「Ludens Gourmet Society」
It was a name I had never heard before.
It must have been added in the DLC.
I didn’t know what these people were up to, but since they had challenged us, it was a matter of principle to pay back not only the debt but also the interest.
“I will repay this debt without fail. With interest. Thoroughly.”
The club fair in the first semester seemed like a casual outing at first.
The real profits were supposed to be harvested during the second semester fair.
In the first semester, we were just planting the seeds of anticipation among people, planning to reap the rewards in the second semester like harvesting Rene.
However, unexpectedly encountering obstacles seemed to ignite a passion within me, which even thawed my cold steel-like heart.
“Where is the Ludens Gourmet Society located? Let’s go there by the shortest route.”
Victoria blocked my path.
“Victor, you’re not thinking of doing something unnecessary, are you? The head of the Gourmet Society is a third-year named Ludric, but the real owner is Rebekah De Winter of the De Winter family. And behind Rebekah is…”
“Is it Orca Arkwright? Since Rebekah and Orca are engaged.”
“Yeah, you should know better than anyone else what kind of opponent he is, growing up in Arkwright’s nature. Opposing Rebekah is like opposing Orca. Even if it’s you…”
“Victoria, you’re mistaken about something.”
“Me…?”
“If I was afraid of confronting Orca, I wouldn’t have broken off the engagement with you in the first place.”
“That…”
At my words, Victoria blinked as if struck by lightning, then muttered as if she realized something.
“… Idiot… With such grand promises… I’m telling you not to do it.”
“What did you just say?”
Not understanding what she meant, I asked, but Victoria simply shook her head and said, “It’s nothing.”
Anyway.
I decided to first find out what kind of people the Ludens Gourmet Society were, whom I would be facing.
Even if my score with other clubs might drop a bit, I wouldn’t fall behind like this with you guys.
With that feeling, I headed for Victoria’s vice-president room.
I had wanted to rush to the club of the Gourmet Society right away when my head was boiling with emotions.
Perhaps due to Victoria’s interruption, a chilling and rational calmness soon filled my heart.
The Steel Quirk must have triggered to suppress the intensity of emotions.
“It’s reckless to go there right away.”
I wouldn’t hear anything good even if I did.
First, I needed to find out what they were up to.
Wouldn’t it be better to know the enemy and then figure out how to deal with them?
I knew just the right person for that role.
“The guy with brown hair and glasses. Student number 23, Daily Rumor. Still not dressed properly. Did you forget to comb your hair again?”
“…My hair naturally curls a lot, you know? Do you know how stressful this curly hair is?”
“I don’t.”
“Well, anyway. My friend Victor, what news do you have to share that you wanted to meet me in this cafe? Are you developing a new menu again?”
Daily Rumor.
He was the vice-president of the newspaper club, always gossiping around, well-informed character.
If you asked him about the Ludens Gourmet Society, he would be the perfect one with light conversation and good rumors.
Daily said.
“Your taste column about that ‘Tteok-bokki’ you developed is popular among the girls. Some even want to make it themselves. Can you share a little cooking tip?”
“That’s a secret.”
“Well, I figured. I just asked on a whim. Why, you easily revealed the recipe for that perfume soup last time. Of course, not everyone could make it!”
Actually, I didn’t mind sharing the recipe for ‘Tteok-bokki’.
But since the Ludens Gourmet Society had challenged us, I wanted to keep the cooking method a secret for now.
I didn’t want any flaws to be pointed out unnecessarily.
Before Daily could waste more of my time with pointless talk, I decided to get to the point.
“The Ludens Gourmet Society. I guess I don’t need to say more; you understand what I mean.”
“Hehe, of course.”
Upon hearing that, Daily grinned behind his glasses. This guy knew why I had called him.
“The story that Ludens Gourmet Society challenged your club is something the people in the newspaper club already know.”
“I see.”
“Except for you, everyone else probably knew. Victor, you’ve always been somewhat oblivious to how things work in this world since your first year.”
It’s true that I was too busy preparing for the exhibition to pay attention to worldly matters.
The only episode I considered noteworthy was the ‘Priest Torneo’ in Act 2.
I wasn’t too worried about the Torneo episode appearing yet, as there was still over a month until then.
“Daily Rumor, tell me about this Ludens Gourmet Society.”
“Explaining is easy. I’m not the type to babble nonsense. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in Ludens. You know that too, Victor.”
“You guys are also planning to sell special editions at this exhibition, right? How about writing a column about 95 different ways to cook ramen there?”
“There are 95 ways?”
“Are you accusing me of lying?”
“Of course not. You wouldn’t lie, Victor, even if others might. Hehehe.”
This Ludens ramen is tasteless and has no effect, but it serves as a daily staple for poor students.
To enjoy this ramen in 95 different ways with a little effort?
That’s enough to get through at least 95 meals.
It’s a recipe I’ve figured out on my own while living alone.
