Ramen and Revelations
“Mmm! This is the taste.”
The sight of her eating so deliciously made everyone around her swallow hard.
Chloe, who had been happily slurping her ramen, paused and lifted her head.
Dozens of eyes were fixed on her. Every face was a tangle of worry and curiosity as they watched her.
“Not going to eat? Should I take it back?”
“Hic! No, ma’am!”
“Thank you!”
At her words, the workers began moving their forks as if they had been waiting for permission.
The temporary dining hall grew noisy with the clatter of forks against bowls and the sound of everyone following Chloe’s example, loudly slurping noodles.
It was an odd yet novel sight—grown men, not children, eating ramen with forks.
“Hot!”
“Whoa! This is really good!”
“It’s so spicy!”
“Spicy, but I can’t stop.”
Territory residents’ favorability has increased by 10.
Territory residents’ favorability has increased by 10.
Territory residents’ favorability has increased by 10.
Amid the workers’ exclamations of delight, favorability notifications rang out without pause.
Even as the workers ate, fresh batches of ramen continued to boil on one side of the hall.
The head chef and assistants standing before the blazing stove were drenched in sweat, yet their faces were filled with joy. Being able to generously share the food they had made seemed to bring them both comfort and deep satisfaction.
It felt like the most rewarding day they had spent working at Grace Castle in years.
Besides those inside the temporary dining hall, a considerable crowd waited in line outside. The delicious aroma drifting from the hall filled their faces with anticipation. Many had already eaten their fill of Dural-based dishes and had joined the line out of sheer curiosity about this new food.
Since the lord was giving it away for free today, they seemed determined to eat until their stomachs burst.
Especially the children, their thin bodies sporting round, protruding bellies, stood in line with contented expressions as they rubbed their stomachs.
“I’ve never eaten anything this delicious in my entire life!”
“It’s truly amazing.”
Even as sweat beaded on their noses from the spice, the workers scraped their bowls clean, down to the last drop of broth.
It went without saying that work efficiency soared after lunch.
The workers’ loyalty is soaring to the heavens.
You’ve made quite the show with nothing but a bowl of ramen. I can see the makings of a ruthless employer in you. Heh!
Hey, I’m not a ruthless employer.
Ramen is the most delicious food in the world. I just wanted them to eat something truly amazing.
When she voiced her grievance, the status window quickly changed the subject.
500 hidden points have been awarded to the excellent lord. Wink!
The usually stingy status window had grown bold. The final “wink” was irritating, but she could let it slide.
Five hundred points, though.
Chloe hurriedly opened the hidden shop, worried the window might change its mind.
Chrrrrrrrk!
Just like last time, the status window unfurled a long list of purchasable items from the hidden shop with a dramatic flourish.
Chloe scanned the list with an excited heart.
1. Attention Whistle — Draws the focus of at least 200 people at once. (-60p)
2. Power-Up Gauntlets — Grants ten times your usual strength. (Based on user’s normal strength) (-60p) sold out
3. Insulated Cloak — Maintains body temperature in extreme cold. (Single person / halved effect for two) (-60p)
⋯
28. Terrain Information Lv.1: Grace Territory terrain traits (-300p) sold out
- Agricultural terrain information (Lv.1) (-500p)
- Construction terrain information (Lv.1) (-500p)
29. Resource Information Lv.1: Underground resources of Grace Territory (-400p)
30. Weather Information Lv.1: 24-hour forecast for areas near Grace Territory (-1,000p)
Even though she still had 1,000 points, two new items had appeared that weren’t there before. It seemed they had become available after she acquired Terrain Information Lv.1.
Chloe’s eyes lit up at the new listings.
Agriculture and construction.
With a slightly excited heart, she carefully examined the list and decided to purchase what would help develop the territory the most.
I’ll buy the agricultural and construction knowledge.
She had originally planned to expand her inventory space, but in the long run, fixing the fundamentals seemed wiser. She couldn’t keep feeding the baby forever.
Chloe stared at the status window with a satisfied heart.
500 points have been allocated to agriculture and construction respectively. Purchasing specialized knowledge.
