried skewers in front of him. The pumpkin pancakes and potato chips were golden and shiny, and the chicken tenders and starch sausages were covered in a thick sauce. His throat bobbed as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Seeing Edith's interest in the fried skewers, Virgia generously took an empty plate and a pair of clean chopsticks, and divided half of each skewer for him.
Edith never thought he would sink to the point of sharing food with others, but he just couldn't refuse. He used a fork to pick up a crispy fried rice cake. His teeth broke the crispy shell of the rice cake, feeling the soft interior, the unique crispy flavor tantalizing his taste buds, the crisp and soft alternated, Edith was totally satisfied.
What was this fried gluten made of? It was chewy and tender, brushed with a savory sauce, sprinkled with chili powder, it had a narrative spicy taste.
And this starch sausage! It seemed to be a meat sausage, but the texture was more tender. Edith pushed his steak to Virgia: "I can't eat anymore, you can help me finish this."
Virgia gave a hum and swallowed the plate of steak that Edith had cut but barely touched.
Edith sneakily proposed, "Shall we come to the cafeteria for dinner tonight?"
Although Virgia seemed simple and slow, he was actually very understanding. Seeing that Edith had eaten all the skewers he had given him, he knew that he liked it very much. He also knew that Edith was very proud and didn't want to eat the free meals that everyone knew were for commoner students, so he wanted Virgia to get the skewers, and then exchange his steak like now.
But Edith was doomed to be disappointed, not because Virgia didn't want to, but...
"There probably won't be any fried skewers tonight."
Edith immediately looked up.
"The stall owner said that they would leave when they ran out of ingredients. When I went there, the fried skewers were almost all taken by everyone." Virgia recalled.
"But the stall owner also said that they have a restaurant outside the school, where you can also eat the food sold in the cafeteria, but it's not free."
Edith's eyes lit up. This was a blessing in disguise. It's better to pay, he would feel awkward if it was free!
"What's the name of the restaurant?"
"Ah..." Virgia scratched his head, "I forgot. The fried skewer stall is over there, let's go ask."
Edith immediately stood up excitedly and walked towards the fried skewer stall.
As he approached the small skewer cart, Edith incredulously widened his eyes. He quickly looked around, suspecting that he had suddenly returned to the mist town.
The black dragon that had once scared him was standing behind the skewer stall, its eyes full of teasing, and it waved at him with a smile, "Long time no see, little noble lord."
Virgia, who knew nothing, suddenly stopped: "I remember now, it's called Dragon Flame Restaurant!"
Edith: Help!
[Random Side Task 0-7: Attract More Customers
Task Reward: Takeout Ordering Panel x 10
Task Progress: 16/100
Task Requirement: Leave a deep impression on more than 100 students at the Stars Academy about the Dragon Flame Restaurant within one week.]
On the first day of the fried skewer cart, 16 students were impressed, many students came to eat fried skewers, but most of them, like Virgia, couldn't even remember the name of the restaurant. But it's okay, there's a week for the task, and there are six other snacks waiting for everyone, these popular street snacks are hard not to leave an impression on these students with monotonous diets.
Today, the one who set up the stall with Ina is Maya from the Rize tribe. She's a bold and thoughtful girl, who isn't intimidated even when she leaves the Extreme Cold Icefield for the bustling Stars Academy for the first time. She's efficient in her work, so Ina decides that Maya will be in charge of the fried skewer cart in the future.
But if the fried skewer cart is to be set up again, it won't be until next week. There are seven kinds of snack carts in total as rewards for the Winter Festival task, one for each day of the week. Ina plans to introduce a new snack every day and pack up when she runs out of prepared ingredients. Although some days have to be free in accordance with the policy of the Stars Academy, Ina estimates that she won't lose much money and might even make a small profit depending on how well-received the foods are.
No matter what dish she sells, her profit margin is very high. This is not only because there is no competition, and she can set prices as she pleases. It's also because almost all of the ingredients are produced by the restaurant's own business. Each dish not only earns profit from the production process but also includes the profit from the ingredients.
————
The black dragon appeared in Silver Imperial City! Edith was flustered and he didn't know who to tell this news to. Even if he knew who to find, he couldn't say it. He had seen the true form of the black dragon in the Midnight Swamp and she had placed some unknown restrictions on him. Even now, Edith couldn't directly say or write words like "dragon" or "black dragon".
But he can find ways to remind everyone in a roundabout way!
Vila and Gwendolin were having lunch in the cafeteria. Although they weren't in the same grade, they had built a relationship through a test task and occasionally went out for meals together. They heard that the cafeteria was selling a strange food called "cold noodles" today, so the two agreed to meet at the cafeteria at noon to try these "cold noodles".
After a long queue, they finally got their food. Vila looked at the big bowl in front of her, the "noodles" were bright and white, topped with thinly sliced green cucumber, and then a spoonful of bright red chili oil was poured over it, which looked quite appetizing.
The "cold noodles" cart was also one of the rewards at the time of the festival. The weather was cold that day, and making "cold noodles" involved many steps. It wasn't as convenient to make as hot and spicy soup or Kanto stew, so it didn't appear at the festival. But even though the icefield is now covered in snow, the Imperial City has already entered spring early, the temperature is mild, and eating a bowl of "cold noodles" wouldn't make one feel cold, but it is rather refreshing.
