Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Ainz’s Second Year in the Academy [Before]

Translated by Tods

Edited by Phantom0408

Special thanks to the translation supporter: Asekhan

Just like usual, Ainz was being escorted by Chris to the academy.

He had already gotten used to the crowds of people coming from the White Rose station, and he was thinking about what he was going to do today.

「Huh, Ainz-sama? Good morning」

「Good morning, Your Highness. It looks like we took the same train today」

He met two of his friends this morning. They were Roland, who had been a good friend of Ainz since the first year, and whom Ainz liked to spend a lot of time with.

The other one was a silver-haired boy named Leonard. He was the heir to the Duke of Forss, a high-ranking noble family in Ishtalica. He approached Ainz a few days after the competition that Ainz had watched in his first year.

Since then, the three of them have been working together as a team, as if they were a good match in personality.

「Good morning. Don’t get tired because it’s so crowded today too, okay?」

The two of them laugh lightly when they hear Ainz’s words. Since there was no need to bother having a conversation at the station, they decided to just go to the academy. Chris, Ainz’s bodyguard, and two other bodyguards from the Duke of Forss. A total of six people proceeded on the way to the academy.

And so, the usual Academy life for Ainz begins again today.

***

Having arrived at the academy, Chris and the Forss family guards parted ways with Ainz and the others.

After all, the Royal Kingsland Academy has several people on the grounds who are skilled in covert action, although they don’t widely publicize it. They are protecting the children of noble families and the future of Ishtalica from any danger.

「Your Highness, have you had your breakfast yet?」

「Not yet. What about you guys?」

「I just had a light one」

「Me too. Just in time, let’s all go to the terrace first」

An open terrace laid out in the school. The cafeteria and lounge were set up next to it, so the three of them were looking forward to having their meals and studying there.

At Roland’s suggestion, they decided to go to the terrace first.

「I wonder what we’ll eat today」

「I think… I’ll have some mountain food today」

「Then, I’ll take this chance to have some seafood」

「Isn’t that the usual, Your Highness?」

「I’ve been found out, huh? Well, it’s fine, the food here was good after all」

The menu of the cafeteria was prepared by several famous chefs. Even Ainz and Leonard, who had a discerning palate, had nothing to complain about, and the portions were large enough for the students. Since the use of the cafeteria was included in the school fees, there was basically no charge. Roland, who was born a commoner, was more than grateful for that.

Ainz preferred the seafood in here as well. The ingredients were brought in every morning and were fresh and excellent even when eaten raw. Sometimes he would order something else from the menu, but most of the time it was seafood that he ordered.

「But it still feels like a luxury, huh?」

「Luxury, huh?」

Leonard wondered about Ainz’s words.

「Yes, even though we’re just students, we can have such delicious meals at this hour and relax on the terrace」

「Come to think of it, it was just like what Ainz-sama says」

「But in return, we have to produce results. That was the main guideline of this academy… They will evaluate our value. This is different compared to other academies 」

After talking for a while, Ainz’s group finally reached the open terrace.

He glanced at the people sitting in the seats, all of them are from the First group regardless of their grade.

Some were eating, some were studying, and some were just enjoying the freedom to do what they want to do.

「I’ll go order. You’re both okay with what you just said, right?」

「Sorry, Roland, I’ll leave it to you then」

「Yeah, I’ll leave it to you then, We’ll get a seat and wait for you」

「Okay, I’ll be going then」

Roland thoughtfully went to order for all of them, while the remaining two sat in their seats and waited for him to return. The three of them always had a seat at a table placed at the end of the open terrace. It was the table with great scenery with a large tree and a small fountain near it. It was a fine day today, with the sun shining through the tree branches and the breeze with just the right temperature to enjoy this scenery.

