Finn smiled and accepted their goodwill. Even twenty was a bit much for him, and they might’ve said this in a fit of passion, and he decided to lower it slightly in the future. After all, in the [Hearth Market], a C-class essence food could be sold for 5 gold, so the real-life selling shouldn’t be too far from that.
Twenty gold was the average monthly earnings of a typical adventurer, after all!
Maybe he’d charge... 10 gold in the future.
Anyway, he enjoyed watching people enjoy the food he made. He blinked when someone paused, though, and he saw an appraisal tool.
[Golden Gugu Bird Over Mushroom Rice (C)]
[Information: Fragrant mushroom rice topped with tender slices of roasted gugu bird, brushed with a light honey–herb glaze. Served with a drizzle of aromatic mushroom essence.
Effects: Enhances Health and Mana Regeneration by 20%. Stamina is fixed for 10 minutes.]
"What..."
The others looked over and checked. Finn blinked, curious about their reaction. "What’s wrong?"
Arthur read the description and the effects, a bit startled. "This effect..."
Their reactions made Finn flinch a little. "Don’t C-Class Essence Food have effects like these?"
"No. They’re usually just minor increases in regeneration or minor increases in stats. Probably about half of this."
"Oh so like my D-Class food."
"Your D-class f—Can I see?"
Finn nodded, pointing at the greens. "That salad..."
"The salad is a D-class food?!"
It was incredibly rare to have salad as essence food because the chef could not modify it much with their skills. Unless—
Gasp. "It’s true..." Thea said, looking at her own assessment tool in amazement.
This meant the ingredients themselves were special. But what could be so special about sunberries and leafy greens, which were relatively common even in the safe zones?
Arthur and Ravin both had elven blood as well, and their family library had a collection of plants, so they knew of the basilume. It was another relatively common herb!
They couldn’t help but look at Finn with gazes filled with awe and suspicion.
"You...who are you?"
Finn smiled. "You just need to know I’m the Innkeeper."
...
The party woke up early the next day, even before the sun came up. They stretched their arms and got up to greet the day early as they agreed on.
After all, they were planning on finishing the mission today. They wanted to clear it at record speeds!
They got out and felt the cool breeze of the forest, and they also listened to the muffled roars and groans of the monsters outside the barrier.
The barrier seemed to have a bit of an insulating effect, though not an isolated one. Even if it didn’t completely block the events outside, it definitely reduced them.
It was still a bit dark, but the light of the moon, as well as the light from the buildings, illuminated the surroundings sufficient for them. Not to mention, even awakened people had superior physicalities, so they had better vision during the night.
The twins quickly shot at the monsters with their magic. They could use cold weapons too, but there were extra points when monsters were killed with magic since they were from a magician’s family in the end.
That said, they appreciated the barrier more than others. First of all, the barrier they knew would not let anything go through, in or out. However, in this one, the blockage was one-way and selective, allowing them to incorporate it in their attacks.
They farmed monsters like this until the sun came up and they felt a little tired. The twins headed to the canteen to eat, while the guards went out to attract more monsters. They would eat after attracting the monsters. Anyway, the masters didn’t need protection while inside the barrier.
While his customers massacred beasts outside, Finn woke up to prepare breakfast for himself. If he made excess, then he’d call staff, though they’d usually be eating in the canteen.
He practiced with his stock of hoovensore meat, which had been placed in the ice cells of the cellar. Unexpectedly, after a few times, he triggered a skill.
[Passive Skill Activated: Preserver’s Touch]
[Information: All dishes personally prepared by the user have their natural freshness duration increased by 300%. Prepared meals retain full flavor, nutritional value, and buff potency until the extended freshness period expires. Reduces the spoilage rate of raw ingredients handled by the user by 50%]
Holy shi—
Suddenly, he was in the mood to make a lot of carry-on snacks!
...
"FINALLY DONE!" Arthur exclaimed, raising his arms, looking at the glimmer of his status gem. "I think we broke a record!"
Their family library held records of descendants’ achievements. There was also a place where #1 of certain achievements were placed, and underneath them were portraits.
One of these achievements was being the fastest to complete the mission! The top 3 were displayed there, and he believed both he and his brother made it!
Of course, if people found out about this place, then that record would be broken with the next batches or generation. Fortunately, the honesty oaths they had to make didn’t have to be so specific. They could mention the place vaguely, but they didn’t have to specify its location and things like that.
Anyway, this meant their time here had come to an end. After all, they had to surrender the gems in a week. Further, to show that they really beat the record and erase all doubts, they had to get back earlier than others as well.
Thinking of this, Arthur sighed as he looked at the inn and its territory with melancholy. "I am going to miss this place."
Normally, Ravin would roll his eyes at his brother. However, this time, he actually nodded. "We’ll return after. It’s too practical to stay here."
The group dragged themselves to the concierge to check out. It was just that while they did so, they realized that the inn store, which had been empty the previous day, was now filled with items!
They weren’t just the previous crackers, too! There were more offerings! There were now a lot more dried fruits, nuts, and the like! There were even pickles in bottles!
"This..."
Salesman Finn appeared next to them with his salesman smile.
"Since there aren’t many customers, we don’t impose purchase limits. You can buy everything if you want."
And so, the group finally left after buying bags-full of snacks and essence food.