Vol 25 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Barbeque Pop

The name of this student dorm was 'Laloide'

Toilets, bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry machines were shared

Thisthe student dorms in Zuellni's residence area It was as if only poor students would gather here

That hy this kind of thing happened sourt!?”

It was breakfast tio to school hurried back and forth through the hallway of Laloide, and Layfon's voice echoed through the hallway

There were several refrigerators placed in front of the bathroo in front of one of thelass and the na letters on the lid

Several of the students gathered in front of the bathroo the while pretending not to care, but Layfon's sharp gaze didn't overlook theh!”

”Uuu”

He instantly pointed a finger at theh they were of different ages, the two of them were in the same year as Layfon

”Did you eat it?”

”Uh, no, well”

”Let me explain, Alseif-san”

Layfon raised the empty container in front of the flustered two

”To think you'd even eat the culture That row if I add row?”

”That was the reason I put it in an insulating case”

”Ohh, that's surprising”

”Lactobacillus[1] is a”

”No, that doesn't matter at all Give me money to buy a new culture”

The two of them clearly averted their eyes from Layfon's outstretched hand and started to whistle

”Hey!”

”We have no money!”

”We don't have food either!”

”Even if you tellit, since we spent all our money on that event before!”

”By 'that event', you mean Van Allen's Day? How much money did you spend for you to become broke!?”

Van Allen's Day referred to an activity in Zuellni held between males and females

”Those of us without a fixed partner went to eat together We spent a lot on a kind-of-expensive place, so we used all ournutrition had fallen to such a thing

After Layfon said this resignedly, the two of the the co at him

”What do you mean!”

”You don't understand!”

”Yeah, you shi+tty popular guy!”

”dauy!?”

The suddenly-roused group around hiether to put pressure on Layfon

”Don't you get bentos alirl called Meishen uy like you look down on our Van Allen's Day plans!”

”I'redients!”

Layfon let out a grieved appeal as he somehow transforet any sympathy from anyone

”It's your fault”

After his training on the practice battlefield ended, Layfon inadvertently told Sharnid about the events fro, but then he told Layfon this

”Why? I was the one who had nore theno money for now”

Sharnid scratched his head with a troubled look

”I'll be honest, there are too uys think”

”Huh?”

”Well, there's that group of three you're close to in a place easy for those guys to see The -sisterly Naruki and the lively Mifi Meishen's probably the most popular, but the three of thee Do you understand that?”

”Hmm, well”

”And not only is a first-year brat like you a platoon member, the platoon even has Nina and Felli-chan”

”Uh, even if you tellabout it Do you think the guys fighting on Van Allen's Day would per so ith those cute babes every day?”

”Uh, what do you , you know It's a never-ending war between guys and girls”

”I I feel like I get it, but I feel like I don't get it”

”Understand it! Use your soul!”

He felt like Sharnid's fervent shout was a bit different from his normal style That put Layfon at a loss

”Senpai, did so happen to you?”

”Hahaha, you're so foolish, Layfon How could anything happen to me”

He did say that, but as his voice so dull?

”Listen From an observer's standpoint, you look like you're a winner of life”

”A winner of life Huuh?”

Sharnid said that Layfon was a winner of life Even if he tried looking back over his life ten years ago, Layfon definitely didn't think he had won against anyone

”It's not important at all what you think!”

Even if Sharnid asserted this so confidently, Layfon could only tilt his head and put on a confused expression

”But I haven't gone out with anyone or anything Everyone's just a friend”

After saying this, Layfon's looked at Layfon ide eyes for a long while, then sighed deeply

”Hey, Layfon Maybe you're really a as a Military Artist, but in terms of people, your manliness points are the lowest”

”What are manliness points!?”

”Manliness points are ht forth mysteriously powerful rhetoric, and this conversation was ended here

To be honest, Layfon felt a bit hurt

Layfon didn't completely understand the manliness points that Sharnid had proclai that he was a failure a person

(Uh, am I a failure?)

Layfon listlessly walked alone on the road back ho facility to train Nina today as well The surroundings had already darkened, and he was getting hungry Layfon vaguely felt like his stos of o to work in the Mechanical Depart dinner with Layfon, Layfon had refused the invitation Layfon would occasionally eat dinner with his fellow platoonfacility coincided with dinnertiht now, and Layfon's pockets were pretty empty, even if they weren't as destitute as everyone in the dorredients from a store and redients froht?)

