Ronny swung the door open with confidence. Not only had he earned a record amount in less time than before, but he’d also managed to fit in some errands too. Most impressively, he’d gotten it all done hours before sunset.

Alice was mopping the floor when he arrived, “Hello!” She surveyed his features, “you look handsome… What’s the occasion?”

“No occasion! I just wanted to freshen up a bit.” He put his bags in the kitchen and came back out with a broom, “What’s today’s agenda?”

“How about we fix up your room? It could definitely use some work, if memory serves.”

“That’d be much appreciated.”

They gave it a thorough cleaning, which was greatly enhanced by the fact that Ronny was only Overworked, and not Devitalized. By the time the they were done, it looked unrecognizable—if you ignored the still unfixed plaster, that is. It gave the impression of being somewhere someone could live now, as opposed to a penitentiary.

Going downstairs, he asked Alice to sit down and brought out the still warm bread he’d gotten earlier. “My treat,” he said.

“Aww, you didn’t have to do this! But I’m glad you did.”

Even if it was still just bread—and nothing more—they treated like a feast, savoring each bite. The two ended up splurging a little, with both having a whole loaf to themself.

“Status Added: Well Fed.”

That was unexpected. Ronny checked what it did. “Increases skill acquisition by 15% (6 HOURS).”

All in all, not bad. He wasn’t surprised that The System rewarded eating well, it did seem to like anything that could be considered a healthy lifestyle after all. He decided to eat a whole loaf again for breakfast the next day.

Alice gave a contented yawn, “So was your intent with that to start rationing for the siege?”

That had indeed been the plan initially, before he realized he could get a buff from eating in abundance. He wanted to tell her about System, but doubted that she’d understand, “Well there’s that. But also, I work in manual labor. I want to eat more to stay strong.”

“That makes sense, I guess. We need to start stockpiling though. I imagine we’ll be stuck here for a while the war is underway.”

“Your right. I’ll buy more soon.” He made a mental note.

“You don’t have to go that far. Our agreement was that I’d be covering both your housing and food in exchange for your help.”

“That’s true, but I’m making more money I thought I’d be earning. If I’m not paying to stay here, I might as well do what I can to make things easier for you, right?”

“Well sure, I appreciate that. But again, you should spend your money on yourself. It’s what we agreed on.”

He chuckled, “I can spend my money how I want, Alice. If we’re going to live together, I want to make both of our lives better. If I do it of my own free will, spending money on us is no different from spending it on myself.”

She got a little flustered, “Do what you like. I’m going to bed. Goodnight!” She left the room.

“Goodnight!”

Ronny got up and went to his ‘refurbished’ room. He went to bed thinking about how to earn more money.