Chapter 3
“Dongya, you’ll be serving as the chef . ”
The moment he uttered those words, Shadow 1A fell into a dead silence . No one responded .
Everyone was reflecting upon the hidden meaning behind his words, as well as how they should react .
Had they misheard? The context constructed by the subject and predicate of this sentence had violated all common sense in the world . So, perhaps they needed Feng Ping Lan to repeat his sentence one more time?
Or perhaps, that had been a joke to ease the tension, should they go along and burst into laughter?
Although the punch line was a little fear-inducing .
Dongya was a little startled, looking uncertainly at Feng Ping Lan .
“You want me to become the chef?”
“That’s right . ” Feng Ping Lan said seriously, “It’ll all depend on you to attract our customers, Dongya!”
Listening to Feng Ping Lan’s serious tone, everyone realized that this guy was for real!
“Stop messing around!”
“Are you trying to kill our guests?! This is genocide!”
“You can tell us if you’re having any difficulties, bottling it all up will turn you into a criminal with sociopathic tendencies!”
“Ehem . ” Liu Yi Chen coughed lightly, reminding everyone that the party involved was still present .
Everyone immediately fell silent, then glanced apologetically at Dongya .
Dongya simply smiled wryly, looking like he didn’t mind those words .
“Is that an idea you randomly came up with out of desperation?” Liu Yi Chen asked .
“I am desperate, but this idea wasn’t something I randomly thought of . ” Feng Ping Lan shot Dongya a look filled with high hopes, speaking frankly, “With the Summoners’ well-off family circumstances, can it really be said that they’ve never eaten any exotic delicacies in their lives? No matter how delicious our food is, it cannot be compared to the menus of first-class restaurants . What they expect from the celebrations must be rare commodities that cannot be bought in their daily lives, games they cannot play, as well as exploits they cannot experience . ”
The students in class nodded in agreement .
True enough, if not for the fact that they were in charge of a vendor stall, they would only be searching for the new and odd vendor stalls as well, not the things they regularly saw in their daily lives .
Seeing that his words seemed to have achieved a sympathetic response, Feng Ping Lan continued, “And Dongya’s cooking is extremely avant-garde and mysterious, something the students of the five shadow academies have never eaten nor seen before, it’ll surely give them an unprecedented experience…”
“A critically hazardous experience?” Zong Yu said in a whisper .
“Shh!”
Liu Yi Chen thought about it for a moment, then muttered to herself hesitantly, “What do we do… if the people eating the food become unwell?”
“Our shop won’t purely be a restaurant, it’ll also serve as a challenge game . As it’s a challenge, the challengers will need to assess their own chances of getting injured . ” Feng Ping Lan “Shadow 3C’s stall is an illusionary shooting game – that’s an immersive experience in a fantasy interspace, the players inside are allowed to use actual weapons to hunt fantasy creatures . Mishaps such as falling or shooting injuries are pretty common occurrences, but no one will demand compensation from the shop owner because of that . ”
“Demanding compensation over a small injury, that is quite a shameful matter to a Summoner . ” A majority of the Summoners could draw demonic power from their Contracts, placing spells to increase their healing speed . “That sounds feasible, but we have a small problem . ”
“What is it?”
“Any challenge game has to prepare award money or prizes, but we haven’t prepared anything . ”
If the value of the prizes were not attractive enough, no one would participate . And if the prize could not satisfy the winners, it would lead to many disputes were it made known .
Feng Ping Lan scratched his head, “We can prepare the prizes at a later date . Don’t announce what it is for now, preserve the mysterious element, our vendor stall’s main theme is the mystery of the unknown, so we’ll keep it a secret first . Our customers should accept this explanation . ”
At this moment, the students who had gone to collect the ingredients returned in succession .
“Let’s put off the discussion until we’ve made it through the day!” Feng Ping Lan concluded, ending the discussion, “Dongya, we’ll be counting on you for the next part!”
Dongya smiled, “I will do my best . ” It seemed that he was exceedingly interested in this task, looking as if he was about to make a display of his skills .
“…You should probably save some of your strength . ”
Forty minutes later, all the students had returned with cooking utensils, tableware, ingredients, beverages, sauces, a myriad of things, without any subjectivity or consistency to them, piled up in a jumble .
Within the four hours left, the students of Shadow 1A had rearranged the tables and chairs, changed their signboard, and created new flyers .
The happiest of them all was Zong Yu . Liu Yi Chen had requested him to alter the backdrop to a terrifying and cryptic style, and without further ado, he had taken out his drawing tools to start freely correcting the drawings on the walls . In no time at all, the originally graceful scenery in the Mediterranean style was transformed into a novel and sinister forest of purgatory .
