The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

Freya wasn't hungry, so she decided to join us after lunch. She went to find Luna and told us she would join us after wrapping up her tiny bit of business. Since I was basically left with Mia and Tia alone, a fact the twins were very fond of, I decided I could at least enjoy the meal. I smiled, watching the delighted faces of Mia and Tia during lunch. Whatever mischief they had in mind seemed postponed, at least for now. Though Annika had taken to supervising the kitchen while expecting, the chefs she trained were doing their utmost to impress her. Each cook approved by Annika was granted an advancement quest for the master chef class, after which they could choose to stay in the Palace or pursue their careers elsewhere. Today’s dishes were impeccable, crafted from the finest ingredients, but Mia and Tia’s expressions shifted as they savoured each bite. Gradually, guilt began to overtake their initial delight, dimming their smiles.

"Something happened? It's not of your liking?" I asked, concerned.

"No. The food is unbelievably delicious, but as we indulge in the culinary masterpieces here, our people are slowly suffering from hunger," Mia said, putting away the silverware with a heavy sigh.

"Don't worry about it." I smiled with understanding. "No one is going to starve. The first fleet will bring food supplies to the people of Hilgvar. While they are not as tasty as this, they will certainly keep everyone alive. Most importantly, they can be stored for a very long time and won't spoil or go bad."

"How long exactly?" Mia reached again for her fork with hope in her eyes.

"A few years, maybe for decades." I shrugged and noticed their jaws dropped. "The packets are sealed in a magic stasis field so we don't know how long they will last. They are standard military rations known as MRE: a meal that is ready to eat and comes with a few meal variants. They can be eaten cold but also come with simple, single-use runic heaters."

"That's incredible! You plan just to give them to our people?" Mia's eyes shone with relief. "I would like to see one, if that's possible, of course."

"And try it..." Tia added.

•••

Olivia almost screamed at the person who opened the doors to her laboratory without knocking, but fortunately, she was too slow and noticed that was the King at the last moment. He was followed by the two identically looking Nekomi women who wore impressive and expensive-looking dresses. She put away the prototype flare she was working on and bowed with a big smile.

"It's good to see you, my Lord!"

"Hello, Olivia. Where is Shirley?" The King inclined his head with his usual smile and looked around. "It's a surprise not to find you both working on something."

"Oh, she is trying to figure out lyophilization on an industrial scale." Olivia pointed with her thumb at the adjacent room. "She's stubborn..."

"You as well." The King chuckled, making her blush.

"Well of course I am. I'm a scientist after all." She beamed with a smile, and afterward, she turned serious. "How can we help you today, my Lord?"

"Miss Olivia, Queens Mia of Hilgvar and Tia of Verksa wanted a presentation of one of the MREs you have created."

"Well, the idea was yours, my Lord..." Olivia grinned but quickly turned around and opened one of the cabinets full of green packets. After seeing the King's disapproving gaze, Olivia felt she needed to explain herself. "We are testing them to see if they are still fresh, my Lord!"

"Yeaaahhh... Sure." He gave a prolonged sigh, and Olivia knew he hadn't believed a word. The friendly chuckles of Queens Mia and Tia were evidence they weren't convinced either.

"I think it proves these MREs are tasty enough to be kept around by busy scholars." Queen Tia smiled, and Olivia nodded, unwittingly picking up her favourite meal composition.

"Explain as if you want to teach using them-"

"If possible, we would like to make them on our own," Queen Mia interrupted the King who briefly nodded with a smile.

"I was told they have various meal compositions, so I would like to try a different one if possible." Queen Tia smiled.

Olivia looked at the packet in her hand and put it on the table. "We have five out of the nine types in service, my Ladies. The Guardsmen Corp named them, so their names are as original as MRE type 1 and so on. Our meals here are chicken fillet and potatoes, hunter's stew, meatballs and potatoes, and spaghetti and meat."

"I thought you said you have five types?" The King looked at her, and she trembled.

"Well, Shirley hoarded the last type... I mean, I don't think they would taste..." Olivia tried to explain but only managed to make a fool of herself.

"Then we would like to taste it even more!" Tia proclaimed, making Olivia sigh heavily. "What meal do you want, Mia?"

"I would like to try this... Spaghetti thing? Sounds intriguing," Mia said and looked at King Theon. "Which one you would like?"

