On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Organization Collapsed on My First Day of Infiltration Episode 015

 

 

Want to Go Eat? (2)

 

 

‘So this is what happiness feels like.’

 

Excitement!

Heart pounding!

Ziel fondled his heavy pouch.

 

‘One large chicken skewer costs 1 cel, so I can eat 2,500 of them.’

 

That huge chicken skewer he ate before.

A chicken skewer three times larger than regular ones – a whopping 2,500 of them!

But…

 

“I want to try other things too.”

 

They say the world is wide and there’s much to eat.

But Ziel’s world is still narrow.

Naturally, the foods he’s tried are also very few.

 

“Hmm.”

 

Ziel turned his head from where he could see the Student Cafeteria and Faculty Dining Hall.

A spire towering not far away.

 

“I heard the food there is delicious.”

 

A restaurant often mentioned in students’ chatter.

It was the restaurant called ‘Lancaster’s Star.’

A restaurant named after one of Edelwein Academy’s founding creators.

Ziel began walking toward it without hesitation.

The closer he got, the more his heart pounded!

 

“Hmm.”

 

Ziel suddenly stopped walking.

Someone he knew was walking toward him from afar.

Golden hair became visible as they approached.

 

“Oh, Teacher?”

“Student Delev Kundel.”

 

It was Delev.

Ziel stared at Delev intently before asking.

 

“Coming from training?”

“Huh, how did you know?”

“You smell like dust. Your heartbeat is still a bit rough too.”

 

Delev’s face turned bewildered.

 

“You can see that?”

“I can see it. And you smell like wood too.”

 

He happened to be coming from training with wooden swords.

He could smell the wood scent on his hands?

 

‘What… what kind of person is he really?’

 

For a former assassin, this wasn’t particularly impressive.

Especially for Ziel, who was called the Specter.

 

“Did you train at high intensity since there are no classes today?”

“Well, yes… The selection tournament isn’t far away.”

“It seems important to you too, Student Delev Kundel.”

“I have to surpass my Elder Brothers.”

 

Delev was startled by his own words.

 

‘Why am I talking about this?’

 

“You mean Aken Kundel in 3rd year and Agres Kundel in 5th year.”

“Yes. My Elder Brothers.”

“Why do you want to surpass them?”

“…Pardon?”

 

Delev had never been asked such a question.

Why does he need to surpass them?

Well…

Isn’t that just a goal you can have when born as a male of a Great Family?

 

“Just because I want to.”

“No reason?”

“The reason is… I just want to get stronger. If I surpass my Elder Brothers, Father will acknowledge me too.”

“So becoming the family head is your goal?”

“…Rather than that.”

 

Delev hesitated and sighed.

 

“No. I just want to get stronger.”

 

There’s another reason, but he can’t say it.

Because it’s a bit embarrassing to say.

 

‘My Elder Brothers won’t play with me lately.’

 

The elder brothers who used to play with him well during childhood changed after going to the academy.

They won’t even spar with him, saying he’s not at their level.

So Delev wanted to surpass his elder brothers.

 

“I see. I understand, student Delev Kundel.”

 

He hadn’t expected at all that a teacher he suddenly encountered would ask such things.

 

“But where are you going, Teacher? You shouldn’t have classes today either.”

“Going to eat.”

“Ah.”

 

That’s when it happened.

 

Grumble.

 

A sound coming from Delev’s stomach.

It was the result of intense training.

Delev was flustered, and Ziel stared at Delev intently before asking.

 

“Are you hungry?”

“That… yes… I’m hungry.”

“Then let’s go eat.”

“What?”

 

Ziel recalled the book he had read recently, .

 

[If you want to get closer to students, doing something together is also a good method.]

 

It seemed like now was that time.

 

 

“Huh?”

 

Celia spotted Ziel and was about to greet him with a pleased expression.

However, seeing the person next to him, she tilted her head in confusion.

 

“Delev?”

 

Meanwhile, the two entered the restaurant.

Lancaster’s Star.

A restaurant she would hardly ever have occasion to visit.

 

“Why are Teacher and Delev together?”

 

While it wasn’t surprising or strange for a student to dine with a teacher, the location was the problem.

 

“I haven’t even been there yet…”

 

That place was probably somewhere only a very small number of students at Edelwein Academy could go.

Even expanding the range to faculty and staff wouldn’t increase that number significantly.

Because it was very expensive.

