I’m Just an Ordinary Academy Student

38 – An Unexpected Guest

On the first day of the festival, some strange guy wrecked one of the booths.

Right after that, a medal of honor recipient turned the suspicious guy into a well-beaten pulp.

With things turning out like this, causing a commotion among the students seemed enough.

And when I returned to the scene in the late afternoon, there was indeed a commotion.

“Senpai! Four cream puffs, please!”

“Cream puffs? They’re all sold out. How about red bean paste instead?”

“Absolutely not! It has to be cream puffs!”

“Then please wait a moment!”

Hmm.

“Ah, damn it! Hey, Alexander! Why is the ice cream already sold out?!”

“I used it as sparingly as possible, you idiot!”

“Noisy, go and get more quickly! Hurry!!”

Hmm.

“I am a hotteok-making machine. I am a hotteok-making machine. A machine….”

“Yoahim. Are we still far away?! Can’t you see the line behind?!”

“Aaaah! I’m not a machine! Ugh!!”

It’s definitely chaotic. But… could it be called a good kind of chaos?

On the first day, I was confident that it would be popular.

Fish-shaped bread or hotteok, a unique and perfect snack for the chilly weather that doesn’t exist in this world.

Since they all have a sweet taste, they hold a considerable advantage even in terms of personal preferences.

The ones selling them are the four protagonists. They have been the top dogs in popularity since the beginning of the school.

Of course, there’s a sad past where they were all rejected by Selena, but that’s a different story.

Even Selena herself was helping them just yesterday.

With all these elements combined, it was natural for them to receive a lot of attention on the first day.

The problem is how to maintain that popularity until the last day of the festival.

“To be honest, I didn’t care much about that. I just wanted to satisfy my selfish desires.”

Rather than waiting for an extravagant dish or a powerful bomb, I thought it would be better to just grab attention on the first day.

Besides, my revenge against those enemies had already been well worth it in terms of personal satisfaction.

So began the business of selling fish-shaped bread and hotteok with the four male leads and one female lead.

The cooking booth that was considered a huge success if it went well for just one day is now…

“Ah! Senpai! Just give me the burnt one!”

“This? It’s too burnt, isn’t it?!”

“There’s a unique taste to the burnt ones!”

“Press the hotteok a bit harder. I like it crispy!”

“Okay, okay. Just wait a bit!”

The sun hasn’t even set yet, but there’s already a crowd at the booth.

And apparently, students are demanding them to open even faster.

“Why? Why is it doing even better than yesterday?”

I suggested doing this, but I didn’t expect it to go this well. So, I immediately went to investigate the reason.

The conclusion I reached… could it be that these guys also remember their past lives like me?

Starting from red bean-filled fish-shaped bread, the fillings expanded to cream, chocolate, and even pizza seasoning.

The word on the street is that they’re even considering adding cheese, but honestly, I have no idea.

In the meantime, Wilhelm went all out, making a few more fish-shaped bread molds and even procuring them.

How about hotteok? Over here, too, they’ve naturally made changes to the filling.

Certainly, they’ve added chocolate or finely crushed nuts at times.

But the climax, as always, was placing ice cream on top of the hotteok.

No one asked for it, and they didn’t even subtly suggest it, but that’s how it turned out.

Thanks to a momentary curiosity, what was supposed to be a casual snack became the festival’s most popular item.

“Finally, with so many people flocking, there’s the continued effect of curiosity pulling in more.”

Marcus, casually approaching, became an impromptu explainer.

In his mouth was a fish-shaped bread, and in his other hand was a hotteok.

“You suggested this. Karl.”

“That’s how it started. I didn’t expect it to become such a big deal.”

“For someone who says that, you’re doing exceptionally well, aren’t you?”

So, that’s what’s amazing. I couldn’t have imagined that.

Unless they remember their past lives… could that be their true talent?

Actually, the fate of these four, if not the owners of a noble family, would probably be an ordinary life of baking fish-shaped bread and hotteok… Even if that seems too much, it’s crossing a line.

In that sense, there’s only one possibility. It’s just that the protagonist buff has been applied very effectively.

Everything goes well for them. It’s something that inevitably leads to great success and attention from others.

“Come to think of it, even in training camp, you were doing unbelievably well.”

According to the instructors and sergeants, there were certainly many shortcomings, but they quickly learned.

If they weren’t the heirs of a giant noble family, they might have been told to join the army right away.

Thinking that way, it can only be considered a kind of buff.

…Envious. Enemies. I feel like I’ve received a buff that gets entangled in all sorts of incidents and accidents.

“Karl? What are you doing?”

Selena, briefly exchanging greetings with other juniors who had grabbed her, approached and, upon seeing the situation at the cooking booth, exclaimed, “Oh my God.”

“Uh… it wasn’t like this yesterday, was it? Unbelievable. I didn’t expect it to be like this.”

“Me neither. Does he have some talent for business, by any chance?”

