The Power of Sugar
The sharp metallic clatter echoed from inside the Rest Lounge—clack, clack, clack! It was the sound of a tray meeting an iron spatula. “Just finish this up and I can finally clock out.”
Thud, thud…! Crack, crack! Thick chunks of hardened sugar on the tray shattered under the spatula, breaking into rough, uneven pieces. A quick grind in the mortar and the star candy would be ready. Not too fine, though—the chunky texture was the whole point. Easy to suck on, satisfying to crunch. The star candies came out jagged and irregular, more like translucent pebbles than sweets. A mold might have made them prettier, but their taste…
Crunch…! “Whoa…” I made them, yet they were ridiculously sweet. I was going to get cavities at this rate. Still, I had to taste them to know if they turned out right. To outsiders it might look like a trivial snack, but to me these were precious gems that could save my life.
‘Alright, this passes.’ The moment the star candy touched my tongue, it stimulated my salivary glands. My eyes snapped open. The fatigue from last night’s night shift seemed to melt away with the sugar rush. My mouth tingled from the sudden influx of sweetness after so long. I ground the white star candies into a fine powder—sweet enough to make you want to snort it. No, if I ground it any finer it would just be regular sugar. Anyway…
Rustle, rustle…! I kept making batches of star-candy-covered hardtack and portioning them out. It was already six in the evening. Derke had left an hour ago, right on time for the end of her field trip. Before going, she’d had her wraiths finish cleaning up. Those wraiths were incredibly convenient—free labor that swept every corner I couldn’t reach. One well-hired part-timer was worth ten regular staff. And best of all, they didn’t cost a single coin.
Thanks to Derke, I suddenly had an absurd amount of free time. I could have rested, but I chose the harder path instead. Since my body was already exhausted, I figured I might as well push it to the limit and then sleep like the dead. With the extra time, I decided to prepare tomorrow’s desserts in advance.
Rustle, rustle…! “Whew, all done.” Looking at the mountain of hardtack bags piled in the kitchen storage filled me with satisfaction. It felt like I’d stacked up a treasure hoard of gold and jewels. Seeing the fruits of my labor made pride well up inside me. Hardtack didn’t lose flavor when it cooled, so I could make it ahead of time.
‘Time to get ready to leave, I guess.’ I’d worried that some fourth-year girls might drop by after class, but today the lounge stayed quiet. They must all be busy. After working so hard lately, a peaceful evening like this was exactly what I needed.
Click! I flipped the sign on the Rest Lounge’s main door to “CLOSE” and locked up. Finally, closing time. My first early dismissal in ages. My body and mind felt light enough to float. No late-arriving Johnson either—this was a perfect exit. All thanks to Derke’s help.
I slipped away before anyone else could show up. No more overtime. If I pushed myself any further I really would collapse. ‘Let’s get out of here before someone calls my name.’ I quickened my steps, hurrying to leave before anyone could shout for me.
*
‘Tastes bland, but at least I’m full. Guess I can’t skip dinner today.’ After work I headed to the cafeteria—the one run mainly by the beastkin. More precisely, the staff-only dining hall. Breakfast was bread and soup, lunch was grilled meat or fish, and dinner was usually stew. As the dorm supervisor and Rest Lounge manager, my mornings were always too busy to eat. I barely had time to get there. So I only managed lunch and dinner. I’d never been much of a breakfast person anyway, so it wasn’t a big loss. Instead, I’d grab an early lunch after opening prep. And after work I’d eat a late dinner. But if I clocked out late like yesterday, dinner often got skipped. Still, missing a meal wasn’t much of a hardship.
‘I’m starting to understand the girls a little.’ The beastkin’s cooking skills were truly disastrous. Barely edible, at best. Tonight’s dinner was no exception. It was supposed to be beef stew, but the seasoning was all over the place—bland—and the meat had been boiled until it was tough. The vegetables were even worse, cooked so soft they fell apart at the slightest touch of a fork. It was basically beef-and-vegetable porridge. Cooking, from beastkin? Laughable. A textbook case of failed task delegation. Old habits die hard; they’d always eaten their meat raw. That was why the girls always flocked to the Rest Lounge after meals—to fill the gaps with dessert. The nutritional imbalance was almost worrying. Though it probably didn’t affect dragons much. If the beastkin had been better cooks, I would’ve had fewer customers. In the end, their poor cooking was good for my business.