"Oh, I see where this is going," the King laughed. "Miss Olivia, could you call Miss Shirley? I'm pretty sure neither of you had a break so that we can taste all the meals."

After calling her friend, Olivia distributed all five meal packages on the laboratory table. She noticed that both Queens seated themselves on both sides of King Theon, seeming extremely pleased with themselves. Shirley looked at Olivia nervously, but she could only shrug. The Half-Elf felt lucky because she got a chicken fillet ration, her second favourite. She took a deep breath and prepared herself to give a lecture.

"This is a standard twenty-four-hour ration pack developed for the Arcadian Military. It contains three separate meals, but some overlap between ration packs. The outer shell of the package is made of waterproof cardboard and can be used as a firestarter if necessary. It's also reinforced with an enchantment that increases its durability and keeps its content from going bad. However, once the packet is unsealed, it will lose the latter capability." As she continued to explain, she firmly pulled a cord that ended with a convenient loop for a finger, opening the box.

Olivia waited for everyone to do the same, and while Shirley and the King opened it without any problems, the Nekomi Twins needed a moment. However, after an initial struggle, they opened their boxes without help and even commented about the clear instructions printed on the packet.

"While creating the rations, we put a great effort into making them create as little long-lasting garbage as possible. It's easy to estimate the amount of soldiers simply by the garbage piles they leave behind them. That's why the ration is packed in a way that allows our soldiers to fully burn the waste or bury them so they decompose very quickly." She was happy to see the King nod approvingly and paused to let him speak.

"During our war against Berna, we could locate almost all enemy scouting teams because they left a trail of garbage and waste. It was effortless to follow such groups," the King explained, and both Queens appeared shocked at his words. Olivia couldn't blame them because she was also astonished when she heard about it for the first time.

"Each ration is a self-contained set composed of breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals, with dessert and snacks. While our military and cooks are still working on breakfast and dinner variations, we think we have the main dishes right. The ration pack also contains three sets of cutlery made of bamboo wood. They are disposable and cheap, so no one has to worry about not having a way to eat their food. After a long debate, we decided to outfit the ration with three single-use runic stoves."

Oliva started taking out the contents of the ration box and presented them accordingly. She picked up and opened an unreflective, light red envelope from which she took out three magi-stoves. They were made of thick cardboard plated with copper. She then continued to pick up each item and explained what it was.

"The main meals are bigger and properly labelled. The ration also contains rye crackers and hardtack. The soldiers usually compose the breakfast and dinner meals from prepared ingredients, but we are experimenting with the pre-made courses. For example, in King Theon's, Queen Mia's, and my ration packs, breakfast and dinner contain jam, honey, spreadable cheese, and meat pate. So, the soldiers can decide what they prefer to eat on their own during morning and evening meals. However, the rations of Queen Tia and Shirley contain pre-made oatmeal with fruits and chocolate chips, which, after adding water, can be eaten cold but also can be heated and eaten warm. Those rations also have meat pate with hardtack and rye crackers for dinner. While meals can be swapped with each other, the possible variations are limited."

While everyone opened their packs, Queens Mia and Tia tried the jams, honey, cheese, and pates. In the meantime, Shirley stood up and went to the small kitchen next to their laboratory. Queen Tia took an oatmeal packet and read the instructions while Shirley returned with a few cups and a big jug of water. She slowly shook her head and filled it with the required amount of water. She opened the first utensil pack and took out a spoon, giving time for her oatmeal to sit.

"They are very good!" Queen Mia looked at the King like she wanted to call him a liar. She then grabbed Queen Tia's oatmeal and tried them. "And those oats?! I would like to eat them daily myself!"

"Well, I never said the rations were awful. It's just that the other food is better. Oh, and by the way, watch out on the hardtack..." He smirked. Olivia, however, couldn't process the short conversation, so she simply ignored it.

"The soldiers are issued their own decanters and metal cups, but the ration is outfitted with four disposable paper cups as well." Olivia smiled at everyone and gave them a metal cup. "The ration has powdered drinks like coffee, teas, energy drinks, and fruit-flavoured beverages. Additional seasonings like salt, pepper, and sugar are also issued. The ration has a dark or milk chocolate bar, a compressed fruit bar, and a few vitamin candies to give our soldiers additional energy. Some rations have pound cake instead and a much smaller chocolate bar. On top of that, there is an accessory pack containing water-purifying tablets, toilet paper, napkins, a disposable toothbrush, and a small amount of toothpaste. However, central command is currently considering issuing the latest two separately."

