Survive in Azure Files

After listening to me talk like this, Fengxiang felt a little dizzy:

"Wow... Teacher, you said so much so casually that I don't know how to respond."

Another child who doesn't like to be praised.

I suddenly felt that there were too many good girls in Kivotos who lacked the care and recognition from others. Perhaps one of my major missions in this world was to make up for the lack of such care in their growth process.

After all, no matter what, I am still a "teacher".

In other words, I want to help these love-deprived girls step onto the ladder of adulthood.

"Haha." I didn't answer directly. Instead, I winked and whispered mysteriously to Fengxiang, "And think about it, the few people who sent letters of complaint are definitely not sympathetic to you, a fool who does whatever he wants. They are not worthy of your hard work. If they don't come to the cafeteria, won't it just reduce your burden?"

Fengxiang was dumbfounded and stammered, "How, how can you think like that? Meeting the needs of students is the responsibility of the supply department..."

"It should be 'meeting the needs of students who come to eat', right? Since they are already dissatisfied enough to complain, they must be assumed to be students who don't come to eat, right? Then why bother with their opinions?"

"This this……"

Fengxiang frowned, trying to find any omissions and refute my twisted logic.

However, I chuckled and raised my hands in surrender: "Okay, it's just a joke. I just made this up. Fengxiang, don't take it too seriously."

"...Teacher~ You really are such a fool!"

Fengxiang puffed up her face and said coquettishly, but there was a smile between her brows.

"But," I straightened my expression and said seriously, "Fengxiang, you really don't need to care too much about other people's slander. As long as you do your best and live up to your conscience, that's enough. No matter what, at least I know that you work harder than anyone else."

I shrugged and spread my hands. "So, when you need me again someday, I will still stand by your side without hesitation, as the number one customer of the famous chef Feng Xiang."

Having said that, Fengxiang must be in a better mood now.

But Fengxiang gave me a look of resentment and muttered, "Teacher, how can you say such shameful words without changing your expression? How should I respond?"

It seems like I'm using too much force.

I looked away awkwardly and touched my nose: "I'm sorry, because all the words came from my heart, so I said them out without thinking."

"Haha~"

Fengxiang couldn't hold back her expression and laughed like a silver bell: "I was just kidding~ Didn't the teacher just tell me not to worry if I can't convey it?"

I couldn't help but complain: "Is this the same thing?"

"Hmm~ Because the teacher teased me with his twisted logic, I want to tease him back in the same way~"

Fengxiang stuck out her tongue at me playfully: "Don't underestimate a girl's desire for revenge, okay? Hehe~ Anyway, thank you for your enlightenment, teacher. I'm in a good mood now."

You can tell. They are so good that they dare to be disrespectful to the teacher.

"Okay, no more small talk, the ingredients have all been chosen."

Only then did I realize that my shopping cart had been filled with all kinds of food without me noticing.

Fengxiang must have completed it while we were talking.

"So once we buy these, is the shopping process over?"

The quantity is much less than I expected. If that were the only thing, my help would not be needed at all.

But we cannot rule out the possibility that Fengxiang deliberately found an excuse to meet me.

You can't blame me for thinking too much. There's no other way. As a handsome man with natural beauty, I have to be careful if I want to survive in Kivotos, which is like a den of dragons and tigers.

Otherwise, I will pay a heavy price for my carelessness. For details, please refer to the Hoshino bond plot that I entered a few days ago.

"No, teacher." Fengxiang said with a radiant look, "The real purchase has just begun!"

Looking at Fengxiang's high spirits, I couldn't help but applaud twice: "Wow, that feels so great."

"Oh - stop talking!"

After this, Liquidambar showed me what real shopping is.

That is, through skillful salesmanship and placing large orders at the right time, they can purchase large quantities of high-quality ingredients from the store at extremely favorable prices.

I watched the whole process from the sidelines, and praised Fengxiang, who looked confident and victorious, saying, "That's amazing, Fengxiang."

"I am the Minister of Supply of Gehenna. This kind of thing is just a common occurrence for me!"

