That was indeed good news. At the very least, the meals served at the canteen were much more delicious than the meals given to sergeants and lieutenants in the canteen. Even the ingredients used were of a higher grade.
For instance, the codfish steak Claude chose at the canteen was freshly made. It wasn't like the ones in the canteen, which only had one type of steak to choose from.
Even the bread was honey white with quite a number of eggs mixed in. It tasted fresh and soft.
Claude didn't even think that he would be served a glass of aperitif after ordering his meal.
It had to be said that there was a huge disparity between the different ranks of the kingdom's army. Claude sighed as he savored the aperitif. It was no wonder Skri wanted to be promoted to field officer when he was still a captain. It turned out that he was already aware of the disparity in treatment when he was the first prince's aide and was greatly affected by it.
After enjoying the delicious meal in the officer's box, Claude went to Manrique's office.
The moment he entered, he noticed that Manrique's dinner was even more extravagant than his.
Among the three bottles of fruit wine on the desk, two of them were unopened. There were five or six plates on the table, including roasted snails, sashimi, fresh black strawberries, and a large pot of lamb steaks.
That's not right. Isn't Lieutenant Colonel Manrique always like a trembling miser because of his family affairs? How could he possibly enjoy a dinner that exceeds the standard of a lieutenant colonel? Unless he's paying for it himself.
What happened to him that he doesn't want to live his life anymore?
Claude estimated that the food on the table was worth two to three crowns.
"Come, have a drink with me." Manrique didn't mind Claude's uninvited entrance.
The two had gotten so close that they almost kowtowed to each other.
Claude believed that the reason he was able to enjoy the treatment of a field officer in the canteen was because of his good friend.
Manrique poured a glass of wine for Claude and set up a knife and fork. "Choose whatever you want to eat. Let's drink to our hearts' content today."
"Wait, bro, where did these dishes come from?" Claude wanted to get to the bottom of it so he could eat with less worry.
Manrique was taken aback, but he quickly understood what Claude meant.
He laughed out loud and said, "Don't worry, I won't cheat you. This table of food and wine came from a clean source.
Although it wasn't his brother who paid for it, it wasn't his brother who embezzled public funds for his own enjoyment.
This had originally been prepared for the big shots who had come to the military academy, but the big shots had already left the academy at 4 pm.
However, these high-grade ingredients had already been prepared, and it would be a waste if they were left there for too long.
So, all the high-ranking officers who stayed in the military academy are in luck. This is Old Bro's share... "
So that's how it was. He immediately understood where the egg-flavored honey bread he ate in the canteen came from.
He had always found it strange. Even if there was a difference in treatment between a major and a junior officer, it shouldn't be that big.
While it was possible to get honey bread under normal circumstances, it was a little too expensive to get so many eggs. It turned out that tonight's meal was an exception.
Now that he knew where the dishes on the table came from, Claude sat down and ate without any worries.
However, he didn't drink too much. He only took the glass Manrique poured for him and slowly savored it. When Manrique wanted to open another bottle, Claude stopped him and told him to keep the two unopened bottles for later tasting. He didn't want to ride back drunk.
Claude also asked if he could apply for a two-day leave to go to the royal capital since he wasn't busy for the next few days.
Who would have thought that Lieutenant Colonel Manrique would slap the table and say in a heroic manner, "What leave? There's no need for leave. It just so happens that I'm going to the Ministry of the Army in King's City to handle some official business tomorrow. You can go with me as part of my entourage and visit your three nephews and nieces on the way …"
That solved Claude's problem perfectly. Even though Manrique was the administrative officer of the military academy, he couldn't approve Claude's request alone.
As a cadet who had come to the military academy for training, the formal procedure for applying for leave should be for the cadet to first write a leave application form and hand it over to the instructor in charge. The instructor would then forward it to the administrative office, where the staff of the administrative office would investigate whether the cadet's leave application had been falsified.
After that, the results of the investigation would be handed over to Lieutenant Colonel Manrique, who would decide whether to reject the student's request for leave or continue to hand it in. If he continued to hand it in, he would have to hand it over to the principal's office, where it would have to be signed and approved by the head instructor, General Michelc Prist, who was the first principal of the military academy in place of Prince Hansbach. Only then would the student's request for leave be approved...
