Chapter 151
The dark night.
Even after every visitor of the Academy had left, only the lights of <Little Friends Café> remained on.
“Great work today!”
“Cheers!”
“Wow, the smoothie is so refreshing!”
At the table that should have been empty, the <Little Friends Café> staff were gathered in small groups.
Before I knew it, Karin seemed to have become quite close with Esdal and Titania.
Since only the first day of the festival had barely ended, the atmosphere was not completely loosened, but a faint warmth of a small after-party still lingered.
I looked at them for a moment from inside the booth, then quietly opened my notebook.
‘The cost ratio for food or pastries was roughly 35%. As for drinks…… well, I didn’t need to calculate margins anyway.’
If I were planning to open a shop long-term, I would have needed to calculate profits, but <Little Friends Café> was just a three-day stall.
Besides, today’s goal was not money but the ‘trophy.’
No matter how much the profit turned out to be, I intended to distribute it all to the people who helped me.
These were the general prices for our booth’s menu.
Food such as omurice, 60–80 silver.
Cakes, crepes, and other pastries, 30–50 silver.
Drinks, 20–30 silver.
Yet today’s total sales roughly reached 900 gold.
‘I didn’t expect it to explode like this on the first day. This was three times what I predicted.’
It was beyond expectations.
The Engineering Department’s help was significant, and McGrim’s encore performance had an enormous effect as well.
If we were ranking by today’s sales alone, we might have edged slightly ahead of the favorite <Delicia>.
But it was still too early to be satisfied.
To firmly secure first place, we needed even higher sales tomorrow.
And what I clearly realized today was…….
Kkyu-!
I offered dried blueberries to Ramji, who was on my shoulder.
Ramji grabbed the blueberry tightly with its tiny hands and nibbled at it.
This must be the moment when the word “adorable” was truly used.
It wasn’t a clone—this was the real Ramji I had summoned.
‘Ramji’s power was way beyond what I expected…….’
It was astonishing.
The guests who visited to see Ramji ended up being charmed by the unexpectedly good food and left glowing reviews.
The most memorable of them all was the reaction of the famous critic, Sermondier Jetetchi.
‘This damnably adorable creature……! My goodness, Goddess above. How can anything be this lovable!’
’Master, may I feel its warmth just once?‘
’Of course, Mister Bonbonchet. But you must wait a little. At least five hours!‘
’Master……!‘
Jetetchi had even placed Ramji on his palm and rubbed his cheek against it while shedding tears of emotion.
His review would appear tomorrow in <Morning of Yggdrasil>.
‘Judging by that wild reaction…… he wouldn’t give us a bad score.’
He was famous for spitting out food he disliked after a single bite—yet he thoroughly cleaned his plate at our booth.
There was nothing to worry about.
Haze from the Student Newspaper Department also visited after hearing rumors about Ramji.
She said she would feature <Little Friends Café> along with the popular stalls <Feast of the Blue Sea> and <Delicia>.
Separately, she would also prepare a personal introduction segment for me as compensation for submitting the photograph of the Black Knight.
The promotional effects would be explosive.
I patted Ramji and said,
“It was thanks to you. Good job.”
Kkyu-?
Ramji tilted its head for a moment, then soon closed its eyes and leaned into my touch.
……That was when it happened.
With a clatter, someone entered the booth.
It was Rupina.
“Why did you come?”
“I thought the staff didn’t have enough food, so I came to make more.”
“……Fine. Feed them well.”
I continued writing in my notebook.
As only the sound of whisking eggs filled the booth, Rupina spoke first.
“By the way, it’s kind of amazing.”
“What is?”
“The truth is…… I didn’t expect much from this festival.”
“Why?”
“Well, isn’t it obvious?”
Rupina shrugged slightly.
“When we found trash in the ingredient box. I felt someone’s malice, and it scared me a bit. I thought it’d be hard for this festival to go smoothly. But then…….”
Rupina poured the beaten eggs into the pan and glanced at me.
“You said you’d handle everything somehow, and you really did solve all of it. You even brought in additional manpower. From then on, I became certain that we might be able to beat <Delicia>.”
Holding the pan, Rupina’s voice grew a little stronger.
“……To be honest, I failed to graduate as the runner-up last year, and after entering the Academy as a low-ranking staff member, I only made mistakes and kept getting scolded. My confidence was at rock bottom. But then you suddenly appeared and assigned me to the livestock shed.”
Rupina recalled that moment and let out a small laugh.
“Every time you told me to do something ridiculous, at first I thought you were crazy…… but strangely, whenever I tried, things turned out exactly like you said. This was my first time cooking this year too, but since you kept saying, ‘You can do it,’ somehow…… I really did get good at it.”
Rupina skillfully finished three plates of omurice and placed them onto dishes.
The delicious aroma filled the booth.
“Isn’t it strange? Even the things I wasn’t confident about went well as long as you believed in me. Thanks to that, I gained confidence in everything, and I get scolded a lot less now. I feel like I can do anything now.”
She turned to me, her clear eyes sparkling.
“Please call me again next year. If it’s work I get to do with you, I want to do anything.”
The lamplight reflected off her reddish hair, turning it golden.
I let the corners of my mouth rise belatedly.
