Chapter 196
Chapter 196
“Thank you very much for the meal!”
After finishing their food, Macgrim and Hestie shouted almost at the same time.
It had been so delicious that they had even ordered extra items.
It truly had been a fantastic meal.
“Right. Altogether, that’ll be 6 gold. Who’s paying?”
Billet said as he folded the bill.
Paying?
Ah, right.
This was a restaurant…….
The prices had been written on the menu, after all.
But no matter how much Macgrim rummaged through his pockets, not a single coin came out.
If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve brought a few gold coins.
“……Hestie, I’ll pay you back when we return to the Academy. Can you lend me some?”
Macgrim asked with an awkward smile.
“That’s what I was about to say…….”
Hestie turned her empty pockets inside out.
Before the examination began, they had entrusted their valuables to the Academy. At present, they did not have a single coin on them.
“…….”
Silence fell for a moment.
Driven by hunger, they had eaten in a frenzy and completely forgotten about the bill.
“What should we do, Senior? We don’t have any money right now…….”
“Is that so?”
Billet said with a faint smile.
“So the commemorative first customers to pass through that door are dining and dashing? How amusing.”
“Hi—hiiik……!”
“W-We’re sorry……!”
Though Billet had no such intention, his smile looked nothing short of chilling to prospective students.
Just as the two were about to bow their heads—
Step, step…….
Kaiel quietly approached and held out six small gold leaves to Billet.
Billet accepted them readily.
“Good. I’ve properly received the payment. Come again next time.”
Kaiel wrote something on a piece of paper and showed it to Billet.
「Could you also pack some toast to go?」
“As long as it’s paid for, I don’t see why not. This is a restaurant, after all.”
「Thank you. Ten per person, please.」
“Kaiel……!”
Hestie’s eyes grew moist.
Not only had he paid for them, he was even arranging takeaway.
He was practically an angel.
“……I’ll pay you back as soon as the exam ends.”
Macgrim looked apologetic, but Kaiel shook his head.
「It’s a small gesture of thanks. And if we’re going to endure four days, we’ll need to stockpile food.」
He was right.
They needed to have enough provisions.
“Toast spoils easily. Since you’ll have to last four more days in the dungeon, I’ll separate the ingredients for you.”
Billet said as he wrapped each ingredient in oil-coated paper.
“When you eat, just assemble them then. It’ll keep a bit longer than if you make it into toast beforehand.”
That made sense. Potatoes contained plenty of moisture and starch, while bread absorbed moisture easily. If such ingredients were placed together, they would spoil quickly.
But if stored separately, there would be no such concern.
“I cooked the hash browns a little longer to dry out the moisture. They won’t spoil as easily as usual.”
“Thank you, Senior!”
Macgrim and Hestie bowed their heads to Billet as he packed the ingredients into their backpacks.
Kaiel followed with a slight bow.
Once their packs were stuffed full, the three headed toward the lone door standing there.
Billet followed them to see them off.
“Do your best until the end of the exam.”
“Yes, Senior……!”
“Thank you. We’ll definitely pass!”
After exchanging farewells, the three stepped beyond the door.
The moment their feet crossed over, their vision darkened briefly.
The air around them shifted, and they could feel themselves returning to the dungeon.
Thud…….
With a closing sound, a small light flickered on the door before it vanished without a trace.
“Huh? Where did it go…….”
Hestie reached out to where the door had been.
But only a cold stone wall remained.
As if nothing had ever existed there.
‘What just happened? Was I dreaming?’
Thinking about it, it was strange.
They had been starving when they found the door. When they opened it, out of nowhere, there had been Senior Billet standing among lush greenery.
And he had just happened to be running a restaurant…….
Thanks to that, they had miraculously filled their starving stomachs.
……If I told anyone about this, they’d never believe it.
Now that they were back inside the dungeon, everything about meeting Billet felt so surreal, as if it had been an illusion.
It was a bizarre phenomenon—but it did not seem to be a dream.
Inside their bags were the toast ingredients Billet had given them.
“I was planning to go back in once more before the exam ended…….”
Hestie clicked her tongue in disappointment.
“Still, at least we secured the toast.”
Macgrim let out a sigh of relief. They were unlikely to face a food shortage now.
“Now that we’ve eaten, let’s start the purification work.”
“Yeah!”
The two of them burned with renewed determination.
They worked hard purifying the dungeon, and eventually hunger returned.
They took out the toast ingredients Billet had given them.
They placed vegetables and hash browns between slices of bread and brought it to their mouths.
“Mmm, it’s delicious even like this……!”
Hestie sighed happily.
“Yeah. I feel like I’ve got more energy.”
Macgrim, who echoed her, fell briefly into thought.
It was not an empty remark. It truly felt that way.
Power surged through his entire body, and their purification speed was incomparably faster than before they had eaten.
Even they were surprised. If this pace continued, they might enter the safe range for passing.
But they had only eaten toast. It made no sense for their efficiency to increase.
Maybe it’s just in our heads?
Right. They had been starving, and now they were working on a full stomach. Of course they felt stronger.
“Macgrim, if we pass the Academy……. Do you think we can come eat food like this every day?”
Billet was the son of a High Noble House.
He must have piles of money. Why was someone like that running a small restaurant?
“Senior Billet must have an unbelievable amount of money. Why would he run such a small restaurant?”
“Senior Billet probably isn’t doing it for money. Maybe cooking is just his hobby.”
“Yeah…… That’s probably the only explanation.”
He’s kind of an unusual senior.
That was what the two of them thought.
“Oh, and thank you too, Kaiel.”
After learning that Kaiel was a noble of one of the Four Great Houses, Hestie had begun addressing him more formally.
He wasn’t just any noble—he was the son of a High Noble House.
