episode_0006

Passing the buck.

The beautiful custom in South Korea of delegating unwanted tasks to subordinates.

Whether working on a team project in university courses, living collectively in places like the military, or dividing work among several people.

When people gather and form an organization, a natural hierarchy tends to emerge, so it was only natural that delegation existed in this world as well.

As soon as I realized I had been delegated to by senior maids, curses involuntarily escaped me.

“Yes, understood. Is the start time for work also 6 a.m. like other tasks?”

“Yeah. 6 a.m….”

“What are you saying, Katarina? The kitchen assistant duties start at 4 a.m.”

“Right. You should come in at 4 a.m. If we arrive a bit late, we can start ahead of time~.”

“Ah, th-that’s right… 4 a.m.!”

“Yes, understood, seniors. Then, I’ll see you again at 4 a.m. tomorrow.”

A passing conversation from last night when I confirmed no one was in the kitchen.

Until then, I had a feeling something was a bit off, but I never expected that feeling to be spot on.

“The conversation felt a bit awkward… Are these guys delegating tasks to me…?”

Given that our working periods differ by just a year, they’ve already learned mischievous deeds.

I was so focused on my maid duties out of habit that I hadn’t even thought about it.

Perhaps those girls will sneak out around 6 a.m., matching their usual arrival time. Even if they delegate tasks to me, they can’t skip work.

And they will leisurely work at their own pace based on the workload I’ve already completed.

…Yes, I can tolerate that much.

Whether it’s a gaming world or a fantasy world, places where people gather are all the same.

It was strange from the start to expect moral excellence from maids working in noble families.

In fact, being delegated tasks wasn’t a bad situation for me.

Especially because I could freely pursue the purpose I truly desired in working in the kitchen.

“It’s much better to practice magic when no one is around.”

Originally, I planned to practice magic cautiously, sneaking around while watching other senior maids.

But being alone now meant I could use magic freely without anyone watching, which was liberating in many ways.

In this world, the maximum amount of magic power can be increased in three main ways.

The best method is to deplete magic power completely and then refill it perfectly to the brim.

Simply repeating this process increases the maximum magic power regardless of level; it’s the law of this world.

While there are two other methods, the only one I could currently utilize was this method.

Hunting monsters and leveling up immediately wasn’t an option for me right now.

“I can use magic freely, there are means to replenish magic power… Being alone is actually quite sweet, isn’t it?”

A place where I can use magic freely without getting caught.

And a place abundant with means (ingredients) to replenish magic power as soon as it’s depleted.

For senior maids, being delegated tasks was a perfect environment to the point of being grateful.

“When I become high-level, I won’t be able to grow due to magic power replenishment, so I should raise it as much as possible while still at level 2.”

The growth method of depleting magic power to the bottom and refilling it becomes much more challenging at higher levels than at lower levels.

Using up mana to the bottom was not much different between low level and high level, but when it came to raising the maximum amount of mana at a higher level, it tended to impose restrictions in a different sense.

Consuming mana down to three digits, even exceeding four digits, and then refilling it to the brim was quite a taxing task.

In this world, apart from sleep, the means to restore mana mostly revolved around food, and there was a limit to how much food a person’s stomach could digest at once.

With one apple restoring 30 mana, even eating three couldn’t quite fill up a hundred.

To fill up over a thousand mana exceeding four digits, one would have to eat 34 apples, reaching a point where it was practically akin to starvation or worse.

Even in games, there were limits to replenishing mana with food. The interface had an invisible satiety value, displaying a message that you couldn’t eat anymore if you ate too much.

The most efficient items were usually exorbitantly expensive, meant to be used only when absolutely necessary, or they were foods most characters avoided, making consumption impossible.

However, setting aside such distant futures, my current maximum mana was a mere 21.

Having depleted it to the bottom, even one apple fully restored my mana, making it the most efficient time to raise my maximum mana.

Moreover, in this kitchen, there were likely scattered ‘efficient items’ as mentioned earlier.

“Probably around here… Ah, found it.”

Among several sacks containing various grains and vegetables, I discovered one sack that seemed to contain small items, just as expected.

As anticipated, it held a bunch of mana-restoring items inside, much like the significant amount of garlic cloves almost torn off from a field, similar to other food ingredients.

“While chewing raw garlic isn’t exactly my preference… Well, I don’t have many options right now.”

If I were the game character Release itself, I probably wouldn’t even be able to eat it, but fortunately, the contents of Release were that of a robust young man from South Korea.

As someone known as the nation of spices, being able to replenish mana by chewing raw garlic felt somewhat comforting.

“First, I should learn some magic before eating.”

Since adding external mana while already full wouldn’t increase the total amount of mana, it was essential to empty mana through magic first.