Perhaps it was related to it being a uys in the dorm used the kitchen very rarely, and alet hot water to cook fast food Maybe that hy Layfon would never get stolen fro sales

(I'ht?)

If that were the case, what should he do? Layfon felt powerless

Co as a Military Artist wasn't any consolation at all to Layfon

Layfon had come to Zuellni in order to abandon his identity as a Military Artist He had left his original city Grendan due to various reasons, but there would be no reason at all to co to live as a Military Artist Every city would immediately accept him once he showed his skills

Layfon had that much confidence in himself

But Layfon couldn't think of any other areas in which he could brag about Maybe it was praiseworthy for being a guy his age who could cook, but Layfon wasn't a culinarian like Meishen, nor could he e nutrition as well as Leerin could He was pretty hts were all focused on platoonhard to achieve his initial goals

(This won't do)

As expected, his s

(I have to do so)

But what should he do? Layfon couldn't think of the answer and just returned to his dorh he didn't have an answer, an opportunity came from an unexpected place

After he returned to his dorm to take care of dinner, Layfon went to his roo on his door and saying that the dor

On the first floor of the dore, and the dorather there to kill time when they were free There was only an electric water heater there, and everything else had to be brought over by the residents The regulars of the lounge had brought their own s and drink powders there

There had only been a few people sitting in the corner when Layfon had eaten dinner in the lounge before, but when Layfon looked over now, it was already full of dor due to lack of seating Layfon also stood by a wall near the entrance

”Well, most of us are here”

The dorathered here have already vaguely noticed the reasons Laloide has a sht now”

”A small problehter and scoffing e atmosphere become chaotic Layfon had a recollection of the student who spoke He was a senpai, one of the few comrades who used the kitchen like Layfon

”The problees”

The dor with easy-to-understand words:

”Though there have always been people ere very loose about property rights, the reports have been particularly numerous this month The residents can't live like this, so I wanted to punish those people by expelling fro destitute people into the streets won't resolve the problem Especially since this ti as long as they h the e nodded at the dorm head's words

(Honestly, exactly how much did everyone spend on Van Allen's Day?)

Those nods reed with the dorm head's words In other words, there were that many students who had spent irls' that Sharnid had h Layfon felt that this was absurd, uys of this world didn't think so Layfon couldn't help but feel like he was the side in the wrong, so he couldn't say anything

As Layfon thought about these things, the dor that was even harder for hi for part-tiht now, so al that the male students of the academy filled the the guys in the classrooloo:

”But the proble at the recruitha job It's a job that requires a large amount of manpower If all the people here alternate every day, it should be h to deal with that job Also, meals are provided”

The sentence added at the end e

”It's a labor job, and honestly I think it's going to be very tiring, but if you're interested, you can do it I'll explain the details next, so everyone please listen carefully and thento deal with thieves very harshly, so please be aware Then”

With that, the dor the contents of the job

◇

”Ohh, it reached your dorm too?”

It was honestly a coincidence that he ran into Formed the next day on his way to school He looked pallid due to staying up the whole night for a certain matter, but happened to show up on Layfon's way to school

”There's a proble lake, so I didn't have any time to sleep”

Formed looked resentfully at the sun, then rubbed his eyes

He had been up for the whole night, but For to school He see that 'the primary duty of a student is to study hard' That kind of proclaent when co his city police work, but there had been no trace of a lie on his face when he had professed that

”It seems like the pastures need a lot of manpower”

The dorm head had revealed the information that the pastures of the Aquaculture Departfor workers

The word aquaculture originally referred to the production of aquatic resources, but in Zuellni livestock were also included in this depart in aquatics, so I don't really understand land-based things But it see with a neay to raise livestock Some kind of flu broke out on that pasture, and tests about whether human illnesses can spread to the livestock or about what to do if they do get infected haven't been finished, so they decided to have those people leave for now It seems like someone proposed to let third-year or lower underclass to hold a short explanation of the experiment Even underclassmen will be face with a choice of depart a fourth-year, so this isn't bad”

Foruys who caught the virus have already been quarantined, and they're being taken care of other people in the depart of which, are you participating in the job?”