Even though she said this, Fengxiang couldn't hide her joy on her face: "Okay, let's go back, teacher!"

"Ah."

So, Fengxiang and I left the supermarket with some ingredients that were probably for sampling, and headed to the parking lot to return to the academy.

But as he approached, Fengxiang's faint smile gradually turned solemn.

Because she had already seen that, at this moment, sitting in the driver's seat of the supply department's pickup truck, was a seemingly gentle blonde girl.

The blonde girl who looked familiar to me also noticed us and waved to us with a smile.

Fengxiang, with an increasingly ugly expression, grabbed my hand and said, "Teacher, there is no time to explain. Come with me!"

"Hey! Fengxiang, where do you want to go?"

However, as soon as we turned around, we saw a short girl with red hair and twin ponytails, holding a hemp rope and with a slightly playful expression, blocking our way.

In the other direction, there was a gray-haired girl with twin ponytails, holding a piece of tape in her left hand and a hot dog in her right hand, stuffing it into her mouth. Because her mouth was full of food, she could only mumble something incoherently.

Finally, with the sound of high heels stepping on the concrete floor, a silver-haired girl wearing a coat and looking proud and dignified walked out from the darkness:

"Okay~ Fengxiang, please do as usual... Hey, have we met the adults over there before?"

Yes, I have seen it, more than once.

I finally recognized the identities of these four people——

Gehenna Academy, Food Research Society.

Chapter 47 Fengxiang: I have no objection

The old pickup truck was moving more unsteadily on the road than when it came.

The silver-haired girl sitting in the passenger seat turned her head and said with a proper and polite smile in the tone of a young lady:

"Oh, so you are the teacher of the famous Xia Lai. I am so sorry. I didn't expect that we have met so many times. It seems that there is a wonderful fate between us."

It's more of a bad fate than a fate. Although this was the first direct contact, I had witnessed their crimes several times in the relatively short time since I came to Kivotos.

At this point, I was actually captured by the Food Research Society and was invited to get on the supply department's pickup truck with such politeness and enthusiasm that I couldn't refuse.

It can simply be called a disaster from the sky.

When I thought of this, I was sitting in the trunk, feeling the bumps of the road and the ups and downs of fate. I upheld my dignity as a teacher and nodded righteously, "Yes, I think so too."

Broadly speaking, isn't bad fate also a kind of fate?

This is your assessment of the situation.

"Hehe~ Excuse me, I haven't introduced myself yet."

Hearing what I said, the silver-haired girl narrowed her eyes and smiled. Although she had the aura of a rich lady and would do something terrifying like blowing up a store if she was not satisfied with the quality of the food, her attitude was quite kind:

"I am Haruna Kurodate, the director of the Gehenna Gourmet Research Society, whose purpose is to explore the true meaning of gourmet food. I am also working hard to pursue delicious food today. Please give me your guidance."

Immediately afterwards, the remaining three members of the Food Research Society also spoke up.

"It's my turn~" The blonde girl sitting in the driver's seat, with a childish and gentle look, said, "Teacher, this is Akari Kujirobuchi from the Food Research Society. Let's go eat delicious food together if we have a chance~"

Then there was the short red-haired girl with twin ponytails. She narrowed her eyes and looked up with a rather cold expression. She just gave her name, and her first impression was that she was not approachable: "Akagi Junko."

Finally, it was the gray-haired energetic girl who was holding a hot dog of a rather suspicious color and tasting it with relish. After her companions finished talking, she swallowed the food in her mouth, licked the corner of her mouth with satisfaction, and showed me an unguarded cheerful smile:

"Hello, teacher. My name is Izumi Shizidou! Um, are you interested in the chocolate mint hot dog in my hand?"

Quan noticed my gaze and unconsciously looked at the half-eaten hot dog that was leaking a strange blue-green juice mixed with black crumbs from the gap. Quan asked excitedly.

...What kind of weird combination is this? Even if Ellie, who loves chocolate mint desserts, comes here, she will be discouraged by this, right? Don't make an expression like you are reluctant but still decide to give me some? !

