BOPE 27

Chapter 27…

“What?”

“There is! Something that gives you a burst of energy when you drink it! Hand one out to everyone. Oh, and don’t forget! Collect the empty cans and put them in this box. We need to recycle, after all.”

Since the builder looked confused, Donghui grabbed one of the energy drinks and cracked it open right in front of him.

The can’s seemingly solid metal top gave way easily under the grip of the lord, and the builder’s eyes widened in astonishment. But what shocked him even more was the liquid that flowed from the inside of the metal.

Donghui took a hearty gulp of the energy drink, demonstrating as if it were part of some sacred ritual. Having just pulled it from her inventory, the coldness seeped into her bones, refreshing her deeply.

“This is how you drink it. And then you put the empty can in this box. Got it?”

“Y-Yes, understood.”

The builder replied, still dazed, his eyes glued to the drink like it was a magical artifact.

Pleased by the reaction, Donghui handed him an opened can.

“Would you like to try it first?”

“M-May I really?”

The builder looked overwhelmed.

“Of course. As the one in charge here, you should be the first to taste it.”

“Gasp! Thank you, my lord!”

Receiving the can from Chloe with both hands, the builder blinked in awe as the icy chill of the aluminum met his palms. Other than snow or ice, he’d never touched anything this cold.

He raised the drink to his lips and took a gulp, but his brow furrowed tightly in the middle of his forehead.

“Is it too sour? Not to your taste?”

Donghui asked, a bit concerned. The taste might be unfamiliar to people here, after all.

The builder frantically shook his head. He couldn’t pull his lips from the can, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Wait… Are you crying? Does it taste weird?”

At last, the builder set the can down and spoke, voice trembling with emotion.

“No, my lord. It’s just… I’ve never had anything like this before in my life. Something so precious… Are we really allowed to have this?”

It wasn’t like the ale he drank from time to time, nor the wild berry juice sometimes brewed by the villagers. At first, the taste had confused him—sour and strange—but the more he drank, the more it clung to his tongue. Tangy, just sweet enough, and so delicious it felt endless.

Ah… that was the expression of truth.

A fat tear rolled down the builder’s cheek.

Seeing such a big man cry over a single can of energy drink, Donghui flailed in panic.

“Don’t cry! Don’t cry! I’ll let you try even more delicious stuff later! So don’t cry, okay? I hate it when men cry!”

Hic! “Thank you, my lord. I will serve you with all my life.”

“Oh no, you really don’t have to go that far.”

Embarrassed by his overly passionate loyalty, Donghui’s face turned bright red.

Ding!

A sound only Donghui could hear chimed, and a familiar blue status window popped up in front of her.

– You have earned the builder’s unwavering loyalty and trust!
And your thoughtful gesture of providing snacks to your workers?
You clearly have the makings of a remarkable lord.

Holy—! Can’t this thing give some warning before it appears?

Donghui grumbled inwardly and stared at the floating window with annoyance.

– The builder’s loyalty toward you is steadily increasing.
This loyalty will now be converted into affection points toward your territory’s population.
Calculating…

Inside the status window, the phrase “Calculating…” spun round and round like a pinwheel under a yellow arrow.

Moments later, the number flickered.

– Affection with Territory Inhabitants has increased by 30.

A whole 30 points just for a single can?

– When affection surpasses 100, it can be converted into hidden points or used to expand activity range.
Note: Once converted, affection points cannot be reverted.

Being able to convert affection into something else was intriguing. But Donghui had a hunch that affection itself might be essential later on.

Especially once she unlocked the next village. That would likely tank her reputation in one go.

Better to raise the current village’s affection high enough to absorb the damage first.

Just then, a window displaying the total affection gained from the builder popped up.

