50 - Can I Cry Now?
Episode 50
Not only the dinner menu but also the lunch menu had many dishes with names Ibi had never heard of.
Moreover, even if she had heard of them, there were many dishes she had never seen in person.
Ibi was a little flustered by the feast of various foods.
Irene, seeing Ibi's hesitation, said kindly,
"Are you perhaps wanting to eat several things?"
"It's not that, but there are so many foods I don't know, I don't know what to eat."
"So many you don't know?"
Irene looked at the menu.
Perhaps recognizing that the children from noble families were getting too stressed about meals, a variety of menus were always prepared.
But there wasn't anything particularly strange on the menu.
"What is 'Flamiche'…?"
"Huh?"
"I don't really know what 'Sauerkraut' is either…."
Ibi's voice grew smaller.
The Headmaster was trying not to let them starve.
Thanks to that, there were days when the portions were small, but there were no days when they went hungry.
But there were definitely limitations.
If other people cooked with potatoes, they would mash or grind them and cook them in various ways.
But in the Poorhouse, satisfying hunger was the most important thing, so there was no room or time for such complicated cooking.
So the only dishes Ibi knew were simply boiling or stir-frying ingredients.
Therefore, the dishes at the Academy for the Gifted were like a foreign language she didn't understand.
Just then, Ruska, who had ordered earlier, came back with her meal.
"Wow…."
The bowl had a hollow center filled with all sorts of ingredients, and steam rose from the tomato sauce on top.
Ibi swallowed hard at the smell that stimulated her nose.
Until now, she thought the sandwiches filled with ingredients were the best.
But seeing the freshly cooked dishes, she understood why none of the students were eating sandwiches.
Ibi asked Ruska for the name of the dish.
"Are you going to order the same thing?"
"No. I'm going to try another dish I don't know. What are you going to order, Irene?"
"Well. What do you want to eat, Ibi?"
"I'm going to try something different from what the three of you ordered."
That way, she could see as many dishes as possible.
Ruska, finally realizing why Ibi was doing this, said,
"Why don't we just order everything?"
"What? Then there will be too much left over."
"It's okay. Arcel and I can eat it all. So let's try one of each."
"Who says we're eating it all?"
Arcel sighed from behind, but Ruska ignored him and went to the serving area, returning with a large tray full of plates.
And soon, she placed them all on the table.
"Really… is this okay?"
Ibi couldn't close her mouth as she looked at the various dishes filling the table.
It was just a school lunch, but it seemed to have more variety and quantity than the banquet table she had seen in books.
But there was no time to be amazed and moved.
"If we don't eat it all, we'll get demerits…."
In fact, at first, they didn't receive demerits for leaving food.
But students kept throwing away food, saying they couldn't eat it every day.
Moreover, the more they threw away, the more they were praised for being noble, and the number of students wasting food increased.
So during dinner, Ibi couldn't close her mouth as she watched the staff throw away the leftover food.
The Academy for the Gifted seemed to think the problem was serious, and they eventually established a new rule that students would receive demerits for leaving food.
"No, even if we've become prosperous again after the war, leaving this much is a bit…."
The elderly professors welcomed the new rule of the Academy for the Gifted, saying that the young ones didn't know the value of food.
Of course, the students looked miserable.
Anyway, since such a rule had been newly created, they would definitely receive demerits if they left food…….
"I'll serve you a little bit of everything first."
Ruska jumped up and served a little bit of all the food onto clean plates.
Irene did the same. Meanwhile, Arcel, seeing the two of them moving, went back to the serving area and brought back all kinds of drinks.
It was definitely the first time they were eating together like this, but they worked together perfectly as if they had been together for a long time.
"I'll help too!"
Ibi, seeing the three of them moving busily, got up from her seat.
But as if it were natural, Irene grabbed Ibi again and sat her back down.
Ruska and Arcel also gestured for her not to get up.
"The table is too high for you."
"The plates are heavy because they're filled with a lot of food."
