Wendy was stunned, rubbing his aching cheeks.
He put down the “murder weapon” in his hand.
“Yeah. Why? It’s just a meal. Is there some kind of story behind this?”
The man laughed and said, “A story? That would take a long time to tell.”
He lowered his voice mysteriously.
“Did you know? During the Demon Invasion, the most powerful person in the humanity camp wasn’t one of the Three Sages, but the cook from our Central Academy Cafeteria.”
“They say the final battle was so fierce that the warriors’ blades were chipped and useless. Just then, the demon army attacked again. In the crisis, someone had a sudden realization and ran to the logistics department. They grabbed the food the chef had just prepared—bread, sausages, and cake—and charged the enemy.”
“As a result, a single charge sent the enemy crying for their parents, wet with fear. Word is, even the head of the demon general Kil’jaeden was cracked open by a freshly baked Black Forest Cake!”
“Think about it!”
The man paused, scanning the table of freshmen with a proud look.
“That was just freshly made, hot food. If it had been cold, the Magic Beast Allied Forces probably wouldn’t even have scraps left!”
Pffft—
Someone at the table couldn’t hold it in and laughed.
Everyone looked at each other and burst into laughter.
Even though the food was still inedible, the resentment of paying a high price for a raw deal seemed to dissipate.
A female student nearby stood up and jokingly scolded, “Reiner, you’re wicked! Be careful the cafeteria cooks don’t hear you. Next time you get food, they’ll add a ‘special ingredient’—like a giant cockroach!”
The group shivered and lowered their heads, carefully inspecting their plates.
Reiner laughed harder, raising his hands in surrender.
“Alright, alright, I admit I was wrong.”
“Actually,” he cleared his throat, his expression turning serious, “when the demons besieged the city, food supplies were cut off. Every time a battle ended, the cafeteria guys would rush out past the walls to the battlefield to carve meat from the corpses, drag it back, chop it up, and mix it into the food to keep everyone fed.”
The faces of the young nobles around Wendy turned green instantly.
They put down their cutlery in unison and pushed their plates away.
Reiner pretended not to notice and continued, “Later on, because everyone ate too much human meat, they naturally developed a heavy murderous aura. That aura was so strong that even the zombies on the battlefield would pee their pants in fear, tuck their tails, and run. They didn’t dare get close. That’s how we won the war.”
“Zom… zombies…”
Athena’s face was as pale as paper.
She looked at the food she had worked so hard to get, then thought of the disgusting, pus-dripping creatures she had seen in books.
Her throat tightened, and her stomach churned as if she were about to vomit at any moment.
Wendy smiled inwardly.
‘It seems that no matter which world it is, pranking newcomers with disgusting stories is a classic tradition upperclassmen never tire of.’
The female student who had called out Reiner earlier couldn’t watch anymore.
“Don’t listen to his nonsense. He just loves playing these mean jokes.”
She turned to the group and explained, “In reality, while the food in our Military Branch is a bit unpalatable, there’s plenty of meat and vegetables. It’s not as refined as the Magic Division’s food, but it’s much better than the ascetic monks in the Holy Studies Branch who gnaw on bread and drink plain water all day.”
“It’s just that you’re military students, future Commanders. You need to know that the battlefield doesn’t provide fine dining. The Academy purposefully makes the food taste bad to toughen you up, so you don’t become spoiled when you’re deployed.”
She paused and added, “If you really can’t adjust, you can eat at restaurants outside the Academy, but the prices there… you know. Unlike the cafeteria, everything here is free.”
The group looked at each other with miserable expressions.
Though they were new, they had heard rumors.
The restaurants outside the Academy were more vicious than magical beasts when it came to fleecing people.
A magical beast would at least spit out your bones, but those black-hearted owners wouldn’t even leave you a bone fragment.
Thinking of their thin wallets, the group gloomily pulled their trays back.
Just then, a cry of surprise came from the cafeteria entrance, filled with excitement and disbelief.
“Look! Outside! An ugly woman is coming… and she’s with Miss Laxana!”
“Ugly woman?”
The moment those two words were spoken, the noisy cafeteria fell into an eerie silence.
In the Central Academy’s Military Branch, the phrase “more men than women” had to be said in reverse.
Looking around, over 90% of the students in the cafeteria were female, with short, neat hair and eyes sharper than knives.
When these spirited young women gathered, the topic naturally centered on men.
However, the iron-blooded education of the Military Academy meant their heads were filled with tactics and combat, leaving them utterly lacking in experience with the opposite sex.
On a normal day, if they saw a handsome guy, they would try to imitate noble ladies by slicking their hair back and putting on a gentlemanly act to strike up a conversation.
But the results were usually disappointing; they either scared the guy away or killed the conversation.
Their aesthetic was heavily influenced by universal standards and the military: lean, efficient, and swift.
Reflected in their view of female beauty, they preferred small, thin, and flat frames.
To them, a large chest was a burden that hindered flexibility in tactical movements; lush curves were a sin that increased the chance of being hit by the enemy.
Thus, when they looked toward the door, what they saw made them all frown.
Two girls stood at the entrance.
One of them they all recognized: Laxana, the daughter of the Magic Division’s Dean.
Although her figure didn’t fit the universal aesthetic, this genius girl was famous throughout the Central Academy.
The other one, however, was particularly… an eyesore.
That girl was too tall, and her body completely defied their aesthetic.
Her waist was thin enough, but what was with that exaggerated chest and hip line?
As she walked, those two masses trembled under her clothes—it was simply shameless and scandalous!
Her face was pretty, and her features were delicate, but when combined, they exuded a charm they had never seen before.
Especially those emerald, star-like eyes; though they were as cold as ice, they carried a hint of seductive allure…
Who was she?
To be able to stand alongside Miss Laxana?