I didn’t have a problem with providing a new batch of settlers with some houses to live in, since they brought their own method of generating the points. Counting Sylphy and Brock, who I found passed out in one of the wagons that was pulled onto the territory, there were a total of twenty-five people in this group, and from the sounds of it, these would be long-term residents. Making sure that they were comfortable was only a given.

  Thus, once the points had been ‘provided’, I created two rows of five houses, just south of the other houses. Between the third and fourth house of each row, I left a small gap, making sure that there was enough space left to place a road, once I was able to… you know, place roads. I was planning ahead, okay?

  As I was thinking about that, I noticed something. One of the people that got off of the carriage seemed… different from the others. As if there was some sort of resonance. I directed Prim to investigate, looking through her eyes at the target, a middle-aged human woman with greying hair tied up in a bun. She wore simple linens, which showed obvious signs of having been stitched up here and there.

  However, what was most eye-catching was the golden star rotating over her head. According to Prim’s thoughts, she could not see this star herself, so I focused on it, assuming that it was only visible to my perception.

  “Wesley, may I have a moment?” Prim called out as Wesley was gathering appas to feed his steed.

  Curious, the elven man looked over. “Yes? Is something the matter?”

  Prim turned, gesturing towards a middle-aged woman working on removing her bags from one of the wagons. “Can you tell me about that woman?”

  Wesley blinked, following Prim’s gaze. “Hilda? There’s nothing particularly special about her. She ran a street stall in Leonin, but was having trouble keeping her business going. As I recall, she volunteered to transfer to this settlement when the information was posted. Why, is there something suspicious about her?”

  “No, quite the contrary,” Prim shook her head. “The Land detected her cooking skill when she arrived. Apparently, if she is set to work in the tavern, she will be granted a small portion of any money spent on food there as her wage.”

  Wesley looked surprised at this news. “I… see. What would she be required to do for this job?”

  “I’m not entirely sure myself. We’ll only know if we try.”

  Finding this reasonable, Wesley patted his horse briefly, before walking over and calling out. “Hilda? Would you mind coming with me for a moment? We might have something for you to do”

  Several of the new villagers looked over in confusion, but Hilda nodded her head, walking towards the pair. “Of course. If there’s anything these old bones can help with, just let me know.”

  “To be honest, we’re not entirely sure. However, can you follow us for a bit?” Wesley asked with a brilliant smile, leading Hilda towards the tavern. “Let’s see… if you were to work here, why don’t you go stand behind the counter? Or in the kitchen?” He looked at Prim as he spoke, unsure what to have her do.

  Unfortunately, Prim was just as confused as Wesley. In fact, the first to have an understanding was Hilda herself, who gasped as a window appeared in front of her.

  Hilda blinked, reading the contents of the window aloud for the other two to hear. Wesley simply nodded his head, that same smile still on his face. “Whether you accept the job is completely up to you,” he assured her. That said, this was the first job opening that the settlement had seen, so he was curious how it would work.

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  After a moment of hesitation, Hilda accepted the offer. The moment she did, there was a click from a door behind the counter, which the trio walked towards.

  Upon opening the door, Hilda let out a shocked gasp. “What are all of these ingredients?” she asked, looking at the countertops and baskets lining the walls. She moved towards a large wooden container, opening it and looking inside as a chilling wind spread out. “An icebox, and all this meat?”

  Prim and Wesley looked at one another, observing the area themselves. They saw the counters, the baskets, and the icebox. However… those were all empty. They didn’t see a single one of the ingredients that Hilda was mentioning.

  “Fascinating… these ingredients only exist in the mind of the worker? Hilda, would you mind making something? Anything you feel comfortable with.” Wesley moved over to the side, making sure that he was out of the way to watch the display.

  Hilda hesitated once again, but soon nodded in confirmation. She reached out, as if grabbing ingredients out of various baskets. Then, she brought out a cutting table, making a motion as if chopping vegetables, despite not holding a knife.

  When she brought over a pot and held it below an empty sink, she still didn’t seem to find anything odd. In her perspective, she was filling a pot with water, and then moving it to a stovetop to boil the plants she had chopped. While that cooked, she grabbed a pan to begin preparing a slab of meat from the icebox.