When he finished drawing the last wound and the last splash of blood, a musical composition performed by an orchestra rang out in the public square, and following that, the sound of fireworks being set off into the sky .
Specks of scattered fireworks fluttered down onto the Christmas Tree at the center of the public square, transforming into bright colorful balls, puppets, and ribbons, decorating the bare branches in gorgeous and dazzling displays of fireworks and lanterns . The last and biggest firework descended onto the top of the tree, turning into a star flashing an incandescent light .
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The celebrations had started .
Shadow 1A had opened their stall on time .
The moment the celebrations started, four great entrances surrounding the public square appeared out of thin air, and the students of the four other shadow academies flooded in, heading towards the vendor stalls in the public square in groups .
Every student had received a simple introductory booklet of the vendor stalls inside, and most of them already had a plan in mind, heading towards the vendor stalls they were interested in . Soon enough, a tide of people started queuing for certain stalls, the difference between each stall’s popularity obvious at a glance .
“Why are there so many people at the stalls I want to go?” A female student from Arborvitae Academy grumbled to her companion . “There’s a two-hour wait for a place at Shadow 3A’s Clear Reservoir Floating Restaurant . ”
“Shadow 2B’s Glass Sky Bridge is filled with people too…”
“Then, let’s take a look at Eli Institute’s stall! You did say you were on a diet before this, it’s fine if we eat less . ”
“Pretty lilies need some curvature to look adorable, on the contrary, a much too skinny figure causes a person to be at a loss . ” A deep, charming voice rang out from behind .
The girls turned their heads, and in the instant they saw who had come, their cheeks immediately reddened .
Byriel was dressed in an eighteenth-century suit, a well-fitting tailored outfit, outlining his slender figure and matching his resplendent smile, just like the princes in fairy tales .
This was the Mermaid Prince’s costume in the play . For the publicity, the students of Shadow 1A had changed into their costumes, handing out flyers all over the public square to pull in customers .
The costume Byriel currently wore was the clothing the Mermaid Prince would wear after transforming into a human and brought back to the palace by the Princess . While switching into the highly revealing merman costume would cause his charm to explode into an incomparable state, they had taken into consideration the possibility of these girls being sent to the sick bay from palpitations even before visiting their stall, so they had chosen the comparably moderate and classical suit .
The female students being addressed by Byriel stared blankly at him, momentarily lost for words .
Byriel smiled, gently lifting a hand towards one of the girls’ necklines .
She sucked in a breath, subconsciously wanting to back away, but out of curiosity, as well as the fact that this man was so handsome she wanted to cry, she stood as straight as a ramrod on her spot, waiting to see his next move .
Byriel gently helped her straighten her crooked collar, then smiled at her, asking softly, “Why aren’t you talking? Could you possibly be another mermaid whose voice has been stolen away?”
“U-um… Is there something you need?” The female student pretended to keep her cool as she spoke, but there was a barely concealed hint of excitement in her tone .
“Your voice is truly pleasant . ” Byriel praised, as if that was what he really thought, “For offending such beautiful women, I apologize greatly . I am just an impudent passerby who was momentarily distracted from my post by your beauty . Forgive me for disturbing you, I hope you’ll have a wonderful time here . ”
Saying this, Byriel shot the girls another brilliant smile, then prepared to leave .
“Wait!” The female students hurriedly called out to Byriel, “You’re passing out flyers, aren’t you?” They could clearly see the stack of flyers in his hands! “Why aren’t you giving them to us?”
Byriel looked at the flyers in his hands, smiling wryly, “Because I simply wanted to exchange greetings with you, not because I had an ulterior motive . I would not wish for this serendipitous encounter to be stained by the blot of something intentional . ”
Such words accurately pierced through the girls’ youthful hearts, as swift and fierce as a javelin .
“There’s no need to worry that much!” They hurriedly spoke, “We don’t mind!”
“But…” Byriel looked a little hesitant .
“You’re not trying to pass them to us, we’re the ones who are interested in those flyers! You can hand them to us, no worries!”
Byriel gave a grateful smile, “Your hearts are as sincere and beautiful as you look . ” He took out the flyers, handing one to each of them .
“Infernal Kitchen — The Genesis of Dark Cuisine?” Seeing the caption on the flyer, the girls said curiously . “What is it selling? Is it a restaurant? Why didn’t I see this on the Introductory Guide—”
Suddenly, a slender finger was placed on her lips .