So, even if Manrique didn't make things difficult for Claude's application, it would still take at least two days for the headmaster's office to approve it.
Now that Manrique had listed Claude as one of his attendants, Claude would be going to the royal capital on official business and not for personal matters. That would make it much easier for him to move around.
"Arrive at the academy before eight tomorrow morning. I'll help you with the paperwork and you'll be leaving with me in the carriage," Manrique instructed.
After leaving the administrative office, Claude looked at the canteen where the candles were still lit and decided to head there again. After discussing it with the chefs in the canteen, he bought a small bag of honey egg bread and went to the stable to get his steed. He then rode out of the academy to Zahirak's house.
He pushed open the gate and led his steed in. He saw that the clothes and ropes in the yard had already been put away. They would probably be taken out to dry the next morning.
The weather had been pretty good for the past two days. There was a faint ray of sunlight. Even though it was the second month of the deglaciation period, Kalleben Village was rather dry due to its high elevation.
Apart from the frost on the roadside bushes and some thin snow on the fields, the road in the village was no longer muddy and difficult to walk on. Instead, it looked very dry and flat.
There was an oil lamp hanging from a wooden stick beside the well in the courtyard. Under the illumination of the oil lamp, Doris was washing a large iron pot while Nathalie was arranging plates and bowls in a rattan basket.
It seemed that they had just had dinner and were washing the utensils and cooking utensils.
Speaking of which, the well really was their family's treasure. It was the second month and the weather was still rather cold.
However, the water in the well wasn't cold at all. Instead, it felt rather warm and even gave off steam from time to time, like a hot spring.
That was why Nathalie's family habitually did all their cleaning work by the well. Had it not been for the fact that Claude's rented room had its own bathroom and bathroom, he might have had to wash his face and brush his teeth by the well like Zahirak did.
"Claude, you're back. Oh, what's that smells so good?" Nathalie turned around when she heard the commotion and greeted him warmly.
However, her nose was sharp and she immediately caught the scent of the honey egg bread Claude brought back from the canteen.
Claude had no choice but to hand over the bag in his hand. He had wanted to keep the bread for supper, but since Nathalie asked about it, he couldn't hide it anymore. So, he decided to do her a favor by handing it over. "Oh, it's this honey egg bread.
Some important people came to the academy today, so the canteen prepared this for them.
However, they didn't stay for dinner, so officers like us got lucky.
That's why I bought four for you and your family to have a taste. "
"Oh, Claude, you're too kind. How can we accept this?" Nathalie hurriedly wiped her hands on her apron and took the bag of bread. She lowered her head and sniffed hard. "Wow, it's really sweet. I can smell eggs and honey.
It must be expensive. Thank you, Claude. You don't have to spend so much money in the future. Just treat this place like your own home. Just let me know if you need anything. "
Claude nodded. "Actually, it didn't cost much. It's just that the academy doesn't usually have such good stuff. It's rare today, so I bought a few for everyone to have a taste."
As he said that, he led the horse to the barn and tied it up before adding some horse feed and water to the trough.
"Don't worry about it. I'll wait for my old man to come back and tell him to take care of your horse," said Nathalie.
"Don't worry about it. It's just something I can do. I'll be done right away."
Claude took off the saddle and put it aside. He used a brush to brush the horse's body and everything was done.
"By the way, Claude, do you want to shower tonight? If you do, I'll boil some hot water for you," Nathalie said politely.
Claude shook his head. "It's fine, Nathalie. I just showered last night, so I won't do it today.
I didn't move much during the day, so I didn't sweat much. I'm not dirty either. I'll just brush my teeth and wipe my face before bed. "
"Then I'll get Doris to fill up the water for you later. That way, you won't have to come out to wash your face and teeth at night," said Nathalie.
"No need, Nathalie. I'll do it myself.