Would you like to begin acquiring the Agricultural Information (Lv.1) and Construction Information (Lv.1) purchased with hidden points? Please answer Yes or No.
She remembered the terrible headache and nausea she had suffered last time after carelessly answering “Yes.”
Though a little frightened, she knew she could endure the side effects. The pain had an end, and an enormous reward followed.
Still, forcing the acquisition here might make her look pathetic in front of everyone enjoying their meal. Chloe quietly stood up.
Handsome the butler and the two escort knights moved with her.
“I’m going to rest in the carriage for a bit. You two eat and rest here.”
“As you wish.”
Chloe had been about to say it wasn’t necessary, but since the carriage was a short walk away, she left Handsome to his ramen and headed toward the carriage with only the two knights.
As Chloe moved, the gazes of Morta Village’s people followed her. Their eyes were filled with favor.
The lord’s favorability has increased by 10.
The lord’s favorability has increased by 10.
The lord’s favorability has increased by 10.
The favorability notifications kept ringing. It seemed the people of Morta Village now gained favor just by looking at Chloe.
If she maintained this a little longer, the damage might be reduced even if favorability dropped into the negatives when other villages opened.
Chloe moved toward the carriage as slowly as possible, savoring the attention.
She had never imagined a day would come when she would enjoy other people’s gazes this much. It felt like she had become a celebrity.
The inside of the carriage was pleasantly warm.
On the first day she had gone out to inspect the territory, cold wind had seeped through the gaps in the carriage doors, and the windows hadn’t closed properly, letting in a chill.
Yet today, even though the temperature had dropped further, the carriage was filled with warmth.
Delma had placed heated stones inside to warm the air, and Builder had repaired the worn parts to prevent drafts.
Though Builder seemed overwhelmed with village construction work, it appeared Scrooge had sought him out separately to make the request.
Chloe sat in the warm carriage and examined the neatly repaired interior.
Soft, fluffy furs and blankets she hadn’t seen before now lay on the seats.
She ran her palm over the pale, soft fur spread across the seat, then drew in a deep breath.
“Open the hidden shop.”
Would you like to begin acquiring the Agricultural Information (Lv.1) and Construction Information (Lv.1) purchased with hidden points? Please answer Yes or No.
The question she hadn’t finished answering while moving reappeared before her eyes.
Chloe took a deep breath, then slowly nodded.
Forced acquisition selected. The process will take approximately 10 minutes. Mild nausea and headache may occur during acquisition.
Chloe stared at the letters sprawled across the floor with a worried gaze.
The words the status window had produced wriggled like living insects. It was the first time she had ever felt fear just from looking at letters.
“Ugh!”
Just seeing the letters already made nausea rise.
She was tense, wondering when it would begin, when the wriggling letters suddenly shot toward the space between her brows with a whooshing sound.
“Urp!”
The ramen she had just eaten threatened to come back up, but Chloe squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to vomit. She couldn’t disgrace herself on the fur Delma had laid out for her.
Running outside to throw up in front of everyone didn’t appeal either.
“I have to hold it in. Urp!”
Her fingertips trembled from the effort.
If she had known it would be like this, she wouldn’t have eaten the ramen!
An overwhelming wave of nausea and a splitting headache crashed over her at once, leaving her feeling utterly drained.
“……”
Chloe clamped her mouth shut to keep any sound from escaping the carriage and squeezed her eyes closed.
I have to endure. Just a little longer.
A cool yet slippery sensation spread between her brows.
She briefly considered touching it, but resisted, afraid the forced acquisition would fail.
Because she was acquiring two pieces of knowledge at once, the nausea and headache lasted longer than before.
“Ugh!”
Her body felt like it had been beaten; she had no strength left, and cold sweat poured down.
It had definitely been harder than last time, matching the extended duration.
“From now on, I should only do one at a time.”
She shook her head firmly, convinced that doing two at once had doubled the difficulty.
She hadn’t expected the Level 1 agricultural knowledge obtained with just over 500 points to be anything extraordinary.
Still, she had hoped it would at least provide the basic information she needed right away.
But the knowledge that had poured into her mind with such fanfare was somewhat different from what she had imagined.