Teacher Xia Lai is also teaching in Kivotos today

After passing on the order, Ako blinked and asked with a little confusion while looking at Hina whose hand was still on the receiver.

"Um... Chairman, you seem to be somewhat happy?"

"That's it."

Completely different from her expression just now, at this moment, there was a faint smile on Hina's lips.

"After all, if there is one more trump card in hand, I think everyone will smile."

Chapter 11 It's just a wild boar

After hearing the busy tone on the phone, Lin En's face suddenly darkened.

"Um... Teacher Lin En, is there a problem with the negotiation?"

Hearing Julie's question standing next to him, Lynn couldn't help but sigh.

"No, it went smoothly in terms of results. But... Tsk, it's troublesome."

As Lin En said this, he couldn't help but scratch his head in annoyance.

Before Julie could ask any more questions, Lynn's phone rang again.

"Hey?"

"Excuse me, this is Teacher Lin En...right? This is the Intelligence Department. The Chairman has entrusted us to cooperate with you..."

Listening to the slightly restrained voice coming from the phone, Lin En sighed softly.

"Forget it. Instead of sulking here, I might as well go meet these guys who made me owe them favors for no reason."

--------

Deep in a jungle, next to a mountain hut that cannot be detected by most detection instruments, is where Liquidambar is at the moment.

"..."

After looking around, the tied-up Fengxiang looked speechlessly at Haruna who was sitting next to her.

"How is it, Fengxiang-san? I carefully arranged this place, and since it's deep in the jungle, most detection instruments and communication tools can't find you or contact you. So, we have a lot of time to slowly prepare the food..."

In response to Haruna's answer, Akari smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, and the air here is very fresh!"

Although Fengxiang didn't know why Haruna's words to her made her inexplicably want to complain, she wanted to complain about something else rather than this.

"How come I've never heard of such a large jungle in Gehenna? Besides, why would you set up a secret base in a jungle so far away from the city?"

Unexpectedly, in response to Fengxiang's question, Haruna nodded in agreement.

"Since I brought Fengxiang here without any prior notice, it's normal for me to have such doubts... In that case, I will explain it to Fengxiang from the beginning."

Haruna said this while looking seriously at Kaede who blinked in confusion.

"Mr. Fengxiang, what do you think is the most critical factor in the ingredients used to make dishes?"

"Why has the topic suddenly become so serious..."

Looking at Haruna in front of her who had inexplicably entered a certain state, Fengxiang thought for a moment and then answered.

"I think... probably because of the freshness."

"exactly."

Hearing Fengxiang's answer, Haruna smiled and snapped her fingers.

"Freshness is undoubtedly the most important indicator of ingredients. After all, no matter how high-quality the ingredients are, they cannot withstand the test of time. Although there are now low-temperature freezing and even [ripening] processing methods. But even so, they are definitely not comparable to freshly picked ingredients... Am I right, Fengxiang-san?"

However, before Fengxiang could respond to Haruna's words, Izumi, who was biting her finger, asked with some confusion.

"But, but, I don't think food that has just started to rot is too bad to eat, right?"

Seeing that the atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward, Junko, who was sitting on a wooden stool nearby, sighed.

"First of all, I think your condition cannot be used to measure ordinary people. Secondly..."

As Jun said this, he stood up and walked behind Quan, and reached out to grab the back of her clothes.

"As someone with zero cooking skills, I think we shouldn't interfere with the communication between chefs."

"Eh? The chef who is here to cook for us can't listen to our opinions——"

After the complaining Izumi was dragged away by Junko, Haruna coughed lightly as if to break the slightly depressing atmosphere.

"That's right. Although cooked or pickled foods have their own unique flavor, if there is a chance to choose, fresh ingredients are definitely better... Fengxiang, do you understand?"

After listening to Haruna repeating this common sense of life that anyone with a little cooking knowledge would know and could even be said to be so basic that it couldn't be more basic, Fengxiang looked at Haruna again.

"So? Does this have anything to do with you kidnapping me into this jungle?"

Seeing that Fengxiang seemed to be finally ready to get straight to the point, Haruna's expression couldn't help but become serious again.

"I think Fengxiang should still remember the motto of our Food Research Department? [Eat or Die]... That's right, it's [Eat or die]! In other words, we are all people who can sacrifice our lives for the [food] in our hearts!"

"But every time you cause trouble, it's my life that's sacrificed in the end, right?! Does this have anything to do with what you just discussed?!"

"Of course it's relevant."

Facing Fengxiang who looked "frustrated", Haruna gently lifted the silver hair by her ear and replied with a smile.

"As we just said, the freshness of the ingredients determines the deliciousness of the dishes made from them. But no matter what, as long as there is the process of [transportation], its freshness will inevitably be damaged. And we ignored this point in the past."

Looking at Haruna who looked as if she had attained enlightenment, Fengxiang's ominous premonition came to her mind again.

"Come to think of it, you said before that you had prepared precious ingredients. Could it be that..."

"As expected of Fengxiang-san, you understood my thoughts almost instantly!"

Haruna clapped her hands with a little excitement, then looked at Fengxiang with some expectation.

"That's right. Whether you choose to bring the ingredients to Fengxiang or prepare the ingredients in advance and then go to Fengxiang, it will take time. During this period, the freshness of the ingredients will gradually disappear..."

As Haruna's voice gradually lowered, a shadow seemed to flash through the woods not far from the crowd.

