Naming the Village Chiefs

The two village chiefs gaped at their lord's question, completely at a loss for what to say.

No matter how hard they thought about it, coming up with something sellable from their utterly barren villages seemed impossible. From the moment their memories began, they had always been poor. Always hungry.

Simply surviving until now was miracle enough. And now she wanted something worth selling?

While the Black Forest loomed like a wall, cold air constantly rolled down from the snowy mountains, making the low temperatures unsuitable for farming. There were no lucrative mines rich with coal or iron ore either.

"Think of what your village has the most of."

Their expressions grew even more serious. In turn, Hope's expectations rose higher.

"Um... beggars?"

The chief of Enol Village muttered it first, almost to himself.

"Our village has a lot of widows, too."

Not to be outdone, the chief of Morta Village quickly added, "Oh? Ours does too."

They looked at each other and grinned, as if this shared misery was something to celebrate.

Hope was so dumbfounded that she couldn't even get angry.

"Not that kind of thing..."

She was about to tell them to think of something actually productive when—

Oh my goodness!

It had been so long since a basic quest that could expand her activatable areas had appeared. But only 2% short? Wasn't it more like 52%?

Hope let out a deep sigh as she watched the two men beaming at each other after discovering yet another bleak commonality.

What should I do? What names should I pick?

Her heart raced at this sudden windfall.

With her pulse fluttering in excitement, Hope looked back and forth between the two chiefs, racking her brain for fitting names.

She first studied the chief of Morta Village carefully.

The small, thin man was half-bald and always wore a deeply worried expression.

It would be nice to give him a name that could inspire positive change, wouldn't it?

Hoping for a bright future for the village instead of the gloomy reality of beggars and widows, she murmured softly.

"Hope!"

Damn it!

Still, unlike last time, it registered right away without any resistance. Hope was thrilled regardless of the pronunciation comment. She bit her lip hard to stop the corners of her mouth from lifting into a silly grin. Now that it was decided, it actually seemed like a pretty good name.

It had a slight pub-like vibe, but the meaning was positive.

Though Hope had only murmured it quietly, the Morta Village chief thought she was calling him. He abruptly lifted his head, interrupting his conversation with the Enol Village chief.

"Yes, my lord?"

Hope looked slightly moved. He hadn't expected the lord to even know his name.

Killing two birds with one stone! Perfect all around!

Hope's heart softened at the bonus favorability, so she decided to give him a hint.

"How about developing some foods that can be made with Dural? Dural Bread would be great. Oh! And I noticed there are so many needle trees on the way to Morta Village. I heard the sap from needle trees can be applied to wounds."

Since he had already tried food made from Dural, Hope accepted the suggestion easily. But the needle trees were different.

"Yes. However, the smell is so terrible that it stings the eyes when applied."

"Then it would be good to find a way to remove the odor. Chief Hope, hold a meeting as soon as you return to the village. And tell them that anyone who solves the tasks I've given will receive a large reward."

"A... reward?"

Watching Hope the chief's eyes widen like saucers, Hope nodded.

"I'll decide whether to give the reward to one person or ten based on the results. If there are many good outcomes, more people will get to claim the prize, right?"

"Yes! I will do my utmost to produce excellent results!"

Hope the chief's face flushed bright red, as if he'd drunk too much beer.

He looked incredibly happy to be able to return to the village and share this good news with everyone.

Hope's gaze ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now turned to the chief of Enol Village, who was watching her with an expectant expression.

Compared to Hope, he was taller with a sturdier frame. He wasn't as strikingly handsome as Handsome, but he had fine features. He gave off the vibe of a charming middle-aged man. His complexion looked much healthier than when she'd first met him, as if his mind had grown more at ease.

His short, jet-black curly hair clung tightly to his scalp. With his square jaw and slightly hooked nose, he looked incredibly stubborn when his mouth was closed. The man who held the complete trust of his villagers had treated her with great kindness during her visit to Enol.

