Honest Hatchlings
The younger the hatchling, the more honest they are—!
The favorability of the conditional empathy target has greatly increased!
This will be reflected as-is upon successful conditional empathy.
Conversely, failure in conditional empathy will nullify the effect and turn the target hostile.
Just from eating a single piece of hardtack, a string of notification windows appeared before my eyes. For Sofia, the same message as before popped up. Her favorability had risen, but she still wasn’t an empathy target yet, so it was a message telling me to behave myself.
In Derke’s case, however—
You are already an empathy target at the ‘Worship’ stage.
Further increases in favorability are meaningless.
Due to the effect of Gourmet Feeding, this empathy target will do anything for you today!
A message I had never seen before appeared. Whether it was because there was no more favorability left to raise or because she already worshipped me, Derke’s will to do anything for me could be felt through the status window alone. Just looking at the status window made me feel proud. Even though she could have gone out to play with her friends, she came looking for me and tried to keep her promise to the very end…
“Is it delicious today too, desu-yong…?!!”
That aside, Derke enjoyed the dessert I made more deliciously than anyone else in the world. But today, the way she ate the hardtack was a little different.
“Huuuueeeuuut……”
Her reaction was also quite over the top. A pale trail of drool dripped from the corner of her mouth. It looked like her salivary glands had exploded. Derke couldn’t even close her mouth properly and slowly savored the star candy on the surface first. She was really melting it in her mouth like candy.
“Derke?! What are you doing right now? You’re going to get your uniform all wet!”
I was grateful she was eating it deliciously, but I couldn’t keep watching this. I quickly wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief.
“Hahp? I’m sorry, desu-yong…!”
Derke swallowed her saliva and continued.
“But it tastes even better when I eat it like this, eiyap…! Yesterday, I felt bad about the last piece of hardtack left, so everyone slowly melted it like this, desu-yong-!”
“Oh? Is that really true?”
Pretty impressive for first-years. Enjoying a limited quantity to the extreme. Well, they must have been disappointed since there weren’t any other snacks. I could picture the first-years falling asleep in a daze last night, intoxicated by the sugar from the star candy.
—Crunch, crunch…!
On the other hand, Sofia continued eating the hardtack with a rather indifferent expression. She didn’t care whether we were talking or not. She was focused on savoring the taste of the hardtack. Sofia’s face remained as calm as usual. She even wore a relaxed, smiling expression. It seemed like she was reacting the same way she did when I first served her the basic coffee biscuits. But…
—Crunch, crunch…!
—Munch, munch…!
—Crunch, crunch, crunch!!
As if proving that the favorability increase notification wasn’t for nothing, Sofia silently kept inhaling the hardtack. Her hands and mouth showed no signs of stopping. She continued to indulge in the hardtack in front of her. She didn’t drool like Derke, but she was abusing the hardtack while maintaining as much dignity as possible.
“Um… Lady Sofia? You might choke if you keep going like that. Why don’t you enjoy it with a drink?”
“Hup…? Cough, cough-! Ah, that might be better……”
Startled by my concerned voice, Sofia’s cheeks flushed red. Then she lightly pounded her chest with her fist a few times before finally turning her gaze to the misutgaru. Lifting the glass, Sofia muttered, “I think I understand why my classmates couldn’t come to their senses. It’s incredibly sweet, but the flavor doesn’t get boring easily.” Her voice was calm, but it was clearly a compliment.
—Gulp, gulp, gulp…!
Then Sofia coolly downed the misutgaru, swallowing it down her throat. She must have been really thirsty, as she finished more than half of it in one go. It seemed that in the face of thirst, even a dragon’s pride meant nothing. Well, if you just keep eating hardtack, your mouth really does get dry.
“Haaah…? The savory flavor really complements the sweetness?”
Sofia, who had been good at controlling her emotions, finally let out a small exclamation of admiration. As expected, the combination of hardtack and misutgaru was irresistible. She was clearly satisfied now. Watching this, a sense of accomplishment welled up in my chest. This was the moment when the fortress that was Sofia, who hadn’t budged at the basic coffee biscuits, finally fell to the combination of hardtack and misutgaru.
“Haa, that was quite something. Honestly, I was really surprised, Breeder.”
“You flatter me. It’s an honor for me that you enjoyed it, my lady.”
But even so, conquest was impossible. Was it because of the conditional empathy quest? It seemed difficult to perfectly conquer her without mint chocolate.
“Haat, Derke wants to try drinking it too, desu-yong-!”
Derke, who had been staring intently at my face from the side, lifted her glass following Sofia. Then Derke drank the misutgaru with her small hands.
—Gulp, gulp, gulp!
“Puhahaha…?! W-whoa, it’s super savory, eiyap-!”
Derke also exclaimed in admiration at quenching her thirst. But that was all. After finishing it, Derke made a somewhat puzzled expression.
