Chapter 79: The Battle of Public Opinion

It was him.

At this moment, the shop owner was sitting leisurely to the side, watching his subordinates work hard.

He also had a head of shining golden hair.

Liyakade hadn’t expected revenge to come so quickly, and in such a manner.

This person was the same male noble who had bullied other students a few days ago and was then thoroughly taught a lesson by Liyakade—

Eric.

Although Liyakade had already trampled all over Eric’s dignity that day, she didn’t expect he still had quite a few followers around him.

However, what comforted Liyakade was that the girls she’d lectured last time were no longer following Eric.

“Tsk.”

Liyakade snorted coldly, ready to go over and smash the entire shop to pieces.

Just then, Liyakade suddenly felt someone press down on her shoulder.

She turned to see it was Field.

So, Field, who had split up from Liyakade, had also followed the trail of rumors and arrived here.

“Shh.”

Field placed her index finger from her other hand to her lips, signaling Liyakade not to act rashly.

“It’s the Cultural Festival right now—there are people everywhere. Are you really planning to cause a scene in front of so many nobles?”

Field leaned in a little, whispering into Liyakade’s ear to dissuade her.

Hearing Field’s words, Liyakade’s clenched little pink fist loosened, her fingers dropping down helplessly.

Indeed, just as Field said, it was the Cultural Festival period.

If she blew up Eric’s shop in front of everyone, it would deal a huge blow to the Academy’s reputation.

This was definitely not something the Academy wanted to see.

By then, the three of them would surely have to close their shop, and if the Cultural Festival continued, Liyakade wouldn’t be able to participate in any subsequent events.

She might even be punished because of it.

“But they’re slandering Alice like this…”

Liyakade bit her lip, unable to swallow her anger.

Not being able to join the Cultural Festival was a small matter.

Getting punished was also a small matter.

The only thing Liyakade couldn’t accept was Alice being hurt by rumors like this.

“If you get punished for destroying their shop, it’ll give them even more reason to mock us.”

Field comforted Liyakade, wanting her to calm down.

If Liyakade really did that, they could claim that Alice, unable to surpass them, resorted to sabotage out of spite.

That would only enrage Liyakade further.

“Hoo—”

Liyakade took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

“So, Field, do you have any good ideas?”

Though direct force wasn’t an option, they definitely couldn’t let Eric off so easily.

“Fight fire with fire.”

Field had already thought of a way to deal with Eric.

“Oh…”

Liyakade met Field’s gaze and understood her intentions.

“I get it.”

If they wanted to resolve the rumors without violence, then they’d have to counter with public opinion.

Of course, just stopping the rumors wasn’t enough—they intended to completely destroy Eric’s shop and make them fail in this first event.

After some discussion, Field called in a few people, instructing them to spread rumors about Eric’s shop—claims like unsanitary practices or staff not wearing uniforms in the kitchen.

Of course, rumors alone wouldn’t be enough.

Regardless of the actual state of Eric’s shop, Liyakade and Field were determined to turn those rumors into reality.

***

“Sigh… so tired. Eric doesn’t do anything—just sits there watching. Must be nice.”

A few people were chatting while busy in the kitchen.

“What do you expect? He’s the young master of a powerful family. The fact he even lets us work with him is generous enough—be grateful.”

“Tch, what’s so great about him? It’s all just because his family has power.”

“By the way… don’t you guys feel like it’s getting hotter in here?”

“A little.”

One person wiped sweat from their forehead.

“Maybe the oven’s been on too long and heated up the whole room.”

“Let’s open a window for some air.”

“Good idea.”

However, after opening the window, the room didn’t cool down—instead, it got even hotter.

“What’s going on… is the weather really this warm today?”

“I can’t take it. No one’s looking anyway, so why are we even wearing these uniforms?”

One student took off their chef hat and tossed it aside.

Seeing someone take the lead, the others also started removing their chef hats and uniforms, finally feeling a bit more comfortable.

“Nice.”

Perched on a branch nearby, Liyakade saw them all take off their uniforms and couldn’t help but pump her fist.

She then used the Magic Recorder to capture the scene, signaling Field behind the shop.

As it turned out, the rising temperature inside the building was caused by Field and Liyakade.

From the start, Field had been behind the shop, manipulating fire elements to gradually heat the room—using her precise control to raise the temperature without actually starting a fire.

After the others opened the window, Liyakade manipulated wind elements, not only preventing the heat from escaping but actually channeling even more warm air inside, making the room stuffy.

At last, unable to bear it, the staff shed their uniforms.

Liyakade then used Field’s Magic Recorder to capture their appearance.

“How is it?”

Field walked over to the tree when she saw Liyakade’s signal.

“Got everything.”

Liyakade lightly jumped down from the branch and handed the Magic Recorder to Field, who nodded in satisfaction after checking its contents.

Of course, their plan didn’t stop there.

After handing the Magic Recorder to Field, Liyakade climbed back up onto the branch.

Inside the kitchen, after everyone removed their uniforms, the room gradually felt less stuffy—possibly because a breeze outside finally started circulating the air again.

However, this wind wasn’t just cool, but sharp.

“Hmm?”

A student looked up suspiciously, sensing something pass overhead, but saw nothing.

Thinking it was just his imagination, he went back to kneading dough.

Unbeknownst to him, a strand of hair had fallen into the mixture.

***

“OK.”

Liyakade used the same trick on several people.

After finishing, she leaped down, looking satisfied.

All that was left was to wait for the rumors to ferment.

Field had her people spread the Magic Recorder footage, then waited for a customer to discover hair in their food.

Naturally, Eric’s shop’s reputation would plummet.

However, Field still didn’t seem fully appeased by this outcome.

“Liyakade, I read in a book that intelligent members of the Demon Race have some minor control over low-intelligence creatures. Have you ever tried it?”