”Only on weekends”

”You don't look like someone who spent money because of Van Allen's Day”

The fact that Foruys in Zuellni were short on money this month

”I didn't do that, I'ht so”

The yawning For on Van Allen's Day Actually, he had been investigating a certain matter with Layfon that day, so he shouldn't have had ti

”Well, they're almost ready to put the product on the ht have an opportunity to try taste-testing”

For those words

Right, a taste-testing

Livestock wasn't just labor, it also had its dirty side - cleaning up feces The dorm students had all showed bitter faces when they had first iined that But when the dorm head expressed that after a week of work ended, a taste-testing would be held on the last day with all the workers invited, everyone's attitudes had turned around a hundred and eighty degrees

They could eat roup of destitute, hungrynew products, even he also wanted a big piece of high-quality protein

So even Layfon was a bit excited as he walked

In the blink of an eye, the weekend was co In this period of time, Layfon had seen the dor to the dorm with exhausted faces The work process of the people who normally participated in the job was to stay at the pasture the night before, then start work early in theafter school

Layfon's work tio to class Though he had to work the entire day, the pay was also very generous It was Layfon's first experience with this kind of work, and ht, but he was excited by the anticipated wages

More i forward to that side of the job

After all, though the returning dorm students were extreh there were many people who complained that they weren't suited to the job, their faces showed enrichment apart from their weariness Everyone clearly expressed that the food was very delicious Allegedly, those who stayed at the pasture had been served freshly-squeezed milk and just-made ham, and both had been delicious

But if that were the case, what about the others?

(Maybe working on the pasture is very fun?)

Layfon held those expectations in his heart A noise he wasn't used to woke Layfon up

Layfon had gone straight to his workplace at the Aquaculture Departht Since it was late at night, the tra quarters on the pasture and then fallen asleep

There ork before breakfast, too

First was feeding the livestock Though it was feeding, it wasn't the kind of hay-feeding work that he iuys mainly eat lichen”

The Aquaculture Depart them said

”Like that forest over there There's a forest spreading outwards from the central Yuusuiju[2] in the center It's very dense inside, a treasure trove of lichen These guys have been bred to feed off of this”

The senpai said this and then introduced the livestock They huddled together inside the fenced enclosure They were aniray coats of fur that looked like deer

They seemed to be called 'khufu'

In front of the pen were the dorm residents anted to work on the weekend like Layfon There were some unfamiliar faces here, since students froned up for this work

There were about three or four workers for each instructor

”Your job is to bring these guys into the forest”

When the instructor said that, he made it seem like the ould be very easy But actually, this job wasn't that siates to Layfon and the others After the instructor used a thin, whiplike thing to strike the khufu's flank, they obeyed his instructions very easily

Layfon was assigned five khufu, and the other works were assigned a siet the, it's not easy to make them leave”

The instructor circled around behind Layfon and the others

Everyone took up the whiplike objects they had been given and followed behind the khufu

It looked very siht incorrectly

”Ah, hey!”

”Wait, hold on!”

”Uwah, uwahhh!”

The workers around hi wherever they pleased, rather thantowards the destination forest Some tried to deal with this quandary with their whips, but they didn't pay therabbed the horns that grew on their heads to try to stop the

”These guys can even run carrying soenerally shouldn't try to coht in front or right behind them”

The instructor warned everyone with a laid-back tone Layfon felt like that remark was a bit too late, but there was no ill intent on his face, he was just laid-back The khufu were generally gentle anih the workers tried to stop them, the movements threw the workers off weren't violent But the differences in strength were clear, so those people could do nothing about thened to Layfon also went in a different direction In addition, they had even turned a hundred eighty degrees around to return inside the pen

What should he do Thinking this, Layfon looked around, and ended up noticing that there were also khufutowards the destination forest without difficulty As Layfon watched this scene, he noticed that although those workers weren't used to it, they were using the whips like the instructor had to return the khufu trying to take a detour back to the pack If they wanted to o in a certain direction, they would use the whips to strike the khufu's flank in the opposite direction

(I see)

After Layfon tried lightly striking a Khufu's flank with a flick of his wrist, the Khufu changed its line of ot the trick to it, the movement ability of a Military Artist would be worlds apart fro the khufu to the forest with smoother movements than anyone else In addition, he even helped others ere still stuck to lead their khufu

After this work ended, it was finally tiood)

After breakfast ended, next was to clean the inside of the khufu-less pen This was the disgusting first impression that the dor up the feces that dirtied the ground, then used wheelbarrows to carry it outside It seericulture department for use as fertilizer

