Chapter 21 (2/2)

With his hands in his pockets and messy hair, he looked like a typical unemployed man prowling the streets, but those who saw him only frowned at the sight and made no attempt to talk with him.

There were only five student cafeterias in the Campus as a whole which were used by all of the schools, and this made it a perfect place for students from different schools to become acquainted with one another. Even the Campus was quite generous about the lunch time; it was a 3 hour session to give enough time for students to socialize.

Although this lunchtime was a brief respite for the students of the Campus, their biggest complaint was the unified menu. In order to make it as efficient as possible, all five cafeterias had identical menus. It’s true that the food cooked in the cafeteria used the finest ingredients, but the rotation of the menus had been identical for so long that it was almost a tradition. And this dull, unchanging way was sure to leave students’ palate unsatisfied.

“Hey! It’s been a while! What’s on the menu today?”

Isaac entered the third student cafeteria which was closest to the port and the moment he stepped in, he had all the attention from the students within. While the boys were surprised to see him since they heard no news about him since the stabbing incident, the girls already began to gather together to make a list of goods to ask to Isaac. The new students stared at him with curiosity, the main protagonist at the centre of all rumours.

“Oh! It’s still as fancy as it always has been.”

The Cafeteria was a buffet arranged with salads made of tens of different vegetables and dressings, soup, bread, many different types of ham, and cheese. But just as Isaac was about to approach the buffet, a man blocked his path. When Isaac looked up to see what was happening, he saw the man shake his head. He seemed very reluctant, yet something was forcing him to do this.

“I’m sorry but you cannot use the Student Cafeteria.”

“Huh?”

There was a small band placed on his arm, indicating that he was part of the Student Council responsible for maintaining the order of the students in the Cafeteria.

“Why can’t I use the Cafeteria?”

“Because you’re not a student.”

“Hm, that’s funny. I would have understood it if you told me when I first came to the Campus. But don’t you think you’re a few years late for that?”

The man sighed. He seemed to experience the struggles of middle management, where one is getting crushed from the top while those below try to push up against him.

“The previous President turned a blind eye, but the current President will do as the rules are stated.”

“Wow! Do you really have to do this over food?”

The Council member simply shrugged at Isaac’s complaint.

“If you’re going to complain, do it to the President. I’m just doing as I’m told. Anyway, those who aren’t students are banned from using the Student Cafeteria.”

Isaac was wondering why she was so quiet, but this was her plan. Isaac made a small sigh. In the end, all he got from the trip to the Cafeteria was an empty stomach and a tedious list of goods for Isaac to bring to the girls.

Going to the Cafeteria was purely for convenience. Cooking and doing the dishes were just bothersome to him. It was a small prank he could laugh about if this was what that spoiled little girl could do for her revenge. If she didn’t personally visit Isaac afterwards that is.

She came to Isaac with a victorious smile and arrogance to match it. That proud girl stood with her hands on her waist and told Isaac if he begged for forgiveness, she might be merciful enough to give him permission to use the Cafeteria. It was the final push to tip Isaac off the edge. To watch that proud and cold face twist in anger like a hissing cat was an opportunity too good to pa.s.s.

“Man oh man, I really am an a.s.shole.”

Isaac snickered and decided to fall for that spoiled girl’s taunt. He was just getting bored of his current life, and a new toy just happened to fall in front of him.

“I’ll show you what happens when you play with food.”

“Just making an incident won’t have enough impact. Is there something else I can do?”

Since she started the fight with food, it’d be in accordance for him to retaliate in kind. And it just so happened to be the Week of Suffering soon.

The Week of Suffering sounds like a time of hards.h.i.+p, and it was true in a way. The Campus stocks up on preserved rations in case of emergencies which may isolate them from the main continent. But these preserved rations are so dry, sticky and disgusting that only those who are about to die from starvation would think of eating it.

These rations had an average lifetime of 2 years, and when they are restocked every year, the rations which had expired were disposed of into the stomachs of the students.

The time it took for all of the expired rations to be consumed was normally a week, and so the students began touting it as the ‘Week of Suffering.’ Its name was quickly adopted by the Campus and was now listed as such in official doc.u.ments.

With the Week of Suffering close by, Isaac had little time to think up his plan, but one thing he needed to consider was that this event was stressful for not just Rivelia, but the Campus as a whole.

People can get very agitated when it’s related to food, and even the smallest transgression could lead to an outburst. If Isaac made a wrong move, he would become the enemy of the entire Campus, so he needed to move carefully.

“Hm, is there something I can divert their attention with?”

While Isaac pondered with a cigarette in his mouth, Reisha and Kunette barged into his lodge.

“Yahoo! Sunbaenim, we are here! And we’re hungry! Give us food!”

Considering the giant bags they’d brought with them, it was obvious they were planning to avoid the Week of Suffering by staying here. The College also needed to partic.i.p.ate in this event, but at least in the port, Isaac could make food that was edible for them.

“Huh? Sunbaenim?”

Reisha flinched as Isaac just silently watched the two after they barged into the lodge. Instinctively, she could feel an ominous sensation crawl through her spine. Kunette didn’t seem to realise something was wrong, and ran to Isaac to pull on his pants.

“… Isaac, give me honey.”

Isaac shook his head coldly at Kunette, who seemed desperate for the honey she’d been missing out on for so long.

“I’m sorry, but there’s no honey.”

Shock!

Kunette looked at Isaac as if the world was about to end.

“H, honey…. Gone? Really?”

Her voice quivered. Isaac began patting her on the head and replied with unmatched confidence.

“Don’t worry. There’s no honey now, but soon I’ll let you have so much honey you’d get sick of it.”

“… Really?”

“That’s right! So just hold on for a few more days.”

“Yep! Okay.”

After nodding furiously, she finally realised Isaac was amidst something after looking him in the eyes and stepped backwards.

“… Isaac, you look evil.”

“Kukuku, you just wait.”

“C, can I leave no…”

Reisha, who was looking for an opportunity to escape, dropped her head when Isaac’s eyes met hers. She didn’t know what was going to happen, but she was confident that he was going to use her for whatever plan he was thinking. She wanted to escape, but considering how much Isaac had been taking care of her until now, all she could do was regret visiting him today.

“Did you call, Sunbaenim!”

Krent came like lightning when he heard Isaac was calling him. It didn’t matter how much Krent tried, he was going to be Isaac’s hubae no matter what. So unlike many in the College, his life was just as unchallenged and leisurely as it always has been.

Just as expected from someone who grew up in a merchant guild, he cared little for status or talent. All that mattered to him was success and results. Krent judged a person based on how successful they were or the potential they have. In that measure, Isaac was a man who deserved much respect.

Isaac was the man who managed to create a market in the Campus where many merchants couldn’t even dream about. There had been attempts from the most successful merchants in the past, but they all failed miserably. Some attributed Isaac’s achievement to luck or due to the special situation he was in. But not many could use opportunities that was available to them to its fullest; this in itself could also be called talent.

After a puff from his cigarette, Isaac put out the smoke on the ashtray and spoke to Krent in a deep voice.

“Would you like to do business with me?”

Krent could instinctively feel the imminent success within those words.

“Give me your orders, Sunbaenim!”

<script>