I quickly found an excuse and politely declined Quan's kindness.

After this round, I officially got to know the Food Research Association.

So far, none of them have shown any obvious hostility towards me, which can be seen as a good sign.

I nodded secretly, and then gave a gentle and warm smile: "Okay, Haruna, Akari, Junko, Izumi, let's get along well from now on."

As a result, the atmosphere in the car became more and more joyful, and there was a harmonious scene between teachers and students.

If you ignore the corner of the trunk, where Fengxiang was tied up with hemp ropes, her mouth was sealed with tape, she had given up struggling and was lying down, with only traces of tears in the corners of her eyes.

I quickly became familiar with the criminal who kidnapped Fengxiang without permission. Looking at Fengxiang's miserable yet inexplicably funny appearance, I couldn't help but feel a subtle sense of guilt.

I'm sorry Fengxiang, your teacher is also helpless now. I can only use a temporary measure to stabilize them, and then find a chance to save you.

Now that I've come to understand, I finally understood why I felt Fengxiang looked familiar to me the last time I saw her in the Gehenna cafeteria. It turns out that I've actually seen this sister before.

Looking back, when I had just arrived in Kivotos a few days ago and witnessed the charm of the Gourmet Research Society for the first time, the student who was kidnapped, now thinking back, was definitely Fengxiang.

"Excuse me," I asked as politely as I could, "but what are you looking for Liquidambar for?"

"Hehe~ Is there any other reason why our Gourmet Research Society kidnapped the chef?"

Haruna said the word "kidnapping" as if nothing had happened, and looked into the distance with a gradually unfocused look in her eyes, as if she was daydreaming about something:

"Our goal, of course, is to hope that Fengxiang can help us cook the rare ingredients that are extremely difficult to obtain into the most delicious form!"

Junko wiped the saliva that was about to flow from the corner of her mouth and said, "Just ask Fengxiang to do her job as a chef!"

Quan's eyes sparkled as he said with longing, "It is said that only one lobster in two million comes out. What would a Brittany lobster taste like? If it were topped with peanut butter and chocolate sauce...gulp."

The air was suddenly quiet, leaving only the sound of the car engine and the passing wind.

After a while, Haruna spoke with some difficulty: "... Izumi, I know that everyone has different definitions of delicious food, but... this combination is still a bit too advanced, right?"

"Eh? Is that so?"

In the awkward atmosphere, I cleared my throat to attract everyone's attention and asked tentatively:

"If it's just for this matter, there's no need to kidnap Fengxiang, right? At least, there's no need to restrict her personal freedom like this?"

"It's okay, teacher," said Mingli, who was driving. "Fengxiang is already used to it."

I think this is not something you can say from your position, right?

Haruna nodded in approval, "Yes, that's right~ Look, Fengxiang even shed tears of emotion after experiencing our love for food firsthand~"

I don't think these tears were due to emotion.

Mingli couldn't help but sigh: "Maybe this is the resonance between the chef and the diners as soul friends?"

Seeing that I was hesitant to speak, Haruna comforted me, "Teacher, don't worry, Fengxiang has already agreed to everything just now, right?"

...Before you say this, could you please tear off the tape on Fengxiang's mouth?

Not only was she kidnapped, but her dignity was also insulted. Fengxiang began to twist her body violently and made grunting sounds to express her protest.

Mingli chuckled, and then pretended to be serious, but she couldn't hide the strong sense of bad taste in her words:

"Teacher, did you hear that?"

"what?"

"Fengxiang said she has no objection."

"Ugh! Uh-huh!"

Fengxiang closed her eyes and tears flowed down.

Chapter 48: Goals of the Gourmet Research Society

In short, after being teased by Akari and Haruna, Fengxiang was finally untied.

Rubbing her red wrists, she thanked me softly and took the handkerchief I handed her to wipe her face. Fengxiang sniffed and complained, "Why is it always like this? Can't you invite me in a normal way?"

"Haha~ Of course it's because if I invite her politely, Fengxiang-san won't agree~"

"It's because you guys always don't care about my feelings at all!"