Starting Today I'll Work As A City Lord

Night quickly fell; winter nights come on fast.

At noon, Lucas and Helen spent their time in the greenhouse, filling up on cucumbers and other vegetables.

They also made a so-called otherworldly salad, mixing in some honey. Lucas thought it tasted pretty average, but Helen seemed to really enjoy it.

In the castle dining hall, Mina, Annie, Nicole, Ayesha, Hazel, and Helen gathered together, all staring blankly at a large pot in front of them, which was divided in half—one side red and the other side milky white.

In addition to this, the table was covered with many raw slices of meat, meatballs, and each person had several kinds of dipping sauces in front of them. There were also many vegetables, which surprised Mina and Annie.

Ayesha, however, didn't care about any of that; she was practically drooling as she and the deer-eared Hazel stared intently at the bubbling broth in the pot.

"Is it really possible to have fresh vegetables in winter?" Annie exclaimed in surprise. "How is that even possible?"

"Yeah, these must have been freshly picked, right? They're not the frozen ones from the cold storage." Mina said, her eyes turning towards Nicole.

In this castle, apart from the young master, the person who understood the most was definitely Nicole.

The castle had a cold storage that consistently kept ingredients frozen. Vegetables were wrapped in cloth and placed in wooden boxes before being stuffed into the cold storage. When it was time to eat, they simply had to peel off the frozen outer leaves of the vegetables.

"They're freshly picked vegetables. Didn't you notice the large greenhouse in the backyard? The vegetables are picked from inside," Nicole raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You just found out now?"

She hadn't expected the young master to take the vegetables out for a meal so soon; she thought it would be a while before that happened.

"Uh…" Mina and Annie exchanged awkward smiles. They had overheard May telling the servants not to enter the greenhouse and thought there was some sort of secret involved.

"Where's the young master?" Mina looked up, still unable to spot Lucas.

"The young master said he was going to prepare something and would be back soon." Helen replied, her eyes glimmering with a hint of envy.

"Oh, I see." Mina's eyes sparkled with a bit of expectation, and her cheeks flushed slightly. She glanced at Nicole, recalling the whispers they had shared at noon.

"Creak!"

The door swung open, and Lucas walked in, carrying a box, which he placed on another table before striding over to take a seat at the head of the table.

"Today is Mina's birthday, and here, I wish Mina a happy birthday." Lucas said, wearing a gentle smile.

Lucas thought about a lot of things; in his heart, Mina was the most special one, being the first beastkin he encountered in this world. People often place the greatest importance on their first experiences, whether good or bad; it's always significant because it's the first time.

"Happy Birthday!" The others chimed in collectively.

"Thank you, young master! Thank you, everyone!" Mina's eyes and mouth formed crescent shapes as she smiled with sheer happiness.

She had forgotten how many years it had been since she last celebrated her birthday, or perhaps for her, having a birthday celebration was a luxury she had long ceased to expect.

"Tonight's dinner is hot pot, the perfect winter dish."

Lucas picked up his chopsticks and chuckled lightly. "First, this hot pot comes in two flavors: one is spicy and oily, and the other is made with chicken bones. You can add vegetables and meat according to your preference."

As he spoke, Lucas picked up a piece of beef, brushed it three times in the spicy broth, then dipped it in garlic sauce before putting it in his mouth. The spicy flavor stimulated his taste buds, causing beads of sweat to form on his forehead.

"Delicious! So good!" Lucas exclaimed, picking up another piece of beef. This beef was brought from Earth, and he couldn't bear to kill the cattle from Sedona City.

As Lucas took his second helping, everyone finally reacted and began to move their chopsticks, grabbing vegetables and meat. Everyone who had lived in the castle had learned to use chopsticks, even the youngest, Hazel, was using them quite adeptly.

In Sedona City, about eighty percent of the population was now using chopsticks, while the remaining folks were still learning how to handle them.

"Wow… so spicy, so spicy…" Annie exclaimed after taking a bite of the beef, her mouth open as she panted, her eyes darting around in search of something to drink.

"Nicole, go get some cola. Two cans for each person." Lucas instructed.

Since it was Mina's birthday, he wanted everyone to enjoy a delightful dinner, and he certainly wasn't going to skimp on things like cola.

"Okay." Nicole immediately set off for the storage room, pulling away Ayesha, who was trying to stuff chicken into her mouth.

"Mmm… Nicole? Where are you going? I want to eat hot pot," Ayesha mumbled, struggling to swallow the chicken as she turned to look at the others, shouting, "Make sure to leave some for me. Don't eat it all!"

"Just hurry, there's plenty of food left." Lucas said, rolling his eyes. He had prepared double the amount today, enough to satisfy the appetites of the beast-eared girls.

"Let's go." Nicole tugged Ayesha along, even though one person could easily fetch the cola, but they needed two people to carry Mina's gift.

"Wow… this is spicy, but why can't I stop?" Helen exclaimed, gasping as she took another piece of meat and dipped it into the hot pot.

"This is so good too." Hazel said, her mouth full of cabbage, enjoying the chicken bone broth hot pot.

"Yeah." Mina chimed in, popping a piece of lotus root into her mouth, the crunch echoing as she bit down.

Some of the ingredients in the hot pot were things Lucas had purchased during his afternoon trip to Earth, such as tofu, lotus root, and enoki mushrooms.

"…"

"Cola's here." 

Even before Nicole entered, her voice rang out, making Mina and Annie eagerly watch the door, while Helen and Hazel were still confused since they had never tasted cola before.

"Crack."

The door swung open, and Ayesha walked in, carrying a tall cardboard box wrapped with a colorful ribbon. Everyone immediately understood it was a gift for Mina.

Nicole followed behind, holding a basket filled with cola, distributing two cans of "happy cola" to each person.

"Pop!" Mina and Annie were the first to open their cans, chugging down the cola with big gulps, then squinting their eyes in delight. "So refreshing!"

"Uh…" Ayesha, Helen, and Hazel stared blankly at the red cans in their hands. How were they supposed to drink this? It looked so fancy.

"Just pull this tab." Nicole gently instructed the three, taking Hazel's can to help her open it.

"Pop…"

"Ah… so refreshing!!"

After taking a sip of cola, the three instantly became fans of the drink, enjoying the fizzy bubbles bursting in their mouths and the sweet flavor that made their throats feel incredibly fresh.

As for the other cans of cola, aside from Lucas, everyone else was reluctant to drink them and hid them away. Even Mina had stashed away two cans for herself.

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