The world was somewhat harsh to the silver medalists.
The second in command was inevitably overshadowed by the giant shadow of the first.
Their efforts and time were not meant to simply pave the way for the bright and brilliant gold medalists.
In that sense, the De Winter family of the West had firmly established themselves as the second in command since ancient times.
Even when they conquered Wildrose and entered the Flower City of the West, people showed lukewarm responses, saying, “The De Winter family? Impressive. But are they the best?”
‘I want to be the first.’
Rebekah was someone who found joy in climbing over others purely.
After losing disappointingly to the “Swordsmanship Club” at last semester’s club fair, Rebekah had vowed to definitely seize first place this time.
She had indeed put in a lot of effort.
‘I really gave my all at this fair.’
Naturally, she thought she would win.
But unforeseen obstacles came her way.
“…No way. They must have used some trickery! Miss Rebekah, that commoner who sells cheap peasant food…”
The 「Ludens Gourmet Society」 had made the highest short-term profits since its establishment.
But their atmosphere was as gloomy as the portraits that hung.
The Ludens Gourmet Society’s profit was 32 million Rene.
And the Victory’s Cook Club, who had provoked them, made 32.05 million Rene.
50,000 Rene.
It was decided by a mere 50,000 Rene.
Koronero, who always followed Rebekah, began to mutter as if she couldn’t understand.
“We prepared everything, from ingredients to facilities, at a high level. It doesn’t make sense for us to lose! What kind of people eat strange commoners’ food?”
With a slightly distended belly, Ludric Chessman, a third-year student with brown hair, nodded his head.
“Like ignorant masses. They pour money into snack foods that are only stimulating in taste and appear to have little nutritional value.”
“…”
Rebekah held back her words.
Complaining about the situation would only make her seem second-rate.
Right now, she needs to think about what to do next.
‘I’ve made a bet…’
Defeat.
Just talking about it was enough to make her angry, but the biggest problem was that Rebekah had impulsively made a bet with that strange club.
‘If I could just cover it up as if it never happened…’
In the world of nobles, passing it off as a joke was common.
But the opponent is Victor.
Former Executive Member Victor.
The ruthless hound of Arkwright.
Whatever it takes, he will make sure to enforce what he said.
And they also had Enio of Blackstar.
Enio of the Blackstar family wasn’t the type to act on her own initiative, but she was definitely one of the people you should never underestimate.
‘Why am I worrying about this? It was obvious that we would win.’
Gnash.
Her teeth clenched.
‘Orca, I invited you. I even wrote a letter. If you had come and just eaten one dish, wouldn’t we have won?’
Even though she came to Ludens, she didn’t stop by her fiancé’s shop?
For some reason, it feels like she’s being mocked by the Arkwright family.
‘I shouldn’t have trusted something like a duke family from the beginning. In the end, the world is about surviving on your own.’
Blink, crack.
At that moment, the shop door opened.
“The facilities are nice, yeah.”
“I don’t like the fellows, but…. This upscale exterior is very nymph-friendly…! It’s a carpet made of rene…!”
Koronero bluntly said, “We’re not taking any more customers. We’re closed.” But the man and his group came in anyway and sat down at a nearby table.
“We had a pretty good day today. We’re planning to have a dinner together at an expensive place to celebrate. Could you take our orders?”
* * *
“First place! We got first place! This is the first time in my life I’ve achieved first place!”
Nike was very happy.
Since our “Victory’s Cook Club” officially recorded the highest sales at this club fair, there was no need to be nervous anymore.
“Delegate Arnoy, you really worked hard…! So you can take 1% of today’s sales as promised.”
“I’m giving it too, right? Huh? This teacher also helped you guys!”
Everyone seemed pleased because they earned a lot of money.
Well, they practically swept up Rene like it was a double gold harvest event.
Now, after deducting things like ingredient costs and rent, will the net profit drop to around 20 million Rene?
Luckily, Slush’s cost price was really cheap, so the margin was quite high.
“Let’s discuss distribution later. Let’s celebrate first. Today, we earned a lot of money for a change, and it’s Friday, so I think it’s okay to have a dinner together?”
Arnoy seemed very pleased with my suggestion.
“Then are we going to try this Slush thing? I made Slush myself, but honestly, I haven’t even tasted a sip…”
Since they’re items for sale, it’s true you shouldn’t eat them.
Actually, there wasn’t even time to eat.
Perhaps because of that, everyone seemed exhausted and worn out. Even Enio, who rarely lost her poker face, looked flushed and was picking items with a red glow on her face.
I said.
“We can’t just celebrate with Slush on a happy day like this. Let’s go eat something more expensive. I’ll handle the money, so don’t worry about it.”
Why, there happens to be a good place to go on a happy day like today.
An upscale restaurant.
With that feeling, we barged into the Ludens Gourmet Society’s store.
In my heart, I wanted to shout loudly, “Losers, we won!” But Victor was too naive to do such an undignified thing.
“Let the losers quickly bow their heads to this body, Arnoy, the great Nymph of the Water Trench…!”
Of course, Arnoy was a strange fellow.
With that feeling, we sat at a clean table.
Looking at the menu, the number of zeros printed made my head spin.
Nike shivered.
“A glass of water here costs 50,000 Rene…!”
What, selling a glass of water for 50,000 Rene?
Did they sprinkle gold dust in it?
Selling Slush for 5,000 Rene is incomparable.
Even though the target audience is nobles, are there people who order such things?
