V2C072: Alpha’s Buns

The Imperial Comprehensive Academy doesn’t restrict whether students live on campus or not due to the limited number of dormitories in the Academy. Therefore, students like Mu Gen who walked from their homes in the morning are not a minority, but because of the small number of students in the Cooking Department, all of them can live in the dormitories provided by the Academy. Only Mu Gen and another freshman, Doug, live outside by themselves.

When Mu Gen rushed to the meeting place, he happened to run into Doug, who was just in front of him.

“Doug, good morning ⊙▽⊙.” On the first day, he remembered all the names of the freshmen in the department, so Mu Gen naturally remembered Doug’s name.

“…” Lifting his glasses, Doug didn’t say a word.

“I’m Mu Gen.” The opponent’s indifference didn’t affect Mu Gen, and Mu Gen took the initiative to introduce his name again.

“Mu Gen, good morning.” This time, Doug finally greeted him.

Doug looked around for a while: The runway in the school plaza has been neatly packed with spacecrafts——the black military-standard spacecraft should be where they’re about to board in a while. A soldier in a black uniform stood beside each spacecraft with a grim expression in sharp contrast to the scattered students around them.

The chairpersons of various departments are vocally instructing the freshmen to organize into a formation, but these newly appointed chairpersons don’t seem qualified for this task. The students with large bags and small bags stood at the assembly point blankly since a lot of the students didn’t know where to go from here. Also, more students haven’t arrived yet——as teenagers who have just left home, their self-control is frankly lacking. Today’s meeting time is a lot earlier than the usual time for class so many haven’t gotten up yet.

Looking at the freshmen who were looking around with their luggage, Doug frowned imperceptibly. Carrying his small travel bag, he stood next to Mu Gen.

“Thank you for your message.” Doug referred to the text message from Mu Gen that he received from the smartwatch last night. It’s a list of the things that must be prepared to participate in the military training, as well as the time and place for the assembly.

The list is very concise and detailed, even planning the quantity and placement of things to be carried. Uninterested in the military training, Doug, who didn’t study for it, just prepared all the items according to Mu Gen’s list. There are a lot of things in the list that he didn’t even think of, but after everything was packed, the small military training backpack issued by the Academy was just right.

Putting the backpack on the ground, Doug noticed an equally full backpack at Mu Gen’s feet.

“You’re welcome.” Smiling at him, Mu Gen posted a digital sticker on Doug’s backpack: “Your luggage is number 2.”

Tilting his head, Doug nodded and took a simple card with a 2 written on the white paper.

“Don’t you have to go call out the others?” After waiting for a while, it was Doug who spoke first.

The gathering time is coming soon. Seeing that most of the students aren’t here yet, Doug noticed that the newly appointed chairpersons had left the assembly place to go to the dormitory to arrest people in person while Mu Gen was still studying the military training manual in his hands and didn’t seem to be in a hurry.

“Oh, I passed a message to Dobby this morning and Dobby said he’ll definitely bring all of them here.” Hearing Doug talk to him, Mu Gen looked up.

“What if…classmate Dobby overslept too?” Seeing him almost innocently confident, Doug raised a brow.

“No, Dobby drives the cows to get up with his younger siblings every morning, so he’s very punctual.” Giving Doug a smile that said he didn’t need to worry about it, Mu Gen continued to study the military training manual.

Doug: “…”

Two minutes before the assembly time, someone greeted Mu Gen from a distance!

“Good morning Mu Gen!” There’s still a long way to go but Dobby’s loud voice already reached him…that’s right! That body! With several students on his back, he took a closer look and, aren’t they the students from the Cooking Department?

In front of all the freshmen, Dobby walked over with a few students on his back. If you look closely, the students on his back were still asleep, a few even having pillows in their arms, and people with discerning eyes can see that these students were directly picked up from their beds orz. Behind Dobby was a neat team of robots, each carrying a backpack in their hands which seemed to be their masters’ military training items.