As a member of the Rihart family, Celia could afford to go there, but the problem was that one visit would make her allowance disappear.

 

“So is Delev paying?”

 

Celia chuckled at reaching this reasonable conclusion.

 

“Ah, trying to make a good impression on the teacher?”

 

But wait.

Why would going to such a place with a teacher necessarily make a good impression?

 

“…Could it be at the family level?”

 

Her mind suddenly became complicated.

Thinking about it, Teacher Ziel was somewhat special.

He wasn’t even a professor but an instructor, yet regardless of the students’ family backgrounds, he never seemed intimidated and treated all students equally.

He even knocked Delev down dozens of times in the first class!

 

‘There’s something there. Definitely.’

 

Even professors treat the children of great families as carefully as possible.

As professors, they don’t grovel, but their attitudes still change…

It was hard to find such behavior in Ziel.

 

“Steelheart… Steelheart…”

 

A family she didn’t know when she first heard it, and still doesn’t know now.

There were some rumors circulating among the students.

Maybe it’s some fallen family.

Or maybe it’s a newly named family.

 

“…Is there really some great place backing him up?”

 

Otherwise, he couldn’t act like such a worldly-ignorant instructor.

 

“If that’s the case…”

 

Is the Kundel family trying to establish connections in advance?

The political infighting among capital families is beyond imagination.

Celia doesn’t know much about it.

She’s still young.

Rather, that made her mind even more complicated.

But one thing was certain.

There’s definitely a reason why a teacher would go to such an expensive restaurant with a student!

 

“The Kundel family is no joke.”

 

This wasn’t the time for this.

Celia quickly turned her steps toward the dormitory.

It seemed she needed to send a letter to her family.

 

 

The meal was absolutely wonderful.

At least for Delev.

 

‘I never thought Teacher would bring me to a place like this.’

 

Kundel was a great family.

Naturally, the quality of meals he had at the family estate was also very high.

Premium ingredients.

The finest spices.

Even perfect chefs.

The meal provided here at ‘Lancaster’s Star’ was of comparable quality.

 

‘It’s that kind of place to begin with.’

 

This place existed purely for outside visitors to Edelwein Academy and some wealthy students and faculty.

So when he came here, he was honestly quite surprised.

 

“Not very delicious.”

 

Ziel’s indifferent tone.

 

‘Has he been to places like this often?’

 

Ziel’s appearance during the meal, which he observed carefully, was quite skilled and elegant.

The way he handled the tableware.

The direction he placed his fork and knife.

Even his restrained movements when cutting meat.

Not only that.

He never made sounds while eating, and all his other dining etiquette seemed perfectly educated.

 

‘He’s definitely different. Could the Steelheart family have originally been an incredibly prestigious family?’

 

If that were the case, he surely would have heard of them.

What exactly did he used to do?

Even in such an expensive place like this…

 

‘Could it be that Teacher has high expectations for me?’

 

Delev was a little moved.

After what happened during the first class, he had harbored hostility.

While he was curious about experiencing something for the first time in his life, he was also somewhat resentful and dazed.

But as time passed, he approached each of Ziel’s classes with more earnestness and intensity.

Then in a recent class, he even received unexpected praise.

 

‘It must mean he wants me to do even better.’

 

Right.

That’s exactly it.

A special student!

A student he’s fond of!

Otherwise, there’s no way he would buy him a meal at such an expensive place.

 

‘The most special student out of 40.’

 

He should work even harder from now on.

He must pass the selection as well.

And win in the exchange competition too.

 

“Thank you for the meal, Teacher.”

“Was the food good?”

“Yes. It was delicious.”

 

Delev suddenly asked.

 

“But Teacher, you said it wasn’t very delicious… Did you not like it?”

“It’s not that. I just had something more delicious recently.”

 

That was the chicken skewers.

But to Delev’s ears, it sounded like this:

 

‘Did he go to an even more incredible place?’

 

People have their own tastes.

Ziel was the same.

He was just realizing it too late.

For Ziel’s taste, the chicken skewers he bought from the cart recently suited him better than these complex, time-consuming dishes.

 

“Get up if you’re done eating.”

“Ah, yes. Teacher.”

 

Then a server approached.

 

“Sir, was the meal to your liking? Here is your bill.”

 

Freeze!

 

Ziel’s eyes wavered when he saw the amount written on the bill.

 

“…”

 

Delev didn’t notice, but Ziel’s hand trembled very slightly as he received the bill.

