Became the Owner of a Poor Estate
Chapter 27
“Pardon?”
“There is. Something that gives you a burst of energy when you drink it! Hand them out so everyone can have one. Oh! And! Collect the empty cans in a box. We have to do the recycling.”
Seeing that Builder didn’t seem to understand, Donghee picked up an energy drink and popped the tab right in front of him.
Builder’s eyes widened as he watched the Lord effortlessly pierce a hole through the solid-looking metal.
But he was even more shocked when liquid poured out from inside the metal container.
Donghee gulped down the energy drink as a demonstration. Since she had just pulled it out of her inventory, it was bone-chillingly cold and refreshing.
“Drink it like this, then collect these empty containers and put them back in this box.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Builder answered with a dazed expression.
Satisfied by the way Builder couldn’t take his eyes off the energy drink, Donghee handed him an open can.
“Would you like to try one first?”
“M-May I really?”
Builder looked overwhelmed by the honor.
“Of course. You’re the person in charge here; you deserve to be the first to drink.”
“Heugh! Thank you, My Lord.”
Builder politely accepted the can from Chloe with both hands. His eyes nearly popped out of his head at the icy temperature radiating against his palms. He had never touched anything this cold except for snow or ice.
As Builder gulped down the drink Chloe had given him, his brow furrowed deeply.
“What is it? Is it not to your taste? Is it too sour?”
Donghee grew slightly worried, thinking it might be an unfamiliar flavor for people of this world.
Builder shook his head rapidly without a word. Tears began to well up in his eyes even as he refused to pull his lips away from the can.
“Why are you crying? Does it taste strange?”
Only then did Builder stop drinking and spoke as if overcome with emotion.
“No. It’s just… I’ve never tasted anything like this in my life…. I wonder if it’s truly alright for us to consume something so precious….”
It wasn’t like the alcohol Builder occasionally drank, nor was it like the juice made from wild strawberries. At first, he had tilted his head at the strange, unfamiliar flavor, but the more he drank, the more it seemed to electrify his palate. It was tart and perfectly sweet; he felt like he could drink it forever without getting tired of it.
Ah, so it was a ‘deliciousness’ scowl.
Finally, a thick teardrop fell from the weeping Builder’s eye.
Flustered by the sight of a large man crying over a single energy drink, Donghee waved her hands frantically.
“Don’t cry! Don’t cry! I’ll let you eat much tastier things in the future. So stop crying. There! I can’t stand men who cry.”
“*Hic!* Thank you. My Lord, I will serve you with my life.”
“No, well, you don’t need to go as far as giving your life.”
Donghee’s face flushed with embarrassment at the oath of loyalty that was far more intense than she had expected.
Ding!
With a sound only Donghee could hear, a blue status window suddenly popped up.
—You have gained the infinite trust and loyalty of Builder!
Furthermore, your thoughtfulness in providing snacks for the workers!
One can clearly glimpse the qualities of a magnificent Lord in the User.
Jeez, you scared me.
Please give me some kind of warning before you show up.
Donghee grumbled inwardly, knowing it was useless, and glared at the floating status window.
—The loyalty of the worker Builder toward the User is steadily rising.
His loyalty will be retroactively converted into Resident Favorability Points.
Calculating….
Inside the blue status window, a yellow arrow spun like a pinwheel along with the words ‘Calculating’.
A moment later, the points appeared with a flash on the static status window.
—Resident Favorability has increased by 30.
Favorability went up by 30 just for one can?
—When Favorability exceeds 100, it can be used for conversion into Hidden Points or to increase the Activity Range level. Once points are converted, they cannot be turned back into Favorability.
The fact that Favorability could be exchanged for other things was very interesting and tempting. However, she had a feeling that Favorability itself would be urgently needed somewhere.
Moreover, considering the massive negative Favorability she would likely face when opening other villages, she felt uneasy about hastily converting it into something else.
A moment later, the status window reflecting the Favorability generated by Builder floated up.
[Status Window]
—User Name: Chloe Grace
—Occupation: Part-timer / Lord of Grace Territory
—Abilities: 0.5 / Power-Up Punch (When wearing gloves), Terrain Information Level 1 (Limited to Morta Village)
—Activity Range: 3 / Basement Studio, Convenience Store, Borimdang and surrounding area (Radius 20m, 10-minute time limit)
—Traits: 0.1 / A territory that is still dirt poor. (When on earth will the territory revival happen…?) ★Tends to be obsessed with Chocolate Rolls
—Village 1 (Morta) Resident Favorability: 6,300 (Next village can be opened)
—Inventory (Level 4) Storage. Base Capacity (0/400)
—MP: 75 / 86,400
Her Favorability was at a stable level now.