“Reporting to Chairman! The assembly is complete!” After blinking, Dobby reported to Mu Gen ~\(≧▽≦)~/.

“Dobby, you worked hard.” With a small white tooth showing, Mu Gen sincerely thanked Dobby.

“No hard work, they’re much lighter than my cattle! When my cows don’t want to go outside to graze on a snowy day, I just carry them on my back like this!” No matter how many times he received it, Dobby blushed after being thanked by people and quickly added another sentence.

Doug, who was on the side, pushed up his glasses.

The students of the Music Department and the Fine Arts Department almost came here with Dobby. Compared to the drowsy Cooking Department where many are still wearing their pajamas, the Music Department and Fine Arts Department are much more formal! One by one, they’re neatly dressed as they followed their Department’s Chairman, full of energy and looking like they could go at any time. They look even better than the students of the Mecha and Battleship Command Departments!

However, don’t know if it’s an illusion, but Doug always felt that these students are a little blue.

They kept a distance from their Chairman in front, but not too far away as they looked forward tremblingly.

“Good morning Mu Gen! We’re all over here.” The speaker was Godot, a curly-haired boy with little freckles on his face that looked like a nice guy, but he was indeed the Chairman of the Fine Arts Department.

“We’re all here too. Right, I stood here for a long time but no one came, so I ran to the dorms and screamed at them before they came out.” Kerry, the Chairman of the first-year Music Department of the Imperial Comprehensive Academy, complained a little. Then Doug noticed that the faces of the students behind him became even bluer, many even began to tremble.

“Good morning! Everyone is on time!” Mu Gen saw nothing and took out a simple homemade sticker from his pocket, posted one on each backpack, then sent the corresponding number to the owner of the backpack.

Well, no matter what method is used and no matter what happened, anyway, the moment the assembly bell rang, all the students’ activities ceased and the meeting place instantly became quiet.

“The assembly time is over. From now on, freshmen who have not yet arrived at the assembly point don’t have to participate in this year’s military training.” The voice of the supervisor in this military training was evenly transmitted to every corner of the assembly point through the loudspeaker. It sounded very cordial, but what he said made many excited.

The freshmen who were still rushing to the meeting place also heard this. Everyone was taken aback at first, but they immediately sped up and in the end, wildly ran. Even so, they were still stopped outside the meeting place. No matter how they argued, the gate never opened again.

“The late students will have zero scores in their military training course. You will need to work harder than the others in the next few years to complete the credits required for graduation.” The following words of the supervisor was even more ruthless. The students who were stopped outside the assembly area were even more dumbfounded, while the students who arrived on time looked calm. The freshmen who were forcibly carried over by the little brontosaurus stopped complaining and there was even a girl who immediately kissed Dobby happily.

“Next, can the chairpersons please organize the students of their department to start loading and handling luggage? Students who finished loading their luggage first will go to the military training ground first. Fine Arts Department, Music Department, and Cooking Department, because of the small number of students, your military training will be conducted together this time. All issues during the military training will also be resolved by the chairpersons of the three departments.” The supervisor also specifically mentioned a few departments with a very small number of people, such as the Fine Arts Department. On the spot, some students next to Mu Gen talked:

“I know that our school has a Music Department, but is there a Fine Arts Department? Cooking Department? That exists?”

“It’s teaching people how to cook, but is there really anyone in the Cooking Department?”

“Yes! We are from the Cooking Department.” Hearing their question, Mu Gen said loudly, looking straight at the two who had just spoken with his too honest eyes. The two bowed their heads and drew away from them.

“Okay, let’s go load the luggage.” Mu Gen, who turned his face again, smiled and picked up his luggage on the ground. He took the lead and walked toward the spacecraft.

“Oh…” The other students behind Mu Gen just woke up at this time and hurriedly followed him.

