Chapter 94
Let’s Reduce Food Waste
When Karl raised his voice and questioned Coralden’s attitude, the other demon youths quickly glanced at Coralden.
It seemed Coralden had the highest status among them, and the others followed his lead.
“Hmm. Did it sound rude? Then I’ll apologize.”
Coralden’s apology made the other demons upset.
“You don’t need to apologize, sir! We’re the guests, but they’re the ones being rude!”
“They call us arrogant? How shameful. Even street thugs wouldn’t pick a fight like that.”
Karl was flustered.
“Wait, I just meant—we introduced ourselves, but you only said you’re the state scholar’s students. We even have the Crown Prince here, but you’re acting like equals…”
“A mouse catching a cow with its back leg, huh?”
Lorenzo admired how Karl, despite his rough tone, had pointed out an important detail.
“Karl might’ve been rude, but his instincts are sharp. He got straight to the point.”
“Hey, are you insulting me or praising me?”
“Just stay quiet for a bit, Karl. You’re treating us like equals while hiding your identities. Shouldn’t you tell us who you really are? I’ve heard Garmhow folks don’t care much about bloodlines, but surely the state scholar wouldn’t take on just any commoner as a student.”
Lorenzo’s sharp question caught the demons off guard.
That’s when Rudolf stepped in to calm things down.
“Come now, isn’t it a lovely day? Let’s enjoy this meeting. Titles don’t matter right now. Let’s just drink together and laugh.”
Rudolf raised his glass, and Coralden smiled and accepted it.
“Your Highness is truly generous.”
After that, both sides enjoyed the food, drinks, and tea. But neither the demon side nor the Dynaise students opened up fully, so the conversation stayed shallow.
[No need to talk about real negotiations. These aren’t the people in charge anyway. I wanted to test Dynaise’s magic level, but we’re just guests. Asking for a duel would be rude.]
A silver-haired girl, the only female among Gimmel’s top students, whispered telepathically to Coralden.
Their telepathy was through a shared mental link. Normally, spies could try to break in and eavesdrop, but they didn’t care—they used it even inside the imperial palace.
[If Karl had challenged us to a duel earlier, we would’ve had a good excuse.]
[And if we won? Could you handle the fallout? Don’t start fights over pride. I’m more interested in Idnia Kache Betelgeuse. She’s…]
Coralden glanced at Idnia.
Meanwhile, Idnia was thinking hard about how to take some food home.
“If I use ice magic to freeze water into containers and store the food inside, it might work… I’ll need a lot of water. And I’ll need space in the carriage…”
“Um, Lady Idnia… Isn’t that a bit much?” Marie said nervously.
“Why? You don’t like the food?”
“No, it’s delicious. As a farmer’s daughter, when would I ever eat royal food?”
“But you’re too nervous to enjoy it properly, right?”
“Yeah… I can’t even taste it.”
“Then let’s take it to school and eat it there. It might not be as good after freezing, but if we steam it, it’ll still be better than the food at Dynaise.”
Lorenzo couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Still… isn’t it a little rude to focus only on the food while we have guests?”
“They’re all wearing masks anyway. No one’s being real. The real discussions will happen later, with the actual decision-makers. Right?”
Idnia looked around and asked a servant,
“Can I take some food with me?”
“Oh? Yes, but… how will you do it?”
“May I use the water supply?”
“Um…”
At that moment, the silver-haired demon girl stood up.
“Let me try something simple.”
When she raised her wand, the atmosphere grew tense. Hidden guards and disguised spies in the palace instantly went on alert.
But Emperor Franz snapped his fingers, and the pressure vanished.
“Apologies. My student is still young and inexperienced,” Gimmel said.
“No need to apologize. I was the rude one for interfering with the guests. Please go ahead. I’ve heard Master Gimmel’s magic is amazing. I’d love to see what his students can do.”
“You flatter us. We might end up making fools of ourselves. Feel free to laugh.”
Gimmel gestured for his student to continue.
The silver-haired girl raised her wand.
“First… summon water.”