In addition to their conversations, there seemed to be some unusual sounds in the nearby jungle -

It was a panting sound, like the roar of some wild beast.

After noticing that the atmosphere around her was gradually becoming a little weird, Fengxiang swallowed with some difficulty.

Seeing that Fengxiang seemed to understand something, Haruna smiled and nodded at her, speaking softly.

"In that case, as long as we bring the fresh Fengxiang-san to the fresh ingredients... wouldn't that be the end of the matter?"

“Is it finally me who gets the title of [Fresh]?!”

Perhaps it was attracted by Fengxiang's suddenly loud voice, or perhaps it was because it had been planning to attack the girls who had disturbed its rest and trespassed into its territory, but the black shadow in the jungle finally began to gradually close the distance between them.

"Haha, it seems like it's finally coming!"

It was clearly a very cute sentence, but coupled with Mingli's action of opening the safety of the gun in her hand, there was an indescribable sense of weirdness.

"Yes... just like a lamb that was moved by our spirit and sacrificed itself..."

As Haruna said this, she loaded the rifle in her hand, and for some reason her cheeks flushed slightly.

"…So can you guys give me a hint? What exactly are you going to use as ingredients?"

Hearing Fengxiang's question, Junko came to her side, checked the magazine, glanced at Akari and Haruna who were on high alert not far away, and answered Fengxiang with a smile.

"Although some ordinary animal meat can also be made into dishes, but considering Mingli and Izumi's appetite, we can only choose some relatively larger creatures as ingredients..."

Without waiting for Junko to finish her words, Izumi, who was holding a machine gun at the side, revealed the answer with shining eyes.

“It’s just a wild boar!”

"Oh... it's just a wild boar... that's okay..."

But before Fengxiang could finish his sigh, a wild boar almost as big as a pickup truck rushed out from the bushes!

"Roar--"

Along with the roar of the wild boar, in addition to the sound of gunfire, there was Fengxiang's tearful accusation -

"This thing can no longer be called 'just a wild boar', right?!"

Chapter 12: The Unreliable Engineering Department

Following the guidance of the Intelligence Department of the Gehenna Discipline Committee over the phone, Lin En drove southeast for more than ten minutes and arrived in front of a forest.

"Wow..."

Looking at the endless forest in front of her, Julie couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"…Is this still within Gehenna's territory?"

After getting off the truck, Lin En frowned slightly, stepped lightly on the ground, and looked at the iron fence not far away.

"This place is still within the territory of Gehenna Academy. We can guarantee that."

The member of the Intelligence Department first gave an affirmative response, and then continued speaking amid the sound of keyboard typing.

"Also, the positioning device that the Intelligence Department members attached to the Gourmet Research Department's car earlier did point to this place... Please wait a moment, I will investigate the situation."

"... Did you install a positioning device on our truck as well?"

After hearing Lin En's subconscious question, the keyboard tapping sound coming from the phone receiver obviously stopped for a moment. But then the other party coughed and spoke calmly as if he didn't hear his words.

"This is not an ordinary forest, but a private place that has been certified and approved by both the Federal Student Union and the Pantheon... As for who owns this place... the Black Hall Group?"

"Wait... Kurokan... isn't that Haruna-san's last name?"

After Lin En muttered to himself with a hint of doubt, a positive reply came from a member of the Intelligence Department on the phone.

"Yes. According to the registered information, this is Haruna-san's private territory."

“…No wonder she was so confident in blowing up those restaurants. I didn’t expect this guy to be a big shot.”

After complaining like this, Lin En rubbed his temple in distress.

"If this is Haruna's private territory, then we can't just rush in and arrest her. And there should be guards in such a place, so things will probably become very troublesome..."

"How could this happen?! Could it be that... we will never see Fengxiang-senpai again from now on..."

Hearing Julie's slightly panicked words, Lynn couldn't help but smile bitterly and touched her head.

"That's not the case. I guess they will release Fengxiang after they finish the things they are doing."

After hearing the conversation between the two, members of the Intelligence Department of the Discipline Committee gave their own suggestions.

"But... because the other party's abduction of the Minister of Supply is not in compliance with the law, if you can obtain the search permit, Teacher Lin En, you can go in and search openly."

"That's a method, but just now I remembered the things I ordered at Millennium Science Academy. Considering the time, they should have finished it by now, right?"

"Eh...Eh?"

Faced with Lin En's somewhat nonsensical remarks, the member of the Intelligence Department was suddenly at a loss.

"But thank you all the same. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to track this place so quickly."

"No... You're welcome... This is after all an order from Chairman Hinata..."

After hanging up the call with the Intelligence Department of the Discipline Committee, Lin En dialed another number under Julie's puzzled gaze.

"Hello? Is this Utahara-san?"

"Oh, I guessed wrong, Teacher Lin En, this is Xiangyo——"

Hearing the slightly lazy voice coming into his ears, Lin En chuckled.

"Good morning, Hibiki-san. But why are you the one answering the phone? Where's Utahara-san?"

"Fufu... Of course I predicted it, and I've been waiting. Waiting for the moment when the teacher would call me—"

However, before Xiang could finish his words, a series of ping-pong sounds came from the other end of the line.

And I don’t know if it was Lin En’s illusion, but after the ping-pong sounds, he seemed to vaguely hear the sound of mortar shells exploding and submachine gun fire coming from over there.