Episode 29
“Yes. Even if it’s something strange…”
Handsome, who had looked confident, trailed off when he noticed Chloe’s strange reaction.
“No, it’s just that the name suits you so well. Handsome. It’s a perfect name for you.”
Donghee tried not to laugh and forced a smile.
Only then did a bright smile spread across Handsome’s face, and he continued excitedly.
“My parents gave me this name so I’d work hard and become rich.”
Pleased by the compliment on his name, Handsome even shared the meaning behind it, though no one had asked.
Donghee figured the meaning was different from what he knew, but it didn’t matter.
At least he wouldn’t have to work hard to memorize the name.
At this point, Donghee couldn’t help but ask.
“Do you have any siblings?”
“Yes, I have a younger sister.”
A sense of anticipation slowly began to rise.
“Don’t tell me… your sisters are named Beauty or Cutie?”
“How did you know? The one right below me is Beauty, and my youngest sister is Cutie.”
As Handsome responded with wide eyes, Donghee became convinced.
It had to be the god of this world—or the system—naming characters based on the stream of consciousness.
Clearly, whoever created this place hated naming things so much that they just went with this, and eventually got lazy enough to dump the rest of the naming onto Donghee under the pretense of some quest.
Still, Handsome, Beauty, and Cutie? That was a bit much.
Then he remembered he’d once named someone “Hellsa” and stopped the mental complaints.
Holding back laughter, Donghee answered sincerely.
“Hand… some. I’ll be counting on you. If there’s anything you don’t know, ask the treasurer.”
“Yes, my lord. I’ll do my best to serve you faithfully.”
Handsome spoke so sweetly, it matched his good looks perfectly.
It hadn’t been long since the reconstruction began, but most of the houses in Morta Village had already been reborn in a neat and tidy state.
Where there had once been holes that let the wind blow through and leaky roofs, now stood sturdy walls and roofs strong enough to withstand storms without letting in a single drop of rain.
Those who had once lost hope inside collapsing homes cried with joy on the day they moved into their new houses, repeatedly thanking Lord Grace.
“Mom! There aren’t any holes in the walls anymore!”
“When I close the windows, the wind doesn’t come in!”
“The roof is strong, and we even have a fireplace!”
The fireplaces were something Donghee had specifically ordered the Builder to install.
Originally, the villagers’ homes didn’t have fireplaces. On cold days, they had to huddle together under thin blankets and sleep on straw beds to survive.
“Are we rich now?”
“Thanks to the fireplace, we’ll be warm even in winter!”
As a special act of care, Donghee allowed each household to gather firewood from the forest before winter began.
Of course, due to potential dangers, anyone collecting wood had to go with knights. To prevent reckless deforestation, the amount of free firewood each household could take was limited.
If they needed more, they had to either buy it or come to Grace Castle to purchase logging rights.
In the past, when they didn’t have a penny to their name, this wouldn’t have worked. But now that they were getting paid daily for rebuilding the village, they could afford enough firewood and food to survive the winter. Plus, word spread fast—traders had started trickling into Morta Village to sell various goods.
Gone were the days of cries filled with sorrow and despair. Laughter filled with hope now echoed through the village. Once quiet streets buzzed with people working diligently.
Once the house repairs were finished, Donghee began road construction in earnest.
Of course, he wasn’t doing it himself—he only issued the orders. But the Builder was a miracle worker.
“The budget’s generous, so don’t worry. Just make a solid road that’ll last a long time. Don’t forget to dig drainage ditches on both sides.”
“Yes, my lord. The workers are already crushing the stones.”
“Are you making a gravel road?”
“Yes, we’ll build strong wooden edges along the sides so the stones don’t wash away into the drainage, and fill the inside with gravel.”
Donghee figured the gravel might shift every time carts passed by, but there weren’t any better options for now.
If only he could get concrete. But he didn’t know where to find it—or how to transport something so heavy.
He decided: I’ll stick to what I can get here!
He vowed to make the most of local resources using knowledge gained through hidden points.
After all, he couldn’t keep feeding everyone with supplies dragged through the front door of his house forever.
“Make the road wide enough for at least one cart to pass—no, make it wide enough for two carts. I don’t care how much it costs.”
“Yes, understood.”
Wide roads were a must.
Donghee’s rule of thumb was that roads should be at least two lanes wide.
That way, carts and wagons could pass each other.
The Builder, now energized rather than tired, left with an even longer list of tasks from Chloe.
Only the main road leading through the village entrance was expanded to two lanes. The alleyways inside the village were kept at their original widths and simply repaired.
Once the homes and roads were rebuilt, the village began to transform entirely.
A few days later, Donghee visited the village again with Chloe and his steward, Handsome.
Construction was still in full swing.
With the newly repaired roads, the village had undergone a complete makeover.
Gone were the muddy trails—now there were wide, firm gravel roads with no more puddles or sewage.
“My lord!”
“It’s the lord!”
“Woooooo!”
One of the workers spotted Chloe first and shouted, and the rest dropped what they were doing, raised their hands, and cheered loudly in welcome.
Shouldn’t I reward such hardworking, loyal villagers with a special meal?
At Donghee’s subtle nod, Handsome stepped forward and shouted to the crowd.
“For today’s lunch, the lord has prepared a special treat! Please gather at the village dining hall when the lunch bell rings!”
Handsome then displayed the ramen packets Donghee had carried all the way from the convenience store.
“Woooooo! Thank you!”
Even though they had no idea what it was, the workers shouted their thanks.
Watching them, Donghee made another firm promise to himself.
One day, I’ll make sure my people eat rice with meat stew.
An outdoor kitchen had been set up not far from the construction site.
Despite being temporary, it had walls, a roof, a proper oven, and dining tables—enough to resemble a full-fledged restaurant.
The chef was responsible for preparing the special meal.
Delma, along with several maids, took charge of distributing the cooked ramen to the people. They’d brought hundreds of bowls.
These were bowls that used to belong to the Grace Castle servants, now unused due to the downsizing of staff.
Workers hauled over the largest pots from the castle kitchen and placed them on the makeshift stoves, filling them with water.
Donghee had already explained how to cook ramen several times, so the chef, assistants, and workers moved swiftly and efficiently.
Nearby, fried Dural, steamed Dural, and Dural bread filled the air with delicious smells.
At first, villagers were reluctant to eat anything made with Dural. But after seeing members of Grace Castle eating the dishes without hesitation, they cautiously approached and took plates of food.
Soon after, just like Delma and the chef had done before, they widened their eyes in surprise and lined up again for seconds.
Before long, the water began to boil, and the ramen was ready. Cooked in five huge pots over five large fire stoves, there was enough to feed fifty people at once.
Sitting around the tables, the workers stared in awe at the ramen served in wooden bowls.
The curly noodles floated in a bright, reddish broth—something none of them had ever seen before. As commoners, they rarely got to eat noodles, and spicy food was nearly unheard of, with seasonings being as rare and expensive as gold dust.
“What kind of food is this?”
“No idea, but it smells amazing.”
Despite the tempting aroma, they were hesitant to take the first bite.
Donghee, watching silently, walked over, picked up a bowl of ramen, and sat across from them as if to demonstrate.
Seeing a noble—their noble—sit at the same table, the workers jumped up in shock.
“Sit, sit. It’s fine.”
Donghee gestured reassuringly and quickly got them to sit back down, then took the fork the chef handed him.
Chopsticks would’ve been better, but there weren’t any right now. He made a mental note to ask the Builder to craft some wooden ones later.
He lifted the steaming noodles with the fork, blew on them, and—under the wide-eyed gaze of all the workers—slurped them up loudly.
