Chapter 25: Winter Interschool Festival (1)

"Here’s your hot dog and cola, sir."

Emily put on her brightest, most professional smile as she handed the tray to the customer.

Then she turned toward Lars, who was busy working at the griddle behind her.

"Two more hot dogs, two hamburgers, and three orders of fries, please."

"Right away, miss."

Emily spent a few moments watching him cook, blinking in disbelief.

The last thing she had expected was to see him cooperating so actively.

To prepare for the festival, Emily had even read a manual on how to deal with customers and passed its guidelines on to the rest of the group.

Lars not only followed them to the letter, but seemed to have added his own touch as well.

His manner was courteous and elegant, with a kind of old-fashioned gallantry that stood out to Emily.

She had deliberately chosen to work with him because she had expected him to be the most difficult person in the group.

Instead, Lars was turning out to be almost the model coworker.

"Miss, the order is ready."

Lars held out the tray to her, and Emily reached out to take it.

Or at least, that was the plan.

The moment she found herself face-to-face with Lars and their fingers brushed as they passed the tray between them, Emily froze.

A blush immediately crept all the way to the tips of her ears.

W-What the hell is wrong with me...?!

Damn it, pairing up with him was the worst decision I could’ve made! How am I supposed to focus on work like this...?

Ugh... couldn’t he have just kept acting like an asshole like usual?! That would’ve made everything so much easier...

Emily was handing the tray to the customers when a conversation between two teachers from another school, standing a little farther away, caught her attention.

"Those Miskatonic people really went all out with these stalls, huh?" one of them said, taking a bite of cheesecake.

"Well... who knows when they’ll get another chance to host the Winter Interschool Festival. The two of us will probably be long retired by then," the other replied with a laugh.

"Come on, give them a break. They’re not that much of a disaster as a school."

He took another forkful of cheesecake.

"More or less."

The other man burst out laughing.

"Still, I’m half tempted to start a petition to hold it here every year. Seriously, they thought of every little detail."

"Can’t argue with that. Whoever organized these stalls did a damn good job."

"The volleyball tournament will begin at Court A in thirty minutes, while the rugby tournament will start at Field C. Due to the large turnout, we recommend that spectators make their way to the stands now."

The announcement echoed from the loudspeakers scattered across Miskatonic’s vast outdoor grounds.

Immediately afterward, the lines at the food stalls began thinning out rapidly, and within ten minutes, no one was left waiting.

Emily was finally able to let out a long sigh of relief and catch her breath. Until then, she hadn’t stopped for even a moment.

She slumped limply over the counter, finally letting her impeccable composure slip for a moment.

"Aah... half the day is already over. Thank goodness everything’s going smoothly."

"Things always go well when there’s solid organization behind them."

Lars said it in his usual cold, detached tone.

And yet, to Emily, those words sounded like the warmest compliment he could have given her.

A faint smile appeared on her face, already flushed from the cold — and not just from that.

Emily lowered her gaze slightly and clasped her hands against her chest.

"T-Thank you... really."

"No need to thank me. It was simply an observation."

Lars had his back to her as he spoke. He was taking advantage of the brief lull to clean the griddle when Emily stepped up beside him.

She took her place at the station next to his and pulled a burger patty from the freezer.

"What do you want on it?"

"That won’t be necessary. I’m not hungry."

"Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t keep going on an empty stomach."

"Don’t worry about it. Thanks anyway."

"No. I’m the one who should be thanking you. You were incredible this morning. Honestly, I don’t know how we would’ve kept up with all those orders without you."

Emily placed the patty on the scorching griddle.

"...You’ve done a lot for me. Now get some rest and let me do something for you."

"I already told you—"

Seeing that Emily kept flipping the burger with the spatula without even listening to him, Lars cut himself off and let out a long, resigned sigh.

"...Put whatever you want on it."

Emily didn’t need to be told twice and immediately got to work.

"...Meat... cheddar... lettuce... tomato... pickles... yeah, let’s add some. Ketchup... mustard... et voilà!"

She suddenly turned toward Lars and held the burger out to him with both hands.

"Enjoy!"

She looked like a little girl handing her parents a craft project she had just finished in kindergarten, anxiously waiting to hear how well she had done.

Lars slowly brought the burger to his lips.

After a moment of hesitation, he took the tiniest bite, with such caution that it looked as though he had never eaten one before.

"Does it really look that bad...?" Emily asked, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

After all, she had no way of knowing that Lars hadn’t eaten a hamburger in over a hundred years.

Truth be told, he could no longer even remember what one tasted like.

The first small bite was followed by a second, much bigger one. Then a third, even more voracious.

Within just a few bites, the burger was completely gone.

...The taste isn’t bad at all.

I’m certain hamburgers a century ago weren’t this good. Otherwise, I would’ve remembered.

Apparently, humans have made progress when it comes to food as well.

Seeing him devour her creation with such enthusiasm, Emily’s satisfied smile immediately returned.

"So? Did you like it?"

"Very good."

That simple compliment was enough to send Emily over the moon.

"I-I’m really glad! If you want another one, just ask! I’ll make you as many as you want!"

"I’m fine like this, really."

"Okay. Then I’ll go check on the other stalls and see how they’re doing. I’ll be back soon."

She took a few steps, then turned back toward him.

"And make sure you rest! Once the sports tournaments are over, we’ll have ten times more work than we did this morning!"

Lars simply waved a hand in acknowledgment.