Chapter 311 - The Gluttonous King
This time, it is a story about when I enrolled in the Magic Academy of the Leventein Marquisate.
The Magic Academy of the Leventein Marquisate, evening.
A horde of corpses enters the cafeteria.
They are not truly dead, but they are first-year students with faces so deathly that one is compelled to describe them as such.
Mika, Messerite, Rimliche, Cecilia, and Charl, the five of them, were bowing their heads, looking utterly drained of spirit and energy.
Mika and Messerite had just washed off the sweat in the bath and headed straight for the cafeteria, where they happened to bump into the trio of girls at the bottom of the stairs.
That was all there was to it.
"Mika... your hair is still wet."
"Doesn't matter... I won't die from it. If you leave it alone, it'll dry eventually...."
Mika's hair was soaking wet because he was exhausted and hadn't properly dried his damp hair.
It had been a few weeks since Mika and the others enrolled in the academy.
They had been beaten down during afternoon physical training, and they had no willpower left.
Ideally, they would ignore meals and lie down immediately to rest.
However, the teachers Dagny and Naporo had told them every day to eat a proper dinner.
It was persistent to the point of being annoying.
(They must understand from experience that you can't build a body without eating...)
Probably, nutrition science wasn't established yet, so there were no specific instructions on what ingredients to consume.
Nevertheless, they were told every single day, "Even if you have no appetite, just eat."
Mika sighed, picked up his tray, and joined the line.
The seniors were lined up in front of Mika.
The seniors who had entered this land of hell, the Magic Academy, a year before Mika and the others were, as expected, acting normally.
They were chatting loudly while waiting for their turn.
(...Well, I guess getting used to it is possible to some extent.)
He recalled the time he joined middle school and was completely exhausted by club hazing right away.
Kuhashi Ritsu, who hadn't exercised much outside of gym class until then, had been wobbly for a while due to the sports club's hazing.
With the muscle soreness and the lifestyle of friends, such nostalgic memories suddenly resurfaced.
As Mika stood in line, his turn came.
"............Large portion, please."
Mika, with a deathly face, ordered a large portion, and the Cafeteria Lady looked at him with concern.
"Again today? Is it okay to eat that much?"
"Yes... please."
Even the Cafeteria Lady, who would serve a large portion without being asked to people like Messerite, was worried when Mika demanded a large portion.
That was only natural.
Mika was finishing a large portion every single dinner with a deathly face.
Shortly after enrolling in the academy, Mika started forcing himself to eat an unreasonable amount.
There was only one goal.
To build a body.
Mika's current body was not in a condition to handle the academy's curriculum at all.
Therefore, he concluded that physical modification was an urgent necessity.
He thought he could manage the afternoon physical training once he got used to it, but he couldn't get used to it if his body wasn't built.
The material to build a body is, of course, what one eats.
If you don't send in a massive amount of materials, you cannot build a body that can withstand the physical training hours.
Mika, knowing this as knowledge, decided to seriously tackle eating, no matter how unreasonable it was.
Actually, "eating a large amount" is something that can be managed to some extent through effort.
Even among athletes, there are those who originally had small appetites.
There are even stories where a slumbering athlete, conscious of eating to achieve higher performance, saw their talent bloom.
Of course, it doesn't mean you will definitely be able to eat that much, but you won't know unless you try.
Thinking so, Mika forced himself to eat dinner every day.
The reason for dinner specifically is that breakfast doesn't have enough time.
If you eat that much at lunch, you will vomit during afternoon physical training... because it makes the afternoon physical training even more painful.
Dinner has plenty of time, and after that, you just need to relax in your room.
Once he gets somewhat used to it, he plans to increase the amount for breakfast and lunch too, but for now, his plan was to focus on increasing dinner.
Without saying a word, he simply carried the spoon to his mouth.
When he had eaten about sixty to seventy percent, Mika's hand stopped.
He began to feel full.
(...Alright, here we go.)
Mika secretly gathered his spirit.
The real battle begins from the moment you start feeling full.
(It's an illusion, a misunderstanding. This is just brain waves.)
Mika resolutely rejected the command of his satiety center and moved the spoon again.
He forced himself to chew and forced himself to swallow.
(Gluttonous King, take residence within me!)
He even activated his chuunibyou symptoms, silently carrying the spoon to his mouth.
If he didn't distract his mind, he simply couldn't eat.
Mika chose no means and just ate.
"Mika, are you okay? You're not eating too much?"
Messerite, sitting next to him, spoke to Mika, who was clearly straining.
"............Nngh... o-of course, totally... fine."
While staring at his tray with a deathly face, Mika answered.
Cecilia, sitting opposite him, looked at Mika with an exasperated expression.
"From any angle, you look like you're straining."
Mika ignored Cecilia's words and continued chewing.
Or rather, no matter how much he chewed, he didn't feel like swallowing.
Mika took a deep breath through his nose, made up his mind, and swallowed.
"Gulp... phew... ...where exactly am I straining?"
"You look like you're straining from the get-go!"
Cecilia should be tired too, but it seems she still has the energy to retort.
...Envious.
And so, the trio of girls sitting opposite finished eating and returned to their room first.
Messerite had finished eating himself but stayed in the cafeteria to accompany Mika.
Perhaps he was thinking he would call the Cafeteria Lady if anything happened.
It took some time, but somehow he managed to finish all the rice on the tray today as well.
"........................."
He had finished eating, but he simply couldn't bring himself to move.
Or rather, if he moved now, he would definitely vomit... no, never mind.
"Mika, are you done eating? Can I clear the tray?"
"Sorry... thank you, Messerite."
Messerite, considering Mika who couldn't move, cleared the tray for him.
(Sigh... until I get used to this amount, it looks like I'll be causing trouble.)
Watching Messerite go to return the tray, he thought such things.
Even though he felt sorry, Mika was of the mind to continue doing this in the future.
Everyone, long time no see.
I am Ruito, the Musketeer.
A strong style that pushes promotion to the forefront regardless of opinion. (lol)
Volume 2 of this work will be released on June 14th.
Volume 2 will also feature the beautiful illustrations by Mr. Sakuraga Yuu as a landmark.
If you happen to see it at a bookstore, I would be grateful if you could take it into your hands.
Also, starting from June 5th, a new serialization will begin on 'Kakuyomu Next'.
The title is "Broken Sword Eurius ~The Knightly Way of the Woodcutter Earl's Son~".
This will be a paid service serialization, but it seems the first 20 chapters can be read for free as a trial.
(If it is less than 20 chapters, only the latest chapter will be a paid service, according to them.)
Kakuyomu Next seems to be a service that started this year.
It seems many attractive works are being serialized there.
Recently, due to the preparation for this serialization, I have been quite busy, but this is finally the information release.
If you like, I would be happy if you could come read even just the free portion.
"There are various reasons why 'The Authority of the Demon King' has stopped... (sweat)"
Things written as a hobby inevitably get pushed to the back burner.
I am sorry.
Well then, everyone, let's meet again.