Completely different from the big and small bags of the other students, the Cooking Department’s students’ luggage was very compact. There’s only one military backpack uniformly distributed by the Academy and there’s another big bag on Alpha. It contained the various small gifts that Mu Gen received along the way, such as the delicious snacks that Boss Tony said could bribe the instructors.

Since he knew that he’ll have military training with the Fine Arts and Music Department, Mu Gen also sent the list to Kerry and Godot. They should have immediately passed the list to the other students in their own department as can be seen from the similarly streamlined backpacks of the students from these two departments.

Sorted by number, the backpacks of the Cooking, Music, and Fine Arts Department entered the spacecraft’s warehouse one by one along the conveyor track. In just ten minutes, they completed the process of loading the luggage.

“Next, we can board the ship!” Clapping his hands, Mu Gen announced the good news.

“Oh yeah~” What does it mean to be the first to board? This means they can be the first to set off and arrive at the military training site first and can be the first to choose where to stay!

All the beds can be chosen at will and they can even have a good rest since there’s no military training arranged on the first day. This sounds like a big advantage, okay?

So, under the eyes of the students from the Mecha and Battleship Command Department, freshmen from the Cooking, Music, and Fine Arts Department happily went to board the ship first ~\(≧▽≦)~.

“Next, how many pieces of luggage?” Looking blankly at the freshmen from the Cooking Department going away, the soldier in black military uniform turned his head and indifferently said to the next student carrying luggage.

“T-three…” Shocked by his coldness, the freshman from the Mecha Department nervously handed his luggage one by one.

In addition to the standard backpack issued by the Academy, he also prepared two larger backpacks, and all these need to be shipped. There are many students like him and as a result, the loading speed was greatly reduced.

After receiving the heavy backpack, the officer in black didn’t say anything else and just silently threw the luggage on the conveyor track very roughly: “Next.”

Following the Cooking, Fine Arts, and Music Department, the chairman of the Battleship Command Department, Brad, also led the freshmen of his department to complete the baggage check-in. As a well-known department of the Imperial Comprehensive Academy, the number of students in the Battleship Command Department was not very large. The total number of more than 300 freshmen along with the first three departments is just enough to occupy a spacecraft. When Brad took the freshmen on the ship, he went dull since the first-class cabin had been occupied by the three departments that had entered before.

Unfair! It’s obviously a spacecraft to transport students, so why does it have a first-class cabin? Wouldn’t showing this make people feel unbalanced?

Although he thought so in his heart, he didn’t show it on his face.

He quietly looked around, learned from the previous experience, and arranged for the students to sit down in suitable areas while he also found a place to rest.

Probably because of the considerable causal relationship between personality and occupation, like Brad, the freshmen of the Battleship Command Department are very quiet. They’re also very orderly, which is one of the reasons why they can take the lead in completing the baggage check-in step.

And in contrast: The students of the three departments who occupied the first-class cabin are very lively!

After closing his eyes and trying to rest for a long time, Brad became more upset and he gave a hateful glance at the first-class cabin:

These guys have been chatting since he came in, and now, they’re not just chatting, they actually started eating!

“This is a snack made by Mr. Tony. It’s really delicious. He said that many people line up to buy it every day! Hearing that I’m going for military training, he deliberately took a lot of it for me to eat with everyone.” Mu Gen took the big bag full of food from Alpha and began to share it with the other children ￣▽￣.

“There’s also Boss Cook’s pudding, which is very delicious, and he also gave me a lot…”

“In addition to making good clothes, Aunt Meilan is also very good at making jerky.”

Like opening a treasure chest, Mu Gen took out delicacy after delicacy out of that inconspicuous bag. After all the food was placed on the big table in the middle, the students’ eyes widened!

“Oh yeah! What do you think! They all look so delicious!”

“Then try it all, there’s still a considerable distance from the destination, so you can enjoy this food together.” Responding to the students’ words coldly and politely, Alpha was satisfied with the student’s response: If this continues, these students will like Mu Gen and will not bully him.

