Ch.1414 – The Correlation Between Happiness and Growth

<14 – The Correlation Between Happiness and Growth>

The 100 types of buffet dishes were abundant enough to enjoy slowly in the air over 10 days.

I just need to clear 10 types each day.

Since it takes exactly ten days to reach our destination, this is perfect.

“Ah!”

“What’s wrong, young miss?”

“I’ve realized the trap.”

Jona immediately changed his expression, kneeling down to fix my shoelaces while lowering his voice.

“…If I may ask, could you explain what trap you’ve noticed?”

“The portion size. I’m not convinced that simply putting various foods on a plate will count as collecting all the different dishes for the catalog.”

“…I don’t understand what you mean at all.”

The criteria for what counts as a single serving in the food catalog is a critical matter.

What if a buffet plate with various dishes mixed together doesn’t count for the catalog collection?

What if only the dish with the largest portion gets counted?

“I-I can’t enjoy selecting various dishes for my plate… Having to fill a plate with just one food at a time, ten times, and repeating that for ten days…”

Even for someone who loves collecting, this amount is food torture.

Wait a minute.

Do I really need to fill the plate completely for it to count as one serving?

A buffet is originally a place where you take as much as you want.

Even taking a tiny amount might count as a successful collection if there’s only one type of food on the plate.

Click click

As I excitedly hold the tongs making clicking sounds, thinking about filling my plate, I hear a slightly incredulous voice saying, “You change moods quite quickly.”

“Hehe. Look at that. The little miss who can’t even reach the side dish containers. Isn’t she cute?”

“Oh my. She reminds me of my youngest daughter I left at home. Hohoho.”

Guests who came to enjoy an affordable meal laugh as they pass by me.

With tears welling up in my eyes from the humiliation, I tugged firmly on the butler’s sleeve.

“Jona… I can’t reach the food containers…”

“You change moods quickly in a bad way too, I see.”

I was able to get food with Jona’s help.

“Are you really sure just one chocolate chip is enough?”

“I want to start light.”

“You eat like a mouse, not knowing how to properly eat.”

“Ah! Furry rice cake!”

“This is how you eat food.”

A beastkin at the next table who had piled food like a mountain shoveled it into his mouth ravenously.

The competitive spirit inside me flared up watching this impressive eating like a food fighter or mukbang streamer, but testing comes first right now.

Crunch crunch

“…”

“Would you like more?”

“Yes…”

The cookie I devoured in an instant.

The next menu item was…

“Another chocolate chip?”

“T-this time I’ll eat four more!”

I’m going to stick with chocolate chips until I’m certain it counts as a single serving!

Around the time I thought this should be enough, my head throbbed lightly and a notification appeared.

[Common dish <Chocolate Chip> has been collected in your Food Catalog.]

[There is no single collection effect for common dishes.]

After the success with chocolate chips, I continued with individual approaches, filling plates with only one type of dish each time.

…

[Common dish <Mushroom Soup> has been collected in your Food Catalog.]

[Common dish <Crabby Avocado> has been collected in your Food Catalog.]

[Common dish <Salmon Sushi> has been collected in your Food Catalog.]

[Common dish <New York Strip> has been collected in your Food Catalog.]

[Common dish <Melon> has been collected in your Food Catalog.]

…

Like an ant carrying food, I diligently transferred food into my mouth.

Of course, Jona, who serves the food onto plates for me, is going through tremendous trouble.

Yet I’m grateful for his consideration in consistently filling my plates with food.

“Since you haven’t trained today, you’re eating well without breaking any dishes.”

“If I get tired without even losing stamina, I wouldn’t be able to swing a sword!”

Even though I’m frail, my stamina has increased a bit through consistent training. Today, I feel especially grateful and sorry seeing the butler seriously contemplating beside me, muttering something about “2kg weights…”

“I’m sorry.”

“What’s this apology for all of a sudden?”

“Just because.”

Jona looked down at me with his characteristically stern eyes and spoke in a gruff voice.

“I am proud of you, young miss.”

“Of me?”

It was praise I’d never heard before when I was only training with muscle men.

“You don’t complain about food, nor do you whine about training being difficult.”

“…Is that a compliment?”

“It is. Considering the daily life that children your age enjoy, your efforts and diligence for academy admission are remarkable.”

At the next table, a monkey beastkin watches with an intrigued face, while Giselle observes with a complicated expression.

Being praised in front of others is a bit embarrassing.

“I believe that your efforts will never be in vain. Perhaps someday, the master will acknowledge you and call for you.”