If I add water to the water now, it'll only get cold at night. I might as well get a new bucket of water from the well. It's still steaming, so it won't get cold when I brush my teeth and wash my face. "
Claude waved his hand. Just as he was about to enter his room, he remembered that he had to go to the royal capital the next day. He turned to Nathalie and said, "By the way, Nathalie, I have some business to attend to tomorrow. I'll be going to the royal capital for two or three days.
So, I probably won't be back for the night after tomorrow. I'm warning you, don't leave the door open for me. "
Just as he was about to enter his room, he heard Nathalie mutter to her daughter-in-law, "Say, look at him. He's such a good lad. He's got a bright future and he's from a rich family. Why did he get married so early?
It's such a pity. I wanted him to be Bena's husband. "
Claude tripped on the door sill and almost fell to the ground.
Fortunately, he was nimble enough to grab hold of the door and stop himself from falling, allowing him to regain his balance.
Claude thought, Nathalie really wants her daughter to be married off. Thank goodness I'm already married. Otherwise, if it were an unmarried officer, they'd probably send Halbena to his bed overnight and force the two of them to get married at the moon goddess' shrine the next day.
He lit the oil lamp. It was already agreed that Claude would use it, but he would have to buy the oil himself.
He took out a knight's book from his pocket. He found it in Manrique's office. He had no idea who had left it there.
When Lieutenant Colonel Manrique had stayed behind at the military academy, he had relied on this book to kill time. He had flipped through it many times, and could even write a few similar books based on this book. It was just that his laziness had acted up and he had been unwilling to do so.
The knight's book was basically the same as the books Claude read when he first transmigrated. The only difference was that the magi in this book didn't seem to be evil.
It could be said that the magi in the book didn't care about the lives of the common folk and viewed them as ants.
However, he didn't do anything bad to harm them. Even when he bought food and drinks in town, he paid for them as usual.
There was even a scoundrel who wanted to become his disciple and pestered him for the sake of learning magic. Even so, he was tossed aside and didn't harm him.
Then, in order to hunt a demonic dragon for precious magic materials, the magi fought with the dragon and brought disaster to several villages. The lives of the common folk were greatly threatened, but the magi didn't do anything about it.
In the end, the dragon and the magi both suffered heavy injuries and could only retreat to recuperate.
At this time, the main character finally appeared. He was the son of a noble. He had a beautiful countenance and was a very handsome young knight. He was usually kind and charitable and liked to help others.
When the main character heard about the demonic dragon, he prepared to go out and kill the evil dragon that harmed the common folk.
What followed were all sorts of miraculous and romantic encounters. He had all sorts of beauties by his side.
Claude suddenly felt that this knight's plot was quite similar to the novels he saw in his past life. For instance, the moment the main character said he was going to destroy a monster, the beauties around him would charge forward without a care and beat the monster up so badly that even its mother wouldn't be able to recognize it.
Thus, the young and beautiful main character gained the respect and love of the common folk once more. In fact, he didn't even have to do anything at all. It was all the beauties around him that helped him.
Then, something even more melodramatic happened. The proud daughter of the magi, who was hailed as a magical genius that only appeared once in 300 years, went to seek revenge for her father.
As expected, the magi's daughter and the main character met and fell in love at first sight.
So, the magi's daughter gave the main character all the magical items she had stolen from her father to the main character.
The ending of the story was that the main character survived with the help of the magical items, while the magi's daughter perished together with the dragon.
The main character sadly received the title of dragon-slaying warrior. With a broken heart, he left with the beauties who survived.
Before he left, he bid the magi's daughter's grave an emotional farewell: I'll never forget the love you gave me for the rest of my life.
Claude was so disgusted that he wanted to toss the book into the fire. The main character was too disgusting. He was clearly a scumbag who relied on his so-called handsome face to trick the beauties into working for him while he enjoyed the fruits of his labor.
And those beauties were all brainless. Compared to the female fans of the Korean guys in his past life …
Had he known this would happen, he wouldn't have wasted the entire night on this trash book.
Just as he was about to go wash his face and brush his teeth, he heard a knock on his door. Natalie's voice came from outside. "Claude, you're not asleep yet, right?"
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m.