Chapter 11

“The most effective way to train animals is by using food.”

…This is it!

While watching the video, Joanie suddenly sprang up from the sofa, kicking it noisily.

If her mother, who cherished Da-eun dearly, had seen her, she would have laughed heartily and given her a playful smack on the back.

But fortunately, her mother, who sometimes visited her apartment, wasn’t here today, allowing Da-eun to dodge that fate.

“People are animals too, after all!”

That was a wild leap in logic.

If the viewers had heard that, they would have flooded the chat with question marks, but Da-eun was completely oblivious.

“Since ancient times, offering a meal has meant more than just consuming food.”

When a precious guest arrives, they are treated to a generous meal.

There are many instances of people going out of their way to ensure that guests don’t go hungry, even when their means are limited.

Even a slightly awkward relationship can quickly become close when sharing a meal together.

In short, the act of sharing food fosters affection and increases intimacy while narrowing the distance between people.

Moreover, it subtly makes it hard for the host to refuse any suggestions from the guest.

“If we share delicious food, we’ll surely become friends in no time.”

Remember how adults who offered food seemed cooler when we were young?

Isn’t it the same with the Gravekeeper?

“There’s hardly anyone who doesn’t like delicious food.”

Though the initial thought process was odd, the conclusion drawn was quite plausible.

When it comes to execution, Da-eun is all about action. Action means Da-eun.

After concluding this, Da-eun quickly entered the virtual reality capsule and started her broadcast.

In an instant, she transformed from Da-eun into Joanie and explained her plan to the viewers.

“So, give me some recommendations for delicious food. Exclude anything that’s hard to find or too expensive.”

Food names poured in like a waterfall.

The chat was filled with dishes that each viewer found delicious.

Joanie meticulously noted down those suggestions, excluding duplicates and those that were too far or not feasible for her to acquire.

Even if she added them to her inventory, food doesn’t last forever.

Since it’s a virtual space, it can be preserved a bit longer, but that’s about it.

Although there were preservation bags created by magic engineers, they were too expensive for just anyone to buy.

Because of this, players who are poor at cooking end up eating tough jerky or bland soup after staying outside the village for too long.

“Starting with meat dishes seems good, right? I’ve gotten some before.”

The Cockatrice meat she had tasted from the Gravekeeper was extremely delicious.

However, there was indeed something lacking.

“I just grilled it over the fire, and it was this tasty. Imagine how good it would be if it were properly cooked…”

Just the thought of it made her mouth water.

No, wait a minute.

Joanie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“I noticed last time that there didn’t seem to be any complicated cooking tools.”

—When did she even see that?

—Maybe she was thinking about stealing something?

—Hmm… that seems plausible?

“Doesn’t seem plausible at all. Anyway, since they live in the mountains, complicated dishes would be hard to make. So wouldn’t they appreciate a dish that requires a lot of effort?”

—”This is tastier than the meat you gave me.” —This is a hierarchy of sorts…kh..khhi..

—Paying back kindness with malice… just a true JOAT.

—I won’t wander too far. Take care.

“That’s not it!”

Fortunately, there was a place not too far away that served delicious meat dishes.

They make a dish by scoring the meat and then marinating it with all sorts of spices and wine, followed by a long process of preparation…

But she couldn’t even remember the details well enough, so it must have been a dish that required quite a bit of effort.

Along with the viewers who were constantly trying to sabotage her, she bought the food and headed back to the mountain where the Gravekeeper was.

Whenever she spotted a monster, she would hide and wait for it to pass, and while riding, she bit her tongue studying Granic.

Fortunately, this time, Joanie reached the Gravekeeper’s dwelling without encountering any Cockatrices and wiped the sweat from her brow.

“Hello!”

-“….”

As expected, there was no response.

‘At least I wasn’t chased away.’

Coming in without being attacked was much better than receiving a brutal welcome.

Thinking positively, Joanie stepped forward.