“Huh? What’s wrong? Does it taste weird?”
“It’s not that, but it’s a little bland, desu-yong……”
“Oh? Bland?”
“Ung-! Derke likes eating it with honey added, eiyap-!”
Still acting like a young hatchling, she seemed to prefer things that were purely sweet. Her reaction was definitely better than Sofia’s. She always gave honest taste evaluations. And they weren’t rude evaluations either. Even if her expressions were lacking, Derke was someone who clearly pointed out the pros and cons.
“Um, Breeder? Do you happen to have a bowl?”
Sofia, who had been watching this, spoke to me.
“A bowl, you say?”
“Yes, I want to try mixing it as you recommended. I was feeling a bit hungry anyway……”
“Ah, of course! Please wait a moment.”
As expected, with her experience, Sofia knew better how to eat it. Originally, pouring milk into the hardtack bag was the best way to enjoy it, but…
—Clink!
I cheerfully went into the kitchen and brought out two bowls and two spoons. Derke didn’t say anything, but she would obviously try to follow along. Eating it like cereal would probably be more fun for young children.
“Here, I brought the bowls.”
Just as I was about to place the bowls on the table—
「Dong-! Dong-!」
The grandfather clock chimed two in the afternoon. This signaled the end of free time. At the same time, it meant the start of afternoon classes.
“H-how could this be…? I thought I could finally enjoy it properly now…? Why?”
Sofia, checking the clock, made a despairing expression. Her face was like that of a saintess who had received a revelation of the apocalypse.
The lounge after the fourth-years had passed through resembled a battlefield. Hardtack crumbs scattered everywhere like shell fragments. Splashes of misutgaru like bloodstains. Even the bowls and glass cups that had held the hardtack were broken in places. It wasn’t for nothing that I compared it to a battlefield. Today, it was particularly difficult to serve them. Everyone had been frantically devouring the hardtack, intoxicated by its sugar. Dragon pride or whatever— even a mutt wouldn’t eat like this. I was grateful they enjoyed it, but the cleanup was no small task.
‘If it weren’t for Sofia, the young ladies would still be sitting there, wouldn’t they? Just thinking about it is terrifying……’
The process of sending the young ladies, who had fallen asleep as if fainting, outside was simpler than expected. After the bell rang at two o’clock, Sofia stood up and woke everyone from their sleep with the light she had shown earlier when purifying. Then she told her dazed classmates that afternoon classes were about to start.
The single phrase “class starting” had tremendous power. Everyone quickly came to their senses and checked their class schedules one by one. Then, saying they absolutely couldn’t be late for class, they all rushed outside.
—Clatter, clatter…!
—Swish, swish, swish, swish…!
After the storm-like time passed, Derke and I continued cleaning. Normally, just tidying up the lounge would have taken forever. But thanks to Derke, I survived.
“Ah, I found another broken glass cup, desu-yong-!”
When Derke shouted while wandering around the lounge, a broom flew through the air.
—Swish! Swish!
Then the broom itself swept and wiped the spot Derke pointed to with her finger, cleaning it up neatly. The same went for the dishes. The wraiths volunteered as dishwashers. Just like yesterday, they were helping out efficiently. There couldn’t be a more convenient automation system than this. If it really weren’t for Derke, I would have skipped dinner and worked overtime. There were also things to prepare for tomorrow besides cleaning.
‘By the way, what Sofia said before leaving… I roughly understand it.’
—Derke isn’t an ordinary child. She’s a hatchling with excellent innate talent, you know? So please support her well from the side. You two promised each other a lifetime together, after all?
Those were the words Sofia left me with before leaving the lounge earlier. I agreed that she was an excellent hatchling. But promising each other a lifetime? Just like earlier, I had no idea what she meant. It seemed like there was some major misunderstanding, but since she said she had to go to class and quickly left, I couldn’t ask any more.
—Thud, rustle…!
Mulling over what Sofia had whispered to me, I took out a large amount of dried mint leaves from the storage.
“Breeder oppa? What’s that, eiyap-?”
“Ah, it’s the ingredients for the dessert I’m going to make for Lady Sofia tomorrow.”
“Don’t tell me it’s a dessert just for Senior Sofia, desu-yong-?”
When I put down the bag containing the dried peppermint leaves, Derke came running over like a puppy. True to her age with abundant curiosity, she immediately peeked inside the bag.
“Yeah, I got a direct request from her last time.”
“Sniff sniff! Hoo, huueeek…?!”
“Huh? Derke? What’s wrong?”
Derke suddenly interrupted me and started gagging.
“Th-the ingredients smell weird, desu-yong-!”
“Ah, that’s because—”
“This…! The ingredients must be spoiled, eiyap……!!!”
Ah, that’s not it……