Chapter 142
“……Villed.”
Arlhardt murmured the name again, lost in thought for a moment.
She recalled the memory of last night.
The cozy storage room bathed in golden light. There, she had eaten the food Villed cooked and chatted with him while having fun.
To be honest, she thought it had been enjoyable.
……However, Arlhardt hadn’t joined the party simply out of curiosity.
“So that’s why. You suggested I inspect the livestock shed. You even revealed your identity to Chancellor Tot just to end Villed’s disciplinary punishment.”
At the Princess’s question, Luga confirmed with a faint smile.
Of course, he hadn’t told the Chancellor about the possibility that Villed might be an enemy.
“I told the Chancellor I was planning to observe the second son for a long time and then take him as my aide.”
“……You, taking him as your aide?”
“It wasn’t a lie. Half of it was sincere. Once I’m certain he’s not an enemy, I plan to make him the offer. I’m cautious, but I also find him… likable.”
Arlhardt was a little surprised.
It was the first time she had heard Luga personally say that he “liked” someone.
“When his punishment ends and a livestock manager is assigned, the second son will return to the dormitory. I happen to have a spare bed in my room, so I plan to take him as my roommate.”
Villed had already noticed Curio’s hiding spot in the past.
He could have pretended not to notice, but instead, he deliberately drew suspicion to block any further surveillance.
That meant he hated showing himself to others—intensely so.
……So the answer was clear.
He wanted to share a room with someone who might be an enemy, observing him closely.
That way, he could monitor him naturally.
“And Your Highness, isn’t it strange when you think about it? Do you believe it’s possible for the son of a high-ranking noble—someone who’s never even lifted a shovel—to manage a livestock shed for an extended period without issue?”
“……It would be harsh labor, with the smell, hygiene, and other hardships.”
“In the end, it’s about honor. To them, honor is life itself. There isn’t a single noble heir who would endure such humiliation that stains their reputation.”
Arlhardt nodded in agreement.
“Although Your Highness reported him and he was disciplined, the Dedenkman family never disowned their second son. And he accepted his punishment quietly, almost as if he had been waiting for it.”
“……No way.”
Memories of the previous day flashed across Arlhardt’s mind.
“Thanks to Your Highness’s generosity, I’m living blessed days.”
“At the start of the term, Villed was incompetent, and even his personality was unpleasant. But he didn’t torment students simply because he was mean-spirited……”
Arlhardt’s eyes widened, and she finished Luga’s words for him.
“You’re saying it was an act—deliberately done to receive punishment?”
“Exactly.”
Tak! Tang! Tang!
The sound of wooden swords clashing and students shouting echoed through the training field.
When the noise settled, Luga spoke again with a faint smirk.
“While being disciplined, Villed was deprived of extra lessons and any interaction with other students. He lived in solitude, forgotten and looked down upon by everyone. That was his intention—to quietly plot something on his own.”
“……”
Arlhardt was a little shocked.
When he first entered the academy, Villed’s eyes had been dark. She had sensed that he wasn’t someone who had lived a righteous life.
……But at some point, those gloomy eyes began to change.
The murky gaze had grown bright—intelligent, even.
And surprisingly, that transformation had started after his disciplinary punishment.
“……Then, what’s your reason for suspecting Villed as an ‘enemy’?”
She still wanted to believe in him.
Arlhardt spoke, her voice carrying that sentiment.
Luga smiled leisurely as he answered.
“I found something suspicious during the Comprehensive Exam. In truth, Villed gave up competing.”
“Gave up?”
“I could feel it through mana. Among all the students, Villed was the only one whose body had almost no mana. Yet despite not appearing in the central area even by the second day, he suddenly showed up there. Why do you think that was?”
Hearing Luga’s words, realization dawned on Arlhardt—her eyes widened.
Right.
It couldn’t have been a coincidence.
“Your Highness, considering that he wasn’t attacked at all… he must have been in a safe zone, far from the competitive central area. Think back.”