“Yeah, Rupina. The money I’ve been giving you was pretty sweet, wasn’t it?”
“……Hahaha! Was my intention that obvious?!”
Rupina smiled awkwardly and grabbed the pan again.
……Peek.
At that moment, a flutter of blonde hair appeared at the booth entrance.
It was Lapin.
Noticing this, Rupina blinked.
“Miss Lapin? Do you need something?”
“……Pancake.”
Lapin, who had only peeked her face in, soon entered the booth.
“Can you make me a pancake?”
At Lapin’s request, Rupina lifted her thumb with a flick.
“Of course. I’ll make it right away.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
As Rupina mixed the batter, Lapin didn’t move an inch and watched the entire process.
“Miss Lapin, you don’t have to stand. If you sit at a table, I’ll bring it to you.”
“No.”
Lapin shook her head side to side.
“I want to see how you make it.”
At her answer, Rupina blinked, then smiled.
“Alright. I’ll make the best pancake for you, so watch closely.”
“Mm.”
Lapin stood and watched all the way to the end.
……And like that, the night of the first day of the festival deepened.
The second day of the Final Feast of Snow White.
Two hours before opening, the moment I stepped into the stall to prepare, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
‘……They’re already lining up?’
I hurriedly put on my mask.
Even Karin and the other staff were startled by the heat of the customers’ enthusiasm.
Karin carefully asked,
“Sir, there are still two hours until opening……?”
“Yes, we know.”
“Oh…….”
But the customers reacted as if it were only natural.
Karin was briefly flustered, but soon smiled at me.
There were so many people waiting that we even had to hand out number tickets, something we had never prepared before.
Also, early in the morning, the newspaper <Morning of Yggdrasil> was distributed.
I took a copy and opened it.
「Sermondier Jetetchi (6 points) – The creativity of the recipe was remarkably excellent, but the depth of the ingredients was at the level of an ordinary dessert. The main dish was nothing special either…… however, the ‘Animal Friend’ is an 11 out of 10. I will surely sit at <Little Friends Café>’s table again tomorrow. To see my adorable friend once more.」
‘6 points? That’s actually pretty good.’
Critic scores were notoriously cold.
Normally, 2–3 points. Stalls scoring above 4 were extremely rare.
Even the supposedly best, <Delicia>, had failed to receive high praise.
‘But he really praised Ramji, huh.’
Rumors about Jetetchi’s evaluation spread quickly.
That day, <Little Friends Café> became the most visited stall in the Academy.
Total sales: 1,200 gold.
On the last day of the festival, closing time was set to 4 p.m.
Once the festival ended, the semester’s Closing Ceremony would begin. That must be why they closed early.
So I decided to use a skill I hadn’t planned to use.
Even after closing, Rupina and I continued working.
“Rupina, let’s make them in advance.”
“Eh? But the food will get cold?”
“It’s fine. I have a way.”
“……Eh?”
And so, the third day of the festival arrived.
The waiting line was even longer than the day before.
The moment we opened, I took out the pre-made dishes from my Subspace and sold them right on the spot.
And in this situation, with four whole hours left until closing……
“We’re so sorry, we’re sold out!”
All the ingredients we had prepared—mountains of them—were completely gone.
When all stalls closed, the entire student body gathered in the auditorium.
They were there to attend the award ceremony, the grand finale of the festival.
The ceremony was hosted by Haze from the Student Newspaper.
“The first place winner of the 17th Winter Festival Sales Competition is……! Student Lapin of <Little Friends Café>! Congratulations!”
Amid thunderous applause, Lapin walked up onto the stage.
A shop contract and a trophy adorned with a red jewel were placed into her arms.
“…….”
For some reason, Lapin couldn’t take her eyes off the red jewel.
“Student Lapin, may we hear a few words?”
Haze held the microphone toward her.
After glancing around as if lost in thought, Lapin finally opened her mouth briefly.
“Thank you.”
“…….”
Silence fell.
‘She really gave just one word?’
I let out a quiet laugh without meaning to.
“Ahaha! Yes! That was Student Lapin expressing her gratitude for being able to enjoy the festival with everyone! Once again, congratulations to Student Lapin!”
Thanks to Haze’s quick follow-up, cheers erupted again.
The Closing Ceremony proceeded immediately afterward.
Thus ended the second semester—both long and short in its own way.
……But apart from that.
Another moment of farewell approached.
“No, no! Wait! Don’t leave me!”
“Ramjiiiiii!”
Kkyu-!
A blue glow surrounded the countless Ramji.
Their bodies gradually turned translucent as they waved their little arms, as if bidding farewell to the people.
Then they slowly began to rise toward the sky.
Kkyuuu-!
The farther they drifted away, the more their figures melted into the light.
……Yeah.
Ramji was flying off on a journey.
It was only a brief parting.
We would meet again someday…….
Everyone who sent Ramji off believed that.
“Aaah……!”
“Ramji!”
“Oh, Ramji!”
That day, the Academy resounded for a long time with voices of sorrow.
Remembering Ramji, who had stayed with them through the three-day festival……
Students eventually gathered their own money and set up a flying squirrel statue in Havertz Park—a story from a little later.