Late-Night Revenge on Society

"The Solitary Gourmet"

Oriana repeated the name softly, as if the words possessed some supreme magic. The more she thought about it, the more she felt the idea was truly outstanding. As expected of a son of the Ian Gray Family—though rumors outside claimed Rainer drowned himself in pleasure and accomplished nothing, from the look of things now, this man practically had an entire world packed inside his head!

"Just a small suggestion, Ms. Oriana. You can have the author add the protagonist's inner thoughts while writing, use all sorts of metaphors to set off the food, and once the reader's imagination has been pushed to the limit, bring out a can of Cola."

Rainer casually offered a few pointers. Food travelogues could very easily turn into nothing more than simple menus and fail to stir people's appetites. Only detailed descriptions could make readers' fingers twitch and their mouths water.

"At the same time, the beginning of each piece should briefly introduce the story, so readers can pick it up at any time. Even if they start reading from the middle, they won't feel lost."

"I understand, I understand!"

Oriana quickly grasped what Rainer meant.

"By the way, is Daily Priest published every morning?"

After mentioning it, Rainer thought of a somewhat wicked idea.

"Mm, that's right. Every morning, the newspaper is delivered to the homes of subscribers. Is there a problem with that?"

Oriana asked in puzzlement. She felt as if the headmaster before her had an endless supply of ideas, and every single one was excellent. Without realizing it, her tone had turned into one of seeking advice.

"No, there's no problem."

After thinking it over, Rainer decided not to interfere too much with the other party's operations. Otherwise, he would have wanted the newspaper published at night, so that everyone who read it would cry out that this was late-night revenge on society.

"Can you find the right person to write it?"

"Of course. Our contracted authors were already good at writing stories set in the city to begin with. They only changed directions because adventure-themed works became popular. Also, for the food side of things, I can find Baron Good to serve as a consultant. You have no idea—after Cola cured his anorexia, the baron's daily life has become very comfortable."

Oriana said excitedly, wishing she could take her leave at once and go back to start working on these matters.

"Shouldn't we draft a contract?"

Seeing that the other party had basically been convinced by him, Rainer stood up.

"All right. I have a template here."

Oriana had clearly come prepared. She took a standardized cooperation agreement from her bag, and only part of it needed to be changed.

In the end, they reached an agreement: Daily Priest would serialize The Solitary Gourmet to promote Cola, while Rainer would pay advertising fees according to the most favorable rate. After converting it, Rainer only needed to pay five silver coins a month to receive excellent publicity. It could be considered a worthwhile deal.

After all, Claire could eat ten silver coins in a single meal.

Before Oriana left, she also went to visit her daughter, but Rainer did not accompany her. He only had Claire go with her.

Sitting in the headmaster's office, Rainer still had work to handle. First, he replied to Monthly Alchemist Griffin's request for a manuscript, expressing his willingness to have it published. Then he wrote another letter to Antoine. Its contents were very simple.

It was to tell him that he could begin producing Cola at full capacity.

A day later, inside Crescent Academy.

Ivanna finished a day of studies—more precisely, one magic history class, one basic magic theory class, and two self-study periods. After enjoying dinner, she returned to the dormitory.

Her roommate Charlotte had yet to return from the library. Ever since Charlotte had gone to the headmaster's office that day, this girl, who had already been diligent to begin with, had become even more hardworking. Almost every day, she only came back from the library just before lights-out.

Ivanna naturally supported this. She knew Charlotte's family circumstances. Only by becoming an outstanding mage could she escape poverty.

Ivanna took a hot bath, changed into her sleepwear, then picked up the copy of Daily Priest in her hands.

Her mother was the editor-in-chief of this newspaper, so in theory, she would also become the editor-in-chief of this newspaper in the future. From a young age, Ivanna had been trained to develop the sharp instincts of a journalist, and she herself was very fond of such things. Even after coming to school to study magic, she subscribed to this newspaper for learning purposes.

Of course, Ivanna naturally also knew that her family's newspaper was facing a crisis. Many contributors who had originally worked with them had gone elsewhere, and the newspaper's content had become thin. Although her mother had never discussed it with her, Ivanna could see some clues from the contents of the paper.

Yesterday, her mother Oriana had even come to Crescent Academy. As for what she had come to do, Ivanna did not know.

With a sigh, the precocious young girl opened the newspaper and began her routine daily reading practice.

But just as she was about to skip over that dull section, Ivanna discovered that the long-winded adventure story that had been there before had vanished, replaced by a brand-new serialization.

"The Solitary Gourmet?"

That was what the title read. It was paired with a rather nostalgic illustration of a middle-aged gentleman holding an umbrella, walking down a street at night.

Curious, Ivanna began reading the piece.

The story was very simple. The protagonist, Baron Good, was a man with considerable knowledge of various antiques and treasures. He was often invited to travel to different places, but there was very little description of this aspect, only a few brief strokes passing over it. The focus of the story was placed on Baron Good's process of seeking delicious food in the streets and alleys after completing his work.

The fatigue of a full day formed a sharp contrast with the highly tempting food. The author spent a great deal of ink describing the food's appearance, texture, and taste. Combined with the protagonist's rather interesting inner thoughts, it made one's stomach churn involuntarily and a sudden sense of hunger arise.

At the end of the piece, the protagonist even took out a miraculous drink called Cola. With just one sip, the fatigue of an entire day was swept away, and every line radiated ease and comfort.

Of course, the author did not forget to note that Warren Potion Shop was the only designated supplier of Cola in Priest.

Ivanna put down the newspaper, still somewhat dazed, as if she were immersed in that quiet night and exquisite food. That mysterious drink, Cola, made her extremely curious as well. Just how delicious did it have to be to make the protagonist show that kind of expression?

Thinking back to tonight's dinner, Ivanna felt her life had been wasted. What she ate was truly far too crude.

Grrr—

Her stomach growled at a terribly inappropriate time. Ivanna searched around the dormitory, but found nothing that could satisfy her craving, not even a slice of bread.

Late at night, alone, still hungry after reading that piece of The Solitary Gourmet, Ivanna immediately felt a deep malice.

"The person who wrote this is clearly trying to take revenge on society!!!"