Arlhardt recalled the students who had gathered to subdue Kunking.
And the very last person who had arrived late.
Villed—who had appeared out of breath and drenched in sweat despite the cold weather.
“He arrived at the central zone just before the Kunking subjugation began, even though it was a distance that should’ve taken hours to cross. Doesn’t that seem strange, timing-wise?”
“……You’re saying he realized Kunking would go berserk hours before it actually happened?”
“Exactly, Your Highness.”
Arlhardt was speechless.
That was the decisive reason Luga suspected Villed.
“Villed is a meticulous man. Truly worthy of respect.”
Luga stifled a laugh, then continued seriously.
“He’s someone who can endure any humiliation for the sake of his goal—and someone who knows how to hide his brilliant wings deep within his chest.”
There was a strange delight mixed in Luga’s tone.
“That’s why I find him fascinating. Of course, if it turns out he’s truly an enemy, then he’ll simply become someone I must eliminate.”
“……”
Arlhardt fell silent for a long moment.
Villed had indeed helped Assistant Lahan during the Kunking subjugation.
But how could he have known about Kunking’s rampage in advance?
That would be impossible unless he already knew who orchestrated the incident.
……It was indeed suspicious.
Luga, watching the Princess lost in thought, suddenly seemed to recall something.
“Your Highness, when you inspected the livestock shed yesterday, did you notice anything unusual?”
“Nothing special. If I had to mention something……”
The Princess remembered Ren begging Villed to let him look around the livestock shed.
“Actually, Ren pretended to be curious about the animals, but he was secretly checking their condition.”
“Hmm, animals managed by the second son, huh. And?”
“Ren was thrilled. He said Villed was definitely taking care of them with love.”
“……Love?”
Luga tilted his head at the unexpected answer.
“For wintering, the shed had been modified to stay warm. Ren said all the animals were lively, their fur shiny, no signs of wounds or skin disease. He kept saying—so much that my ears hurt—that Villed must have become a good person.”
Hearing that, Luga crossed his arms and pondered with an intrigued expression.
“Hmm…… animals, you say. Was there anything else unusual?”
“……”
Arlhardt fell silent.
With her eyes closed, she let out a thoughtful sigh before finally speaking.
“……It was delicious.”
“Hm……. Pardon?”
At the rather unexpected words, Luga’s crossed arms loosened.
“The food Villed made—it was all astonishing. Everything was delicious. Even more so than the dishes served in the Imperial Palace. How could a student cook like that?”
“……”
Sensing the Princess’s sincerity, Luga quietly narrowed his eyes.
“……Now then.”
His sharp gaze turned toward the Princess.
“If I go now, do you think the second son will cook for me too?”
“He would never. How shameless of you, Luga.”
“Oh dear. I suppose when we become roommates, I’ll just have to beg him to cook for me.”
Their gazes soon shifted to Ren, who was at the training ground.
“Thank you for teaching me, seniors!”
Ren bowed at a perfect 90-degree angle to the students piled up like a mountain.
A dark evening.
The lamp inside the livestock shed glowed warmly with golden light.
As usual, I handed a plate of omelet rice to Lapin.
“You’re not going back to the dorm again today?”
“Yeah. I won’t be able to stay here much longer, so I want to be here even one more day.”
“……”
I nodded silently.
‘Once I gain management rights for the livestock shed… maybe I should build a house?’
Lately, Lapin had been avoiding the dorms even more.
At this point, it wouldn’t hurt to just build her a small house here.
After all, I had experience building a Tree House—I was fairly confident in making one.
‘Maybe I could even let others move in later, not just Lapin.’
Though, that would be for the future.
“After you eat, I’ll give you dessert too, so give me your thoughts.”
“Oh……”
Lapin let out a small exclamation, eyes full of anticipation.
I sat down, watching her empty the plate, lost in thought.
It was about the sales competition during the upcoming Winter Festival.
‘……The equipment shop had been quite profitable last time.’