「Leonard. I heard that the Duke of Forss was called by Warren-san to the castle yesterday, what happened?」

「Yeah. The August Chamber of Commerce had a little trouble with the other merchant associations. These merchant associations are quite influential and large after all… And since one of the merchants from the merchant associations had a connection with the Forss family, they wanted to have a talk with them」

「I see. They wanted to gather some information about them, huh?」

「That’s right. Right now――there are a lot of people who are jealous of the August Chamber of Commerce because it has become one of the most powerful merchant associations. Even in my own opinion, I wouldn’t be surprised if, perhaps within the next few years, it will become the most powerful merchant association in the Royal Capital. It seems, their chairman is frighteningly capable, even for us」

That chairman’s name was Graff August, who used to be called Augusto until now. The distribution skills that he had demonstrated in Hyme were also very useful here in Ishtalica. He was a talent that Warren thought highly of, to the point where he even said “Graff-dono was born in the wrong country”.

When it was established nearly a year ago, no one even talked about them at all. However, within half a year, the situation had changed, and the name of the August Chamber of Commerce had been heard more and more everywhere in the Royal Capital.

「Yeah. Graff-san seems to be a very talented person」

「Come to think of it, Your Highness is acquainted with the chairman of the August Chamber of Commerce, huh?」

「Well, it was because of a lot of things」

「…But I think, you’re rather close to his granddaughter, Miss Claune」

「Wh-what are you talking about? But well, I know Claune…」

Leonard felt amused and smiled softly when he heard his reply.

Leonard usually has a stern expression on his face. The Dukes of Forss was a family that had produced important figures in the Legal Department for generations after all. That was why he has been educated and brought up to be a strict person.

However, when he talked to him, he got a different impression from that first impression. He was easy to talk to, although it was difficult to see the changes in his facial expressions. He was very aware of the subtleties of people and was very considerate. Ainz even heard that he had many secret admirers too.

「Hey, I’m back!… Huh? What are you guys talking about?」

「All I can say is that I’m glad to see that His Highness is happy. Sorry, Roland, for leaving you in charge of the order」

「Never mind it. Let’s eat it while it’s warm. It looks delicious today too」

「It’s no exaggeration to say that I can’t start my academy life without this」

Roland came back to them, dexterously bringing a meal for the three of them.

The three of them then began to munch at the breakfast they had been waiting for.

「Ooh, you guys are here today too huh? Eat as much as you want」

As the three of them were eating, several small birds came to visit. These little birds were friends of Ainz and his friends whenever they gathered here.

Ainz then sliced up a loaf of bread and handed it to the birds, who were probably hungry as well.

「The meal was good today too」

「Good grief… These birds are so lucky to have food from His Highness」

「Leonard, it was a gift. It’s not that big of a deal. Ooh? Or do you still want some? It can’t be helped then」

「This too is going to be a regular thing for the both of you, huh?」

He wondered how it all started. But it was probably around the time that Ainz and Roland started sitting here together.

When he thought he heard a little bird chirping from a tree, it went down to the ground to look around for food.

Seeing it, Ainz thought it might be hungry, so he started to give them pieces of his bread and since then they started to gather around when they saw Ainz.

「I already got the permission from the cafeteria so there will be no problem」

Considering the damage caused by bird droppings, it could be bad to keep giving food to them. That was why Ainz had asked the manager of the cafeteria and asked if he could give them some bread. The permission was easily granted, and now it became a regular morning routine to give them bread.

「By the way, Your Highness. What are your plans for today?」

「I haven’t thought about it at all. Maybe I’ll go to the library. I have some things I want to look up after all」

「You’ve been looking into this for the past year, but do you still have no clues?」

What Ainz was investigating was about the mysterious magic stone. The magic stone was something that has yet to be solved. He has read through many valuable documents in the academy that didn’t exist in the castle, but he hasn’t been able to find any clues. However, there are still documents to look at, and thinking about that, he began to go to the academy’s library every day.

「We can help if you want… But you won’t let us, huh?」

「I’m grateful to the two of you for that. But this is something that I’d like to look into, so I’ll pass on your offer for now. After that… well, I guess I’ll visit the training center this afternoon」

The matter of the mysterious magic stone was not something that could be taught. That was why Ainz has been investigating this matter on his own. Even though he hadn’t found any clues, browsing through a lot of documents was not a bad thing, as it allowed him to accumulate more knowledge at the same time.

