The Juttak Says Sweet Things Are Best for Stress. (2)

"...What the hell is this?"

Something appeared on a plate right in front of Silvia, who had been fuming just moments ago. Round, deep brown things coated thickly in dark brown powder—a food she'd never seen in her life.

And of course, it was from the Juttak.

She could guess the reason he'd sent it.

"Hmm, yeah, she did spend a ton."

While in the Backrooms, she'd blown quite a few points on Almond Water. Just the Almond Water alone had cost a whopping 3,000 points, and with instant ramen and other ingredients piled on top, it was definitely more than that.

But it didn't matter if she'd spent a lot. Points were the one thing left over in this place. Hoarding them was pointless anyway.

Even compared to the time she'd spent here, it was barely a handful of grains of rice.

Silvia checked the message from the Juttak.

She'd been pissed off just a minute ago, trying hard to school her expression, but...

"Heh, hehehe."

Her lips kept twitching upward like an idiot.

"You made them yourself? Ooooh, the Juttak made these himself... himself... hehehe."

So he'd given them to her because she'd spent a bunch? Her heart fluttered for no reason.

Yeah, I gotta thank him properly later!

"Still, thanks for the thought, but the shape is kinda... off..."

She couldn't quite bring herself to say it, but the look and color were weird. And this time, there was no smell, so she couldn't even guess the taste.

It was hard to just dive in.

"...Nah, no way."

The Juttak wouldn't send her something gross. The appearance was probably just her imagination.

"Haa, but why does my chest feel so tight? I'm so pissed off."

She'd vented all her rage in the gallery, but the anger hadn't faded. Something hot kept bubbling up inside.

Sitting still like this only made the irritation surge more.

"Aaaargh!! Why the hell did I even leave!!!"

She raged alone for a while longer until she collapsed from exhaustion.

Screw it, she thought, flopping onto the floor.

But she paused.

Turning her head naturally, the food from the Juttak caught her eye again.

"It's from the Juttak, so I should at least try it. Maybe it tastes good despite the looks..."

Honestly, she wasn't expecting much. Or rather, she wasn't in the mood to expect anything.

Based on the previous stuff, it was probably delicious. But right now, nothing would taste good.

She hadn't even touched her favorite Almond Water.

"Up we go. Let's give it a shot."

The moment of truth: her first bite.

She picked up a Duwonku with one hand and stared at it.

For some reason, she tensed up and swallowed hard.

"Phew... here goes... ahhhhn."

She brought it to her mouth and took a bite.

Crunch-munch—

"......!"

Her eyes went wide.

Chills ran down her spine, making her shoulders twitch.

The Duwonku filled her mouth.

It was so shockingly intense that it wiped away all her anger from moments ago.

The initial bite felt like a plain, chewy texture. Nothing special.

What, just meh...?

But right after that ordinary first chew...

Crunch—

Crunch-munch—

An insanely crispy explosion waited.

"Mmmph...!! Mmmph!!"

The crispiness exploding in her mouth.

The powder's unique sweetness blending perfectly with the chewy-crisp texture.

The more she chewed, the better she felt.

The chewiness she'd thought was ordinary actually complemented it perfectly, making it special.

Missing even one element would ruin it.

She clutched her puffed-out cheeks, beaming with utter happiness.

"I-it's undenwaiable... so dewishush... nom nom."

Her mouth kept working nonstop, no intention of stopping.

Her cheeks bulged like a squirrel stuffed with acorns.

"Hehehe."

There are all sorts of ways to relieve stress.

Everyone has their own method, each unique.

For example, eating spicy food. Or doing what you love.

In my case, I love eating sweet things.

Like, obsessively.

I always stock a whole box of chocolate and such at home.

"Whoa, making these myself is no joke..."

I was squatting on the floor, diligently making them.

Duwonku, that is.

Even if time was the one thing I had plenty of, crafting Duwonku from scratch was a pain.

But hey, time was all I had left, so why not.

"Alright, how many have I made?"

Total so far: 10.

The ingredients cost a fortune, but my labor was the real killer.

No wonder they were so damn expensive. The price was monstrous.

Come to think of it, I'd been too focused to check gallery reactions while making these.

It ate up more concentration than expected—no time for gallery scrolling.

"Hope they like the taste. Wonder how everyone's doing?"

First, let's check on DickhumanSlayer's reaction to the one I sent her.

As expected, great reactions.

Sweet stuff is the absolute best for stress, no question.

"...Why are they like this?"

Just take it and be done—why fight over who got it first? Some women's pride thing?

Withdrawal symptoms from Duwonku had hit hard—every post was begging for more.

Naturally, those who hadn't tried it were even more fired up.

"They're enjoying it, which feels good... but I can't make this every day. Can't outsource it somewhere?"

I pondered, but obviously no.

Who else would waste time making this for free?

"......Huh?"

Wait a sec. Why'd I assume there wouldn't be?

I could just recruit unpaid slaves.

"Heh heh heh."

"At least two or three will apply. Come on, my unpaid slaves."

How many minutes passed?

Pattak applications started pouring in.

But...

"...Huh?"

Contrary to my expectation of few applicants...

Candidates popped up everywhere.

Dozens of posts every refresh.

They even started campaigning among themselves.

The competition heated up.

All for just 2 Duwonku.

"Th-this is the power of Duwonku...?"