The Academy’s Barbarian - Chapter 74: Cramming (2)

[Translator – The Creator] [Editor/Proofreader – Mark]

Ibella was walking beside Ulan when she suddenly spoke up, “Dilia, right? The one who competed against Noah in the preliminary round. I saw her at the cafeteria the other day.”

“That’s right,” Ulan nodded immediately and Ibella’s eyebrows rose slightly. It was a look she often wore when she was uncomfortable or didn’t like something. After a moment, she asked again, “You know a lot, don’t you?”

“About what?”

“About that girl named Dilia.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Ulan nodded again. Then, with a face that didn’t seem to be a big deal, he answered, “Of course, I visit her every day.”

“……Every day?”

At that moment, her complexion changed; her expression hardened slightly. But then, just as quickly, Ibella asked in a casual tone as if she was testing him, “Are you that close with her?”

“We’re close.”

Ulan answered without hesitation. It was true that they were close.

And he doesn’t know if it’s just his imagination, but he felt like he had gotten closer to her much faster than he had in his previous life.

‘She’s laughing more often these days.’

In her last life, Dilia hadn’t been so expressive. She always had an expressionless face and just said what she needed to say. But lately, she’s been smiling more often, and she’s been talking more often. Not to anyone else, of course, but only to Ulan.

‘I suppose that means we’ve gotten closer.’

Ulan nodded thoughtfully and the moment he finished his answer—

“Hmm, I see.”

—Ibella’s eyes narrowed; along with her voice, which seemed somewhat cold.

Had he sensed a subtle change? Ulan spoke up, “Is something wrong?”

“Uh-huh, nothing,” Ibella shook her head. Like it was no big deal. However, she couldn’t hide her sullen expression. She looked a little pouty.

At that moment, a sudden guess came to his mind.

‘Oh, maybe she wants to be close to Dilia?’

It was a reasonable guess. In their previous life, the two of them were so close that they could be mistaken for sisters. Ulan guessed she was upset that only he went to visit her alone.

‘I’ll have to arrange something soon.’

Just in time, Dilia had said she wanted to thank Noah. Let’s create a place where we can all meet up. It would be nice if we were all on good terms. Ulan smiled contentedly as he thought so.

Some time later—

—the three arrived at the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was relatively quiet, as it had just started lunchtime. So, without hesitation, they were about to go inside when…

“Hello, kids.”

…a voice stopped them in their tracks; a cheerful, upbeat voice. It was a female professor with short green hair and yellow eyes.

“I’m sorry, but can I borrow Ulan for a bit?”

Stella, the professor of Practical Hunt course. She pointed to Ulan and smiled.

* * * * *

In the grand halls of Arsene Academy, the cafeteria could be categorized into three types:

First and foremost was the student cafeteria, which was used primarily by students.

Next, there was the staff cafeteria, which was used by staff members from various organizations, including the Arsene Guard.

Finally, there was the faculty cafeteria, which was only accessible to professors.

Of course, there were exceptions.

Students who were accompanied by a professor were allowed to enter the faculty cafeteria once a month. And today, one such student was privileged to do so. The barbarian student who often walks around shirtless. Ulan.

“It’s very spacious.”

The cafeteria was much more pleasant than the student cafeteria; the walls and ceiling were adorned with colorful decorations and artifacts, and the atmosphere was very calm. It was a far cry from the usual noisy student cafeteria.

“There are also a lot of different types of food.”

Of course, the student cafeteria also had a wide variety of food, and they would often make dishes that weren’t on the menu if they had the ingredients.

But not as much as the faculty cafeteria.

Just by looking at the list of dishes offered, it was completely different from the student cafeteria. It felt like they had gathered all the delicacies from all over the world. When he was honestly expressing his admiration for this fact, Stella shrugged next to him.

“That’s because the chefs are different here.”

With a proud look, she then added an explanation, “The Principal is a great gourmet, so only the chefs with at least 20 years of experience in top restaurants around the world are hired.”

There were over a hundred of these chefs.

Is that why? It was also rumored that of the guests who came in from outside, nine times out of ten they wanted to dine in the faculty cafeteria.

“So you can eat just about anything. Of course, the price is also expensive,” Stella sighed.

Of the three aforementioned cafeterias, the only one that offers free food was the student cafeteria.

But that was only for a moment. Stella soon smiled brightly, “But don’t worry, at least for today! I’ll buy it, so you can eat all you want.”

“As much as I want?”

“Yes, you can eat anything!” Stella said, sounding confident.

At the same time, Ulan’s eyes flashed; like a hungry beast that had just found its prey, “Alright, then, I won’t refuse.”

He had some dishes he wanted to try, so he didn’t hesitate to start ordering food right away. Stella looked at Ulan with a happy face, but that was only for a moment.

As Ulan kept blurting out the names of dishes and the length of the order form grew, her complexion also turned pale.

The moment she realized something was wrong, Stella reached out in a hurry, “Hey, wait a minute!”

“Um? What’s wrong?”

“Are you really going to eat all that?”

“It’s not enough.”

“…..Not enough?”

So far, he had ordered only 10 servings? Stella stared at him in confusion, but he didn’t answer. Ulan continued to order, and that was expensive meat.

How much time had passed?

“I think this should be enough.”

“I understand. We’ll have it ready soon.”

The waitress bowed politely and headed for the kitchen; with an order sheet long enough to go around the table.

At this point, Stella wore an incredulous expression.

‘Goodbye, my wallet.’

That was understandable. Just now, Ulan’s order had cost Stella the equivalent of her monthly salary.

As she was crying inside, the ordered dishes arrived shortly after, the grand feast was laid out before them.

Ulan wasted no time and immediately began his meal.

Glup! Slurp!