“Then, this Arnoy, I would like to order a glass of water that costs 50,000 Rene…! I’ve always wanted to feel what the water tastes like in high-end restaurants…!”
Arnoy laughed gleefully.
I can’t tell if she’s intentionally teasing the others or if she’s sincere.
Either way, the effect was great, and the people from the Ludens Gourmet Society murmured, “These guys…”
Probably because Enio was there, they couldn’t make a big fuss.
“I’m reminded of the mainland. I used to visit these kinds of places often on the mainland. I didn’t expect to feel the mainland’s aroma at Ludens. This place could easily be three stars even on the mainland.”
Enio praised the restaurant.
If a daughter of an aristocratic duke family praises it after only seeing the good aspects, it must at least seem decent.
Even Nike looked crestfallen.
“This is my first time coming to a place like this…! Is the fork on the left and the knife on the right…? Is this a marshmallow…? Oh, it’s a napkin…!”
Even though they were winners, they didn’t seem like winners at all.
There was no room for laughter.
Honestly, I haven’t been to many places like this before.
But there’s no need to be humble, right?
Food should suit people rather than people suiting food.
“In that sense, Rebekah, I’ll place the order.”
I demanded an order from Rebekah, who was trembling and blushing. The woman with sky-blue hair beside her was rather annoyed.
“We’re closed because business hours are over!”
Geez, she’s sharp.
At that moment, Rebekah De Winter raised her hand.
“We’ll take the order. We still have some ingredients left.”
The reddish complexion of her face quickly returned to its original state.
Is this what nobility is?
On one hand, I thought it was impressive.
“Then let’s start with the A-grade marbled steak here.”
A dish costing 500,000 Rene.
How much must it taste for it to follow my snack bar, my secret weapon, by 50,000 Rene?
On the other hand, I just wanted to comfortably try an expensive meal.
After all, the most delicious dishes are made by ‘someone else’.
Soon, the Ludens Gourmet Society started business as usual.
Of course, since they had closed, there were no customers except us.
So it was rather nice.
It felt like renting out this luxurious store.
When have winners ever enjoyed this feeling?
Even those who have been winners since birth?
* * *
Labels are important.
Even if it doesn’t seem like much, the price of 50,000, 500,000 Rene gives a different feeling.
Then how delicious must a plate of steak costing 500,000 Rene be?
Tick, tock…
The sound of knives cutting through meat was loud.
“…It’s frustrating, but it tastes good. I’ve never had meat this delicious before! Is this really meat? What were those jerky things I’ve been eating until now?”
The first to give their evaluation was Nike.
Despite her poverty, Nike unexpectedly found herself enjoying this expensive dish. Victoria seemed to like it very much as well.
“I thought it was nothing special, but it’s definitely tasty…! Even this 50.000 Rene water is incredibly delicious…! It tastes like clear ditch water…!”
I read the origin and it was just spring water.
But Victoria was enjoying the water so much that I decided not to say anything.
I need to focus on what I’m eating.
Lunch was a late lunch and a quick dinner.
A round steak that often appears in comics.
Just one bone.
It came out nicely roasted in front of me.
I put a small slice of meat in my mouth and chewed, the moderately cooked juices stimulating my tongue.
“The taste is passable. But it feels a bit lacking. No, upon closer examination, it’s not just a bit lacking. There’s an issue with the ingredients.”
A sky-blue-haired girl named Koronero, a fellow student, got angry at my evaluation.
“Hah, daring to evaluate in a democratic society…!? With your inferior palate, of course you wouldn’t understand the refined nobles’ meals…!”
No, Victor’s palate is quite accurate.
After all, he was raised as a stepson in the Arkwright family from a young age, so he’s quite used to eating.
In my evaluation, the meat was delicious but something was clearly lacking.
“Is it a B grade after all?”
Rebekah was shocked and trembled at my question.
“……”
Rebekah was silent, but she looked very anxious.
It was the moment I became confident that my words were correct.
“This meat. It’s not an A grade, it’s B grade, right?”
Deos, the food merchant, sells A grade meat for about 400,000.
And B grade is cheaper than half, about 100,000.
Naturally, there can be a difference in taste.
Of course, I’ve never eaten B grade meat.
But I know how the taste differs because Enio made me a lunchbox with A grade meat.
Although the bulgogi had some burnt parts and was a bit rough, it was quite delicious, perhaps because the ingredients themselves were expensive.
“I was hoping for a bit, but B grade naturally has its limits. It’s not as good as Enio’s lunch box.”
“Victor, was my lunch box really that good?”
As Enio asked, the outfield around me began to stir.
“B grade meat?”
“Weren’t we only selling A grade quality?”
“I had no idea. Could it be that what we won was also B grade and of lower quality?”
Everyone’s eyes were focused on Rebekah.
It seemed that Rebekah’s strategy was to mix B grade meat without telling anyone.
“Miss Rebekah, is that true? Then, the reason for our lack of sales could be because Rebekah used grade B meat without our knowledge…?”
“Why would you do such a thing?”
Why did such a thing happen?
Well, it’s because we couldn’t match the amount with only A grade meat.
They’re all members of the same club, don’t they know that?
Is it really because I don’t know anything, everyone began to blame Reb.
“Miss Rebekah, I, Ludric, am the president of this Ludens Gourmet. I’d like you to explain this incident?”
Isn’t it as easy as blaming others for the cause of defeat?
It is said that the game lasts longer if you blame others.
I’ve heard that you can actually blame others for a long time.
So is it my turn to step up?
“Okay, I guess it’s time to fulfill my end of the bet.”