“Food, reward!”

-“…?”

Struggling to form full sentences, Joanie combined short words to communicate and pulled out the food she had stored in her inventory.

It wasn’t steaming hot like when it was freshly cooked, but she could feel some warmth. S~eaʀᴄh the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“I, give food.”

-“…Huh?”

Ah, she thought she understood the meaning behind that sigh.

Despite the sound being closer to a groan than words, Joanie held out the food to the Gravekeeper.

The Gravekeeper, who had been staring intently at the food just like Joanie had the day before, finally accepted it.

In a moment that felt as moving as if a wild animal had approached her with puffed-up fur, she found herself muttering.

“Doesn’t it feel like a wary wild animal?”

-“…?”

“Ah, no, no.”

The Gravekeeper tilted their head at Joanie’s not-quite-whispered thoughts.

-“What is this…?”

With a heavy sigh, the Gravekeeper used a fork brought from the cabin to pick up a piece of meat and put it in their mouth.

In that tense moment.

Chew, chew.

“…Uh oh.”

No reaction… at all…?

Joanie had expected at least a slight response when something delicious was eaten, but the Gravekeeper merely moved the fork monotonously.

They stabbed the meat with the fork, then put it in their mouth.

Even chewing jerky would elicit a more colorful reaction.

“Could it be, it doesn’t taste good?”

Nom.

“…It’s delicious.”

Joanie’s curiosity only deepened as she tasted her portion of meat.

It would have been tastier if eaten hot, but even slightly cooled, it was sufficiently delicious.

—Seems like their pride was hurt;

— “I shared my meat, and the next day they brought meat dishes. Are they trying to pick a fight?”

—Yes, that’s right~

—Did they think it was a snack?

“Really…?”

While Joanie was left confused, the Gravekeeper’s bowl was empty.

“Seeing it all gone, I guess it wasn’t bad.”

How could they show no reaction at all, like a block of wood?

At the very least, they could have shrugged their shoulders.

…Could it really be a biological golem or something?

Clatter.

The Gravekeeper set the bowl down and stood up.

Without a word, they began focusing on tending the flower garden.

“…”

It seemed that the plan she thought would work had fallen apart from the very start.

As Joanie stared blankly at the Gravekeeper, a spark ignited in her eyes.

“Ha… huhu, huhuhuhu…! Right, it wouldn’t be fun if it all came at once.”

I never expected that from the start.

There’s really no reason to be disappointed now.

Joanie clenched her fists tightly.

“Let’s see if you react the same way when I present all gourmet delicacies the world has to offer!”

—I’m scared;

—I’m seeing this person for the first time, why is she acting like this all of a sudden?

—First time? (more than a week of following the chat)

From that day onward, Joanie’s daily routine was the same.

She would wake up in the morning, turn on the stream, and embark on quests to buy food.

In her free time, she would check the fan cafe for new posts, and study using the hard-earned Granic dictionary.

Finally, she would climb the mountain, offer food to the Gravekeeper, and be disappointed by the response.

It was a monotonous routine that felt like a wheel spinning endlessly.

Despite her efforts, even receiving help from viewers who usually wouldn’t bother, Joanie’s spirit was slowly wearing down due to the lackluster responses.

“Ugh, ughuhuh… Is delicious food really that disliked? Then should I try feeding them something weird this time…? Is there a Hawaiian pizza in Silia?”

—Hey, get a grip;

—Any tips on not dying without pain?;

—Is it really painless?

—Haha, I’m not feeling any pain~

—??? Why is Hawaiian pizza considered weird?

For anyone else, it wouldn’t be strange to give up in this situation.

For a week, she had come every single day to offer food, yet there was not even a word of gratitude or any response, so how could she not feel exhausted?

However, whether by misfortune or fortune, Joanie had a knack for enduring and persevering.

—Isn’t this enough by now?

—Maybe it’s better to find another way.

