After that, the operation of the booth went smoothly.

 

When Class B’s booth – which had been a formidable opponent – faltered, customers who should have gone to them came to Class A instead.

 

Rena played a big part in this.

 

As she kept making dishes non-stop by herself, she began to employ more efficient methods.

 

The egg sheet covering the omurice requires careful heat control.

 

If it’s too weak, the egg won’t cook; if it’s too strong, the egg will burn.

 

Cooking only one order is easy.

 

It’s not that difficult, so even beginner cooks can do it well.

 

But if she made only one at a time, she wouldn’t be able to keep up with the number of incoming customers.

 

Customers repeatedly mentioned the long wait time for food as a drawback at the explosively popular Class A booth.

 

Rena had to pay attention to multiple dishes at once, which made things difficult as it wasn’t easy to control the heat while cooking everything simultaneously.

 

It’s nearly impossible for an ordinary person.

 

But she did it.

 

If one person could control flames,

 

“Bloom.”

 

It was her.

 

She has reached a new level as a skilled fire mage.

 

The duel she had with Wendy earlier wasn’t without influence.

 

In any case, she solved the issue of slow food service, which was the only flaw of Class A’s booth.

 

As a result, many customers reevaluated the food quality, saying it had also improved.

 

It was a stark contrast to a certain class that showed the worst service by pouring strawberry syrup on a customer’s head.

 

All in all, the operation of Class A’s booth was going smoothly.

 

Suspiciously so.

 

“…I lost.”

 

Ultimately, Wendy, whose class fell behind on the second day, admitted defeat.

 

The gap had widened so much that turning it around on the third day was impossible.

 

Regretfully, Rena couldn’t inflict any humiliation on her since they hadn’t set a penalty for losing beforehand. However, she was satisfied with breaking Wendy’s high pride.

 

She refrained from trying to make her end up like Lucia.

 

As the night of the second day passed, the last day of the festival finally arrived.

 

Teresa, who had acted as the class representative in Rena’s absence, stood before Rena and Iria at the booth on the last day.

 

“Come to think of it, had those two worked for two days straight?” Teresa asked herself.

 

Other people had dropped out gradually, saying that it was too hard, but these two were different.

 

“You two have worked hard, so it’s okay to go have fun. We’ll handle the business on the last day ourselves.”

 

“Huh? Didn’t you say you didn’t have anyone who could cook?” Rena asked.

 

“We can hire someone with money!”

 

Teresa gave a thumbs up to show that it was not a problem.

 

The profits Class A’s booth had earned over the course of two days were greater than expected.

 

They could afford to pay wages for one day.

 

Teresa, who had also acted as the accountant for Class A, paid Rena and Iria for their two days of hard work.

 

Originally, the class agreed to distribute the profits equally, but since these two had worked especially hard during this period, they gave them a little extra.

 

No one expressed any complaints about this.

 

“Is it okay to give us this much?” Rena asked with a puzzled expression.

 

The money pouch she received was heavier than expected. When she counted the amount inside, she realized that it contained 60 silver coins.

 

However, Teresa nodded to show that it was fine.

 

“It’s fine, so hurry and go rest. If we left everything to you two until the last day, we’d feel uncomfortable. I mean, it’s a festival after all. You should have some fun, too.”

 

“Hmm……”

 

If they insist that much.

 

Rena and Iria left the booth, thanking them for their consideration.

 

They’d have to think about what to do from now on.

 

***

 

Today was a day Iria didn’t have to work.

 

It was because her classmates had been considerate.

 

What to do from now on was something to think about.

 

In fact, Iria found it easier to just carry out the tasks she was given.

 

If given freedom, she tends to stay still, not knowing what to do.

 

Maybe it’s because she’s fundamentally dull at feeling emotions.

 

In truth, she didn’t care either way.

 

For Iria, the world was in black and white, as if there was a monochrome filter covering her eyes, obstructing her from seeing the colors the world had to offer. And so, the world felt dull to her.

 

No matter what she saw, it was hard to find differences from what she already knew, and she felt no interest.

 

Even if it’s a festival, would there be any difference?

 

Everything would look black anyway.

 

The only time she felt alive was when she ate people.

 

She’s a creature that can only feel emotions by eating people.

 

“A festival, huh.”

 

It’s just an ordinary day following the extraordinary experience of turning the Empire into an enemy.

 

Other than that, there was nothing else to note.

 

If I were just a little more human, would I feel something different?

 

If it was just a little more in the past, would something have been different?

 

For Iria, the world doesn’t change.

 

Alone in a colorless space, she remains isolated, lost in thought.

 

Because nothing changes and there are no expectations, she moves her body to find color in a black-and-white world.

 

“I’m fine, so Rena should go have fun alone,” encouraged Iria.

 

“What are you saying?!”

 

“…?”

 

Rena grabbed Iria’s wrist while Iria stood there with a blank expression.

 

Even as she was being pulled along by her wrist, she didn’t seem to understand what was happening.

 

“Let’s go together! We promised, didn’t we?” Rena reminded Iria as they walked.

 

“……”

 

Iria’s eyes widened.

 

Somehow, in the moment Rena grabbed and pulled her, the black-and-white world looked bright for a brief instant.

 

Today, uncharacteristically, she showed a look of confusion.