After that business was finished, they reenhouse where they cultivated the lichen that were planted in the forest, but Layfon was instructed to go to the forest and take care of the khufu

It looked like they had separated out the people who see work to this side

(This work is pretty fun)

Layfon watched over the khufu in the huht this deep in his heart

The khufu slowly moved about the forest, where even the air seerowing on the trees and in the shadows of rocks During this, Layfon tried to keep khufu a suitable distance fro and alsothe lichen away froely happy

(Maybe I'm very suited to this Could this be ht about this half-seriously as he gathered the khufu with an excited s that Layfon observed the khufus' calm states of mind one by one

There was a khufu who see with several sroups led by this one

(The leader's the Student Council President, then)

Though they were a herd, they weren't livestock that had always been in Zuellni So all of the khufu were very young, and it seeined the Student Council President's figure over the khufu that led the sily appropriate for Layfon to ined to hied to Layfon decided to call the leader of this group a vice-leader, as it seemed very active Any tiressive sound, which was very similar to Nina The one that moved back and forth between the female khufus was Sharnid, and the one that kept its distance froroup and looked uninvolved was Felli

(Uh then I'ht, his gaze stopped on a single khufu

It was a khufu that didn't look any different frouely unreliable khufu, and the way it walked even looked very weak When it noticed fresh food and started to eat, it would be pushed aside by other khufu and the food would get stolen away Unable to watch this go on, the vice-leader gave it some of the food it had found

(Ohh it's me)

That kind of patheticness is very likefor other food, and ended up being lightly bumped by the horn of the khufu Layfon had labeled as Felli

”Ahahaha, it's really likeon his own, then beca to the west After they sent the khufu back to the pen, Layfon's and the others' work ca quarters prepared to go back and shower, but the Aquaculture Department senpai told them that there was a place to recuperate next to the forest

”It's a hot spring that uses the hot water froh it's fine to use the showers here too, you can get rid of your fatigue over there”

Even though the senpai said so with the livestock had made almost all of the quarters

In the end, the only ones to go to the hot spring were Layfon and a few others

The vast hot spring was ”

The walls and ceiling were rounded shapes lass If he looked up inside the white stealimpse the sky or the scenery of the forest

After washi+ng hi, the heat crept into his body His stiffened ht not be bad”

The other had all left, but Layfon soaked

With the platoonto prepare for the platoon side his work in the Mechanical Department and classes, Layfon had almost no time to relax his muscles He felt like internal Kei didn't let hiue accu back, Leerin and his adoptive father had always been responsible for ive Layfon piping-hotand battle, and would tell him to rest when it was time to rest

Now, he had to do all of that

”I have to properlyhis head and looking up fro room opened and someone walked in

”Hmm? Layfon, is that you?”

”Huh? Harley-senpai?”

The person who peeked out froure of Kirik walking over while holding a cane

”What are you doing here?”

”Actually, I should be asking you that”

As Harley and Kirik washed the

”We're here because we've been shut inside the research lab for the whole week, so we came here to recuperate a little”

”This is a hobby for old people You just need to sleep to get rid of fatigue”

Kirik stated this, but Harley didn't care at all

In Zuellni's system, almost everyone as not a Military Artist spent their first three years in General Studies, and then after beco a fourth-year they would enter various specialized fields But only the Alcheh special exams Harley had passed that exam and had joined the Alcheood for the s”

”Hlass in front of him with a cold snort Layfon looked at his face froh his skeletal features were masculine all over, it seeirl with clothes and cosery

But it was just his harsh face that was scary His eyes, which looked like they were always displeased, kept others fro him

Harley was the only one who could stand next to hietting out first”

He had only soaked in the hot spring for a brief period of ti As Kirikhis cane, Harley just leisurely responded to hiht?”

Layfon asked after Kirik vanished into the changing room

”It's fine If you accidentally try to take care of hih Kirik says what he does, he comes here pretty often, so he probably doesn't hate it here”

Kirik had once been a Military Artist Because of various incidents in the past, his Kei flow had been obstructed, and he had beco a Military Artist, he had entered the Alcheain

Though their origins were different, his fate happened to be sih he wanted to ask Kirik how he had decided on the path of Alchemy, Layfon felt hesitant Was it really okay to ask such a thing so easily?

Layfon unconsciously thought that in those harsh eyes was so that wouldn't allow others to peer into his heart so easily

So Harley was very a able to stand next to Kirik so casually