A Gathering of Fellow Disciples

Guter paused, uncertain whether his idea was actually correct.

He immediately opened System Space and checked the item's detailed description.

Item Name: Memory Bread (Enhanced Version)

Item Effect: After eating it, the user could instantly memorize everything written on the bread. (Enhanced Effect: After eating Memory Bread, the user would not only memorize but also instantly understand the knowledge contained on it. However, there was a limit to how much knowledge a single slice of bread could hold.)

"This really does seem to be what I thought it was, and it's even more effective."

Guter could not help swallowing. All of a sudden, the Three Year Period no longer seemed so impossibly distant.

That impossibly thick Magic Book could not possibly be nothing but difficult material. He only needed to read through it all once, gather every difficult point together, then find a way to shrink it onto Memory Bread and eat it, right?

That would greatly shorten the time needed to learn the initial sections of Cursed Reversal Magic, and completing the Three Year Period with his teacher would be within reach.

"Excuse me, here are the grilled ribs for you and this young lady."

The server's words suddenly interrupted Guter's thoughts. He gave a slight nod in thanks before picking up the knife and fork on the table.

There was still plenty of time. There was no need to rush; he could slowly study the Memory Bread after returning to his lodging that evening.

For now, enjoying the food came first.

He picked up the dinner knife in his right hand and the fork in his left, lightly cutting across the char-grilled beef ribs. The abundant juices and tender meat spoke of both the ribs' quality and the chef's exquisite control of the heat.

He cut off a piece and put it into his mouth. The rich, savory sauce delivered a taste far beyond anything he had imagined.

Across from him, Junior Disciple Gumi's expression changed completely. She did not waste a single word, lowering her head and eating away, bliss written all over her face.

Even Lairn, who had been dry-chewing vegetable leaves beside them, paused. Surrounded by the fragrance of roasted meat, he looked at his senior and junior disciples feasting away, then at the wilted leaves in front of him. With a helpless sigh, he finally could not resist calling over a server and adding another meat dish.

In the kitchen, Lake, the head chef who had just led the other cooks in preparing the ingredients for Guter's table, nearly blacked out when he saw the additional order sent in by the server.

"Today's guests really are showing us some love."

After sighing helplessly, Lake fetched more ingredients. At the same time, he patted his child, who had only just grown tall enough to reach the stove, and said,

"Watch carefully. Learn carefully."

"Our family promised Hero Himmel that we would preserve the flavor passed down through our family, so that whenever Miss Frieren, that Elf Mage, returned—even after however long—it would still taste like the delicious food she remembered."

"Okaaay—"

The child, who had only just grown tall enough to reach the stove, agreed aloud, but she had another thought in her heart.

I'll make something even tastier than Father's!

Outside the kitchen, in the restaurant.

Several servers unconsciously stopped what they were doing and stood by the corridor, all their eyes fixed on a single table.

Two formidable opponents were locked in a fierce contest there. Stack after stack of empty plates had been piled up, standing on the table like two mountains that could not be climbed.

"Whew... I'm stuffed."

In the end, Guter was no match for Gumi and was the first to concede defeat.

Yet Junior Disciple Gumi seemed to have fought herself to exhaustion as well. She was no longer hunched over and eating nonstop like at the beginning. Her movements had become slow and measured, and Guter could even vaguely see a few traces of a noble young lady's restraint in her manner.

A few minutes later, the "gladiator" Gumi also stopped.

She leaned back comfortably against the restaurant chair, with not a trace of regret left in her eyes.

Once he saw that everyone had finished eating, Guter dusted off his clothes and stood up, preparing to pay at the counter.

However, Lairn and Gumi stopped him. Both his junior disciples insisted that they should be the ones paying for the meal.

To end the well-meaning argument, Guter had no choice but to take out the few gold coins Teacher Serie had given him and explain that they were the meal budget provided by their teacher. Since Teacher Serie was paying for this meal, the other two finally stopped fighting to pay.

Still, after Guter had settled the bill, Gumi thought of something and asked him,

"Senior Disciple, why do you think Teacher Serie didn't come to the gathering? Has she eaten dinner?"

Gumi's question made Guter pause. "Yeah, Teacher never seems to attend gatherings among her disciples. She didn't come to the drinking party Lairn and I had last time either."

"As for dinner, she's probably eaten already, right?"

Meanwhile, at a certain elf's residence.

A certain "Magic Old Timer" hugged a Magic Book. Whenever she felt hungry, she took a loaf of bread left over from the morning out of the bread basket beside her.

She turned the pages as she took small bites of it.

After noticing that the hardened bread was rather hard on her teeth, a ripple of mana flashed through her left hand. With a spell that restored hard bread to softness, the loaf instantly regained the soft texture it had when freshly baked.

＜()＞

"Mm, that's more like it."

"Folk Magic may be boring, but it still has its uses."

Back in the restaurant.

After speaking with Junior Disciple Gumi, Guter thought it over and decided to pack two relatively light dishes that would keep well, then bring them to Teacher Serie the next morning.

The food would certainly be cold by then, but with the number of spells Serie had mastered, she surely did not lack a way to heat it up.

When the server delivered this takeout order to the kitchen, Lake, who had just finished his hard-fought shift, was about to take off his chef's uniform and go outside for a cigarette during this rare lull, easing his tired muscles and relaxing his mind.

But Lake had only just set down his chef's hat when the new-order bell in the kitchen went "Ding!" and shattered his plans.

"Fuck!"

Lake had a hard time holding it together. He looked up at the clock on the wall and could not help wondering,

This wasn't even mealtime, nor was it the busiest part of the day.

In the end, Lake personally cooked Guter's order, personally packed it, and personally delivered it to him.

Looking at the two takeout boxes handed over directly by the head chef, along with the look in the man's eyes as he watched their group, Guter could not shake the feeling that the head chef's gaze was filled with deep resentment.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed under that gaze, Guter thanked him and left with the takeout boxes.

After leaving the restaurant, Guter did not forget to tell Junior Disciple Gumi to get up early the next morning and meet in front of Teacher Serie's residence.

After that reminder, the three of them returned to their own lodgings.

At an inn near the examination site, Guter opened the door to his room, put away the two takeout boxes, then took a piece of Memory Bread from System Space. Looking at the thick Magic Book before him, he began his experiment.