Chapter 166. You Can Summon Again

Chapter 166: 166. You Can Summon Again

Carlos was still thinking about the two expansion tokens when he went to sleep.

He had asked for a sample, not accepted a job. But Rowan had looked at the requirements with enough interest that Carlos already wanted the empty land those tokens could give him.

There were buildings inside his inventory that had been there for days. He was getting tired of owning a troll barrack and having nowhere sensible to put it.

The next morning, Mira found him outside the Lord’s Hut before he could leave for the fields. She had her food board against her chest and was smiling.

"I finished the count," she said.

Carlos stopped fastening his belt. "For the new workers?"

"For them, and everyone," she said and giggled proudly. "You can summon again."

He looked at her, then at the board in surprise.

"How many?"

"We can take the two Farmers and one Hearthkeeper today. The two Militia and an Archer too. After that, we can keep adding those fighters while the new workers settle in. I have left their meals in the cooking count."

Carlos took the board when she offered it. Rows of ingredients had been divided between Ironroot, their existing deliveries and the protected reserve. Beneath those was another row, and this one had space for people who did not exist yet.

He liked that row a lot.

"And we aren’t taking from the seven days?"

"No. Rowan and the Farmers have been bringing in more than we use. We have grain, vegetables and oil arriving regularly now. I checked the planting stock too, so I am not counting seeds as dinner."

"Then why didn’t you tell me yesterday?"

"You had a lot on your mind yesterday, so I was trying to find the right time," she spoke while looking down as if Carlos was going to scold her.

Carlos smiled and gave the board back. He placed his hand on her head and patted it, making her feel shocked.

"You did a good job, Mira. I am very proud," Carlos spoke, and Mira bobbed her head once while her head was still down.

After Carlos removed his hand, she came back to her senses and continued.

"The kitchen still has its own limit," she continued. "Two hundred and fifty meals a day. We have room under that for these additions, but I will need the fourth worker. The Hearthkeepers and I already fill three places."

"You get the next one first."

Mira nodded happily. "The Slimes are separate as usual. They eat what only you can procure."

"I know. We start with the others."

Carlos found Rowan beside the Sunseed rows and told him while Sela was carrying the next planting basket. Rowan listened, then looked toward the Farmer’s Lodge.

"Two more today? Good. Send them here after they have seen where they sleep. Tarin has enough work for one, and I will keep the other with me."

Carlos went straight to the buildings after that. He did not stop at every field to ask whether it was really possible. Mira had done the count and Rowan had work ready. That was enough.

Two Farmers stepped out of the Lodge after his command, one carrying a short-handled tool and the other holding a cloth bag. The new Hearthkeeper came from her own building a little later. She looked toward the smell from the kitchen before Carlos finished introducing himself.

"Mira, the head cook, runs that," he told her. "You will work with her. Come, I will show you."

He took the three residents around the nearby buildings himself.

The Farmers listened carefully when he pointed out the marked paths. The Hearthkeeper asked where they kept flour, and Carlos was pleased that he could point at a working mill instead of telling her it was something they needed to buy.

Kaia met him outside the kitchen.

"Mira told me you are summoning today, my lord," she said. "I have places for the Militia in training. The Archer can work with Nessa."

"We summon them now."

The two Militia came out together, adjusting their shields while looking at the walls. Carlos sent them with Kaia after giving his instructions in person. The Woodland Archer followed from the Lodge, with a bow across his back and his attention already on the nearest tower.

Six new people. Two Farmers, one Hearthkeeper, two Militia and one Archer.

Carlos watched the fighters follow Kaia while the others went toward their work, and he felt much better about the buildings standing inside Ironroot.

He could finally use them again. Tomorrow’s summons would be decided from the remaining allowance and the training space, not from whether they had to sell somebody else’s dinner to feed them.

She was waiting beside the smaller preparation table when he returned, and the new Hearthkeeper had already started showing productivity.

"There is something else," Mira said.

Carlos looked at the covered plate in front of her. "It better be good because I am in a good mood," he spoke with a sigh. He really didn’t want any bad news this day.

"The food that Lord wanted. I finished a small portion this morning."

"WHAT?!" Carlos was shocked beyond measure, which made Mira puff her chest in pride.

"I will show you." Mira moved and uncovered the dish.

The meat held a warm red colour beneath its cooked surface, with pepper cut finely across it.

Beside it lay a small amount of cucumber, though the pale blue lines were weaker after preparation.

Carlos could smell the spice without feeling the sharp heat that had made him step away from the first attempt.

"The Water-touched cucumber?"

"Yes. I used a little from the fruit we opened yesterday. I had kept the earlier cooking records and the remaining ingredients in Cold Storage. The meat was still usable when I inspected it."

She brought the old board over, placing it beside the new result.

Carlos remembered those failed pieces on the Blackstone Cooking Slab.

Mira had tried to make the red and blue properties work together, but they had stayed on different sides of the meat.

"The Silverwood fruit pushed the heat away," she said. "This cucumber held the prepared liquid more evenly. I added it while the salt was binding the heat, not after everything had already gathered in the middle."

"And that worked?"

Mira opened the completed record for him.

--

[Advanced cooking attempt complete]

[Water-balanced Emberhorn Pepper Meat x1]

[Ultra-high-quality Meal]

[Ingredient compatibility: Sufficient]

[Retained Emberhorn energy distributed through prepared portion]

--

Carlos read the quality twice before looking at her.

"You actually did it."

"It took longer than I would have liked, but yes," she said, and this time she sounded as happy as he felt. "I made the test portion first. This is the proper meal after that."

Carlos reached out and took her hand. She looked surprised, but he was already pulling her closer to read the panel beside him.

"Look at that, Mira. Ultra-high-quality. That man has been waiting since before we went through the fifth conquest."

"I know. I have been waiting too," she said with a knowing gaze.

He looked at her then. She had spent so much time cooking for everyone that he had started treating the meals appearing each day as a normal part of Ironroot. They were normal because she kept making them, and now she had done something even an owner of high-grade troops needed.

"You did very well, good job," Carlos said.

Mira’s fingers tightened briefly around his before she let go.

"Then tell him."

Carlos nodded. He also became hungry, but he could wait for lunch. He opened the old conversation and attached only the finished meal record.

--

[Carlos Goldwin]- My cook has made the Ultra-high-quality meal you asked for. This is the confirmed result. Do you still need a supplier?

--

He was about to explain the ingredient requirement when the reply appeared.

--

[Unknown Lord]- Yes! OH MY GOD! Can you send that one now? Tell me what you want for it.

--

Carlos looked at Mira, who had already started closing the container.

"He still needs it," he said.

"Of course he does. Now ask him how much." A grin much like Carlos’s came over her face.

Carlos smiled confidently.