I Reincarnated into the World of Otome Game with a Cheat Ability - Chapter 6

 Tuna Bread

After that, there wasn't much left to say. The two of us simply sat side-by-side on the same bench, shoulders practically touching, zoning out until the warning bell rang.

"Afternoon classes are about to start. We shall be late."

Josette stood up, made her remark, and pulled Kent to his feet by the hand. I didn't really understand what was going through her mind, but it didn't feel bad. At least, that's what Kent thought.

Ultimately, the moment we left the back of the school building, Josette bolted ahead and ran back to the classroom first.

Once classes wrapped up for the day, Kent went home. Operating his terminal, he spent 100G to purchase a certain item before heading over to the bakery for his shift. His remaining balance was down to a mere 40G.

"Welcome back, Kent-san."

"Welcome back, Onii-chan!"

"I'm home. Alright, I'll jump in and help out right away."

The shop was hectic again today, requiring us to bake an extra batch of bread. While Marie was prepping the dough, Kent spoke up with a suggestion.

"There's something I'd like to try out. Would it be alright if I used a little bit of the dough?"

"Oh? A new type of bread?" Marie asked, her face lighting up with excitement.

"What are you making this time, Onii-chan?" Catherine looked on, thoroughly intrigued.

"Today, I'm thinking of making tuna bread."

"Tuna bread?" Marie tilted her head, having never heard the name before.

"Well, let's see... Before baking, you shape the dough like this... score a cross-shaped slit across the top... then you take the tuna from this can, drain out the oil, mix it with mayonnaise... and stuff it right into the slit. Yeah, that should do it."

Before leaving his house, Kent had used the terminal to purchase a single can of tuna.

"Marie-san, could you bake this along with the rest?"

"Sure thing! I can't wait to see how it turns out."

A short while later, the bread finished baking. The mouthwatering aroma of toasted mayonnaise wafted through the air.

"Onii-chan! It smells delicious!"

Staring at the freshly baked buns, Catherine looked like she wanted to dive right in.

"Well then, would you two mind doing a taste test?"

At Kent's prompting, the two of them picked up the tuna bread and took a bite.

"Delicious! This substance called 'tuna'... the combination of this and the mayonnaise is wonderful. It's incredibly tasty."

"Onii-chan, this is so good!"

Marie chewed slowly, savoring every flavor, while Catherine devoured hers at lightning speed. Both of their faces were pictures of pure satisfaction. Kent picked one up himself and took a bite.

"Yeah, this turned out well."

This was the very first time Kent had eaten any ingredient other than plain bread since arriving in this world.

"Kent-san, the flavor is ready for the storefront immediately, but the issue is the cost... This food that comes inside the metal container looks quite expensive..."

Kent broke down the wholesale costs of the mayonnaise and canned tuna for Marie, explaining exactly how much volume would be needed per batch. Marie immediately set to work calculating the cost of production.

"We would essentially have to stack the cost directly on top of our current bread prices... The price will go up a bit, but it might just work. Let's do a small trial run tomorrow to see how the customers react."

With that decided, she handed Kent a piece of paper detailing the required quantities. Since the final batch of the day had already been baked, the tuna bread wouldn't hit the shelves until tomorrow. Before long, the last of the regular loaves sold out, and they closed up shop for the night.

"Great work today, Kent-san. Please handle the ingredients for tomorrow. Here are your wages and your bread. I'll hand over the procurement money in advance as well."

"Thank you very much. I'll make sure to bring them tomorrow without fail."

"See you tomorrow, Onii-chan!"

With that, I headed back to my house across the street. Today's wages were 500G. I needed to save this up bit by bit so I could finally afford some clothes. For now, I used the advance to purchase the requested mayonnaise and canned tuna.

The next morning, I went to the bakery for my morning shift.

"Good morning."

"Morning, Kent-san. Sorry to rush you the moment you walk through the door, but I'd like to get started on the tuna bread."

"Yes, ma'am. I brought the supplies."

I handed over the mayonnaise and the cans of tuna.

"Be careful when you open the lids on these tuna cans; the edges are sharp and it's easy to cut your hands."

