Ultrawoman Elea / The Light In The Collapsing World

Special Chapter: Cooking with Valkyries (Part 2)

29th December 00:00
Noodles of Hope

It was nighttime at midnight when all students had already slept in their respective dorms. Lights were off from the windows, except one remained on, glaring through the window.

Behind the glass was the redhead teacher sitting at the desk, doing her paperwork chores.

She stretched her arms upwards, groaned in tiredness, and finally finished working the paperwork. "Finalized the test paper... Gosh, this girl is getting hungry...."

She looked at the HOMU-themed clock and realized she had been overworked until midnight. The clockwise arrow stopped right on top.

"Everyone's asleep."

She stood up slowly from the chair. "Oh well, guess I'll have to cook something myself."

———

"It can't be true! We only have instant noodles?!"

Himeko crouched, finding some food to replenish her strength. She expressed disappointment in her heart, seeing the cupboard filled with instant noodles.

She took one and observed it. "My students are too busy studying...."

She remembered how her students struggled with intention, to the point of not having time to do their grocery chores and could only buy instant noodles for quick lunch.

"No one's doing grocery runs... I deserve better than having plain noodles as midnight snacks."

She strolled around the kitchen back and forth, scavenging anything inside the cupboard, only to realize that it was full of junk fast food, much to her dismay.

When she opened the last cupboard, she was content and surprised to discover canned beef fast food. She also got an idea of what to do with the noodles.

"Ohh! This can turn a bowl of instant ramen into a real treat."

The canned food she held was pork luncheon meat. As she admired it, she felt a reminiscent memory where Himeko was on the brink of death but experiencing a heartwarming moment that she would never forget.

"Back then, even luncheon meat was... something else."

.......

"I got myself trapped during a mission. I was down to the last can."

Himeko sat against the log, resting when she got strayed on a storming blizzard in the forest during her mission. She was the last standing member of the team.

"No! Not yet!"

She was holding the last canned pork luncheon meat tightly. It was the only food source that was left. Then, she stood up in determination, fighting against the storming blizzard.

"I told myself... I gotta survive... then I'll get all the SPAM I want."

She staggered on the wooden log, exhausted. Her body was shivering intensely cold, feeling that she was about to pass out at any moment.

"Luncheon Meat Sandwich. Luncheon Meat Fried Rice. And..." She mumbled, imagining anything warm, like the meals, struggling to keep herself awake.

Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of a light source, dazzling her eyes. She exhaled in relief and couldn't help but agape, seeing that the rescue team had found her alive.

"Is that Himeko?!"

"Are you alright?!"

All rescue teams were calling her out loud. She was even happier that she saw Müller, during his time in the Lieutenant position, join the team and reunite with him.