"We need to mix it first," Gwendolin remembered the vendor's instruction.
Vila mixed it hastily and couldn't wait to start eating. The white "cold noodles" was refreshing and not greasy. The gluten absorbed the sauce, making it taste rich and chewy. The cucumber shreds were crisp and occasionally, she could taste some fried peanuts. Since the peanuts hadn't been soaking in the soup at the bottom of the bowl for long, they were very crunchy. Vila liked the peanuts in it and she bent her head to focus on finding them at the bottom of the bowl.
"Vila." A voice rang beside her.
Vila looked up to see Edith panting and leaning on the table, pointing at their bowls and saying, "This is that black...black..."
Seeing that he couldn't even speak clearly, Gwendolin interrupted, "It's not called 'black black', it's called 'cold noodles'. If you want to eat it, go queue over there."
Edith turned pale, "This is food from the Dragon Flame Restaurant!"
Thinking that this would alert the two of them, to her surprise, Vila seemed unfazed, "We know, the vendor already introduced it. Do all restaurants like to name it this way now? I remember the restaurant we ate at in the Mist Town was also called Dragon Flame Restaurant."
"That's right! They are the same restaurant!" Edith excitedly slammed the table, "Dragon Flame Restaurant has come to the Imperial City!"
Gwendolin moved to the other side with her bowl in displeasure, "Don't be so rude, Edith, where are your manners?"
Seeing that the two didn't understand what he meant, Edith hurriedly explained, "How long has it been since we left the mist Town, just over a month, in such a short time, ordinary people can't even get to the Imperial City, but Dragon Flame Restaurant has not only opened but also appeared in our academy's cafeteria. Don't you think there's something strange about this?"
Vila was chewing on peanuts, "The restaurant owner is clearly not an ordinary person, she's very capable and can make many foods that we've never seen before."
"Exactly," Gwendolin agreed, "The food in the restaurant tastes so good, it's strange that it's in a place with few people like the Mist Town. The Imperial City is so bustling, the boss will definitely make money."
After finishing speaking, she suddenly turned to Vila and said, "I kind of want to eat the barbecue from Dragon Flame Restaurant, shall we go look for it tonight? I heard the vendor say that the restaurant is located near the school."
Vila readily agreed. The two completely left Edith aside and began discussing the delicious food they had eaten in the mist Town, nostalgic about their recent adventurous experience.
Edith plopped down next to them, his mind in chaos. Why did the Black Dragon appear in the Imperial City? Was it because he had seen her original form and she was coming to kill him? No, she clearly had the opportunity to leave him alone in the Midnight Swamp back then, and his chances of surviving on his own were slim. Even if she hadn't taken him from the Four-Winged Thunderhawk, he would have died long ago.
So, who was the Black Dragon's target? His own Miller family and the Miller Trading Company, or the Star Academy? Edith felt that a conspiracy was approaching, and he was the only one who knew about it, bearing the responsibility to save his family and the academy. Thinking about this, he sat up straight, his heart filled with ambition, he was the one to save everything!
Gwendolin interrupted his reverie impatiently, "Do you have something to do while still sitting here?"
Vila smiled gently, "Edith probably wants to go eat barbecue with us, so let's meet at the entrance of the cafeteria after the last class in the afternoon." She knew the prideful character of this young master; he must be too embarrassed to ask to join them and had to wait for them to invite him.
Wait, wait a minute! Edith extended his hand towards the departing backs of the two, who said he wanted to go!
Ina was no longer in the Star Academy cafeteria. She had found responsible vendors for each snack cart, and Anty's teleportation crystal had expanded its permissions, so it was now possible to teleport to any branch. Every day, she would take the vendors of the day's snack carts from the icefield to the Imperial City branch, and these vendors would negotiate with the cafeteria authorities on their own in the future, without the need for Ina to intervene.
Changing the food every day is understandable for the administrative staff who manage the Star Academy cafeteria. After all, they have to come up with different things to attract students. But isn't it a bit weird to change the people as well?
Ina had her own considerations. She wanted to cultivate some Rize people as her confidants, but these people had a narrow view of the world. Many of them had never communicated with people outside their own villages, let alone sell goods and food. She wanted the people she intended to cultivate to come out, in turn, to see the world and enhance their abilities.
Ina was making dishes in batches while her thoughts were running wild. One moment she was thinking about when this batch of brewed beer would be ready, and the next she was wondering how the literacy class for the Rize people was going.
Suddenly, she received a prompt.
[Your chef's secondary profession has leveled up to Level 5, learning a new professional skill: Cook's Inspiration (You are a mature Level 5 chef now, and the chance of discovering special feature recipes has significantly increased. At the same time, you have new insights into the making of dishes, and novel creative inspirations will occasionally appear in your mind.)]
The feeling that this secondary profession upgrade brought to Ina was... nothing. What "chance increase", and "occasional appearance", it sounded like empty promises. It might be because Ina was not trying out new recipes, so she didn't have any insights, She didn't pay much attention to this chef's professional upgrade and continued with the one-click synthesis of today's lunch.
Another message popped up.
[Please note that a customer on the blacklist is trying to enter your branch [Neranka]!]