Let’s get a little closer for now. Let’s quietly observe the situation up close.

With that thought in mind, they approached the cooking booth discreetly.

“Uh, hey, there’s a sword over there.”

“They’re here? All right, everyone! The recipient of the honor medal is entering! Stand at attention!”

Damn it! You crazy bastards. Stop it. Dammit! I told you not to.

Don’t make me reminisce about the military here! Don’t go on about attention in front of those idiots who don’t even know the ‘ㄱ’ of the military! Look at that! Our academy kids don’t even know what that means!

“Ppa-ra-ppa-ra-ppang!”

You sons of bitches! Don’t even dare play a trumpet fanfare with your mouths!

If I delay here any longer, I might either die of embarrassment or chop those guys into pieces.

So, with a few brisk steps, I made my way to where those damn enemies were.

Then, with all my strength, I gave each of the four a satisfying blow to the back of their heads.

I’d rather smash a hotteok right now, but still, considering the merit of diligently setting up a human barricade yesterday, I let it slide.

“What nonsense is this!”

“Ugh! We just did what we used to do in the training camp, right?”

“Nonsense! Instead of doing that crap, go bake some fish-shaped buns! Wilhelm, press the hotteok properly!”

I quickly turned my body, but the whole episode had already been witnessed by the surrounding students.

The gazes directed at me all seemed to be asking, ‘What’s going on? Is that how you should act just because the recipient of the honor medal has arrived? Should we also greet and do that stuff?’

Fortunately, I had allies on a different level than those enemies.

“Hey. Hey! Everyone. There was a little disturbance! From now on, please rest assured and focus on your snacks!”

Heh heh. Thank you, Selena. At least you’re different from these guys.

I suddenly understand why those guys confessed everything. They must have instinctively realized that not holding onto a woman like that could lead to big trouble in their lives.

Thanks to Selena’s efforts and the reasons everyone came here for.

The disturbance didn’t last long. Everyone just went back to saying, “Give me this! Give me that!”

“…Karl.”

After some time passed, Shurifin was the first to speak.

With a wooden ladle in hand, ready to suppress him if he spouted nonsense again…

“Are you okay?”

“Huh?”

“I asked if you’re okay.”

“…Yeah.”

“Well, then, that’s a relief.”

There must be a lot on your mind. There are probably many things you want to ask.

However, Shulipen didn’t bother asking me about it. He simply kept his mouth shut.

Tap-tap―

Someone tapped my shoulder, and as I turned, Wilhelm was offering me a hotteok.

Perfectly cooked, not too thick or thin, with a scoop of ice cream on top.

“It’s yours. Eat up.”

“Thank you.”

“Stay strong.”

As always, no questions asked. Not a word mentioned about yesterday’s events.

Alexander, who followed suit by handing me a cup of water, and Joachim in his ridiculous attire, were no different.

It was their consideration for me, their best attempt at helping when they knew nothing.

Perhaps the recent welcoming or even trying to straighten my twisted face was their intention.

There seemed no need to explain this. They spoke as if there was no need to dwell on such rot.

These decayed things. They seem so out of place all of a sudden, like they’ve rusted.

“But hey, Karl. The ingredients are running out too quickly, what do we do?”

“Ingredients? No. I specifically wrote to prepare in just the right amount.”

“Seems like we’re using them up fast, maybe because of the crowd.”

That doesn’t make sense, though. Even with a lot of customers, the quantity we make is limited.

Even with four people, you can’t deplete that much supply all at once.

My doubts were soon resolved. They all, with all their might, gave it their all.

Filled to the brim, no room for anything smaller, rather bigger than anything else.

It dawned on me why this place was so popular. Give so generously, and even I would return.

“…Hmm.”

Initially, I debated if I should warn them to do it more moderately, but I quickly changed my mind. Why say anything like that?

‘Failing because it doesn’t sell might happen, but failing because of generosity won’t.’

And above all, those guys seem to enjoy it quite a bit themselves.

At first, they seemed hesitant, but now they’re more dedicated than anyone else.

It was the first time I felt these four were the protagonists.

…Of course, it had to be during making fish-shaped bread and hotteok. That was the problem.

*

It was the third day of the festival. Although less bustling than the first and second days, the food booths were still busy today.

Fortunately, today had the added bonus of having Karl and Selena from the opening.

“Don’t worry about the ingredients. Got it?”

“Alright! Today, we must sell at least a thousand!”

“You crazy kid. We might all die at this rate.”

Six men and women chattered among themselves, coordinating to welcome guests once again.

“….”

The red-haired woman quietly stood in line, waiting her turn.

After a considerable amount of time, her turn finally arrived.

“Yes, yes. Thank you. Next!”

Karl, temporarily taking over from Shurifan, asked what and how much she wanted to buy.

Originally, it should have been something like the taste of fish-shaped buns or a few hotteoks. That’s what was expected.

“Master.”

However, the unexpected words came out of the red-haired woman’s mouth.

“I’ve come.”