“Shh . That’s a trade secret, excuse me for not being able to reveal too much, but I assure you…” Byriel’s lips rose into a faintly equivocal smile, “Here, your senses will go through an unprecedented experience…”
The tips of the girls’ ears reddened once again, as if fresh blood would spurt out of their ears at any time .
“alright…” The girls gripped their flyers, then, as if they were making an oath, announced solemnly, “We’ll definitely go there!”
Byriel smiled, “I will await your arrival . ” He looked at the stack of pamphlets in his hands, forcing a smile, “Hopefully, I’ll be able to return by the time you visit, to meet you a second time . ”
“Do you have to finish handing them out to return?”
“This is my job . ” Byriel patted the flyers gently, “It was this job that led me to encounter both of you, so I cannot treat it with irreverence . ”
The girls exchanged glances, then, offered to undertake the job .
“We’ll help you!”
“We’re part of Arborvitae’s Student Union, we know a lot of people . ” The first girl spoke to the person beside her, “Contact the PR team . ”
Stunned, Byriel gave them a disbelieving look, “This is really… thank you so much! I don’t know what else to say other than thank you… Thank you!”
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He handed the flyers over to the female students . Before he left, he gave each of them a hug in farewell .
“See you later!” Byriel waved, then left as they watched on with infatuated looks .
His work here was done .
At the other end of the public square, Simo, who was wearing Goethe-style attire, stood surrounded by a crowd of male students, looking very much terrified .
“Schoolmate, which character are you cosplaying?”
“Is it okay to take pictures? Is your hair real? That’s a really beautiful color!”
“Please tell me your Facebook ID! Where should I go to follow your latest updates?”
Simo’s face turned ashen, both hands tightly gripping onto the flyers to block in front of her face, backing many steps away .
“I-I… No… I’m not…” Looking at the many gazes aimed at her, she felt that she was close to suffocation .
Goodness… She was actually showing her face in public in such a shameful costume…
Just too embarrassing!
“Are you passing out flyers? Can I have one?” One of the students inquired, reaching out to take a flyer at the same time .
This action caused Simo to jump in alarm, this becoming the last straw that broke her willpower .
Ahh! She couldn’t stand it anymore!
“Ah—”She cried out, and simultaneously flung the flyers before her, casting a spell to recklessly flee the scene in two seconds .
The flyers fluttered through the air, and the male students glanced left and right, realizing that Simo was nowhere to be found .
“Where did she go?”
“She’s gone!”
“Quick, get the flyers! See which vendor stall she came from!”
Then, a crowd of people started to grab the flyers scattered in the air . Soon enough, the flyers Simo had thrown were collected, not a single one to be left behind .
Tan Hua was also fitted in a Goethe-style outfit . While she attracted as many gazes from the male students as Simo did, the difference lay in that goddess-like temperament which exuded naturally from her, similar to lofty and unsullied flower, which caused others to linger from afar, yet not daring to make any rash moves . There were even a few among the female students who cast looks of adoration at her .
Tan Hua did not speak much to attract the customers, merely lifting her lips in a smile after meeting eyes with a passerby, then approached them, passing out a flyer .
Faced with the flyers, they would always voluntarily accept them, as if not taking it was an exceedingly discourteous matter .
“Thank you . ” Tan Hua briefly and cordially expressed her thanks, making a slight bow before withdrawing, neither servile nor supercilious, not placing too much pressure on them .
While the flyers in Tan Hua’s hands had whittled down at a steady speed, Kaido, who had come along with her and was dressed in the clothes of a palace guard, found the stack of flyers in his hands to be the same thickness as it had been when he first arrived .
Quite a number of girls would glance secretly at Kaido as they passed, a few of them wanting to come up and inquire, but seeing Kaido’s grumpy, malevolent face, all of them retreated silently .
Kaido clutched the flyers in his hands resentfully, almost causing wrinkles on the papers .
That damn Liu Yi Chen, making him do such a degrading job! That damn Food Sanitation Team! If it wasn’t for them messing around, he would be happily cooking at the vendor stall at this very moment, and not making a fool of himself in these ridiculous clothes! Those damn tourists, why were they skirting away from him! Only a stupid imbecile would find pleasure in such an absurd celebration—
“Why are you dressed up like that?” An astonished female voice rang out .
Kaido turned to see Kano Chiharu staring at him in shock . He humphed lightly, turning his head away to ignore her .
But Chiharu was not going to let him get away with that . She came to Kaido’s front, forcefully charging into Kaido’s line of sight and giving Kaido a complete once-over, from top to bottom, then from bottom to top . Next, she burst into disdainful laughter .
