Isekai Journey Of The Magic Archer

[Eon's POV: ]

"For my starter, I've prepared chicken."

"You deep fried chicken? To represent the sorrow of your life?"

Lady Cleo looked at captain Alpha with a questioning gaze.

She was not expecting something so simple. Not from him.

"Care to tell me why you'd make your entree something so simple, and…"

She picked up a knife and a fork, cut a piece of the fried chicken, and took a small bite.

"Did you cool it down intentionally? I want to heat the logic behind keeping the insides uncooked as well, captain of the true dragons."

She was not happy right now.

Be it presentation or the taste, nothing really corresponded with the theme of this test.

It made no sense to them that he had done it intentionally, and yet, knowing his skills, she could not believe what he had presented to them was a natural mistake.

"I'll first apologise for the bad representation, Lady Cleo. And I appreciate your question."

This was captain Alpha standing before her, not anyone else but the person with the best orator skills.

"In the early days of my life when I lived with my mother and younger brother…"

He started telling them his story. His sad, sad story of how he was from a common family, and how his mom who did not know much about cooking made them things that they could not afford to purchase with their little money.

He spoke in a tone that almost brought tears to some of the students, even some of the teachers weren't spared from his words.

Everything he said sounded the truest truth a human being can speak of. Even the headmasters who were considered higher beings could not help but believe in those words.

[{ "Now that I see things, I see how good this bastard is, hun." }]

Even Rein was intrigued by his speech over a half cooked dish.

[{ "The story has sorrow and it is conveyed to the listener through the one speaking it. He's a great artist if I say so myself." }]

It wasn't possible for just anyone to say those simple yet false things so confidently and with so many emotions.

He knew convincing them with his cooking wasn't going to be enough so, he started off with confusing their minds with this story, with those words, with this tectic that the headmasters could clearly see through.

"Hmmm. I see your reasoning now."

Even Miss Cleo could tell all of that was bullshit.

But this captain Alpha was so good at bullshitting that even she was sold.

"Move on to the main course."

It wasn't that he wasn't a good chef or didn't know how to make good things, plate them well, or make them state well.

He knew all that and he was good at it. We all knew that already. But, one thing he was even better at, was speaking in that particularly convincing way.

'It was a talent in itself that even the headmasters or the teachers could ignore.'

But he was wrong if he thought he would just get away with his good words.

"Wait a minute, Miss Cleo."

Lady Cleo was not the one judging these dishes. She was only the person giving us feedback.

The people who were actually judging the dishes were the headmasters and the judges that sat behind them.

And, even if they liked the way the captain had convinced them, they still couldn't help how bold he was being.

"I have something to say to Captain Alpha."

Vice headmaster was a strict person. Even more than the headmaster in matters related to discipline and ethics.

"Yes, vice headmaster."

He looked up at her, at her unhappy eyes, and knew what was going to come.

"You know what you did there and we know as well, and I know you know that."

He was a smart person, there was no way he did not know about his lack of ability to convince those superior beings.

"You could have just done something within your abilities but you went beyond it, and did something unethical."

She was using Mana voice in a unique way that only him and a few sensitive to Mana and sound could perceive it.

"I won't say you did something bad. You're doing what you think is right and you're living by your own values. I respect that."

Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head with an upset expression.

"But remember that you're betraying the efforts of many others by using something that is not part of this test.

There are mutes out there that can make better things than you with their eyes closed. At the same time, there are people who can speak better than you will ever know if you keep this mentality."

She did not like how he did it.

"Grow up. You're not a child anymore."

He knew well just what her words meant, as well as what she wanted from him.

He was good at something and he used it in a place where he was not supposed to use it. Where there was no need to use something like that.

He lied, to him and to all the people who heard him.

She, of all the people present here, could never tolerate it. Especially since she knew he was in fact, talented.

"Be better from the next time."

He bowed to her, but he did not apologise.

He did not regret what he had just done, we can tell he would do it again if he had to.

He was not a good person like Quin or Lizzy. He was like us…

'And that sometimes worries me a lot.'

Even after all this time, I still don't understand this person as well as the others.

He could prove to be a good asset, but his nature and ways of him makes me hesitant.

"As for my main dish…"

He had made pretty good dishes and they were presented as well as Lizzy's. His dessert was so well made that even the headmaster complimented him… before criticising him over his excessive use of methods that he was not yet comfortable with.

He had also experimented with a lot of things and the results he obtained were not the best at first.

He had to try many times again, and just like me, it was a surprise that he managed to finish on time.

'But, he could have done much better had he just stuck to the basics and the things that he knew.'

He was good already. There was no need for him to go above and beyond like that.

'It might not affect his scores since he had done nothing wrong, but the headmaster and the teacher that had taught him did not like it.'

He was betraying their trust and confidence, which was wrong in all the ways.

"Miss Ezra."

It was Ezra's turn soon. And, truthfully, she was very unique with her cooking.

"I've always enjoyed your fresh takes on the simplest of the dishes."

She was a creative person and since the theme was sorrow, there were perhaps only a few others in this room who understood that particular emotion as well as she did as someone who had to regress repeatedly.

"What have you prepared for us today?"

If I say captain Aloha was pretty much an all rounder in cooking and Lizzy was very good at plating and decorating, when it comes down to taste, there is a unique spark in things that Miss Ezra makes.

"Carrot soup for the appetiser, a chicken wrap for the main dish, and some coffee-chocolate as the dessert."

She was from the northwestern part of the continent, the land of scorching heat and sand dunes.

It was common practice to have meat with everything that they usually have and since it was the main source of food in that barren land anyway, things that they could eat were very limited.

The carrots weren't something one usually finds in the desert. They needed fertile soil and water to grow.

However, in those lands, it was a luxury to have things like carrots or even coffee and chocolate for that matter.

'Only the higher ranking people of the land, the royal or nobles could ever have something like that.'

Common people had to live on simple things and meat was their main source of food. They still worked hard in the fields to grow some things and find oasis to raise their animals.

The greens that could grow on limited water and soil of a desert was limited, however, her empire was able to withstand those harsh conditions and make their place in this world for so long thanks to their indomitable wills.

They were tough people that even ate cacti when they needed to… that's what made them strong and resilient to the conditions of that harsh environment.

'Her special food represented the sorrows of not only herself, but also the sorrows of his people.'

Things that they could not have, things that were made so well that even Lady Cleo finished the entire bowl of that soup— the biggest compliment any of them had received until now.

"I'd love to have you in my class next year as well, Miss Ezra."

"I do think that will be possible, Miss. I apologise."

She had that unique magic in her hands that created a taste that, someone who tasted not just the taste but also the emotions and feelings behind it like Miss Cleo, could not help loving.

"Thank you for the wonderful dishes today then."

There wasn't really anything super special about her cooking. It was just naturally amazing…

"Next, Miss Rosette. Please step forward."

"Yes."

My turn is coming soon now.

However, just like everyone else, I'm also looking forward to seeing just what a cooking genius had prepared for all of them today.

'It's surely going to be something special, right?'