Working together, the two of us prepared a mix of regular bread and tuna bread. Once baked, we lined them up in the storefront. Since it was a brand-new item, we prepared free samples this time as well. Intrigued by the unfamiliar-looking bread, customers began sampling it. Because the price point was a bit higher, it didn't sell out instantly like the yeast bread had, but we still managed to clear the entire inventory. As the morning peak passed, it became time for me to head to school.

"Great work, Kent-san. See you this evening. Oh, and here—these are some tuna breads that didn't turn out perfectly shaped. You should take them for your lunch."

She handed me two misshapen tuna breads that couldn't be put out for sale.

"Thank you! Alright, I'm off."

"See you later, Onii-chan!"

Kent arrived at school, and once the morning periods concluded, lunch break began. Heading to the back of the school building—which had practically become his daily routine—he sat down to eat his lunch. This time, his meal had been upgraded from plain bread to tuna bread.

"You have brought a rather peculiar bread today, haven't you?"

Sitting right next to Kent on the bench was Josette.

"This is that tuna bread I mentioned before... Though today's batch is just a couple of misshapen failures that couldn't be sold."

"Oh? So this is tuna bread? Nom, chew... My, this is delicious."

Before I even realized what was happening, Josette had already swiped one of the tuna breads and was happily eating it.

"Whoa, wait a minute—when did you even grab that?!"

Slipping into his usual casual habits, Kent responded exactly as he would to an old friend before freezing. Right, she's a Duke's daughter, even if she acts like this. He had to be careful not to commit an act of lèse-majesté or show disrespect.

Fortunately, she seemed entirely focused on devouring the food and paid his tone no mind, allowing Kent to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Josette-san, how come you don't eat lunch in the cafeteria anymore?"

"Well... up until now, I always ate at the school cafeteria, but the food is simply dreadful. Furthermore, perhaps out of caution around my status, everyone treats me with such distant formality. It is quite uncomfortable."

A Duke meant a relative of the royal family. They were the highest tier of nobility. Even standard nobles had to carry themselves with absolute deference around her.

"Sounds like you've got it rough."

"Genuinely... There have been countless times where I hated this environment so much that I was overcome with the urge to throw everything away. But recently, there has been a slight change in my surroundings, and the unpleasantness has faded a bit."

"Is that so?"

"It feels... as though I have found a place where I truly belong."

As the two of them engaged in casual chatter, the warning bell rang.

"Afternoon classes are starting. Let us go."

With that, the two of them walked back into the school building together. The afternoon periods eventually concluded, and school was dismissed.

On his way out, Kent caught sight of Rachel. She was currently surrounded by Josette and her two lackeys, who were aggressively shouting at her.

(Wait, I remember this scene... While they're arguing, Marc, the Knight Commander's son, is supposed to step in to break it up. His momentum pushes Josette back, causing her to fall over, which makes her furious enough to slap Rachel across the face, right?)

"Still haven't learned your lesson, have you? Creeping around the Prince again!"

"You really are a fool who cannot comprehend a simple warning!"

"Why don't you pack your bags and scurry back to the countryside?!"

Josette and her lackeys hurled their insults at Rachel.

"Cut it out!" Marc bellowed, stepping into the fray.

"Ah—!"

Pushed back by Marc's sudden intervention, Josette staggered backward, trying frantically to regain her balance, but ultimately wiped out, landing squarely on her backside.

""Lady Josette!"" the two lackeys shrieked.

As it happened, Kent was standing right next to the spot where Josette had fallen. Before the thought of 'Intervening in game events is bad' could even cross his mind, he found himself speaking to her.

"Josette-san, are you alright?"

Kent extended a hand toward her. Her face flushing red, Josette grabbed Kent's hand and pulled herself up.

"I am fine. Thank you for your concern. Now, if you will excuse me. Girls, we are leaving."

With that, Josette turned and marched away, trailing her two lackeys behind her.

"Wait... huh??? Why is she just leaving???" Rachel cried out, sounding completely deflated by the anticlimactic finish.

"Uh... um..."

Marc stood frozen in place. He had stepped in intending to mediate, but the whole thing had ended up looking like he had simply shoved a Duke's daughter to the ground for no reason.

Taking advantage of the sudden awkward silence, Kent quietly slipped away and left the scene.

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