It’ll work for the impoverished ramen lovers of Ludens too.
Daily Rumor called out, “Hey, Tabla. Come over here.”
A female student sitting nearby, sipping tea, rushed over, saying, “Yes, senior!” and leaned in eagerly towards Daily.
She must be a junior in the newspaper club, judging by the camera hanging around her neck.
Daily nodded as if he had finished his calculations.
“Alright, Victor. I knew meeting you would lead to some great stories. With this, our newspaper club’s special edition for the exhibition is sure to sell out.”
“Then tell me.”
“Well, it’s not ideal to discuss it here.”
* * *
Daily Rumor entered the club room and looked around as if he were deeply moved, saying, “This is what makes Ludens so lively…”
━Bump! Bump!
“Wow, this is a wolf spider! The color is amazing! I’ve never seen a wolf spider shine so white. Tabla, take a picture of this!”
Although it was a bit annoying to have pictures taken immediately, I decided to forgive them for recognizing the splendor of the albino wolf spider.
It would be nice if Elizabeth could get a picture too.
Elizabeth, the Bashkir Bee, seemed to have gone out for a walk through the open window, leaving her hive empty.
If I leave the window open, she’ll come back on her own later.
After exchanging various pleasantries, Daily finally calmed down after exchanging various pleasantries with Tabla, his junior and apprentice.
Soon, Daily looked at the chalkboard in the corner and swiftly drew something with chalk.
It looked like… what should I call it?
A mind map.
It would be fitting to call it a diagram of the relationships between individuals.
“The Ludens Gourmet Society consists of Ludens’ elite socialites. Firstly, Ludric Chessman, the head, comes from the renowned Chessman family in the south. And the De Winter family needs no introduction.”
The De Winter family was evidently famous in Ludens.
Whenever I tried to inquire about something, it was always brushed off with a ‘you already know, right?’ attitude, so I rarely had a chance to ask directly.
However, since I hadn’t brought in a guest speaker for free, I decided to ask honestly this time.
“I’m just confirming, but how influential is the De Winter family? Are they comparable to the Arkwright or Blackstar families?”
“Of course, they’re not on the level of the Blackstars in the north or the Arkwrights in the south. But they undoubtedly hold sway over the west after the War of the Roses.”
“The War of the Roses…”
I knew a bit about that.
Whenever the world was explained, it always mentioned ‘years since the War of the Roses’.
It was about ten years ago?
There was a major war on the mainland, causing many noble families to fall, and a lot of people died.
The rise of the Arkwright and Blackstar families as the undisputed authorities in the kingdom came from their victory in that war.
Of course, both noble families also suffered significant losses.
Enio’s brother, Aidan Blackstar, died in that war.
The Arkwright family, in particular, was instrumental in providing the catalyst for the nobles to seek power.
“The west is a very prosperous and beautiful land. Right now, it’s chaotic after losing its ruler in the aftermath of the war, but the De Winter family is expanding its influence amidst this chaos.”
In other words.
This means that the family that is emerging as a new powerhouse is the De Winter family.
“How powerful must such a family be, as they have formed an alliance through an engagement with the Arkwright family’s eldest son, Orca Arkwright, who served as Student Council president in the past?”
“Indeed.”
“Former president Orca’s influence remains to this day. After all, it’s a surprising man who has been president for two consecutive years.”
“And what about this Gourmet Society?”
Having understood the explanation about the De Winter family, it seemed best to move on to the important point. Then Daily said,
“It’s a group of rising medalists like the De Winter family. The facade is a gathering to enjoy gourmet food, but their true nature is a social club.”
So, it’s a clique of popular insiders.
“The gourmet columns they write were also popular. They’re quite picky, so I didn’t particularly like them.”
“Is that so?”
“These days, your Victory’s Cook Club has taken over their place, which was good. I didn’t like having to kowtow to them. How much do they want to play noble games all the way from One? ”
“Still, they must be skilled individuals. They even came in second place at last year’s fall exhibition.”
“Of course. So, Victor, are you going to fight them? After all, you’re not someone who will just take it lying down, right?”
Daily flashed his glasses as if he had found some good material.
I understood that it would be fun to hear interesting news if I were to fight against those gourmet guys. He continued,
“You also have some influence, right? Delegate Enio, former engagement to Arkwright, Victor. And even the new rookie Miss Mokemoke.”
“I’ve never really considered myself influential.”
Just business partners, you know.
Actually, it’s better not to try to win using Enio or Arnoy’s influence and power.
Because that could also become a debt.
You can’t put your hand in the tiger’s mouth to catch the fox.
Still, I felt I had to say this much.
“Then, Daily, write it in the article. Victory’s Cook Club are aiming to win at this club fair.”
“…Ohhhhhhh!”
In one way or another, Daily Rumor is a helpful guy.
When I’m busy with work, like this time, the situation at Ludens can get dark.
It doesn’t seem like a bad thing to have a news source by your side.