“You look terrible! It doesn’t suit you at all . The clan’s successor, passing out flyers in such a ridiculous outfit!”
Kaido rolled his eyes, casting Chiharu a cold glance, “You look ridiculous and terrible without needing to dress up . ”
“Spare me your aggressiveness! Don’t you dare forget the fact that your team ranked lower than mine during the Trials!” Chiharu gloated, then became pleased by the vexed look that flashed across Kaido’s face, “I know that coming to Zephaniah was the punishment the Wei Clan Head gave you – his intentions were to send you to a foreign land, far away from the family to wear down your temper, but I didn’t think this would cause you to fall instead . ”
At the mention of his adopted father, Kaido’s expression turned venomous .
Chiharu shrank a little from this, curbing some of her bluster, and spoke, “I, I know you don’t want to remain here! If you treat me with a better attitude, I’ll consider thinking of something to let you transfer to Narumi—”
“Who says I don’t want to remain here?”
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“But—”
“I don’t want to go anywhere that has you in it!” Kaido waved disgustedly, as if he was waving off a fly, “Don’t you have other companions? Go bother them, don’t disturb me! Or is there still no one willing to become friends with you?”
Kaido’s words seemed to hit Chiharu’s sore spot, “Aren’t you the same?”
“Who says!” Kaido refuted subconsciously .
“Do you?” Chiharu looked doubtfully at Kaido, “Tan Hua doesn’t count!”
“What I mean is that I don’t need that sort of thing—”
“Kaido! Kaido-er! Xiao Do-Do!”
A shout rang out from the distance, and soon enough, Feng Ping Lan, who wore the same palace guard costume headed for Kaido, a hand gripping his phone .
Kaido furrowed his eyebrows, cursing crossly . “Shut up! Don’t call me that!”
Although there was a look of impatience on his face, the corners of his lips lifted up unconsciously . This was an action not even he was aware of .
Chiharu had noticed .
She had never seen Kaido smile like that in the past . Nor had she ever seen Kaido give her that smile .
“Aiya, turns out you’re on a date!” Spotting Chiharu, Feng Ping Lan revealed the ambiguous smile of a disreputable woman who had discovered some gossip, elbowing Kaido’s arm, “Little Hottie, not bad at all! Having such a pretty girl come and find you, it’s no wonder you’re not handing out your flyers . ”
“Are you blind?” Kaido humphed coldly, “That’s just a shrew looking for trouble . ”
“Aiya, how can you say that!” Feng Ping Lan reached out immediately, using two index fingers to push the corners of Kaido’s lips into an arc, “Don’t be so vile, Little Hottie, or no one will like you . ”
For some reason, an intense sense of resentment assaulted her heart, and Chiharu pushed Feng Ping Lan’s hands away, “Let go of him!”
Both Feng Ping Lan and Kaido were simultaneously startled; even Chiharu was astonished by her own actions .
Still, Chiharu spoke unyieldingly, “Know your place! Getting involved with these lowly students is an insult to the clan!” She glared at Feng Ping Lan, “Stay away from those of the Wei Family!”
“You have no right to interfere!”
Faced with Chiharu’s obstination, Feng Ping Lan did not get angry, merely saying with a smile, “But, Chiharu, not only are we classmates, we’re even living together!”
Chiharu looked utterly shocked, she glanced disbelievingly at Kaido, “Why?!”
“That’s none of your business!” Kaido was angered, “Chiharu, if your goal was to embarrass me, you’ve succeeded! You can scram now!”
“Kaido! You’re being too harsh!” Feng Ping Lan, seeing that Chiharu was almost angered to tears, hurriedly intervened to ease the tension . He drew a flyer from Kaido’s hands, handing it to Chiharu, “Here, this is a flyer from our class, you’re welcome to visit—”
“I don’t want it!”
“Great . ” Kaido seized the flyer, “Don’t waste our flyers . ”
Chiharu reached out once again to snatch the flyer from Kaido’s hands, “I’ll take it!” With that, she ran away before Kaido could make the next move .
Looking at Chiharu’s retreating back, Kaido cursed vexatiously, “Madwoman…”
Feng Ping Lan looked at the disgusted expression on Kaido’s face and pondered for a few seconds .
“While I don’t quite understand the matters of the heart…” He paused for a moment, “Does Chiharu like you?”
Kaido’s face immediately contorted, as if he had just eaten Dongya’s cooking .
“Nonsense!”
Just too preposterous! Such ludicrous words! He had never considered such a thing .
