Book 6: Chapter 2: The First Debut of Silent Witch at Cafeteria (1/2)
After returning from her recuperation, she's been attending the class for a whole week, and for the first time, she was going to eat her lunch at the cafeteria.
Since Casey, who from the next class, had taken the trouble inviting Monica to have lunch together and Lana's also going to tag along, Monica nervously accepted her invitation with a nod.
Speaking of the school cafeteria, all she could remember was the school cafeteria at Magician Training Institute Minerva where she's been enrolled into.
Minerva had a system where the students choose the menu at the reception desk to get a wooden tag after paid the bill upfront. Which later brought to the counter to exchange for a meal of the chosen menu. The menu selections changed daily by three different sets of meals, and additional bread and soup were available for an extra charge.
As such, she thought that the cafeteria at Serendia Academy would also have such a system, but it was very different from what she had imagined.
To put it simply, the school cafeteria of Serendia Academy was a high-class restaurant. Once the students stepped into the cafeteria, they would be guided by waiters into seats, given a brief explanation on the menu, and had their meals brought onto their table.
The students were not required to pay, since all of the cost has been included in the school fees.
The best thing was one could even request their meals delivered directly to their own room in the dorm.
T-This is so amazing…
Even at Minerva where Monica's enrolled which many of the students came from nobilities had provided many facilities, it still can't be compared to what Serendia Academy had. Everything here looked so extravagant.
Monica felt restless at the unused cafeteria while being escorted by the waiters to her seat before quietly sat down next to someone. She's been looking down until now, so she thought the ones who sat at the table were only Lana and Casey, but when she raised her face, she saw them sat across the table.
…then, who's the person sat next to her?
Awkwardly turning her head, She met the gaze of Claudia Ashley's beautiful blue lapis lazuli eyes.
”Wait, why are you sitting there too?!”
Lana yelled at Claudia in angry, but only to be brushed nonchalantly before Claudia's getting closer to Monica.
”…oh my, aren't we friends, Mo.Ni.Ca?”
Monica's whole body stiffened as she let out faint voices.
Claudia stroked Monica's cheek with her white-gloved fingertips. For some reason, she felt as if a snake was crawling on her skin.
”…Monica, I did save your life, didn't I?”
”Y-You did.”
”…you do appreciate what I did for you, don't you?”
”…I-I do.”
”…then we're friends, aren't we?”
”Y-Yeah.”
After convinced the stiffly nodding Monica to agree, Claudia smiled triumphantly.
While Lana's vein popped up on her forehead.
”That's just coercing!”
And Casey was ”now, now” tried to calm down the angry Lana.
”Come on, let's stop this edgy atmosphere and talk more calmly, shall we?”
”…oh, please, I don't intend to make the atmosphere this edgy. It just the girl over there making a fuss all by herself… right?”
Lana gritted her teeth at Claudia's obviously provocative tone.
Casey looked at them both in turn with an exasperated expression.
”You two, please let Monica choose her own food. Oh, Monica. I recommend this fried fish. It comes with a delicious special sauce.”
”Also, this and this…”
To tell the truth, Monica, who earned a good income as a Seventh Sage, was not troubled by money. Therefore, she didn't mind any of the dishes on the menu. In fact, since she didn't know much about food, she would be very grateful if someone could recommend something for her.
When everyone had finished ordering, Casey opened his mouth to mediate the delicate atmosphere.
”Say, we are going to observe the elective course this afternoon, right? Have you guys decided which course you want to take yet?”
Since the start of the second year of high school, the students could take elective courses in addition to the regular basic courses. Among more than twenty courses, they can choose two to take.
Horseback riding, sword fighting, and spear fighting were popular among boys. Musical performance, embroidery, and poetry were popular among girls. Other courses such as sociology, herbology, and foreign languages were also available for both boys and girls.
With such a wide variety of courses to choose from, Monica still hadn't decided which one she wanted to take. It would have been nice to have something like advanced mathematics, but there was only basic math in the academic subjects.
As Monica clammed up, Lana opened her mouth.