But unfortunately, the equipment shop was excluded from this competition.
And just preparing food ingredients alone was already a massive task, so I decided to give up on it completely.
‘Anyway, I made some test dishes first.’
For an experiment, I quickly made two crepes.
I wrote “#1” and “#2” on them with chocolate syrup.
Crepe #1 used 90% store-bought ingredients and 10% ingredients harvested from the farm.
Crepe #2 used only ingredients harvested directly from the farm.
The result……
“They’re both delicious.”
Lapin’s eyes sparkled, cream at the corner of her lips.
Her eyes shone like a starry night sky—and that was it.
‘In the game, this expression of hers was an Easter egg.’
Seeing the usually expressionless Lapin’s eyes sparkle was something you rarely witnessed in the game.
‘But…… I feel like I’m seeing it too often now.’
It was almost a common sight at this point.
“……Can’t you give me a more detailed impression? For each—#1 and #2.”
At my request, Lapin tilted her head for a moment, then raised her hands.
“Okay. #1 is this much delicious.”
She spread her hands as wide as her waist.
“And #2 is this much delicious!”
This time, she lifted her hands high above her head, stretching them straight up.
‘……That’s a huge difference, isn’t it?’
As a Chimera, Lapin’s sense of taste was absolute. Among everyone I knew, she was probably the most sensitive to flavor.
It reaffirmed what I already knew—only dishes made entirely with ingredients from my farm could achieve the best flavor.
And that only deepened my concerns.
‘In the game, the person who won first place in the sales competition usually served about six thousand customers. That means I’ll need ingredients for at least six thousand portions…….’
I stroked my chin.
……The conclusion came quickly.
‘No. Impossible. Absolutely not.’
Six thousand portions.
Even with Boogie’s help, even if I used up every last ingredient I’d gathered, it would be impossible to feed that many people.
‘Yeah, the only way would be to buy ingredients from outside…….’
But that would inevitably reduce the quality of the food.
‘Taste’ was the one thing I prided myself on—and now, even that was at risk.
‘The reason the cakes and drinks sold out so explosively during the Victory Festival was because I used ingredients from the farm.’
Those had taken a long time to gather, and even then, we sold out fast due to shortage.
‘This time, I need to sell several times more than that. There has to be another way.’
I needed a definite factor that could draw customers in.
I’d even secured advertisement rights from Haze in exchange for the Black Knight’s photo—the promotion would surely help, but it wasn’t a real solution.
Sitting at the table, I opened the hologram menu for “✿Animal✿Farm✿,” browsing through the list to see if any store could provide quality ingredients.
Then, a line of text caught my eye.
NEW! Rental Shop Open!
“……Was this always here?”
The words gleamed at the bottom of the shop interface. Without much expectation, I clicked it.
Only one item appeared on the list.
Bubble Device 1-Day Rental Ticket – 1,000P
Blow into it gently like a soap bubble, and you can create miniature versions of your spiritual friends! They can’t use any special abilities, but they look just like the real ones and are super cute! You can make as many as you like for one whole day! The mini spirit friends will slowly fade away after some time!
A pink wand icon used for making bubbles.
‘……Bubbles? So no combat potential, huh.’
It merely created small spirit creatures without any power.
And after a while, they would vanish—just like soap bubbles.
What could I even do with that?
After reading the description, I turned my gaze toward Lapin, who was lying on the straw, hugging the Sea Otter.
Lapin often carried that Sea Otter around. Why?
……Probably because it was cute.
And that cuteness didn’t just work on Lapin.
During the Victory Festival, that same adorable Sea Otter had drawn in a flood of visitors.
The effect had been incredible, to say the least.
‘Right. Most people love cute things, after all.’
Cuteness.
It could be a surprisingly powerful weapon.
My eyes lingered for a long time on the phrase: “You can make as many as you like for one whole day!”
An idea struck me, and the corners of my lips curled upward.
“……This is it.”