Energy Drinks and New Names
“Huh?”
“We have some. It’ll make your strength surge right up! Hand one out to each person. Ah! And collect all the empty cans in a box. We have to recycle properly.”
Builder looked like he didn’t understand a word, so Chloe picked up an energy drink, popped the tab right in front of him, and demonstrated.
His eyes widened at the sight of the lord effortlessly punching a hole through what looked like solid metal.
What shocked him even more was the liquid that poured out from inside.
Chloe downed the energy drink in big gulps, as if showing him how it was done. Since she’d only just taken it out of her inventory, the cool sensation reached all the way to her bones.
“Drink it like this, and put the empty cans back in this box.”
“Yes, understood.”
Builder answered in a dazed voice.
Chloe watched him with satisfaction as his eyes remained glued to the energy drink, then held out an opened can.
“Would you like to try it first?”
“I-Is that all right?”
Builder’s expression was one of overwhelming gratitude.
“Of course. You’re in charge here, so you have every right to drink first.”
“Hup! Thank you, my lord.”
Builder accepted the can Chloe offered with both hands, reverently. The moment he felt the cold temperature against his palm, his eyes flew wide open. He had never touched anything this cold except snow or ice.
As Builder gulped down the drink Chloe had given him, his brows furrowed deeply.
“What? Doesn’t it suit your taste? Too sour?”
Chloe grew a little worried, thinking the flavor might be unfamiliar to the locals.
Builder shook his head rapidly without a word. His eyes, still pressed to the can, were brimming with tears.
“Why are you crying? Does it taste strange?”
Only then did Builder stop drinking and speak, his voice thick with emotion.
“No. It’s just… I’ve never had anything like this in my life. I can’t believe we’re allowed to drink something this precious…”
It wasn’t the alcohol he occasionally drank, nor the wild strawberry beverages they made. At first the taste had been strange and unfamiliar, making him tilt his head, but the more he drank, the more it clung to his tongue. The perfect balance of sweet and sour made him feel like he could drink it forever without growing tired of it.
Ah, so that was the look of truth.
A single fat tear finally rolled down from Builder’s brimming eyes.
Chloe panicked at the sight of the large man crying over a single energy drink and waved her hands frantically.
“Don’t cry! Don’t cry! I’ll let you eat even more delicious things from now on. So stop crying. Enough! I can’t stand men who cry.”
“Hic! Thank you. My lord, I will serve you with all my strength until the day I die.”
“No, really, there’s no need to go that far.”
Chloe’s face flushed with embarrassment at the excessive oath of loyalty.
Ding!
You have earned Builder’s boundless trust and loyalty!
Furthermore, your thoughtfulness in providing snacks for the workers is commendable.
The qualities of an excellent lord are clearly visible in you.
Chloe grumbled inwardly at the system that appeared without any warning.
At least make some kind of sound before showing up.
She glared at the floating blue window.
The worker Builder’s loyalty toward you is gradually increasing.
We will convert his loyalty points retroactively into territory resident favor points.
Calculating…
A yellow arrow spun like a pinwheel inside the blue window alongside the words “Calculating.”
A moment later, the previously still window flashed, and the calculated points appeared.
Territory residents’ favor has increased by 30.
Thirty favor points from a single can?
When favor reaches 100 or higher, it can be converted into hidden points or used to expand your activity radius. Converted points cannot be returned to favor.
Being able to convert favor into something else was intriguing. Still, she felt that favor itself might have important uses later.
Moreover, thinking about the massive negative favor that would come when opening other villages made her reluctant to convert it recklessly.
Soon after, another window floated up displaying the favor points earned from Builder.
The favor had stabilized at a solid number.
But the parentheses beside it were the problem.
As the system had mentioned before, opening the next village would definitely turn it negative.
She needed to raise enough favor in this village beforehand to soften the blow as much as possible.
Yet the thought that other villages might be just as destitute as Morta had been made her wonder if she was right to hesitate.
Chloe’s mind grew complicated.
She watched Builder distribute the energy drinks to the workers. Then, curious about how the Dural harvest was progressing, she headed toward Dural Hill with Delma.
Bringing harvested Dural when opening the next village would probably help.
She had worried the servants might stand around doing nothing under the excuse of “magic” or whatever, but fortunately they were diligently harvesting.
Out of the twenty-five who had come, about half were actively working. The rest still hadn’t shaken off their fear; they lingered at the edge of the field, pulling one Dural, shuddering, then hesitantly approaching again.
That much was acceptable.
It was their own process of overcoming fear.
Once they truly realized that touching or eating Dural caused no harm, that behavior would disappear soon enough.
“Butler!”
At Chloe’s call, Scrooge hurried over and stood beside her.
His newfound agility compared to before made her chuckle.
“Who’s in charge here?”
Scrooge pointed to a woman inside the field who was energetically pulling Dural.
The woman, who had just straightened up after pulling several, looked quite large even at a glance.
She wiped the sweat from her brow with the towel around her neck, then spotted Chloe and Scrooge watching her. Startled, she ran over.
Up close, she was even taller than she had appeared from afar—roughly 180 cm.
Her shoulders were as broad as most men’s, and the muscles in her forearms looked solid and well-defined.
“My lord, I am in charge of the Dural field harvest—”
Just then, a blue status window appeared before Chloe.
Surprise Mission!
Give this woman, the Dural field supervisor, a fitting name.
An additional bonus will be awarded if the owner of the name likes it.
Ooh, a naming quest!
This was a quest she had grown used to.
Chloe looked up at the woman smiling warmly at her and fell into thought.
A name that suits her…
She looked incredibly healthy. But she couldn’t just call her “Health,” so maybe a little twist?
“Helsa?”
Do you want builder snowman!
No, no.
Chloe quickly erased the song playing in her head and waited for the system’s response.
The owner of the name likes it very much. You will receive 60 hidden points as a reward.
She likes it, so why only 60 points?
A deduction has been applied due to suspected plagiarism.
This isn’t plagiarism, it’s an adaptation!
Chloe protested inwardly, but the system scribbled the lyrics she had been humming once more before vanishing with one final line.
You have no conscience.
That little—!
But the system was already gone, and Helsa was smiling sincerely at Chloe.
“Helsa, aren’t you afraid of the Dural?”
“No. There’s nothing more frightening than hunger. Thanks to you, my lord, everyone is happy that we’ll never have to go hungry again.”
Helsa spoke with a bright smile.
She was an impressive woman with strikingly white, even teeth against her slightly tanned skin.
For some reason, Chloe felt an endless fondness for her, much like she did for Delma, and continued speaking while studying her closely. Her dark brown hair, almost black, clung to her forehead, damp with sweat.
“That’s a relief.”
When Chloe smiled back, Helsa grinned even wider and wiped the sweat running down the side of her face with her towel.
“Half of today’s harvest will be distributed to the servants. Helsa, I’m putting you in charge of dividing it evenly among everyone. Those with larger families can receive a little more, all right?”
“Thank you so much, my lord!”
Helsa bowed deeply, folding her large frame in half as she expressed her sincere gratitude.
A moment later, when Helsa ran back to the field and loudly announced the news, cheers erupted from the servants. After that, even the servants who had been too afraid to enter the Dural field began working with renewed vigor.
Territory residents’ favor has increased by 10.
Territory residents’ favor has increased by 10.
.
.
Territory residents’ favor has increased by 10.
The constant ding sounds and favor increase notifications were very satisfying.