Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

There are numerous liberal arts classes at Bellium Academy. Tea ceremonies, chess, ink wash painting, Western painting, mountaineering, swimming, and strolling are among the offerings. They are all intended to provide students with a break, and thus, no tests are given.

Among these classes, the most popular one is undoubtedly cooking. The reason for this is that it is one of the few liberal arts classes where students can compete with each other.

It seems that even in a class meant for relaxation, humans can’t help but seek competition.

“Girls can legally boast about their superior cooking skills, and boys can try to advance their relationships by praising the girls’ cooking.” It is no wonder that this class is always fully booked. The competition for enrollment is also fierce.

“Today, we have a special guest, the Saint, who will be joining us.”

However, the story changes when the guests are none other than the unique Saint and the Crown Prince.

Clap clap clap clap clap!

A thunderous applause erupted. The elderly female professor in charge of the class smiled warmly and joined in the applause. Rosalia looked embarrassed and waved back.

“I didn’t know that the Saint was interested in cooking.”

“Hehe… I suddenly felt like trying it out. I’m not good at it, though.”

“No one is good at anything from the start.”

The professor nodded leisurely, befitting her age.

“I was the same. I burnt meat, couldn’t get the soup right, and the dishes I made often burst at the sides. But all those experiences accumulated to make me who I am today. I hope the Saint will also have a wonderful time here and enjoy herself.”

A benevolent smile appeared on her face as she turned to the person next to Rosalia.

“We have many guests today. It is an overwhelming honor to have the Crown Prince with us.”

“It is not an overwhelming honor. You have been holding this position for over thirty years, and I believe your abilities have been proven by now.”

“I am grateful for your kind words. Shall we begin now?”

“Please do so.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The professor turned around. The students sitting at the assistant magic tools in the kitchen looked perplexed.

“Everyone, today, we have a special treat from the Crown Prince. He has provided us with ingredients used in the royal palace, so let’s change our plans. Instead of the recipe we announced last week, let’s go for a more luxurious dish.”

Another thunderous applause broke out. Their eyes shone with loyalty, as it was evident that their devotion to the Crown Prince was growing.

While Bellium Academy does provide good ingredients for the classes, they are incomparable to the finest ingredients used in the royal palace.

Moreover, the professor is one who doesn’t mind what happens to the ingredients as long as the intended dish is completed. Rather, she encourages students to take the leftovers home.

It is no wonder that there was an outburst of joy at the chance to taste ingredients used in the royal palace for free, and on top of that, they could take the leftovers home.

“Today, we will be making Espagnol sauce-coated Cote d’Agneau…”

As the professor explained the recipe, maids brought in the ingredients one by one, and everywhere, people exclaimed in awe.

“Wow,”

We moved to the very end of the kitchen as instructed beforehand, and Rosalia and Latina took their places confidently.

“Don’t forget the terms of the bet, Saint.”

“You, Latina, better remember what you will do after losing.”

Rosalia and Latina. These two were the reason we ended up participating in the cooking class today. Somehow, their conversation led to a bet on who is the better cook between them, and Priscilla, Elysier, Leona, and Laura found it amusing and joined in. The chairman was busy in many ways and couldn’t make it, and Nika was held captive by Beatrice.

Karna was hard to catch a glimpse of due to her busy schedule running around for the gate incidents.

“Then, let’s have Rosalia and Latina go first, and the rest will follow. Is that okay?”

“Sure. That’s fine.”

“I don’t mind.”

“That’s fine with me.”

“Alright then.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

I was the judge.

Well, I was, but I didn’t plan to give strict scores. I intended to give full marks as long as the dish was edible. Those two would grumble about what that meant, but it was better than one of them getting hurt.

Anyway, even without me, they would figure out a way to determine the winner and loser.

“Alright, let’s begin.”

At my signal, Rosalia and Latina started cooking in earnest, and we stepped back to observe them with interest.

“…”

Why is Latina putting the meat in the water before it even boils? No matter how fine the ingredients are, it doesn’t mean they can be cooked so crudely.

Latina, who started with an extraordinary cooking method, stood in stark contrast to Rosalia, who was making a salad by washing the vegetables cleanly and dressing them with sauce in an orthodox manner. Laura whispered to me.

“The result seems obvious already.”

“……Let’s wait until the end. Maybe she’s making stewed pork or braised pork.”