 

Iria blinked her eyes on the spot and quietly followed behind Rena.

 

Curiosity arose at this unfamiliar sensation she was feeling for the first time.

 

Right now, Iria following Rena was due to her personal feelings.

 

***

 

(Iria’s POV)

 

Not long after entering the academy, a thought occurred to me.

 

Was it possible for a monster in human form to naturally mix and coexist with humans?

 

I was human, but not anymore.

 

My lifestyle, eating habits, and even my way of thinking became different.

 

I thought perfect coexistence would be difficult.

 

Humans can’t communicate with monsters.

 

This wasn’t simply because monsters couldn’t speak human language.

 

Unlike humans, monsters are strongly influenced by instinct.

 

Even Amy, whom I met in the underground prison, said she ended up killing humans because she couldn’t resist her instinct.

 

A human who was a friend last night might become a meal the next morning.

 

That’s the nature of monsters.

 

But still, I never gave up on forming relationships with humans.

 

Because although I’m not human now, I once was.

 

Even if I can’t feel it now, I once felt emotions like them.

 

They were things I originally had but forgot.

 

I know what it’s like to feel emotions. Because of that, I cling to it even more.

 

There was a time when I thought I could remember forgotten sensations by mixing with humans.

 

Today, I was able to find the answer to the question I had been asking for so long.

 

I wanted to become human.

 

I had lingering attachments to the human emotions I had lost.

 

It might be an impossible wish now, but still.

 

What’s natural for some is a desperate wish for me.

 

It might be a selfish thought, but right now, I wanted to return to being human even if I had to kill someone.

 

After all, staying as a monster would mean I’d have to kill humans anyway.

 

In the end, whichever path I take, blood will flow.

 

Because I am a monster whose eyes go wild at the sight of blood.

 

Because I am a monster who could only live by swallowing someone else’s blood.

 

***

 

The festival streets were bustling with people.

 

It seemed like even more people had gathered today to mark the last day of the successful festival.

 

It was lined with booths run by students from the same academy.

 

With students from all departments gathered, the number was considerably high.

 

There were so many types that it was difficult to see them all.

 

I didn’t see this scene on the first and second days because I was busy running a booth.

 

Perhaps because of this, Rena looked happy.

 

I was also not entirely uninterested.

 

“There! Let’s go there too!” said Rena enthusiastically.

 

It was a street food stall.

 

Rena asked if there was anything I wanted to eat, but I didn’t show much interest in food to begin with.

 

Ultimately, Rena bought a drink and held it out towards me.

 

I refused this time, too, but after being urged several times, I reluctantly accepted.

 

Compared to human food, drinks were less burdensome on the body.

 

Of course, even that would make my condition poor if I drank too much, so I rarely put it in my mouth unless necessary.

 

It was just a sentimental item to reminisce about when I was human.

 

I couldn’t drink it to fill my stomach.

 

I took a sip and blinked.

 

“Mmm,” I hummed.

 

“How is it? Delicious, right?” Rena asked, eager for my answer.

 

“Yes”

 

Still, what I tasted today was quite delicious.

 

Probably the most palatable thing I’ve eaten since falling into this world, second only to human blood.

 

I only drank about half and threw the rest away because it would be troublesome if my condition worsened.

 

But it wasn’t bad; I could feel a sensation similar to humans for a moment.

 

Next, we found a booth from the Swordsmanship Department.

 

It was a type of booth where people competed to see who could give a stronger impact to a magic measuring tool.

 

It seems they give a prize if you score higher than the booth operator.

 

As we got closer, a man with a sturdy build greeted us.

 

Since we were two women, his expression seemed a bit dismissive.

 

“What, you want to try?” his tone reflected his expression.

 

Although he didn’t seem unfamiliar with my famous name, he was a top student in his third year.

 

Generally, it’s recognized that a top student in the second year is stronger than the first-year valedictorian, and a top student in the third year is stronger than the second-year valedictorian.

 

The difference between those who have gone through the academy’s curriculum and those who haven’t is significant.

 

“Even if she is the valedictorian, she is still a first-year,” the man thought.

 

He didn’t seem to be very wary.

 

I turned my head towards Rena and asked, “Should I win that for you?”

 

“Huh? Will you be okay? The opponent is a third-year senior.” Rena answered, concerned.

 

I stepped forward as if it didn’t matter.

 

“Easy money,” Ed, the booth operator, laughed inwardly.

 

In fact, that magic tool was manipulated arbitrarily.

 

Although men are physically superior to women, human strength is more influenced by mana than physical ability, so gender doesn’t play a big role in the logic of strength.

 

But what if you modify the magic tool to minimize the radius that recognizes mana?

 

Ed slightly manipulated the device to recognize only the physical force from pure physical ability.

 

So he thought there was no way these two in front of him would win the prize.

 

-KWANG!!!!

 

Until Iria threw her punch.

 

A loud impact sound reverberated all around.

 

Accompanied by the sound of something breaking.

 

Ed stood there, speechless and confused, not understanding what had happened for a moment.

 

After hearing the noise of destruction, the first thing he saw was silver hair fluttering from the movement.

 

I turned back and said, “I think it broke.”

 

“W-what,” Ed stuttered.

 

As a prize, we were asked to pay compensation for the demolished booth.