He also said that he’ll visit the training center. Although Ainz mainly trains at the castle, he often visited the training center at the academy as well. The training center built at the academy was special because it offered different training than the regular training center or the ones in the castle.

They all enjoyed the meal for a while. After that, they broke up. Since everyone’s main focus was different, they worked hard in their own ways, except for subjects such as general education.

***

As of today, there were no new clues about the mysterious magic stone.

Hello there, I am Ainz.

As expected, my brain is getting tired, so I decided to go to the training center to do some workouts.

I can see some of the students in the training center. But since the training center was large enough, it won’t be a problem.

「Let’s train too… Hello, Instructor Kaizer! It’s been a week!」

「…It’s you huh? You always come out of nowhere, so what do you want for today?」

「That is, of course, Training with the beasts!」

「Just like the usual huh」

「Because this is the only place where I can do this kind of training. After all, I’m already used to training with the people in the castle. That’s why I need to balance it in the academy too」

「Haah… Good grief. I’ll prepare it for you, so please wait」

Despite his face and attitude, Instructor Kaiser was a caring person. Or rather, his nature is so kind that it baffles me.

In contrast to his aggressive attitude toward students during the entrance exam, he was caring and popular in the academy.

He’s like a neighborhood uncle who keeps taking care of you while complaining about it.

When the training was over, he would give us good advice. And above all, he is a good man who praises students who are doing well. And above all, he is a nice old man who says『You did a good job』 to students who are doing their best with high spirits.

To be honest, when I met him again here, I was so confused because my impression of him was so different from the one I had when I took the entrance exam.

「What do you want as an opponent for today?」

「A Red Bison」

「It’s not a beast you should be dealing with at your age, you know? But well, get your gear ready!」

White bison was a source of high-quality ingredients. I’ve sucked their magic stone before and it tasted just like the finest steak.

On the other hand, a Red Bison was an evolved form of the White Bison, and Instructor Kaizer also said that its taste was bad.

I’ve been told by Instructor Kaizer that 『the Red Bison are the ones who have awakened to some kind of killing intent』 but I don’t understand what he means when he says they awaken to killing intent, but it’s good training, so I’m not going to think about it.

「Hey, Instructor」

「Huh? What?」

「If I joined the guild and became an adventurer. I wonder how much of an opponent a Red Bison would be」

「It takes about two mid-level adventurers to defeat them. One of them will act as a decoy though」

「Hee―… I see」

「That’s why I told you that it was not a beast you should be dealing with at your age」

「Then why we are allowed to fight one here in the academy’s training center…?」

A magic tool that could be used for beast training is really helpful. I’ve heard it used a magic stone to create an illusion, but I couldn’t understand the principle. It seems that the highest level of illusions that could be created with this magic tool is the Red Bison. I’ve heard that there are only about three of them in Ishtalica, and they are very valuable because the cost of its equipment and its running costs are ridiculous.

「I don’t understand why they call it an illusion when we can feel them with the touch」

「You must be wondering why it didn’t cause any damage too, right? I don’t even understand much about it either. Leave such difficult technology to the developers, since we’re allowed to use it and get stronger. So, no problem, right?」

「That’s true. By the way, did Instructor ever actually fight a Red Bison?」

「I’ve hunted down a lot of those beasts before I got injured. Ooh… it seems we’re ready to go」

I’ve heard that Instructor Kaizer was an adventurer who was highly regarded even by Lloyd-san. However, I heard that he retired from being an adventurer after he suffered serious injuries to his arms and legs and his body was no longer able to move as he wished.

Since then, he was introduced by the guild and became an instructor here at the Royal Kingsland Academy.

「I’d like to take three round」

「Good grief, what a cheeky brat… Ainz, get ready, I’ll start on your signal!」

――Kaizer was asked to be strict with Ainz by Sylvird’s direct words. And to do it within the capacity of an instructor and student. Ainz was grateful that he was the instructor. If he had been a humbler instructor, Ainz might have been a little more reserved with him.

And so began the beast training. In order to become stronger, he concentrated on the illusions of the beast that appeared.