Thud, thud, thud… I trudged toward the dormitory, nursing an unsatisfying fullness. The bland meal had dulled the pleasant afterglow of finishing work early, and my steps felt heavier than they should. Evening roll call was coming up soon. I wanted to finish it quickly and get some proper rest.
—Kyaa-ha-ha! Tickle tickle!
—Puhehehe! That tickles!
—Forget homework, play with me~!
—Ah, it’s the dorm supervisor! Good evening…!
The first floor was, as always, a flower garden. Being new students, they were all bright and cheerful. Now that I’d gotten used to their faces, a few of the little girls greeted me.
“Good evening. By the way, young ladies? Running around the hallway is dangerous, so please walk with a bit more grace. Your second-year seniors might find it unpleasant.”
I returned their greetings with a smile. Hearing the little girls’ laughter somehow lifted my own mood.
“Yeees—! I’ll tell the others too!”
Hard to believe these innocent-looking kids were capable of ostracizing their own classmates. You really couldn’t judge people—or dragons—by appearances alone.
—Everyone, keep it down. The seniors might come down again!
—Huuuh? S-Seniors are scary…!
—Hey, come here! Derke says she has something for you!
—Huh? What is it?
—What? What? I want some too!
By the time I reached the supervisor’s office, everyone’s attention had shifted toward one of the living quarters. From the sound of it, Derke was about to hand out the hardtack.
‘Hope the hardtack goes over well. From now on she should be able to handle things on her own, right?’ I passed by Derke’s quarters without stopping to chat. Ten minutes until roll call. I tapped my fingers on the desk in the supervisor’s office, silently cheering her on.
And then—
—Waaaaaaaah!!!
A chorus of amazed cries erupted from Derke and Tina’s living quarters. She must have given out the hardtack exactly as planned. After that came a steady stream of reactions: “Whoa! It’s delicious!” “So sweet—!” “Give me one more!” “Wow…! Wow! Wow?!”
Their reactions were completely unfiltered and pure.
“Heh, looks like everyone likes it.”
As expected, nothing beat sweets when it came to kids’ tastes. It was a relief that things had gone according to plan.
Contract-capable targets have gathered to praise your snack!
Many contract-capable targets’ taste buds have been satisfied!
Gourmet Feeding proficiency increased: C Rank ▶ B Rank
Rank increase greatly raises the success rate of forming contracts!
Huh? Would you look at that? I didn’t expect my proficiency to rise this way. Honestly, it was an unexpected development. All I’d wanted was for Derke to fix her relationships with the other students, so this was a pleasant bonus. Two birds with one stone—raising my skill rank while helping Derke out. Plus, it let me test the dragons’ tastes in advance. If this was their reaction, the fourth-year girls would definitely enjoy it tomorrow too.
‘Anyway, time to start roll call.’ Right on cue, it was time. I wanted to finish today’s duties and rest.
[Trrrrrrrrring—!!!]
The moment I pressed the button, the magitech speaker blared the start of roll call.
“First-years, report.”
“Yeees…!”
As always, Tina—striking with her jet-black hair and crimson eyes—stepped forward to give the report.
“First-year evening roll call…!”
She delivered it with her usual strict, disciplined expression. But then I noticed something.
“…No absences or exceptions!”
“Good. By the way, Tina? What’s that crumb on your mouth?”
“Hah! This is… um…!”
I hadn’t meant to scold her. I’d just asked out of amusement. The fact that she’d gotten crumbs on her face meant she’d enjoyed it that much.
“Thank you, Mr. Breeder…!”
“Huh?”
In response to my half-joking question, the little girls waiting in front of each living quarter shouted their thanks in unison.
“W-Well…! Derke said it was a gift from you! She told us the dorm supervisor helped make it!”
“Oh? Derke said that?”
“Yes! Thank you for the delicious snack!”
—Bow!
Tina bent forward in a perfect ninety-degree bow. The hardtack’s effect was even greater than I’d expected. I’d been worried they might not like it, but it seemed things would work out even without Sofia’s help. Really, nothing beat hardtack as rations during military life—whether you were human or dragon.
—Lick…!
“Hm? What was that sound…?”
“Heheh… Huhuhuh….”
“Tina? You okay?”
The usually disciplined Tina suddenly started swaying like she was drunk. When I looked closer, the crumbs on her cheek had vanished.
—Hurry up and finish roll call…
—I want to eat the snack Derke gave me again…
—Hah, huheheheh…!
—Heeheehee…
Come to think of it, the first-years’ behavior seemed a little strange.