The Academy's Barbarian

Chapter 101.1 - I'm Here To Tell You Something Good (5)

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In the student cafeteria at Arsene Academy…

……inside an exclusive dining room, notorious for its exorbitant prices. Six figures huddled together: Ulan, Noah, Ibella, Dilia, Ian, and Laurea.

As they observed their surroundings, Ulan wore a face filled with newfound emotions. It was only natural. Except for Noah, the four other individuals were comrades who had fought alongside him in a past life. 'Of course, things are different now.'

Only Ulan remembered their shared past and the decade-long bond they forged. Even so, he couldn't help but feel a surge of pure joy at being reunited with them.

'I wish Perticia and Sven were here too.'

But that would be too greedy. Meeting Ian and Laurea was already a miracle in itself. Lost in memories, as others in the group were engrossed in perusing the menu.

"Dilia, what's good here?"

"This."

—as soon as Laurea's question was finished, Dilia promptly pointed to a particular item on the menu – a golden, thick stew. Observing it closely, Laurea cocked her head, "Huh? What is this, pumpkin porridge?"

"Honey, spider stew," Dilia replied matter-of-factly.

"......."

Laurea's expression froze at the answer. After a moment, she seemed to recall a forgotten memory and nodded.

"Ah, yes, that's right, I remember now. You used to like dishes with bugs in them, didn't you?"

"Quite, they're delicious."

"Ugh, I'm good, no thanks."

Shaking her head in disgust, Laurea turned to the others for recommendations, hoping to avoid any more insect-based cuisine.

"Can anyone recommend anything else? Something without bugs, please."

However, there was no immediate response.

Ibella averted her gaze, seemingly avoiding the conversation, and Noah hesitated while attempting to suggest something. Perhaps she was about to recommend a dish with larvae, which she enjoyed last time.

An awkward silence followed.

Just as Laurea was about to speak again, Ulan unfolded the menu, "In that case, I recommend this."

"This is......."

"It's a stew of meat and red onions simmered in a broth made from pork spines."

Just the description was enough to tell that it was a normal dish, unlike the spider stew Dilia had suggested. As Laurea's complexion brightened, Ulan added, "It's filled with plenty of radishes and green onions, making it excellent for both hangovers and relieving fatigue."

Hangovers and relieving fatigue. At the consecutive words, she momentarily displayed a surprised expression, as if she had accidentally revealed a long-hidden secret.

"You had about five bottles last night, didn't you?"

".....No, I didn't."

Quickly regaining her composure, Laurea retorted with a chubby face. When Ian, in a hushed tone, murmured, "More like six bottles... Ugh!" But Ian didn't finish his sentence.

Before he could finish the sentence, Laurea, predicting that unnecessary details would follow, jabbed her elbow into his side.

While Ian groaned in pain, she responded with a smirk, "I don't drink alcohol, but since you recommended it, I'll go with that, even though I never drink alcohol!"

She repeated her answer for emphasis.

Soon, the group's orders were brought to the table and among them was the spine stew that Ulan had recommended; it was definitely better than spider stew.

The aroma was enticing too; the only problem was that it looked a little strange.

"......."

A stew with whole pork spine bones.

Laurea hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should eat it or not. It looked like something that would be eaten by savages of the grasslands.

Did he sense her indecision?

Ulan spoke again, "Eat it. It's delicious."

After saying that, he began to eat silently.

It was the same spine stew as Laurea's, although it was considerably larger.

Laurea, on the other hand, had a nervous expression on her face. It was understandable. She had never eaten anything like this before in her life.

But her hesitation didn't last long.

"Hmph! Hmph!”

After blowing on it to cool it down, she carefully took a sip of the broth.

A short while later.

"......!"

Her yellow eyes widened in surprise; the flavor was much more savory than she'd expected.

It was not only savory, but also had a light and oily taste that soothed her stomach, which was sour from drinking too much the night before.

Perhaps it was because it was so delicious, but she couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration, "Heheugh!!"

