17 Secrets of the Tiger Lily

Sasha almost couldn't keep up with the influx when the lunch hour rolled by. The poor Russian sniper didn't know what to do and was often getting into Zen's way around the kitchen. Naturally, Zen sent her out to deliver lunch to the guild while he served the lunch crowd who accepted his friend requests. Sasha didn't leave immediately until Zen reassured her that he would see them in two hours.

"You better come! I will find you if you are late and you will cook me Borscht!"

Zen waved his spatula with a laugh and kept up with the orders. He was slightly worried about having Sasha carry all those bento boxes, but the sniper girl was stronger than she looked. She lifted the twelve bento boxes with ease and hurried out of the kitchen, evading the hungry crowd.

There were also several invigilators among those who accepted Zen's friend request and placed their food orders. Their presence in the kitchen was the only reason why Sasha thought Zen would be fine without her. Even if he was bullied, he wouldn't be bullied too harshly with the invigilators around. After all, it would be unlikely for those who accept Zen's food to allow him to be too hurt and unable to make future meals. In this hopeless place, devoid of luxuries, Zen's cooking skills became highly valued. Even the picky eater - Liu Feng, acknowledged Zen's skills. These invigilators will definitely fall in love with Zen's cooking once they try it.

The scene before him was a familiar one. Zen felt slightly comfortable knowing that many people were waiting for their orders to be served. As the kitchen was too small, Zen tried to make as many takeaway orders for those who wished to eat in a less chaotic environment. In the process, he managed to collect the character profile cards of almost twenty new students. By now, he knew the basic information for nearly half of the academy's students. That in itself was valuable information for the guild meeting later.

After running from cooking station to cooking station, most of his orders were fulfilled. Seeing the satisfied expressions of these people, Zen had a feeling they would be back for more. Already, he was notified about the new messages he received within the VR system. However, he was still too busy serving the last batch of unique customers.

"Um… sorry but may I know who you are? Did you also accept a friend's request last night?" Zen asked politely. In front of him, there was a somewhat intimidating invigilator with piercing cobalt eyes.

Beside her, the invigilator who ate a grilled cheese sandwich laughed. Zen recalled his name to be Bolt. He was an information specialist. As invigilators didn't have credits nor character profile cards, Zen simply requested an introduction if they wanted a meal so that he could match the name to a face.

"Oh, she doesn't use the VR system very much, so she probably didn't know how to accept your request or reply. However, she came today wanting to eat strawberry pancakes if you make them."

The female invigilator with piercing cobalt eyes glared daggers at Bolt. "You forgot to tell him to add honey."

Bolt nodded lazily and took another huge bite from his grilled cheese sandwich before telling Zen to drench the strawberry pancakes in honey. Zen looked over at the new invigilator who made herself comfortable in the kitchen, staring at him without another word as he prepared the pancake batter from scratch.

"U-um," Zen stammered nervously. "M-may I know your name?"

"Yelena."

The reply was curt and ended all possible conversations. Zen decided that the wisest thing to do now under that hawk-like gaze was to prepare the batter as fast as he could and make her the pancakes she requested for.

Yelena was only slightly taller than he was, and Zen wondered if she was about his age as well. She didn't look much older than them, and her palette was still somewhat childish.

"How many pancakes would you like?" Zen asked. He mixed enough batter to make about five pancakes. As he still hadn't eaten lunch, he thought there would be enough extra batter to make some for himself while he was at it.

"Everything in that," Yelena demanded, and Zen cried internally. Maybe he would settle for some simple toast instead. There was hardly enough time to make anything else. He was going to be late for the guild meeting!

Bolt and Yelena were the only ones left in the kitchen by the time Zen served her strawberry pancakes. Bolt observed Zen lazily as the young boy made himself a simple toasted ham sandwich. For someone who spent the last few hours making everything as fancy as sushi to rice cakes, he was eating something rather miserable.

"Are you going to cook again at dinner?" Bolt asked, and Zen checked the time.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I have a meeting with the guild members in fifteen minutes. I don't know when it will end, but I'm honestly exhausted. I wouldn't be able to survive another crowd like earlier."

It was understandable. The boy didn't look like he worked out at all. It was a miracle he didn't give up halfway. Cooking for nearly fifty people was amazing. Bolt didn't think this boy was raised the same as the other mafia heirs. He was ranked the last and certainly had no privileges to use the laundromat. Yet, he didn't seem bothered by menial chores. If anything, he took to them like fish in the water. Bolt and Yelena shared a glance. This young lad wouldn't survive without help here. The Godfather did mention a few candidates the invigilators should keep an eye on, and Zen was one of them.

"You are weak," Yelena declared. "In the motherland, even five-year-olds kill better than you. Yelena battled dogs in the streets for bread at three. You cannot survive the next event."

Zen flinched at the declaration and looked at the young invigilator. There was no mistaking it now. She was definitely around their age.

"Sorry about that," he smiled awkwardly. "I guess it's going to suck once I die. You'd have to make your own strawberry pancakes when I die."

When Yelena heard it, the frown deepened. She tugged on Bolt's sleeve and shot him a glare. The informant invigilator sighed. Many cameras were watching them at all times. It wouldn't be easy to help this candidate too openly.

While the two invigilators were coming up with a plan to help Zen, something caught Zen's eye, and he choked on his sandwich.

That tattoo on Bolt's collarbone… he had a feeling he saw it somewhere before! That tiger lily tattoo… where had he seen it before? In fact, that tattoo was something Zen noticed earlier while cooking for the invigilators. Almost every invigilator had them.

Then, it clicked. This tattoo belonged to the man who shot him to death. He saw it on the man's chest! Who exactly were these people? Were they enemies?

"I can cook dinner later for the both of you," he quickly suggested. "However, there is something I wish to know."

Bolt met Zen's eyes and exchanged a look with Yelena. "What do you want to know?"

Zen pointed at his collarbone. "That tiger lily tattoo. Can you tell me more about it?"

Yelena blinked in surprise. "You don't know the tiger lily pledge? Are you really mafia?"

Zen was confused. "Yes? Not anymore but I was born in the Taro family. Why?"

Yelena and Bolt looked at him strangely, and Zen felt self-conscious. Did he say something wrong? The panic in him only grew when Yelena dragged Bolt away to talk in Russian. Zen didn't understand a word and only wished that Sasha was here to translate.

The discussion ended briefly, and Yelena announced that they would tell him at dinner only if he accepted one of their requests.

"R-request?"

Bolt grinned. "Don't reject Yelena's kindness. She might be the youngest invigilator at only fourteen, but her skills are unrivalled. Not even the Death Princess can surpass her in an actual battle."

Speechless. Zen had a feeling that Yelena was young. However, he never expected her to be younger than him. He thought that he was one of the youngest candidates in this academy, but now, he knew that wasn't the case.

"Deal?" Yelena pointed her fork at him, and Zen hastily nodded before screeching when he checked the time.

The invigilators let Zen go and watched as he crashed into the door painfully. The poor kid would probably find it hard to survive even the next event. As they heard Zen running to meet his guild, Yelena turned to Bolt.

"Weak child but Yelena likes. He makes good pancakes."

Bolt had to agree. "Let's try to keep him alive for as long as possible. It's up to that child how much he can grow, but I'm hoping to see him make it to the final rounds."

The young Russian commando agreed and licked the plate, cleaning the honey off with her tongue. The pancakes were delicious.