"Are you joking?" Mia looked at Olivia in shock. "You call something like this a standard food ration?"

"We are aware that this is a little bit basic, and according to general instructions, field rations shouldn't be consumed longer than for thirty days straight, but I'm-"

"No! Those rations look solid based on your description alone, Miss Olivia! My army can barely receive hardtack and pemmican!" Queen Mia protested and looked ashamed. "No wonder your soldiers' morale is always so great! I suspect that offering their food to their enemies would most likely be enough to make them surrender!"

"Pemmican and hardtack are simple but filling food, Mia. You don't have to be ashamed," the King said softly.

"Maybe not the tastiest, but certainly filling Queen Mia," Shirley agreed with a respectfully lowered head.

"Let's proceed with the main courses!" Olivia quickly grabbed her main dish, feeling an embarrassing stomach growl incoming. "To heat them, we simply need to place the container on the runic pad and activate the rune. The heat is quickly and safely transferred into the dish while the heating stove rune fades away, preventing the food from getting burned. It's similar to the magitech used in the bandages we developed, my Lord." Olivia smiled proudly and straightened under the King's approving smile.

"This is exactly what I was imagining, Miss Olivia. Excellent work!"

The meals were heated almost instantly and were very hot in touch. Using a fork and a napkin, Olivia instructed how to open a can but was interrupted by the King's amused laughter.

"The soldiers in the field wouldn't bother with such pleasantries and will open them quickly," he said, equipping his combat gloves. He touched the hot meal and opened it without any problems, even as hot steam covered his armoured hands. Then he stood up and opened the containers for everyone. "I think most people are going to figure out a safe way of opening the field cans."

Olivia looked flatly at his gloves and decided she would obtain a pair for herself. Sometimes the simplest solutions were the best...

"So this spaghetti is some kind of pasta in a red sauce..." Queen Mia briefly thanked him and smiled at Olivia while sniffing her dish. "With some vegetables and meat?"

"Yes, my Lady." Olivia was pretty sure those two women would become her King's next wives, so calling them 'her queens' was a reasonably safe assumption. "It's a sauce made of tomatoes with ice rabbit meat. However, the cooks are considering changing it to woolly buffalo meat."

"This is incredible! Oh, Gods... This texture and flavour!" Queen Tia tried the worst dish, in Olivia's opinion, and enjoyed it immensely. "What's this?!"

"Steamed fish and vegetables?" The King looked amused at Queen Tia's dish and then at Olivia. "You should eat your veggies, young lady."

She grumbled something incomprehensible in return and presented her dish to the Queens, who tried a forkful. They were very impressed with the quality of the meals, but similar to Shirley, they preferred steamed fish.

"That stew is also tasty," Queen Mia commented after swallowing a bite from the King's dish and smirking. He then took out a hardtack, and with an experienced slam, he crumbled it into tiny pieces with his other hand. He then mixed them with his stew. Intrigued, Olivia and Shirley watched on. After waiting a few moments to let the hard cracker soak with the stew, he slid it towards everyone to try with a smile. The Queens tried it without hesitation, but Olivia and Shirley, who knew how hard hardtack was, hesitated. However, the delighted sounds made by the Nekomi twins quickly convinced them.

The King ate a large spoon of the stew and smiled. "Just like I remember..."

"Incredible..." Olivia was shocked at how the additional crunchiness changed the texture and enriched the stew's flavour.

"An old trick known by any army issued hardtack." The King laughed and looked at the royal twins. "What do you think?"

"I'm afraid the people will love them too much..." Queen Tia laughed nervously. "But seriously, I'm impressed by the quality of your military rations."

Queen Mia smiled confidently. "This will surely help raise the spirit of the people."

King Theon grinned. "Well, that’s good to hear because Dauntless's battlegroup will deliver over one and a half million ration packs to aid the civilians who can't be quickly evacuated to the Tower of Infinity. In addition, we're sending the equipment your forces currently lack, along with new uniforms."