 

Trembling!

 

‘My salary…’

 

2,400 sel.

The amount written on the bill.

The entire salary I just withdrew from the Imperial Bank was 2,500 sel.

I didn’t know it would be this expensive.

My mood sank too.

Is this what the emotion called feeling bad is?

 

“Teacher?”

“…”

“Um, Teacher?”

“Ah. Student Delev Kundel.”

 

Ziel paid the bill for now.

Since they had finished eating.

There was nothing he could do about feeling bad though.

 

“Teacher, thank you for the meal.”

“Ah. Student Delev Kundel.”

“I didn’t know you’d buy me food at a place like this. This is an incredibly expensive place.”

“Is that so.”

 

Ziel made a resolution.

Never to come here again.

 

“Yes. One meal here costs a little less than my weekly allowance.”

“…”

 

Ziel made another resolution.

That he must earn a lot of money someday.

 

“You get quite a lot of allowance.”

“Father increases it by 1,000 sel each time I advance a grade.”

“Is that so.”

 

Another new emotion raised its head.

It was the emotion of envy.

During his assassin days, he didn’t need to worry about money.

Not because he had a lot of money.

Because there was no occasion to spend money.

The first time he voluntarily spent money was buying chicken skewers after coming to this Academy.

Before that, all he did was ‘deliver’ money received from missions to designated targets and objects.

 

‘Money is very important indeed.’

 

An unexpected expense.

He felt quite bad about it.

Ziel made a resolution.

Not to spend money carelessly from now on.

 

‘With 100 sel, I’ll have to use it very sparingly until the next salary.’

 

Another thought that came to mind was this:

 

‘If I become a Professor, my salary will increase too.’

 

A liberal arts instructor’s salary does increase annually, but only if they succeed in contract renewal.

He was told the rate of increase wasn’t very high either.

 

‘I must definitely become a Professor.’

 

It was a moment of reaffirming his goal once more.

 

“Teacher, I’ll repay you next time.”

“No. It’s fine.”

“But you treated me to such expensive food.”

“A teacher shouldn’t receive anything from students. That would harm the teacher-student relationship and fairness.”

“My father told me that if you receive something, you must return it.”

 

Ziel shook his head.

 

“That’s not possible.”

“But…”

 

Then Ziel recalled something else he had seen in a book.

 

“If you really want to give something, repay me with Student Delev Kundel’s growth. That’s enough.”

 

Thump thump!

 

Delev’s heart pounded violently.

Is this what coolness is?

Buying expensive food and telling him to repay with growth!

 

“Understood, Teacher. I’ll work hard.”

 

Seeing him agree, it seemed to have worked.

 

‘Books are useful.’

 

I should read more books at the library from now on.

Who knew knowledge acquired from books would be this useful.

 

“It’s late at night. Let’s head back now.”

“Yes. Where are you going, Teacher?”

“To the Faculty Dormitory.”

“Oh. Let’s go together. It’s right next door.”

“Ah. I see. Got it.”

 

Ziel and Delev began walking side by side.

And the two had different thoughts on their minds.

 

‘I need to think about how to survive until payday with 100 cel.’

‘I should write a letter to Father and brag about this. But would he know about the Steelheart Family?’

 

A night when the bond between teacher and student deepened.

Delev’s mood had improved.

During the first lesson, he had felt humiliation, shame, and even a strange hostility.

On the other hand, he also wanted recognition.

That desire for acknowledgment, wanting to gain favor in the eyes of the teacher who had pushed him this far.

He had received praise recently, and today he even got treated to an expensive meal.

 

‘Then…’

 

It felt somewhat disappointing to end the day here.

Was it because he felt energized after eating?

Or was it simply because he was in a good mood?

 

“Teacher.”

 

Delev stopped walking for a moment and looked at Ziel.

 

“I’ll go in a bit later.”

“Is there something you need to do?”

“I’ll do some more training before going in.”

 

Ziel gazed at Delev quietly.

 

‘He must think I’m admirable, right?’

 

Click.

 

Ziel opened his pocket watch and spoke in an utterly indifferent voice.

 

“It’s past 9 o’clock. Curfew time is coming soon.”

“…”

“From 10 o’clock, it’s penalty points.”

 

Of course.

A teacher with absolutely no flexibility.

 

“…Yes. I’ll go in.”

 

It was just as Delev became dejected.

 

“However, if you’re accompanied by a teacher, it doesn’t violate the rules.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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