However, the sound that came out of her mouth was not the clear voice that she had been using until now, but a rough and hoarse voice that was clearly hungover.

"......ah."

The moment she realized this, it was already too late; the eyes of everyone in the group, except Ian, had turned to Laurea. Embarrassed, she coughed loudly and tried to cover up the situation.

"Ahem! Cough! I'm sorry. My throat is not feeling well, maybe because it's morning..."

"It's okay. Drinking is not a sin."

"But I didn't!"

Laurea refused to budge despite the obvious evidence. Perhaps there was something going on, so they didn't pursue it any further.

And so the meal resumed.

Unlike Laurea, who seemed to enjoy the spine stew and couldn't put her spoon down, Noah, who was sitting across from her, had a bad expression on her face.

‘I think I'm going to .......throw up’

The reason was simple.

It was because Ibella and Dilia, who were sitting on either side of Ulan, had been constantly on edge since earlier.

Ibella was especially bad; she was even wary of Laurea.

'I understand how she feels, though.'

Noah remembered what Laurea had done in the classroom earlier. She sat close to Ulan, whispered in his ear, and so on.

Perhaps each of these behaviors had piqued Ibella's jealousy.

'But even so…'

She wished Ibella would at least restrain herself during meals.

If she kept this up, Noah felt like she would throw up.

But then, at that moment.

An even more painful situation arose.

It was when Ibella and Laurea's eyes met in the air.

"......!"

A tense situation that only Noah could feel.

At that moment, when the tension was at its peak, Laurea spoke first, "You don't have to be so wary of me."

"What? What are you talking about all of a sudden…?"

"Because I'm not interested in him."

She smiled and said it in a whisper; a word that cut to the chase.

Perhaps she had used her Eyes of Penetration to see through Ibella's heart.

Immediately after Laurea's answer, Ibella narrowed her eyes, "…Lies."

"I'm serious. I prefer older men, middle-aged men in particular, to peers or younger men."

Despite the clarification, Ibella still looked disbelieving. Perhaps she thought Laurea’s answer was ridiculous.

However, regardless of Ibella's reaction, Laurea's words were true.

Because her ideal type was also closely related to the penalty she held.

'Middle-aged preference.'

Saintess Laurea's penalty.

It was literally the penalty for having a crush on middle-aged men of the opposite sex. Of course, if you only hear this far, you might wonder what kind of penalty this is.

'But there's a real issue.'

The problem is that when she's around middle-aged men of her taste, her concentration, judgment, and self-control all plummet at the same time.

‘The only fortunate thing is…’

The penalty itself disappears once Laurea reaches middle age. So in the original work, it was a penalty that barely appeared.

Because by the time the Gates of the Abyss opened and the Rulers began to fight in earnest, Laurea was already past her prime.

‘It is still a nominal penalty, though.’

Laurea would soon become a saintess.

Before she steps down from her position as a saintess, she will be forced to remain chaste. In other words, she is not allowed to marry, let alone have a relationship.

There's an unspoken understanding that she won't have any romantic entanglements.

'Probably, Ian is similar...'

She knew he had a similar penalty.

It was something related to sexuality, but she couldn't remember exactly what it was. Noah had never played as Ian Marcus.

'But he definitely didn't like men.'

Among the numerous events in the original work, there was an event where Ian developed feelings for and confessed to Dilia. Of course, there was a considerable age difference. In any case, based on this, it seems he wasn't interested in men or had a homosexual inclination.

'Then what could it be?'

Noah's thoughts, which had been filled with doubts and a puzzled expression, were interrupted by Laurea's voice.

"No, it's real?!"

It was a continuation of their earlier conversation.

Laurea, as if frustrated, tapped her chest while speaking, "If you don't believe me, I'll swear on the name of the Star God, okay?"

The future saintess had mentioned God. And she was even swearing on God's name?

End of Chapter. . . . . . . .Thanks for Reading. . . . . . . . .

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