chapter 37
Locke was in an exceptionally good mood today.
“I can’t believe His Highness actually asked to have a meal with me!”
As usual, he was serving as Blake’s escort and aide.
But today, unusually, Blake himself had invited him to share a meal together.
Knowing his lord’s normally meager appetite, Locke couldn’t hide his surprise. Never before had they met solely for the purpose of eating.
And yet, His Highness had even gone so far as to personally reserve a restaurant in the capital’s bustling district just to dine with him!
Though years of serving together had built a strong trust between them, Blake was a man of narrow emotional range, so even a small, private moment like this felt deeply moving to Locke.
“To think Your Highness personally chose this restaurant… I’m really looking forward to it.”
“……”
Even though Blake didn’t respond, Locke was all smiles, simply happy to be there.
The restaurant, frequented by nobles, was lavish yet tastefully elegant. As Locke took in the interior decor, their food finally arrived.
A beautifully presented salad and steak.
“Please enjoy your meal!”
The waiter departed, and Locke eagerly cut a piece of steak, bringing it to his mouth—
“……?!”
Hell erupted on his tongue.
Though it looked perfectly seared on the outside, the inside was disgustingly mushy. Worst of all, it stank.
“What… what is this…?”
His pupils trembled. He couldn’t bring himself to chew further, nor could he spit it out. That’s when Blake’s calm voice reached his ears.
“Locke. Is something wrong?”
“Wha—?! N-no, nothing at all, Your Highness…”
His battlefield-honed instincts screamed that something was definitely off, but he forced himself to dismiss it. Surely it was just his imagination.
It was a rare chance to dine with his liege—he refused to ruin it over something as trivial as bad food!
Driven by tearful loyalty, Locke somehow forced himself to swallow the steak.
He managed to eat it, but couldn’t bring himself to touch another bite.
Hoping the salad might be better, he speared some with his fork and brought it to his mouth.
‘Bleeerrgh—!’
He nearly gagged.
How could salad taste this awful?
Locke wasn’t a particularly religious man, but in that moment, he found himself silently praying. This taste… this couldn’t be a mere illusion anymore.
He struggled to maintain a calm expression, but his mind spun wildly.
“Is His Highness actually okay with this? How can he eat so peacefully?”
“Wait—what if only my food tastes like this?”
“No… could this be… a loyalty test?”
Desperately trying to find meaning, Locke’s imagination went completely off the rails.
Whether Blake noticed his confusion or not, he spoke again.
“Locke.”
“Y-yes, Your Highness!”
“How’s the food?”
Normally, Locke would answer any of Blake’s questions without hesitation—but this time, he couldn’t open his mouth.
“I… I can’t lie to His Highness… but if this is a loyalty test…”
After much inner turmoil, Locke forced an awkward smile.
“Haha… it’s, um… a very new taste. Quite… unique.”
He couldn’t bring himself to say it was good. So he chose his words carefully—truthful enough not to insult the restaurant Blake had chosen, yet vague enough not to sound insincere.
Of course, his stoic lord did not appreciate the effort.
“So… does that mean it’s good?”
“Ah, well… um…”
“You may speak honestly. I mean nothing by it.”
Blake’s tone was calm but firm—he wanted the truth.
Locke hesitated. His Highness had personally taken time out of his schedule for this meal, and now… he wanted him to be honest?
“You’re not planning to lie to me, are you?”
“…With all due respect, it’s… not good, Your Highness.”
Loyal as ever, Locke didn’t know how to defy his master. So he spoke his true feelings plainly.
“The steak, the salad—everything?”
“Yes…”
“And how would you describe the taste? Be honest.”
“It’s… terrible, Your Highness. I’d rather be splattered with monster blood on the battlefield than eat this again.”
“……”
Once he’d started, he told the whole truth.
Normally, Blake admired Locke’s sincerity—but perhaps this was one time he’d have preferred less of it.
“I see…”
“……”
“So it was really that bad…”
If Locke’s eyes weren’t deceiving him, his lord looked… disappointed.
“I should bite my tongue and die right here.”
He’d wounded his liege’s heart with nothing but brutal honesty. What a disgrace for a subordinate! Tears of shame welled up inside him.
But first—
“This restaurant… I’ll make sure it goes out of business.”