Thinking of this, a green light flashed across his screen, as Alpha took the opportunity to bring out a box from the side: “This is our homemade bun, please taste it.”

“Yayy!! Then we’ll do so.”

Long been aroused by the smell of these foods, Alpha’s invitation was like a signal. The teenagers rushed toward the food on the table——

A sweet smell came to his nose and Brad, who had already eaten breakfast on time, suddenly felt hungry. He has food in his pocket, but for a reason, he didn’t intend to eat these precious foods.

“Fools…food is the most precious thing in military training. Eating it so early, you’ll understand during military training.” He mockingly looked at the first-class cabin then closed his eyes again after a long while.

Compared to the Cooking, Fine Arts, and Music Department that were eating and drinking, the Battleship Command Department, who had the same thoughts as him, were like ascetic monks, sitting silently without eating or drinking. However, this made them very hungry when they reached their destination.

Then——

“Only uniform backpacks issued by the Academy are allowed to enter the barracks, and no other luggage is allowed inside! No food in the luggage is allowed inside! Robots with human food is not allowed inside!”

Just as the freshmen of the Battleship Command Department were lining up to enter the military training site with large and small bags, the guards at the door suddenly made “three don’ts” which made these freshmen suddenly become stupid.

It’s a pity that the army doesn’t allow “resistance” to exist, so the freshmen watched as their luggage outside the uniform backpack was cruelly detained. Even their only remaining luggage, if there’s food in it, the food would be confiscated. At the end of the security check, the cruel soldiers didn’t even let go of their clothes. Anything with food was taken out!

They endured all this way to keep more food for military training so they really didn’t expect this result!

At this time, the appearance of the Cooking, Fine Arts, and Music Department happily passing by with their backpacks after eating and drinking was particularly dazzling.

“Instructor, I want to ask!” Pointing at Mu Gen’s direction, Brad asked the instructor about the rules: “Excuse me, instructor, those people also have food in the spacecraft, so why are their luggage not seized?”

Glancing at him indifferently, the black-clothed officer who had been in charge of supervising these freshmen since they boarded the spacecraft answered his question indifferently: “First, they have all eaten the food they brought on the way, and the food in their stomachs will not be checked; Second, all of them brought only one piece of luggage, which fully met the requirements of the military training manual and there were no items to be seized.”

“If you read it well, read the small print too. You are the brains of the army. If the brain can’t even remember to look at it, what can you expect from your limbs?” in the end, the officer left such words for Brad.

Brad was stunned.

At the same time, Mu Gen and his party have successfully entered the barracks.

“All the dormitories are the same. If you insist on which dormitory building is the best, I suggest you choose B-3. The water pipe there is shared with the instructor’s dormitory building so there’s always hot water. Although it’s the farthest away from the assembly place, the far-away dormitory building has the least chance of being called to train in the middle of the night. After all, the instructor would also consider the nocturnal development of you young people.”

Bringing Mu Gen and his party to the dormitory building, the black-clothed officer who had just answered Brad’s question unexpectedly spoke.

“Thank you! Instructor Corder!” Mu Gen loudly thanked him.

“I just want to thank you. My mother likes Boss Tony’s snacks. Staying here all year round, I can’t even give her favorite food as a gift, so I have always regretted it.” A stiff smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Instructor Corder took off his cap and saluted, then strode away.

Watching Instructor Corder leave until his tall figure is no longer visible, only then did Mu Gen turn around.

As soon as the instructor left, all the freshmen scattered. Everyone wanted to “grab their turf” and don’t want to be left behind. Sigma also went with their luggage and thought it was fun so after talking to his First Uncle, Mu Gen joined them with a smile.

Only Alpha stood there.

Blankly holding a box in his hand, unable to figure it out.

Why…all the food on the spacecraft has been eaten but only their buns are left intact?

Why…all the food was forbidden to enter the barracks, but their steamed buns are judged not to be food and entered.

Alpha was deeply confused.

(Then…are the buns identified as inedible by the machine? 囧)