For that, choosing the initial spell to learn was crucial, considering the limited skill points per level and the uncertainty of when the opportunity to level up Release, currently at Level 2, would arise.

“Learning mediocre monster-hunting spells won’t be of any use. Buff spells are meaningless alone.”

In fact, ever since hearing about the impending move to the kitchen today, I had already marked a spell in advance.

Out of the three skill points I currently possessed, I allocated two points to acquire ‘Clean.’

If I were the protagonist, I might have prioritized other skills, but what Release needed most at the moment was this spell.

Thus, unlocking ‘Clean’ from the list of possessed skills on the information screen, I immediately felt a sensation of magical knowledge seeping into me.

“Oh, wow…”

Accompanied by a strangely exhilarating sensation I was experiencing for the first time, my mood was uplifted.

Though I didn’t quite understand the principle behind it, I felt a sense that I could use ‘Clean’ right away.

“Let’s give it a try.”

‘Clean’ consumed 20 mana with each use.

Basic Magic, despite consuming a considerable amount of mana, was advantageous for me as my goal was to increase the total amount of mana.

Originally, the Clean magic held enough value to justify this level of mana consumption.

Focusing on the sensation while emitting mana onto a garlic clove placed in my palm, I used the Clean magic.

Gradually, within my palm, the garlic clove cleanly separated with a fine whirlpool.

In this world, Clean magic is about tidying up dirty things.

Whether it’s peeling vegetable skins, cleaning dirty dishes, or even cleansing parts of the body, it’s a versatile magic that can be used in any direction if one desires.

With this level of versatility, it was certainly worth obtaining as a first magic.

『Current Mana: 1 / 21』

“…Done.”

The Clean magic worked correctly, confirming the mana depletion.

I roughly ‘let go’ of the remaining 1 mana, depleting it to 0.

To refill the completely emptied mana reservoir, I picked up one garlic clove from my palm.

The amount of mana that could be replenished by one garlic clove was a whopping 50.

Compared to other mana replenishing foods like apples or oranges, it was an incredibly efficient item.

However, due to the pungent smell and sharp taste of raw garlic, most characters treated it as ‘inedible.’

Only a few characters, including the protagonist, were set to be able to eat a few cloves, but due to the setting that heat destroys nutrients, efficient mana replenishment required chewing the raw garlic thoroughly.

There was no reason to hesitate when half a garlic clove could fully replenish the mana.

If I were Reilis before regaining memories from my past life, I probably wouldn’t have dared to attempt this, but the memories of Lee Ji-hwan, who lived in South Korea for 26 years, remained in my mind.

This amount of garlic was nothing unusual for Koreans….

-Crunch.

“…Ugh?!”

As I bit into half a garlic clove, the intense aroma almost made me spill its contents in my mouth.

…What? Was garlic always this flavorful?

Even though there was no ssamjang, I had never experienced such a taste from raw garlic before?

Could it be that becoming Reilis in the game also changed my body to experience tastes?

“Ugh… Ugh…!!”

Struggling to hold onto my senses against the overpowering scent of garlic enveloping my entire face.

I managed to swallow half a garlic clove with great effort.

I thought I could easily eat raw garlic, but I never expected such an unexpected obstacle.

Playing ‘Luminor Academy’ and cursing characters who didn’t eat garlic made me reflect on my past lack of perseverance.

If it’s this painful, it’s only natural not to be able to swallow it raw.

“Mana…. M-mana….”

Despite the agony, I needed to confirm, so I clasped my hands together and brought up Reilis’s information window.

There, the significantly changed maximum mana was clearly displayed.

『Current Mana: 21 / 21+1』

The trace of depleting mana completely and then replenishing it by eating garlic. And the increased maximum mana as soon as the mana was filled.

Although the increase was only by 1 point now, at around level 10, the efficiency would skyrocket to around 6-7 points.

No matter how much I thought about it, raising the maximum mana was the most ‘efficient’ way.

“I absolutely cannot afford a catastrophic ending….”

Unable to sit down and cry out loud in order to avoid the future of being taken advantage of by that damn piglet, I had no choice but to stand my ground.

Once again, using the Clean Magic, I emptied my mana and stuffed the remaining half clove of garlic back into my mouth.

“Ugh…!”

Suppressing the nausea rising from my stomach, I somehow managed to swallow the mana supplement behind my throat.

After this moment passes, who knows when the next opportunity will come.

Starting tomorrow, the work site could change again, or if the senior maids decide to arrive early due to their capriciousness, it would be difficult to utilize the training methods.

Thinking of each day as the last chance, I had to give it my all.

Even if a whole field of garlic entered my throat, I must avoid a disastrous ending at all costs.

No matter what happens, absolutely not.