“Who is in here!?” a harsh voice said as the door was swung open.

[Unknown energy detected]

[Scanning…]

[Scanning failed…]

[Analysing…]

[Analysis complete…]

[This energy is similar to the energy possessed by the virus spy a few years ago. They had similar properties, yet are completely different.]

“Me! It’s me Daron!” Daron was quick to announce his presence and prevent a misunderstanding, while pondering on the mysterious energy Sirious had found just now.

Golden light that had just begun to form and be seen through the door quickly vanished, but no answer came for a while.

A few seconds of silence later, the door fully opened and the head priestess walked in.

‘I doubt this is magic. So just save it as ‘Holy Energy’ or something’ he told the system while looking at the head priestess.

“You…”

“No, no! Do not misunderstand! Just wait for some time. Let me make this and you can give it a take Head Priestess. Then you can scold me!” Daron said as he looked straight into the eyes of the tall head priestess.

Seeing the resolute expression on Daron’s face, the head priestess pondered for a while as her expressions changed multiple times in a few seconds, before sighing deeply and nodding, “Alright”.

Seeing this approving reaction, Daron smiled as he got back to his work.

He took off the sauce from the heat, and put another bowl of water on the heat and waited for the water to heat up before adding the pasta into it.

While that was happening, he also used metal-tongs to pick up rocks that were within the fire and were red hot, and first washed them with water before placing the bowl of the sauce on it to keep it work for as long as possible in this cold weather.

After adding some salt in the water, which clearly shocked the head priestess, who somehow refrained herself from yelling at Daron, he waited for around four minutes until the spaghetti was ‘al denté’ before removing the pasta and adding it onto the bowl with the sauce, which he then replaced onto the fire once more.

A few seconds on the fire and a little stirring later, the dish was ready.

He poured the sauce covered pasta into two bowls and first tastes it himself, nodding in approval before handing some to the head priestess, along with a spoon.

This world did have forks, but most people of the lower classes tended to use only spoons since most of their food consisted of rice and porridges. Only the upperclassmen, and nobles would bother with something like forks.

While she was about to silently take a bite of the food, Daron began his sales pitch as if he was on shark tank.

“I am here to sell 0% of my product for the cheap price of rights to use the firewood and other utensils. You might ask, why do I need this stuff? The answer is simple. I wish to sell this in the city, and earn money through that.”

She clearly paused in her movements for a moment before continuing to place the two noodles that where somehow picked up by her spoon along with the sauce into her mouth and began to chew.

Her eyes were initially closed, brows furrowed. However, they instantly swung open, wide in shock as she continued eating.

After a while, she finally spoke up after finishing her mouthful.

“Not bad. It looks really gross at first, similar to the raw flesh of a beast with intestines coming out, but the taste is anything but.”

Daron was slightly offended by the rude remark of calling his masterpiece ‘roadkill’, but he continued.

“So? Will you sponsor me?”

“No”

“Why?”

“Someone will steal the utensils from you. You are but kids after all.”

“We can take Joanne with us! No one will steal from the church!”

What Daron had learnt over time was that most people were not only friendly to the church out of fear of god. Especially those who came from outside the city, were especially fearful of the church. No one wished to mess with the church.

That one merchant was an oddball among oddballs.

“This…”

“Please! Head Priestess! I need the money!”

“Why?”

“That…”

“Why? Did you borrow money from someone?”

“No… I am hungry. I food we are given is not enough. That is why, I thought of selling food to make money, and then buy food.”

Daron had hesitated for a while before telling the truth, which left the head priestess stunned for a long time. In that much time, Joanne had entered the kitchen as was shocked to see the head priestess completely motionless.

After Daron explained everything to her, her eyes began to tear up, but she held herself together, and just began to eat the spaghetti with tears still remaining in her eyes, like someone who sent through a break up and was hogging on a tub of ice-cream or other comfort food.