“Ah, that’s…”

“Don’t you want to meet the master?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to… it’s just, how should I put it…”

There’s a troublesome event.

Random papa events can lead to linked events like <Papa’s Request> or <Home Summons> as time passes.

If you receive a lot of support early on, you might spend precious weekends fulfilling Papa’s requests, or lose long periods of vacation time following home summons.

The higher the benefits, the lower your freedom becomes.

Just as everything in life has two sides, even noble papas with many advantages have these minor flaws.

For commoner papas, requests or home summons are simple—just see their face, have a meal, and return—but the vain culture of nobles is different.

Family-hosted hunting competitions.

Gatherings of nobles of similar rank.

Large and small randomly generated events in territories.

Time-consuming events are already lining up waiting.

“Are you afraid?”

But I can’t be an ungrateful daughter who dismisses a papa who gave 100 gold coins just because it’s troublesome.

When I nodded pretending to be scared, the butler took something out from his chest and placed it in my hand.

“What is this?”

“If you continue to train diligently, someday you’ll find a way to open this cubic.”

“Is it a riddle?”

“When you open this cubic, your fear of the master will subside somewhat.”

Hmm. A cubic.

Maybe I should bite it—

“You must not eat it.”

“…I was just going to nibble it. Just a little. Just a tiny bit.”

“Taking anything to your mouth is a bad habit. This cubic is so hard that your teeth would break if you bite it. Please refrain, young miss.”

I got scolded.

“How heartwarming. What’s the problem, employer?”

“Appearances aren’t everything.”

The conversation between the monkey beastkin and Giselle only increased my shame at being caught being scolded.

“Shall we finish our meal now?”

“I want to go train.”

I need to create an appetite through exercise if I’m going to empty five more plates for today’s quota.

…Though it might be more that I want to escape this embarrassing situation, but I won’t admit that reason because it’s embarrassing.

* *

Evening time.

After finishing intense training and returning to the buffet, I nearly fainted from excessive shock.

“Oh my goodness!”

“Are you alright, young miss?”

“H-how could such an inhumane thing happen!!”

Jona said with an I-told-you-so face.

“That’s why I told you. It would be better to finish training early today.”

[Thank you for using our Sky Buffet today.]

[Our Sky Buffet operating hours are from 8 AM to 5 PM, so we ask for understanding from customers who arrive too early or too late.]

[CLOSED]

“I didn’t know the buffet closed at 5 o’clock!”

“It can’t be helped since it’s a popular buffet.”

“Then what about my dinner?”

“There’s an evening restaurant that opens during dinner hours. Would you like to visit?”

“…Let’s go!”

It’s disappointing that I couldn’t eat all the buffet food, but it’s even if I make up for it at the restaurant.

“Isn’t Leaf coming with us?”

“I’ve already finished my meal, so I’ll look for more facilities that might be helpful to you.”

I feel somewhat sorry.

She’s searching so diligently even though I’m only interested in the buffet and training grounds.

And it’s not even for her own enjoyment, but for me. I should set aside a day to follow Leaf’s recommended course out of guilt.

“Eeeek!”

That’s what I thought.

Until I saw the restaurant menu.

“…Jona. Why are the prices like this?”

“It’s the night surcharge.”

“One gold coin for a single meal is crossing the line!”

“Calm down, young miss. That’s for a set menu.”

“Oh.”

It really is.

<Set A – Evening Full Course 1 Gold Coin>

<Set B – Evening Course 40 Silver Coins>

<Set C – Evening Single Dish 15 Silver Coins>

“Services used at night are naturally more expensive than during the day.”

“I’m sorry. I was just surprised by how expensive it is.”

“Don’t worry, young miss. I can cover your meal expenses with the funds I received from the master.”

“Really?”

“You may consider it a gift from the master upon hearing that you obtained a platinum ticket.”

In the game, I would have trembled at the thought of spending this expensive initial funding on food, searching desperately for cost-effective collection menus.

As a player, I’m overwhelmed with joy at this luxury I’ve never dared to experience.

“Jona. I’m so happy right now.”

“I also hope that you can be happy by continuing to grow steadily.”

Suddenly, I felt mischievous.

“What happens if I don’t grow? Will you still stay by my side?”

“…That won’t happen. I hope such a future never comes.”

“Why?”

“The master has many scholarship students… no, children. He won’t show interest in children who lack talent or grow slowly.”

“What about you, Jona?”

Jona did not answer.