This House Cooks Well, Too!
My House Tower, 99th Floor — The Meeting Room
Gulp.
The sound of someone swallowing hard broke the silence.
"Is everyone... gathered?"
Nod.
The floor managers sat in their seats, nodding with incredibly solemn expressions.
"Good. Then shall we... begin?"
The true nature of the "meeting" that was finally commencing was none other than—!
"A Chinese food party!!!"
"Whooooaaa!!!"
As Tricia shouted at the top of her lungs, the companions gathered in the Meeting Room erupted in cheers of joy!
However, a few of them didn't join in the cheering, looking utterly bewildered instead.
"But what's Chinese food, anyway?"
"It's my first time seeing this kind of food. I can't even imagine what it tastes like."
"Come on, you'll know once you take a bite!"
Shephid and Flora asked curiously, but Tricia simply insisted they try it first. She grabbed a bowl of jajangmyeon, peeled off the plastic wrap, and began vigorously mixing the noodles!
Though a long time had passed since it was delivered, the preservation magic cast by the maids kept the food piping hot, as if it had just arrived!
The moment Tricia mixed the jajangmyeon beautifully with her chopsticks, stuffed a massive mouthful into her mouth, and began to chew—
Heaven unfolded.
"Yes! This is the stuff!"
"...!!!"
Seeing Tricia's blissful expression, everyone's appetite was instantly whipped into a frenzy!
After all, isn't jajangmyeon the kind of food that makes you crave it just by watching someone else eat it?
And that rule... applied perfectly inside this tower as well!
A moment later, everyone began peeling off the wraps of their chosen dishes and taking their first bites.
"Whoa! This is delicious!"
"...Is this a flavor I've never experienced before?!"
"So this is Earth's food...! It's amazing!"
Shephid grinned over his fried rice, Flora marveled at the pan-fried jajangmyeon, and Yurining was deeply moved by the kkanpunggi!
"Lady Tricia, what is the name of this red noodle soup?"
"That's jjamppong! The spicy, smoky broth is absolutely top-tier!"
"It has so many toppings, and the spicy kick makes it so good..."
Sian asked while slurping her jjamppong, and Tricia answered while pairing her jajangmyeon with fried dumplings!
"This is delicious, and that's delicious! Everything is so good~!"
"Nothing beats a cold Cola! By the way, why is King Steamed Bun so hyped up?"
"He's finally getting to taste the Chinese food Lady Tricia always talked about. Of course he's excited."
"Knowing King Steamed Bun, he'll probably be able to replicate these dishes perfectly within a few days."
King Steamed Bun trembled with emotion as he took a bite of every single dish, while Lekki watched him while chugging her Cola.
Beside them, Lilisis ate her udon, and Zergos picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork, savoring it thoughtfully.
"This is insanely delicious!!!!"
Finally, Ju Jiye's eyes went wide as she shoveled chili shrimp into her mouth!
For today, at least, everyone cast aside their worries, sharing a blissful moment enjoying Earth's Chinese cuisine together.
"It's truly delicious, Lady Tricia!"
"I never imagined the Earth food you always spoke of would taste this incredible."
"Right! Especially this Cola! The mysterious flavor unique to this drink doesn't even compare to the cider we make!"
Watching everyone shower Earth's food with praise as they ate, Tricia smiled warmly and spoke.
"It's true that Earth's food is delicious... but perhaps the reason it tastes even better is because we're all eating it together?"
"Indeed, a wonderful conclusion worthy of Lady Tricia."
"Exactly! Eating together makes it taste so much better!"
"But wait... isn't that a line from a manga you told us about before?"
"Sian! Even if you know, you're supposed to pretend you don't!"
When it was revealed that Tricia's dramatic line was actually lifted from a manga, the Meeting Room erupted in laughter.
Tricia blushed in embarrassment for a moment, but soon joined in the laughter.
"Mwahahaha!! I love you guys so, so much!!!"
"Is that a manga line too?"
"Yep!"
"You're not even trying to hide it anymore."
As Sian and Tricia bantered, Lekki suddenly cut in.
"You said it's a trend on Earth to play around by mimicking famous lines like that, right?"
"Yeah, you act out stories you like. Just like kids playing knights from fairy tales."
"Then can I make something like that trend on Earth too?"
"Huh?"
With that, Lekki pulled a worn-out book from her breast pocket.
The Sealed Sian Dictionary
The moment Sian Nightmare saw the book, her expression turned ice-cold.
"I'm definitely making this go viral!!!"
"Do. Not. Dare."
"Saying it with such a straight face only makes me want to do it more."
"I said, don't do it!"
Sian screamed at her to stop, but Lekki paid her no mind and flipped the book open, reading aloud!
1. Sian Nightmare: An incredibly "sian" creature.
2. Sian (adj.): Used to denote misfortune, insignificance, frailty, or being a total noob.
3. Sian (root word): Can be treated as a linguistic root to form various derivatives and expressions. For example: "What a total Sian!"
"Stop playing around with my name! And it's not a root word to begin with!"
"Whatever you say, you sian little Sian!"
"What is that even supposed to mean?!"
Sian clenched her fists and lunged at Lekki, but since her punches were about as threatening as cotton balls, Lekki didn't even blink!
"Ah! This is so much fun!!!"
"It's not funny at all!"
Sian and Lekki continued to bicker, but no one stepped in to stop them.
Because—
"Pfft!"
"That is actually hilarious."
"Pfft... cough..."
"I want to make 'Sian-ish' trend on Earth too!"
Everyone was already laughing in unison!
In truth, this teasing was a long-standing tradition dating back to Eriel!