Chiharu liked him? No, impossible, no one would reveal such an unattractive side before someone they liked, nor would they keep on making trouble for them…
It was too weird, just too uncomfortable!
“Is it not?” Feng Ping Lan scratched his head, “Chiharu looks like the very archetype of a tsundere . A tsundere is always less forthright in front of the person they like, so I reckoned that was an expression of her liking you . ”
“Enough, shut up, this topic makes me want to hurl . ”
At this moment, Tan Hua, who was done passing out her flyers, headed back to Kaido . Her bearing was refined and exquisite, just like a newly budding night-blooming cereus[1] which possessed a breathtaking beauty . As she walked over, plenty of students turned their heads, casting looks of infatuation at her .
“Young Master Kaido, I have finished distributing the flyers . You may hand your flyers to me . ” A gentle smile spread over Tan Hua’s face, preparing to receive the flyers in Kaido’s hands .
“There’s no need . ” Kaido refused gruffly, “You can return to the stall, I’ll deal with it on my own . ”
“Yes, Young Master Kaido . ” Tan Hua lowered her head humbly, giving a bow .
The opened collar of her outfit revealed the snowy-white skin between her neck and clavicle, her silky hair falling down, containing a sort of subtle eroticism to her .
Kaido’s eyebrows furrowed deeply, “Quickly return to change out of those clothes, you look terrible in them . ”
The moment he uttered those words, he felt that it sounded familiar .
You look terrible .
This was what Chiharu had said to him earlier .
“Yes, I will change immediately . ”
Tan Hua replied with deference, then turned to return to their vendor stall .
As he watched Tan Hua go, a complicated feeling faintly and lightly spread through Kaido’s heart .
“It’s been an hour since we opened the stall, I wonder how our business is going?” Feng Ping Lan’s words pulled Kaido out of his thoughts .
Feng Ping Lan glanced over the public square where a constant tide of people moved, as well as the vendor stalls flooded with customers, secretly praying that this hastily-made plan would work .
Liu Yi Chen had sent a message twenty-five minutes ago informing him that a batch of customers had come, but there was no further news after that . He did know how the customers had reacted; would it be a deserted stall created by notoriety, or…
“It must be going smoothly . ” Kaido said as he glanced at the other end of the public square .
Feng Ping Lan followed Kaido’s line of sight .
A tall and robust figure was pushing an enormous cart, which made a rumbling sound as it moved, impetuously crossing the public square .
It was Morris .
He pushed the cart used for transporting goods with one hand, four groaning students with their faces twisted in pain curled up on it, using the other to lift a guy who had fainted with his eyes rolled up to the back of his head .
The students in the public square had noticed Morris, gazes tightly locked onto that lofty group of people . They watched Morris, waiting for him to pause in his footsteps and give an explanation to his audience . But Morris did not halt, just heroically and openly passing through the public square to head for the sick bay, leaving everyone on the scene to stew in their curiosity and puzzlement .
Their curiosity aroused, the students began to discuss animatedly .
“What was that? A performance?”
“My clubmate told me it’s a leveling game!”
“That stall is really taking big risks! Is that the Supernatural Research’s AR Escape Room? Or their rival’s Magic Weapon Arena? The guys lying on that cart must be Dmitri’s Fencing Team! Not even they could defeat it?”
“Which stall is it?!”
“Shadow 1A! It’s Shadow 1A’s hot pot stall!”
The students shared the information they had obtained, some of them holding on to flyers, expressing a high level of interest for Shadow 1A’s vendor stall .
“This was something done by a hot pot stall?!”
“It’s apparently a Dark Hot Pot challenge, you get to choose your own ingredients for the chef to cook . You pass the challenge as long as you finish the food, there’s even a mysterious prize!”
“You just need to finish the food? Isn’t that really easy?”
“But four challenger teams have already failed!”
“What? Those people must really suck!”
Many of them revealed eager, determined looks .
”Let’s go take a look!”
A group of people among the crowds started to move, converging into a stream of people flowing towards Shadow 1A .
Feng Ping Lan breathed a sigh of relief . A new message arrived from his phone at the same time, sent by Liu Yi Chen .
The customers are rushing in, stop passing out flyers, return immediately to provide support .
TL Notes
[1]
‘Night-blooming cereus’: Tan Hua’s name, 昙花, is a flower that has a common name of night-blooming cereus, specifically known as a ‘Dutchman’s pipe cactus’ or ‘Queen of the Night’, which is fitting as she is described as ‘初绽的夜昙’ at this moment .