—Ugh, it’s so frustrating, I’m going to die.

The viewers watching her stream were in despair, indicating that it seemed unfortunate for them.

Clank.

The Gravekeeper quietly set down the dish.

Once again, she had received a rejection that wasn’t really a rejection.

Now, she began to suspect whether they could even taste anything at all.

“Ehh…”

Joanie sighed deeply as she placed the empty bowl in her inventory.

“Did I really make a mistake?”

—You’re just now realizing that???

—Honestly, it’s been a bit hopeless.

“Is that so…?”

The usually confident Joanie could no longer hide her dejected appearance.

Seeing her pitiful state, numerous donations came in to comfort her, but her shoulders remained slumped.

“I guess I was too confident.”

The excitement of being the first to discover something that no one else knew, the superiority of being a pioneer.

As the emotions that had blinded her faded away, she finally thought that perhaps she might have been wrong.

“Still, maybe my favorability increased just a little? At least there aren’t any more reactions of disbelief like at the beginning.”

—Since when did Silia Online turn into a dating sim?

—Wow, a game where you can even date!

—How much have you spent just to raise your favorability?

—If you’re going to date, you need to spend money, right?

—This isn’t a date, it’s just a wallet, though;

“… Let’s not talk about money, okay?”

Joanie’s voice grew gloomy as she recalled her thin wallet due to her rapid diet.

Even though she never asked for anything, it was she who had brought the gifts out of her own accord, and she couldn’t help but feel strangely wronged.

What was the point of blaming someone innocent? It was her own doing.

Sigh.

As Joanie watched the Gravekeeper sharpening the sword with a gloomy expression, she shook her head slightly.

The short hair brushing her shoulders tickled her neck.

“Since I came early today and have some time left, shall we stay here a little longer before leaving?”

—Oh, sounds good.

—Let’s go.

—Q&A, let’s do it!

But what should I do?

As can be seen from the messages flooding the chat, people had many questions for the Gravekeeper.

Joanie felt the same way. No matter how often she tried to engage, she still received no answers.

Even if it wasn’t a remarkable improvement, she believed that her skills in Granic had improved quite a bit through consistent practice. However, without any response from the other side, she had no way of knowing if she was actually making progress.

They say that conversing with a native speaker is the most effective way to learn a language, but what if the native speaker doesn’t respond?

Answer: Change to someone else.

“If I could do that, I would have!”

Even though she knew the answer, it was frustrating that she couldn’t act on it.

“Sword…”

The oiled cloth slowly glided over the sword.

Joanie watched the spot where the cloth had passed sparkle in the sunlight before suddenly pulling out her sword.

“Should I practice my swordsmanship? I can’t always rely on being guarded.”

Since she had nothing else to do anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to practice.

As she thought this and stood up, she found herself staring blankly ahead when it came time to actually begin.

“…So what now?”

—Starting with a downward strike is a classic rule.

“Downward strike? Like this?”

Yap yap.

Joanie raised her sword high above her head.

If it were reality, her arms would have been trembling, but thanks to her stats’ boost, she managed to hold it up without any problems.

Downward strike, thrusting, slashing upwards…

Whoosh, swish!

The sound of the sword slicing through the air echoed in the quiet clearing.

She didn’t even know if she was doing it right.

All she could do was hope that doing something would lead to a bit of improvement.

‘…Phew!’

It’s just like attacking the Gravekeeper.

Trying something without knowing if she was doing it right.

Yeah, when has my journey ever gone exactly according to my plans?

Sometimes things don’t go well, and that’s just how it is.

If she’s lucky, there might be results.

And then, at that moment.

‘Huh…’

At some point, the sword in her hand started to feel strangely light.

As beads of sweat began to form on her forehead, Joanie lightly exhaled and lowered her arms.

“I’ll take a quick break—”

-“…That’s not how you do it.”

“…?!”

An unexpected voice hit her ear.