“If that’s the case, it’s fortunate. If she was making those dishes with such expensive meat, the royal chef would’ve grabbed her neck.”

Both dishes require quite a long cooking time, but surprisingly, there was a magic tool here that worked on magic. Asking how it was possible was meaningless in front of magic.

“Now, focus.”

The female professor knocked on the desk. The students, who had been sneaking glances at us, turned their heads awkwardly.

While it was understandable that they were curious, it wouldn’t be good for our conversation to leak out. I used perception hindrance magic and soundproofing magic to surround the area, and the students finally relaxed when they realized my intention.

“Alright, here’s the salad.”

Rosalia, who didn’t have much preparation to do, was the first to bring out a salad bowl. It was a salad with lettuce, endive, and cucumber as the main ingredients, decorated with various vegetables and cherry tomatoes.

I took a bite of the lettuce, and the crisp sound, along with the tangy taste of the salad dressing, spread through my mouth. The raw yet orthodox salad taste stimulated my tongue.

“What do you think?”

“It tastes like a salad. It’s delicious. You seem quite familiar with making it.”

“I used to eat it a lot when I was managing my figure.”

Rosalia briefly struck a pose that girls often used when taking pictures. Come to think of it, Rosalia before the possession used to work hard on her figure and appearance.

She even took a few pictures, confident that the response would be incredible if she posted them, but she hesitated and eventually gave up on creating an account because she was worried about strange guys approaching her.

“……”

“……”

While I almost finished the salad bowl, Rosalia just stood there. Our eyes met.

“Well, well?”

“Is that all? Are you really done?”

“Huh?”

Rosalia froze in place. And exactly three seconds later, she resumed her activities.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha! Look at me, forgetting to make the next dish! I’ll be right back!”

Rosalia, with an obviously unnatural laugh, returned to the cooking station. Her hands reached for an apron before the ingredients, and she wrapped it around herself.

Due to a certain distinctive body part, it became a peculiar outfit, but the apron served its intended function nonetheless.

“She was going to end it with just the salad.”

“It seems like she was going to end it with just the salad.”

Leona and Priscilla’s mutterings overlapped. Laura, who had only picked out the cherry tomatoes and poked at the other vegetables with a fork, also spoke up.

“An appetizer is also a kind of dish, but… is she really going to bring out just a salad when asked to make a dish?”

“Well, she did make the salad well. It doesn’t seem like she was lying about eating it often.”

“Isn’t it harder to mess up a salad?”

“……”

Rosalia was just staring intently at the high-quality ingredients in front of her, as if she didn’t know what to make.

Meanwhile, Latina confidently placed a plate on the table.

“It’s done.”

On the plate was boiled lamb.

“……?”

That was it.

“Is this really it?”

At my questioning glance, Latina nodded and then went, “Ah,” before bringing over gravy sauce and pouring it generously on top.

“I almost forgot about the sauce. Now it’s really done.”

“The royal chef would grab her neck if he knew.”

“…… Do you have anything else, Latina?”

“I just saw Rosalia bring out only a salad. That’s not a dish. So, if I bring out something that can be called a dish, I win. It’s the most efficient way to victory.”

Rosalia, who was chopping something in the back, flinched at Latina’s words.

“But she started over, too. So shouldn’t you make a proper dish as well?”

Latina opened her mouth wide, looking like she had been hit on the head.

Things were starting to get a bit awkward from the beginning.

“It’s a draw, isn’t it?”

“It doesn’t seem like an appropriate idiom to use in this situation, but…”

Laura and Elysier each gave their evaluations after seeing the results of the two. Both were so bad that it was hard to tell which was worse.

Rosalia and Latina shrunk at the harsh criticism. The fact that their dishes were evaluated as ‘so bad that it was hard to tell which was worse’ already meant that they had failed.

“You two just quietly watch. I will show you what cooking really is.”

Elysier was the first to stride towards the empty spot. Leona, who had adorably clenched her fist and silently shouted ‘fighting,’ followed behind, and Laura, who looked like she had a lot on her mind, stood in the remaining spot.

Priscilla was left alone next to me, looking at a manual for the magic tool with a frown on her face. It seemed like something wasn’t going well.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“Well, you see… Can I ask you just one thing?”

“Of course. What is it?”

“The recipe says to leave it for 10 minutes in three stages, right? So, I was thinking, if I leave it for 6 stages, wouldn’t it be done in just 5 minutes?”

“……”