Scoffs and sounds of voracious consumption echoed, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of a culinary battleground; there was no refinement or formality.

Is that why? The professors from other departments around the table frowned and moved away.

Of course, the person in question didn’t care at all.

After a considerable period, Ulan concluded his feast, tapping his satisfied belly and breaking into a contented smile, “Thank you for the meal. It was truly delicious.”

“Heh, heh-heh. Yes, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

Did he really finish it all? Stella felt like she was watching a magic trick where all the food disappeared and nodded in disbelief.

“Then, let’s get to the matter at hand,” Ulan suddenly spoke.

“Huh? The matter?”

“If you’ve called me here alone, it means you have something important to discuss.”

A serious expression settled on Ulan’s face and Stella, in turn, refocused her attention. After all, there was a reason she had asked Ulan to meet separately, as he had just mentioned.

After a moment, she tapped her cheek with her palm, clearing her mind. Nodding, she said, “You’re sharp as always. That’s right. The reason I called you here today is that I have a few things to tell you about the recent attack by the Abyss Worshippers.”

Stella’s eyes calmed; her eyes became as serious as Ulan’s, and she spoke first, “First, I’ll give you the results of the practical exam, which I’m sure you’re most curious about. Since this exam was over halfway through, I excluded survivability from the scoring, and evaluated only on the basis of the spoils obtained by hunting.”

Stella was silent for a moment.

Because the waiter brought out dessert after confirming that the meal was over — Cake with coffee and fruit.

Ulan, however, was not particularly interested in dessert and asked, “Then who is first?”

“That’s no question that you and Dilia are first. You two have long since surpassed student level, and you seem to be a good match.”

Ulan, who has reached the realm of Master and Dilia, an advanced-level mage. At the point where the two of them were in the same group, the story was already over. And as if to prove this, the amount of spoils they collected was simply overwhelming; it was more than twice as much as all the other students combined.

“As promised, I’ll exempt you from the written exam.”

“That’s a relief,” Ulan smiled; a very satisfied smile.

He felt like one of his problems had been solved. Stella’s complexion, on the other hand, darkened slightly, “Next, I have something to apologize to you.”

“Apologize?”

“Yes, about the fact that the credit for killing the Abyss Worshippers went to the Special Operations Unit.”

That’s right, it was like that. Suddenly, as he thought about what had happened, Stella suddenly bowed her head to her, “I’m sorry. Originally, it was your credit, but because the investigation team announced it that way…”

Strictly speaking, it was not the responsibility of the Investigating Team.

This was a decision made by the Dean of the Military Studies department, Berge Erkazan himself.

However, since it was impractical to present the elaborate plan for Ulan’s absorption, Stella had shifted the responsibility to the investigation team.

But there was still a lingering sense of guilt; thus, Stella bowed her head to Ulan, conveying her sincere apology.

However, Ulan, the person directly involved, responded with an indifferent expression, “I don’t mind.”

“……what?”

“It wasn’t that remarkable of an achievement. I don’t care.”

Ulan stated matter-of-factly. It seemed like he truly didn’t care.

It was natural. He had fought countless Abyss monsters in his past life, and the Abyss Worshippers were nothing more than a mob.

‘If you want to brag about it as a credit, it should be at least the Rulers of the Abyss.’

Even if he caught a hundred or a thousand of those Abyss Worshippers, it was not worth bragging about, let alone a topic of conversation.

It was a waste of time to argue about who killed what.

“…….”

Stella, meanwhile, had a puzzled look on her face.

According to the reports submitted by the investigation team, the Abyss Worshippers consisted of five advanced-level mages and a Magus.

But they’re not a great enemy?

‘I guess a Master is a Master after all.’

And aside from that, she was honestly impressed by the fact that he did not covet the credit at all; unlike the hunters who vied to claim the credit for killing the monsters. At this, Stella’s gaze on Ulan changed a little from before.

“Anyway, thank you for understanding.”

Stella bowed again. This time, it wasn’t an apology, but a gesture of gratitude.

And with that, the conversation ended.

She opened her mouth again, “One last thing: I heard you had an exam you missed because you were presenting your case to the investigators, correct?”

“That’s right,” Ulan nodded.

Tracking and Magic Warfare.

The unfortunate lectures he’d been suspended from last month, and had only been able to attend four times each. The number of attendance days was not enough to take the exam.

‘But…….’

…He still wanted to take the exams. Because he was informed that both lectures would be followed by a practical exam. Since he was not good at written exams, he had to secure the highest possible score here.

That way, when it came time to take the final exam, he could make up some ground.

‘But it’s too late now.’

Because he forgot to take the exam while cooperating with the investigation team’s statement investigation. So he was about to give up when an unexpected answer came back, “Don’t worry. I’ve consulted with the professors in charge and arranged an opportunity for a retake.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It was an unavoidable consequence of cooperating with the public service, and the Dean has agreed, so you’ll be able to take the exam.”

Ulan’s complexion brightened; because he thought everything was over, but it worked out smoothly. But on the other hand, Stella’s complexion turned a little darker, “Instead, there is a small problem, but…”

“A problem?”

“The truth is, the exam date was a little tight due to the schedule of the professors in charge,” Stella replied hesitantly.

How tight is it? When Ulan looked at her with such eyes, she let out an awkward laugh; then she spread her fingers two, “Two days later?”

“Two days?”

That was enough time to prepare.

It was a tight time frame in general, but thankfully this was a practical exam.

He probably wouldn’t have to prepare much.

He was about to reply that it was fine when Stella shook her head; as if Ulan’s guess was wrong. Then, with an awkward smile, she replied, “…… in two hours.”

The moment she finished…

…a hushed silence enveloped the surroundings.

(End of Chapter. . . . . . . .Thanks for Reading. . . . . . . . . )

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