  The entire display took nearly forty-five minutes, during which Prim and Wesley did not see a single ingredient, or a single working kitchen appliance. Even when Hilda seemed to be taste testing her creation, the duo had no idea what she was doing.

  “All done!” she declared, looking down at her pot of stew. “It’s just a simple meat and vegetable stew, but it should be good. The spices here are quite excellent!”

  When she saw the prompt to store the food for serving, she didn’t hesitate. The pot she was looking at was suddenly empty and perfectly clean, causing her eyes to widen. “Oh my, it cleaned itself so quickly!”

  Prim and Wesley didn’t have the heart to tell her that there had never been any food there in the first place. Instead, they moved to sit down, at which point a window appeared in front of both of them. This window offered them a choice between the ‘default menu’ and the ‘Hilda menu’.

  On the Hilda Menu, there was only a single option listed: Beef and Veggie Stew for 500 gol. With a smile, Wesley brought out a large silver coin to pay, which immediately turned into five small silver coins. He then handed these coins to Prim. “Consider it my treat,” he assured, knowing that she had been living off of only appas and barnas since her creation.

  Prim didn’t refuse, accepting the offer and choosing the same dish. Soon, two large bowls appeared in front of them, filled with a fragrant stew with large chunks of meat and diced vegetables. “The serving size is comparable to the standard menu, though the price is considerably cheaper. Moreover, it seems as though there is a limited quantity.”

  When Prim pointed this out, Wesley checked the menu again, seeing that the stew had an extra number next to it, displaying eighteen out of twenty. “I see, I see. This makes sense. I wonder if the price is based on the ingredients or the quality of the food itself, or maybe there is just a discount for it being produced manually?”

  “It’s likely to be a combination of the three,” Prim said, before starting on her own bowl. Her rabbit ears stood straight up in surprise, a small smile lighting up her face. “It really is quite delicious, Hilda, thank you.”

  “Oh, think nothing of it, dear,” Hilda responded with a warm smile. “I’m just glad to be able to cook with such wonderful ingredients. Though, it will take me some time to get used to them.”

  Wesley let out a light laugh. “You should be proud of yourself, Hilda. You are the first person in the village with an officially recognized job.”

  Hilda’s eyes widened slightly when she heard this, looking at Prim for confirmation. Sure enough, the rabbit girl nodded her head. “He’s right. This tavern is the first ‘business’ of the village, and you were the only one compatible with running it. We’ll have to see what other jobs open up as time passes.”

  After finishing her stew, Prim set the bowl down with a satisfied smile. “It’s a shame that we don’t have a reliable way of making money in the village yet. Until we do, the tavern is a luxury that most won’t be able to afford.”

  “Oh, you don’t need to worry about that,” Wesley grinned, pulling out a small silver card from his pocket. He held it up, as if proudly displaying it, before remembering that Prim wouldn’t know what this card was. “This is my bank card. With the funds that the guild issued, it should be no problem to pay the villagers for various tasks and let them enjoy the food in the tavern. By the time these funds run out, we should have numerous ways to provide our own money.”

  Prim blinked in surprise, looking at the silver card. “I see… is that a magic item that produces money, then?”

  “Not produced, but more like it connects to my bank’s storage account, so I can deposit or withdraw funds,” Wesley clarified, putting the card back in his pocket. “I’m always buying different weapons whenever I travel, so it’s a big help to not need to carry a satchel of coins with me everywhere.”

  That said, Wesley looked back at Hilda. “You should pull up a chair and eat, too. Don’t you want to know how it turned out?”

  Hilda hesitated for a moment, before moving to sit and order the food. Wesley gave her five small silver coins to use as payment, but they did not disappear when her food appeared. Instead, a window appeared in front of Hilda.

  This came as another surprise to the three, though certainly a happy one. With this, Hilda would theoretically have no expenses for the time being, since the only thing to spend money on at the moment was the tavern itself. Unless, of course, she chose to use the other services available at the tavern.