The Envied Archmage (1)

“Um... what is all this?”

The most languid Thursday afternoon imaginable.

Since I had no classes, I’d planned to spend the entire day sleeping, but a savory smell tickled the tip of my nose and woke me without my realizing it.

Through my blurry vision, I saw nothing but meat, meat, and more meat.

Let’s see. This here is tenderloin, and that’s sirloin. This one’s striploin, and the one at the far end... is that rib cap?

Each cut had been perfectly seared—a grand feast rarely seen even in the dining hall at Rinea Hall.

As if that weren’t all, the expressionless head maid, Miss Odette, was busily carrying dishes back and forth.

This... I couldn’t even eat a quarter of it.

I blinked vacantly, then raised my head slightly.

Unlike Odette, the two people before me wore remarkably varied expressions...