"It seems difficult for your small hands to hold all these cups."
The three of them demanded that Ibi just sit there, with reasons that couldn't be refuted.
'Is this okay?'
No matter how she thought about it, it seemed like she should be running around busily preparing the meal for these three people.
While Ibi was fidgeting, the three of them neatly divided the food and finished preparing the meal.
"Well, let's eat."
After a simple prayer, the four of them picked up their forks.
Ibi couldn't help but admire the variety and neatness of the divided food.
She was wondering which one to eat first when Irene told Ibi the names of the dishes and what they were made of.
"This is a traditional dish from the western region. It seems they've changed the recipe a bit in the capital…."
"This is an herb called Tarme, and it has a sweet, honey-like scent, so it's often used in cooking in the south. It's a southern dish, so try this one first!"
Ibi put what Irene recommended in her mouth.
It really had a sweet scent and a unique grassy taste.
If she had eaten it without knowing, she would have wondered what it was, but eating it while listening to Irene's explanation was just amazing and fun.
That wasn't the only enjoyable thing.
It was the food piled up on the table. She had been worried that she would get demerits if she didn't eat it all, so she had been prepared to eat as much as possible, even if it was difficult.
But…….
"Wow……."
Ibi couldn't help but be amazed.
It was because Ruska, who was sitting across from her, was eating the food almost as if she were swallowing it.
It was really like magic.
She grabbed a chicken leg, and soon only the bone remained. The large piece of pork also disappeared after a few bites.
But there was no feeling of gluttony.
To be able to eat so quickly and neatly.
"But wouldn't it be difficult for Ruska alone to eat all of this?"
"Why do you think I'm eating it alone? Look at Arcel."
Ruska pointed to Arcel, who was sitting next to her.
"Ruska, don't point at people."
Arcel frowned as he said that, and then he moved his hands.
The fork and knife moved gracefully.
She definitely thought it was a slow, textbook-like dining etiquette…….
"Huh?"
Although more elegant than Ruska, Arcel was eating just as much.
The two of them swallowed the things that had been prepared in an instant, as if she wondered how all that food could fit in them.
Ibi forgot to move her own fork and watched the two of them eat in amazement.
Irene also looked surprised and muttered,
"I never thought I'd be so amazed watching someone else eat……."
In the end, far from leaving anything, Ruska came back to get the most delicious thing she had eaten again.
Twice more.
\ \ *
'I ate too much.'
Ibi gently pressed her protruding belly with her finger.
The unfamiliar foods were amazing and delicious, and Irene explained each one, so she ate more than usual.
'But it was fun.'
It was the first time she had enjoyed a meal so much since coming to the Academy for the Gifted.
'It was a little scary that people were staring, though.'
Around the time the four of them finished their meal, students who had finished their classes came to the cafeteria.
Then, they looked at the four of them eating together with disbelief.
In particular, the students who hung out with Izriella looked at the four of them in confusion.
Irene smiled at them and didn't even look at them anymore.
The four of them had to part ways after the meal.
It was because they had different classes to take from the afternoon.
"I wish we could take the required courses together if we could choose them."
Irene said that with regret, but there was no way.
Arcel and Ruska had to go back to take swordsmanship classes, and Irene also parted ways with Ibi.
"I think I'll be a little late if I take the last class. But we're still eating dinner together. Okay?"
Ibi nodded greatly at Irene's words and parted ways with her.
She hurried to her classroom, but students were coming out of the classroom.
She went inside and saw that the blackboard said that today's class was canceled because the professor in charge was suddenly not feeling well.
Instead, it also said that the class would be made up on a different day at a different time.
Ibi memorized the date and time and left the classroom.
"I'm full, and it's nice to have a day off, but."
She suddenly had a lot of time left.
'Where should I go?'
She didn't want to go back to the dormitory as it was. The sunlight was really nice.
Then, she suddenly thought of someone.
'Come to think of it, where is Professor Sian at the Academy for the Gifted?'