She pulled water from the air, froze it into an ice container, placed food inside, sealed it with a lid, and cast a cold-preserving spell.
“It’s cold. Please be careful, Lady Betelgeuse.”
She sent the food-filled ice container to Idnia using telekinesis.
“What was that?”
“That’s amazing magic.”
“She’s really skilled.”
“But… taking food home?”
“Is the Betelgeuse duchy really that poor?”
“No wonder she left society.”
The gentry guests whispered, but Idnia calmly accepted the food.
“Thank you. What’s your name?”
“I’m Linser.”
“Could I ask you to make a few more? One isn’t enough.”
“…Sure.”
“Me too, please,” said Rudolf.
“Same here.”
“Please, I’d like some as well.”
Karl and Lorenzo joined in.
The gossiping guests were stunned.
“Dynaise Academy must be strict.”
“No… maybe the crown prince just wanted to draw out their magic. It’s a smart excuse.”
At first, Idnia didn’t care what others said. But as the gossip grew, Rudolf, Karl, and Lorenzo backed her up—so the crowd saw it as a clever trick, not just greed.
‘Wow… they’re really nice guys. They didn’t have to help, but they did.’
Idnia smiled at them.
“By the way, I heard Dynaise students also study magic. Could we see a demonstration?”
Gimmel asked to see their skills.
“Hmm. One second… What should we do?”
“I’ll do telekinesis,” Idnia said. She lifted the food with great precision.
“I’ll summon the water,” said Marie.
Surprisingly, Marie, the saintess candidate, cast a spell:
–Holy Water Summon!
Everyone was stunned.
She was really using holy water… for food storage?
But after all the horrible food they’d endured, none of the Dynaise students cared about appearances—not even the royal ones.
Dynaise mages were practical above all.
–Cold Wind!
Karl froze the holy water into an ice box, packed the food, and sealed it.
“Impressive,” said Linser.
But the big, muscular demon youth scoffed.
[Impressive? One of us did all that alone, but they needed three people.]
A glasses-wearing demon, more intellectual, clicked his tongue.
[You fool, Carmine. Don’t you see? They’re hiding their true skill. Idnia’s telekinesis is highly refined. And that saintess—she used holy magic instead of low-level water magic. They’re showing that what you see isn’t all they’ve got.]
[Really? Veras, maybe you’re just nervous. Coralden, what do you think?]
[Hmm. I like people who don’t waste good food.]
Coralden nodded.
[So, what should we do? Looks like they’re about to leave the banquet.]
Linser asked Coralden.
[We can’t act carelessly in the heart of the Empire. And… she seems different from her mother. Our agents were confident we could win her over.]
The demons once thought Idnia was easy to manipulate.
After all, her family was falling apart, and she’d lost her engagement to the crown prince. Staying in high society required money—and they had it. But now, they didn’t even know her basic information.
[Well…] Linser hesitated.
[No one expected her to give up the crown prince so easily. I kind of respect that. Even though she’s her mother’s daughter…]
Carmine sounded impressed.
[Stay focused. We’re here for our mission and to support Coralden.] Veras adjusted his glasses.
Then, an unexpected voice entered their telepathy.
[Your telepathy is weak. Imperial spies are everywhere. They already know you’re talking.]
It was Gimmel.
[It’s fine. They won’t dare eavesdrop too obviously. So what’s up, Gimmel? How was the Emperor?]
[He said something strange…]
[What?]
[He told me, if we want to confirm things about Idnia, we can. He’s giving permission.]
[…]
At that moment, Coralden’s eyes gleamed.
[What is he thinking…?]
[He must know everything already.]
[So what now, Coralden?]
[It’s clearly a trap. If we mess up, we’ll look like thugs attacking a princess in the heart of the palace.]
Veras strongly objected.
[True, Veras, but we can’t be afraid to eat the feast that’s been set before us.]
Coralden turned to Gimmel.
[Let’s begin.]
[Understood.]
Gimmel, the great demon mage and royal scholar of Garmhow, grabbed his staff and stood up.