[STATUS WINDOW]

• User Name: Chloe Grace

• Job: Part-Timer / Lord of Grace Territory

• Power: 0.5 / Power-Up Punch (when gloves equipped), Terrain Info Level 1 (Limited to Morta Village)

• Activity Range: 3 / Basement studio, convenience store, Borimdang & nearby area (20m radius, 10-min time limit)

• Trait: 0.1 / Still dirt-poor territory (When will the revival come…?) ★ Obsessed with chocolate rolls

• Village 1 (Morta) Affection Level: 6,300 (Next village unlockable)

• Inventory (Level 4): Storage capacity (0/400)

• MP: 75 / 86,400

Affection level was now comfortably high.

But that bracket next to it… that was the real problem.

Just as the status window had previously warned—affection would drop drastically the moment a new village was opened.

Before that happened, she had to raise it as much as possible to cushion the fall.

Still… if the next village was just as devastated as Morta had been, was taking it slow like this the right decision?

Donghui’s mind grew tangled with thoughts.

She turned her attention to the builder distributing the energy drinks among the workers. Curious about how the dural harvest was coming along, she decided to head to Dural Hill with Delma.

Bringing along some freshly harvested dural to the next village might help things go more smoothly.

Worried that the workers might be slacking off under some excuse like “miasma,” she was relieved to find them diligently harvesting the crops.

There were 25 of them, but only about half were working with energy. The rest still seemed hesitant, lingering around the edge of the dural field. They’d tentatively yank one out, recoil in fear, then slowly approach again.

Still, that was acceptable.

They were facing their fears bit by bit.

Eventually, they’d come to realize that touching or eating dural didn’t harm them—and those reactions would fade.

“Steward!”

At her call, Scrooge hurried to her side. His agility had improved significantly, enough to make Donghui chuckle.

“Who’s in charge here?”

Scrooge pointed to a woman working hard in the middle of the field.

She stood upright from her work just in time to catch sight of Chloe and Scrooge watching her. Startled, she rushed toward them.

Up close, she looked even taller—easily around 180 cm. Her broad shoulders and well-defined muscles were striking, especially in her thick arms.

“My lord, I’m the one overseeing the dural harvest.”

Just then, another window popped up.

– Surprise Mission!
Give this harvest manager a fitting name.
If she likes the name, you’ll receive a bonus reward.

Oho, naming mission!

Donghui was used to this by now.

She studied the woman’s friendly expression. Strong, healthy—no doubt about that. But calling her “Health” outright wouldn’t do. Maybe something derived?

“Helsa?”

Do you wanna build a builder snowman…?

No, no! Shake that song out of your head!

Donghui banished the jingle from her mind and watched the status window for feedback.

– The name recipient loves the name. You have earned 60 hidden points.

Only 60? But she loved it?

– Points reduced due to potential plagiarism.

That’s not plagiarism—it’s adaptation!

Donghui fumed, but the status window had already scribbled her mental lyrics once again and disappeared after flashing a final, tiny message:

– Have you no shame?

Unbelievable!

But Helsa just beamed, eyes twinkling.

“Helsa, are you not afraid of the dural?”

“No, my lord. Hunger is more frightening than anything. Thanks to you, we no longer fear going to bed with empty stomachs.”

Her bright smile revealed teeth as straight and white as polished bone, contrasting with her sun-kissed skin.

There was something about her—perhaps like Delma—that made Donghui instantly fond of her.

“Good. Half of today’s dural harvest will be distributed among the workers. You’re in charge of splitting it evenly, Helsa. You may give a little extra to those with families.”

“Thank you, my lord!”

Bowing deeply at the waist, Helsa expressed her heartfelt gratitude.

Moments later, she ran back to the field and shouted the good news. A roar of cheers spread across the workers. Even those who had hesitated to enter the dural field began to move with purpose.

– Affection with territory inhabitants increased by 10.
– Affection with territory inhabitants increased by 10.
– Affection with territory inhabitants increased by 10.

The joyful chimes rang out nonstop as the affection points piled up.

It was an incredibly satisfying result.