Lekki had been teasing Sian with this wordplay for over a year, and as the others gradually joined in, Sian had essentially become the group's designated punching bag!
Thanks to that, Lekki's Sealed Sian Dictionary now contained over a hundred different Sian-related terms!
Of course, everyone knew where to draw the line, and since Sian only pretended to hate it without ever truly getting angry, it was a harmless joke everyone accepted.
They just thought bringing it all the way to Earth might be taking the scale a bit too far!
Wanting the teasing to remain strictly inside the tower, Sian turned to Tricia with tearful eyes.
"Lady Tricia, please stop Lekki..."
"Sorry, but even I think this sounds pretty fun."
"...Excuse me?!"
Sian fell to her knees at Tricia's unexpected betrayal!
After all, Tricia was also one of the most active contributors to The Sealed Sian Dictionary...!
Because even in Tricia's eyes, Sian had never once looked genuinely upset by it!
Lekki leaned in and whispered in Sian's ear.
"Noob Sian~♥"
Hearing that, Sian finally hit a wall of pure existential dread.
"...Sigh, just do whatever you want..."
"Hell yeah!!!!!!"
"It's not like some meaningless slang word is actually going to trend on Earth anyway... right?"
At that moment, Sian Nightmare had absolutely no idea.
That in the near future, her name would explode in popularity as a viral meme across Earth's online communities...!
A secret government conference room.
Copies of the document delivered from the tower, titled [Draft Proposal for Holy Water Distribution and Tariff Application Guidelines], were distributed to everyone in the room.
The murmurs filling the room vanished as if they had never existed.
It was a silence born of a few sheets of paper... or rather, the weight of the words written upon them.
An official muttered under his breath.
"......What on earth is this..."
"The tower... is imposing tariffs on us?"
The high-ranking government officials scanned the document again, unable to believe their eyes.
An official document sent directly by none other than the [Tower Administrator].
The officials groaned as they digested the contents.
"This isn't a simple logistics contract. It's closer to a declaration of sovereignty."
Several others nodded grimly.
"According to these guidelines, a tariff of at least five times the base rate will be applied to any quantities sold overseas."
"Five times...? Doesn't that practically mean they're blocking exports entirely?"
"The real issue is that the tariff can only be paid in Tower Coins."
"...Does that mean the shortage of Tower Coins will become even more severe?"
"Yes. Assuming the government actively purchases Holy Water, the market value of Tower Coins will rise by at least threefold within a year."
"If that happens... by next year, we'll be paying nearly fifteen times the current cost for a single bottle of Holy Water."
The conference room began to buzz with anxiety.
"The only saving grace is that it's not a flat tax rate, but rather a tiered system based on the intended use."
"How exactly are they differentiating it?"
The officer in charge pointed to a paragraph in the document.
[Tiered Tariff Structure]
◈ Tariffs shall be significantly reduced for benevolent purposes, including the treatment of incurable diseases, disaster relief, and public healthcare.
◈ However, any usage for export or military purposes shall be classified as 'unspecified use,' and the maximum tariff rate shall be applied.
◈ This Holy Water is governed by ancient magic. Should any unauthorized use outside of the declared purpose be detected, a brand and Divine Punishment shall be enacted upon the offender.
"In other words, they'll let us have it cheap if it's truly for the public good. In a way, you could interpret this as merciful."
"Does that mean we have to provide proof for every single drop and submit to their surveillance?"
"As for that... it is written like this at the end of the document."
The moment they read that clause, the air in the conference room grew bone-chillingly cold.
The hands holding the papers began to tremble.
"...Divine Punishment?"
"Is this not just a simple warning... but a declaration that something will actually happen?"
"...The Tower Administrator. That being might be watching us even at this very moment."
"Furthermore, there is no clear explanation. Aside from the term 'Divine Punishment,' there are no details on the criteria for the brand's activation, its scope, or how to lift it."
"That makes it even more terrifying... We won't know until we're hit by it."
"Which means... if even a single person mishandles the distribution of this Holy Water, the entire government could be branded, or something absolutely horrific could happen to us, right?"
"......"
No one could answer that question.
While the current administration was undoubtedly working for the sake of the people, that didn't mean every single individual within the government shared the same noble intentions.
Someone would inevitably try to exploit this Holy Water for personal gain.
No matter how strictly the government regulated it, absolute control was an impossibility.
Some hung their heads, while others cast anxious glances at the security cameras on the ceiling.
Breaking the silence, the Director of National Security spoke up.
At those words, the room fell into a heavy, despairing silence—but then,
"If that is the case... then we simply cannot afford to keep dancing to their tune."
At that moment, the Minister of Foreign Affairs pushed back his chair and stood up.
"First is the Divine Punishment. We must clarify three things: its conditions, its scope, and its cure. We absolutely must secure this information."
The first official summit with the Tower Administrator was scheduled in one week.
Within that timeframe, the government had to prepare every possible countermeasure.
"Continuing to distribute Holy Water without securing that information is no different from forcing our entire populace to sit on a ticking time bomb!"
Everyone nodded in agreement with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Next, the Minister of Economy and Finance spoke up.
"Restructuring the tariff system is also essential. Let's push to establish preferential clauses specifically for state-level purchases. If we play our cards right, we can also demand relief measures to counter any sudden spikes in Tower Coin prices."
With that, the meeting began to regain its momentum.
Urgent, meticulous, yet orderly.
Only one week remained until the historic moment when a nation and the tower would establish formal diplomatic relations for the first time in human history.
In a world where everything had changed since the tower first revealed itself—
The new administration, completely reshaped by a certain turning point, was running at full speed for the safety of its citizens and the national interest.