For food this nauseating, the hygiene must be suspect too. Even if it wasn’t, Locke resolved to find every microscopic flaw in the place and shut it down—for the sake of all future victims.
No forgiveness for anyone who endangered his devotion!
His righteous fury burned bright, and it would not fade easily.
Locke wasn’t the only one in battle today.
Sitting cross-legged, I emptied my mind.
“Desire is the quickest way to ruin a gacha pull… form is emptiness, emptiness is form…”
As though gathering the energy of the universe, I touched my thumbs and index fingers together in a perfect circle.
Gacha was cruel—spin with greed, and you’ll fail.
Spin with no expectations, and that’s when you pull an SSR.
The logic was the same as beginner’s luck.
With an important pull ahead, I began cutting away all traces of greed from my heart.
Last time, when I had truly wished for it, the system had answered my prayers.
[Item ‘Chili Pepper’ can be obtained through the Random Ingredient Ticket.]
[Item ‘Chili Pepper’ minimum rarity: Rare.]
A flickering blue window appeared before me, like static electricity. It felt almost as if the system were saying, “Here, take it!”—a small act of divine mercy.
“Thank you, O merciful system! I’ll never forget this favor!!!”
I bent my waist in a deep, 150-degree bow of gratitude. Then I began planning my strategy.
“Each ticket increases the rare chance by 2%, up to a max of 20%. But even with higher odds, there’s no guarantee I’ll pull chili peppers specifically. Maybe it’s better to skip the boost and just rely on volume—brute-force it with sheer numbers!”
Chance or quantity—what was the better path?
After pondering deeply, I made my decision.
“…Quantity it is!”
In gacha, the true beauty lies in the ten-pull—the legendary multi-spin!
Thinking like a hopeless gacha addict, I straightened my posture again and cleared my mind.
Once my spirit was calm, I opened my eyes solemnly.
“…Alright. I’m ready.”
“System, purchase ten Random Ingredient Tickets.”
[500 Saint Points used to purchase 10 Random Ingredient Tickets.]
[Remaining Saint Points: 1800.]
“Good. Don’t use them all at once—roll them one by one, ten times in a row.”
[Acknowledged.]
I closed my eyes again, then opened them slowly. I nodded gravely.
“Use all ten tickets in sequence.”
[You have used 10 Random Ingredient Tickets consecutively.]
[Random Ingredient Results:]
[‘Salt’ obtained, ‘Egg’ obtained, ‘Lettuce’ obtained, ‘Salt’ obtained, ‘Salt’ obtained…]
“…What is this, a salt mine?”
An entire salt field?
“No, relax. Stay calm.”
Nearly all the results were salt. A painfully salty outcome—but it was only the first batch. You can’t expect a feast from the first bite.
No rares yet, but that’s fine… really. It’s fine.
“Buy ten more tickets. Use them consecutively.”
[500 Saint Points used to purchase 10 Random Ingredient Tickets.]
[Remaining Saint Points: 1300.]
[Using 10 Random Ingredient Tickets consecutively…]
Come on, please—!
[‘Egg’ obtained, ‘Egg’ obtained, ‘Onion’ obtained, ‘Flour’ obtained, ‘Egg’ obtained…]
“Are you kidding me? What is this, a chicken farm now?!”
Curse all you gacha theme junkies!!!
With a loud bang!, I collapsed from frustration. Two rounds in, my already fragile patience had snapped.
Eggs. So many eggs. Not a single rare in sight.
“It’s fine. I’m fine. I’m… not fine!”
Maybe I should’ve gone with the higher rarity rate after all. Too late now—I’d already done two ten-pulls. No turning back.
If this next one failed, I’d lose both my points and my quest progress.
“No bad thoughts… stay positive. Ah, screw it. System! Buy ten more tickets and use them all at once!”
[500 Saint Points used to purchase 10 Random Ingredient Tickets.]
[Remaining Saint Points: 800.]
[Using 10 Random Ingredient Tickets consecutively.]
[Results: ‘Green Onion’ obtained, ‘Salt’ obtained, ‘Potato’ obtained, ‘Egg’ obtained…]
The start looked just as hopeless as before. I shut my eyes tight.
“Please… please…”
When the notifications stopped, I dared to peek.
“Normal, normal, normal, normal… and then—R… Rare?!”
Among a sea of white Normal tags, two glowing Rare ones shone brilliantly in gold.
And there were two of them.