"Kind?"

It was a rather simple idea, but the sound of it felt right and seemed to suit the Enol Village chief. Besides, since his favorability had gone up, Kind must have liked the name too.

Still, it was better than Builder or Handsome. What was Patrasche supposed to be? It sounded like a dog's name.

Why not just go with Snow White and Cinderella while you're at it?

What was that exclamation mark? Did that mean there really were people with those names?

She wanted to examine the status window in detail right away, but she couldn't just stare off into space in front of the two men.

Hope closed the window for now, savoring it like delicious cake saved for later.

The status window seemed to be hastily changing the subject, but she didn't pay it much mind.

So what if there was a Cinderella? So what if there was a Kongjwi and Patjwi?

Hope and Kind. She briefly regretted not going with "Car" instead of Kind, but then the status window would probably nag her about plagiarism or lack of sincerity again, so she quickly shook her head. Kind was perfect.

"Yes, my lord."

Kind answered promptly, apparently having heard Chloe's voice.

"What does Enol Village have the most of? Exclude beggars and widows. That's too depressing. Nothing to brag about."

A flash of bewilderment crossed Kind's face. He had expected to be able to offer something immediately, like the Morta Village chief.

But he soon returned to his usual thoughtful expression, pondered for a moment, and then answered hesitantly.

It seemed he was worried whether it was all right to say this.

"There is a lot of mud in Enol Village. That's why we used a great deal of mud as the main material when building houses."

"Mud?"

Hope vaguely thought of yellow-earth rooms or pottery, but she had no related knowledge or experience. "And?"

Her question continued. Kind pondered again before his eyes suddenly lit up as if he'd remembered something.

"Mushrooms! There are mud mushrooms."

It was a name she'd never heard before. But mushrooms grew in mud?

"Mud mushrooms?"

"Yes. They only grow inside the mud. They're chewy and have a wonderful aroma. They have a savory taste as well."

"Really? Then I suppose many people used them to fill their stomachs?"

Since grain was scarce, it made sense. Hope asked with that thought in mind.

But Kind shook his head firmly.

"To get a lot of mud mushrooms, you have to go deep into the mud fields. If you're not careful, you can sink and die, so people don't go in recklessly. Instead, they occasionally pick the mushrooms that grow near the fields. However..."

"There aren't many of those?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Do you happen to have any mud mushrooms at home? I'd like to try them."

"You wish to eat them, my lord?"

These weren't ordinary mushrooms—they grew in dirty mud. No matter how good they tasted, mud mushrooms were food for commoners and peasants. Not something a noble would eat.

"Yeah. I like mushrooms."

The texture was supposed to be good and chewy, so she was curious. Above all, she wondered if they had any commercial value.

Finding a way to safely enter the middle of the mud fields shouldn't be too difficult.

As soon as the chiefs, who had received their new tasks from their lord, left, Hope immediately opened the status window.

She couldn't stand the suspense any longer. She was dying to know what new activatable areas she had gained by naming the two men.

She had practically shooed the questioning chiefs away because her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠curiosity could no longer be contained.

"Status window, what are the activatable areas I can expand to?"

At this point, wasn't this blue status window basically a stalker?

Every activatable area the status window suggested was a place where Hope had worked part-time. In other words, it was highly likely that the areas she could expand to after completing basic quests were places where she had once held a part-time job.

Hope recalled the countless stores where she had worked part-time. There were so many she couldn't list them all, but since she'd done such a wide variety of jobs, she clearly had many options.

She carefully examined the four newly appeared activatable areas. Her decision didn't take long.

She was starting to get tired of convenience store food anyway. What perfect timing for this place to show up!

With a joyful heart, Hope chose number three.

"Number three! The supermarket!"

The supermarket where Hope had worked was a large one that took up three whole floors. It wouldn't be as amazing as a jewelry store, but it would clearly be incredibly helpful. After all, it would have everything!