At night…
Rai walked downstairs while carrying the file containing the regulations. But when he arrived in the central hall, he was slightly confused because he didn't see a single male student coming down to the kitchen.
Seeing that, Rai grew even more convinced that what Liora said was true.
"Now everything is starting to make sense…" Rai muttered.
From the right side of the central hall, the female students came down one by one, laughing and full of excitement. However, their steps halted when they saw Rai standing alone on the left side of the room.
"Huh? What's that? It's rare for a boy to want to cook by himself," one of the girls remarked.
"They usually pay the servants to cook for them," another added.
Rai himself was confused by their behavior.
"You've got to be kidding me. Aren't they just a bunch of lazy people?"
Suddenly, one of the girls shouted toward Rai from the right side of the central hall.
"Hey! Do you want to join us!?" she yelled.
Rai ignored her and immediately walked toward the boys' kitchen located behind the stairs on the left side of the hall.
Seeing that, the female students exchanged looks, confused by Rai's attitude.
"What a shame… Is he feeling embarrassed?"
But the girl who shouted earlier quickly denied it.
"No. He's not embarrassed… he's just following the rules made by Papa Yuto…"
Inside the boys' kitchen, Rai saw the servants busy preparing food for the lazy male students. Seeing this, Rai clapped his hands to get their attention.
"Excuse me…" Rai said.
The servants stopped cooking and looked at him. They were surprised that the new student actually came down at night.
"Little Rai, what are you doing here?" one of the servants asked.
Coldly, Rai replied, "Just like Mr. Yuto said through the head servant: male students are required to cook for themselves during dinner."
The servants exchanged glances. But the servant from earlier asked again.
"That's true… but don't you want us to cook for you instead? Like the other boys do?"
Rai answered seriously, "I'm not spoiled like them. A rule is still a rule to me. So I came down here to cook my own meal."
The servant smiled upon hearing his answer.
"In that case, what do you need?"
Casually, Rai asked, "Do you have tuna jaw here?"
The servant was taken aback.
"Tuna jaw? Are you sure?"
He then led Rai to a large refrigerator filled with stacks of tuna jaws. Rai grew even more confused at the amount.
"Have you never cooked tuna jaw before?" Rai asked.
The servant looked embarrassed and shook his head.
"No servant here has ever been able to cook tuna jaw properly. That's why these jaws are just stored away and never served again. But… your words just now remind me of a boy who once asked for it."
Rai took one tuna jaw sealed in plastic, then placed it on the counter to thaw.
"So far, only the female students often cook tuna jaw. But often the taste is off—either too overcooked or so tough it's hard to bite," the servant explained.
Rai ignored his comments and focused on the tuna jaw that was thawing.
The other servants continued preparing food for the boys and went upstairs one by one to deliver it.
From the right side of the hall, the female students fell silent as they watched the servants go up and down the stairs carrying meals for the boys.
"Ugh, that just makes me even more disgusted by boys," one of them said.
---
Meanwhile, the tuna jaw was ready to be cooked. Rai cleaned it and grabbed the nearest pan. He squeezed lime juice over it to remove the fishy smell, sprinkled a bit of salt, and began looking for other seasonings—leaving the servants stunned by his skill.
In a short time, Rai cooked the tuna jaw perfectly. Its aroma was so strong it drifted out of the kitchen, making the female students eating on the right side of the hall curious.
After finishing, Rai served the tuna jaw on his plate, then washed his hands and the pan he used. The servants who had just returned from delivering food were shocked to see the perfectly cooked tuna jaw placed on the table.
"Hey kid, do you dream of becoming a chef?" one of the servants asked.
Rai picked up his plate.
"No, I've never been interested in that kind of thing."
He left the kitchen calmly with his tuna jaw. The female students who saw it widened their eyes in awe at the perfectly cooked dish.
Once Rai vanished from sight, the girl who shouted earlier grew even more curious. She called one of the servants on the left side.
The servant approached the girls' area.
"What is it, Miss?" he asked.
"Can you guys cook tuna jaw?" the girl asked.
The servant looked confused.
"No, Miss… the one who cooked that tuna jaw was the boy just now."
"What!?" all the girls who heard it exclaimed.
The answer left them stunned. They never imagined Rai could cook such a difficult dish.
---
Meanwhile in his room, Rai enjoyed the tuna jaw while reviewing the regulation file he hadn't finished reading.
"Free to be in debt, free to bully, free to date…" Rai let out a long sigh.
"Out of all these rules, half of them are just garbage."
He closed the file and checked the time on his phone—21:30. Rai turned off the phone again and began eating his tuna jaw calmly, without rushing.
-- End Chapter 4 --