But upon hearing that, Kaiel showed a surprised expression for the first time.
Then he responded through writing.
「Please don’t do that.」
Kaiel’s expression turned sorrowful.
「You’re the first people my age to speak to me so casually. I was a little flustered at first.」
His pen paused briefly, then moved again.
「But I was also happy.」
Macgrim and Hestie held their breath as they read.
「I want to pass Yggdrasil Academy as well. But I was grateful to you for being the first to speak to me. I wanted to attend the Academy together with you. That’s why I gave all my points to you.」
The two looked slightly shocked, but soon their expressions turned bitter.
“But Kaiel. Your score is…….”
Hestie could not finish her sentence.
Though half the exam still remained, Kaiel’s score was only 0.
But Kaiel did not appear anxious.
「It’s fine.」
……And the next day arrived.
“Kaiel, there are only three days left in the exam. You need to start purifying too.”
「Don’t worry about me. Just make sure to secure enough for yourselves.」
Another day passed.
“Kaiel, tomorrow’s the last day.”
「It’s fine. Gather enough so that you can pass.」
And on the final day of the exam—
“……Kaiel!”
Unable to endure it any longer, Macgrim shouted.
“Why are you doing this? You don’t need to give up any more points……!”
「It’s fine.」
“It’s not fine!”
Macgrim gritted his teeth.
He could not understand Kaiel’s reaction at all.
“Of course it’s important that I pass! But still!”
Macgrim clenched both fists tightly.
“I want Hestie—and you—to pass too……!”
Kaiel was a good person.
Macgrim had loathed nobles, but the Crown Princess, Billet, and Kaiel had slowly broken down that prejudice.
After spending a week together in the dungeon, he knew.
Kaiel’s attitude was neither pretense nor an act.
He had always been that kind of person.
And so Macgrim had thought—Kaiel could become a good friend. They might even enjoy Academy life together.
After sharing hardships for a week, he had grown attached.
But…….
If Kaiel failed the exam, they would never meet again.
He had thought they could become friends. He did not want to part meaninglessly like this.
That was why Macgrim was angry.
「I have a method.」
“What method could you possibly have!”
Frankly, he felt suffocated.
Until now, Kaiel’s score had remained exactly 0.
He had given his share of points entirely to Hestie and Macgrim. Thanks to his consideration, their chances of passing had risen greatly.
But that result had been built on Kaiel’s sacrifice.
I don’t want that.
“If I pass because you sacrificed yourself, I won’t accept it!”
The end of the exam was drawing near.
“Kaiel!”
As Macgrim shouted, Kaiel took out the watch from his pocket and stood up.
Only one minute remained until the end of the exam. Yet his score was still 0.
Even so, there was not the slightest trace of impatience on his face.
「Now I’ll gather my points.」
“What……?”
Macgrim’s eyes widened.
With only one minute left, he was going to start now?
Catching up to a week’s worth of accumulated points was impossible.
Even with the fastest light-attribute speed magic.
Even if one burned every contaminated corridor of the dungeon with fire magic.
It was absolutely impossible to match a week’s workload in a single minute.
……But.
Kaiel raised his hand toward the air and pressed his middle finger to his thumb.
Fwoosh—!
Golden mana ignited there like a flame.
Kaiel gazed at the radiant mana and smiled faintly.
It had been a long time since he had seen such beautiful light.
Perhaps it was because he had been eating the toast Senior Billet had given him for several days.
It was not imagination.
Kaiel, who could see the mana within his body, felt it clearly.
Not only his own, but also Hestie’s and Macgrim’s mana circulation flowed far more smoothly than before.
He had heard that Billet was the irreplaceable friend of ‘Shen,’ the fourth son of the Kuman Family.
Shen was strong. Strong to the point of being worthy of respect.
In contrast, Billet’s mana itself was nothing remarkable.
But he was still of the Four Great Houses’ bloodline.
Even if his mana was unimpressive, Kaiel had thought he must possess something special.
“An interesting person.”
Shen always described Billet that way.
Now that Kaiel had met Billet personally, he understood Shen’s words.
He truly was interesting.
Macgrim and Hestie had not noticed.
But Kaiel alone had.
‘The toast.’
It was not merely delicious.
What kind of ingredients had been used…… to organize mana so effectively?
The Kuman Family were masters of medical magic.
Having frequently encountered such magic, Kaiel recognized it immediately.
The toast Billet had given them possessed an effect equivalent to high-level medical magic that regulated mana.
He had expected something from Shen’s friend—but this exceeded that expectation.
……I am quite interested in Senior Billet.
Kaiel stared at the golden flames burning more brilliantly than usual, then suddenly returned to his senses.
His mana efficiency was higher than normal. He was worried it might harm Hestie and Macgrim.
So he wrote on paper and showed it to them.
「Close your eyes, cover your ears, and crouch down for a moment.」
“Huh……?”
“I don’t know why, but just do what Kaiel says, Hestie!”
“O-Okay!”
Just as Hestie covered her ears and crouched—
Snap!
Kaiel flicked his fingers.
Paaang—!
A golden wave burst outward from Kaiel.
His unique skill was ‘Copy.’
Any magic or phenomenon he saw or personally experienced—he could replicate exactly.
What Kaiel had copied was…… the ‘Mana Storm’ that had rotted their food with its spreading wave on their first day in the dungeon.
Like ripples spreading across a calm lakeside from a single droplet, the Mana Storm’s waves propagated throughout space.
This was an application of that principle.
The wave spread outward from Kaiel, permeating the entire dungeon.
Wherever the wave passed, purification occurred instantly.
Just before the exam ended—
With a single finger snap from Kaiel, every trace of contamination within the dungeon was completely eradicated.