But the parentheses next to it were the problem.
As the status window had mentioned before, it would definitely turn negative once the next village was opened.
She had to raise Favorability enough in this village to minimize the shock before then.
However, thinking that the other villages would be just as desolate as Morta used to be, she wondered if it was right to keep lingering like this.
Donghee’s mind became complicated.
She watched Builder distribute the energy drinks to the workers. Then, curious about how the Dural harvest was progressing, she made her way toward the Dural hill with Thelma.
She thought it would be helpful to bring the harvested Dural along when she opened the next village.
She had been worried that the servants might be doing nothing out of fear of demonic energy or whatever, but fortunately, they were diligently harvesting the Dural.
Twenty-five people had come, and about half of them were moving actively. The rest, perhaps not having fully overcome their fear yet, were hesitating at the edge of the Dural field, pulling one out with a shudder before timidly approaching the field again.
That much was acceptable.
It was likely a process of overcoming their fear in their own way.
She believed that once they truly realized nothing happened after touching and eating Dural, those hesitations would soon disappear.
“Butler!”
At Donghee’s call, Scrooge, who had been following behind, hurried to stand by her side.
Donghee let out a small chuckle at his agility, which was much improved from the beginning.
“Who is the person in charge here?”
At Donghee’s question, Scrooge pointed to a woman deep inside the field who was working hard pulling up Dural.
The woman, who had just straightened her back after harvesting, looked quite large even at a glance.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel wrapped around her neck, then noticed Donghee and Scrooge watching her. Looking surprised, she ran over to where the two were standing.
Standing close, she was even taller than she had appeared from a distance. She looked to be about 180cm tall.
Moreover, her shoulders were as broad as most men’s, and the sturdy muscles bulging in her forearms looked incredibly firm.
“My Lord, this is the woman in charge of the Dural field harvest.”
It was then.
A blue status window floated up in front of Donghee.
—A sudden mission after a long time!
Please give this woman, the person in charge of the Dural field, a suitable name.
There is an additional bonus if the owner of the name likes it.
Ooh, naming!
It was a quest she was familiar with now.
Donghee looked up at the woman, who was smiling genially at her, and fell into deep thought. A name that would suit this person.
She looked like a very healthy and strong person. She couldn’t exactly name her ‘Health,’ so should she try a little variation?
“Helsa?”
Do you wanna build a snowman!
No, that’s not it.
Donghee quickly cleared the music playing in her head and waited for the status window’s reaction.
—The owner of the name likes it very much. You will receive 60 Hidden Points as a reward.
Why only 60p if she likes it so much?
—A negative factor was applied due to suspicion of plagiarism.
This isn’t plagiarism, it’s an adaptation!
Donghee flared up, but the status window scribbled the lyrics of the song she had hummed to herself once more, then vanished after displaying one small, quick sentence.
Why you little…!
But the status window was already gone, and Helsa was giving Chloe a sincere smile.
“Helsa, are you not afraid of the Dural?”
“No. Because there is nothing more terrifying than hunger. Everyone is overjoyed, saying that thanks to the Lord, we won’t have to starve anymore.”
Helsa said with a broad grin.
She was a woman with an impressive set of white, even teeth that contrasted with her slightly tanned skin.
For some reason, she had an aura that made her as instantly likable as Thelma, so Donghee observed her closely as she continued. Her dark, almost charcoal-brown hair was damp with sweat and clinging to her forehead.
“I’m glad.”
When Chloe smiled back warmly, Helsa’s smile grew even wider as she wiped the sweat from the side of her face with her towel.
“Half of the Dural harvested today will be given to the servants. Helsa, you take charge of dividing it in half and distributing it evenly among all the servants. You may give a little more to those with large families, right?”
“Thank you so much, My Lord!”
Helsa folded her large body in half as she offered a sincere bow of gratitude.
A moment later, Helsa ran back to the Dural field and announced the news in a loud voice, causing a great cheer to spread among the servants. Following that, even the servants who hadn’t dared to step into the Dural field began to move actively.
—Resident Favorability has increased by 10.
—Resident Favorability has increased by 10.
.
.
—Resident Favorability has increased by 10.
Along with the frantic dinging sounds, she heard constant notifications of rising Favorability.
It was a very satisfying result.
