Hey! I'm Not Joking! / Fate! It's Truly Mysterious

The system was baffled by Kanna's shameless claim as well. After quite a while, accompanied by a chime, a new mission appeared before Kanna.

Hey! I'm Not Joking!

Hearing the sound, Kanna happily opened the mission panel.

Mess Hall Glutton: As a dragon of extreme hunger, only by making all of Rhodes Island's food service staff tremble at the mere mention of your name can you display your majesty. Within one week, trigger no fewer than four kitchen wipeout events across no fewer than three participating restaurants. Mission reward: Skill Enhancement Scroll.

Kanna frowned after reading it.

What the heck?

Was this mission looking down on her?

Such a simple mission, and it gave her a whole week?

One day. She only needed one day. If she couldn't finish it, she'd chop off her own head and present it.

Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, plus a midnight snack—she could not only finish the mission, but have plenty to spare.

"Host! Have you considered what everyone else is supposed to eat if you wipe out every chef on Rhodes Island in a single day? And who's going to cook on the second day? Slow and steady is the right way!"

Just as Kanna indignantly declared to the system that she could finish this mission in one day, the system finally couldn't stand it anymore and displayed a new line of text.

Kanna's little face immediately reddened after reading it.

"Ehehe!"

She really hadn't considered that problem. She had only thought that such an easy mission would be done after one round of eating.

She looked outside. It was nearly lunchtime, and a week was neither particularly long nor particularly short. She decided to take down one restaurant at noon today and complete the first stage of the mission.

Once she had the idea, she acted on it. Kanna grabbed her two little companions and ran toward a nearby restaurant.

The restaurant's head chef was happily preparing lunch for the operators. Although Kanna and Eyjafjalla had scared him unconscious before, making him the disgrace of Rhodes Island's culinary world, his superb cooking skills had allowed him to keep his position as head chef.

From what he had learned from others, that little dragon did not eat a kitchen completely bare every single time. The last time had merely been an unusual accident.

But when he looked up and saw that familiar figure, he suddenly felt as though his nightmare had come for him.

When Kanna and the other two left the restaurant, all that remained were mountains of food scraps and chefs collapsed across the floor. The head chef himself lay on the ground, twitching nonstop.

After waking up in the Medical Department, he stared blankly at the busy doctors around him. Thinking that his own exhaustion was less than one ten-thousandth of theirs, he decided to continue working as a chef. But after encountering Kanna twice in a row, he wondered whether the feng shui of his restaurant's location was simply terrible. So he went to Kal'tsit and requested a transfer to another restaurant.

Normally, Kal'tsit would not agree to such a request. But considering that he had witnessed Kanna's binge-eating carnage twice in just a few days, the psychological pressure on him had to be immense. After discussing it with the other supervisors, Kal'tsit arranged for the head chef of a restaurant in the uppermost district to switch places with him.

Overjoyed, he brought his staff along and exchanged posts with that head chef, continuing his work at the upper-level restaurant.

A day later, Kanna felt that she could continue the mission. But she couldn't keep shearing the same sheep forever, so she decided to change restaurants.

The weather was nice that day. After discussing it, the group decided to go play on the deck after eating to help digest their food, so they chose the restaurant closest to the deck.

The head chef had barely been happy for one day after recovering his senses when that nightmarish figure arrived right on schedule once more.

The Hungry Dragon ravaged the entire restaurant again. As Kanna's group left, Kanna even complained to Rosemary that Rhodes Island's restaurants felt like a chain, since they all tasted the same.

But she had no idea that the instant they left, sorrowful crying finally rang out from the kitchen. That very day, one-third of the chefs decided to lay down their knives for good and never work in this profession again.

After suffering that blow, the head chef seemed to age several years overnight. Yet, encouraged by the doctors, he looked at the Medical Department staff, exhausted yet still running around without rest, and ultimately decided to keep holding on.

He came to the Control Room to seek help.

"Head Chef, hello, hello. Is there something we can help you with?" Outcast asked.

"What I'm about to say, you mustn't be afraid," the head chef said.

"We're the highest management. We won't be afraid," Outcast said.

"For the past two days, every time I opened the restaurant, I encountered the Hungry Dragon," the head chef said.

Outcast and Amiya leaned back slightly.

"Who is the Hungry Dragon?"

"Not who! It's a Hungry Dragon that eats an entire restaurant clean in one meal!"

Amiya drew a picture. (Eyjafjalla)

"Not a Perro. It's a dragon!"

Amiya continued drawing. (Ifrit)

"Not this Rhine Lab one. She doesn't look that big."

Amiya kept drawing. (Kati)

"It's a dragon! One that shoots electricity, the crackling kind!"

Amiya's drawing was snatched away by Outcast, who made a few changes. (Pudding)

"The Hungry Dragon! That famous little kid on Rhodes Island! Do you understand now?"

Outcast raised a hand. "Understood. Go on."

"I don't know what's going on. They say this Hungry Dragon only eats a restaurant into bankruptcy once every ten days or half a month, but in less than three days, I ran into her twice. My restaurant got eaten into bankruptcy twice. Twice!"

"Pfft!" Amiya failed to hold it in.

"What are you laughing at?" the head chef roared.

"I thought of something happy."

"What happy thing?"

"I'm going on leave tomorrow. Three days in a row."

"Pfft!"

"What are you laughing at?"

"I'm also taking three days off tomorrow."

"You're taking the same leave?"

"Yes, yes, yes... We just happened to have time off together."

"I'll say it again. I'm not joking."

"Right, right."

Bang!

"Let's get back on topic. That Hungry Dragon you mentioned... does she eat people?"

"It's not about whether she eats people. It's just... it's hard to describe. She eats so fast, but you can't help serving dishes at her pace..."

"Pfft!"

"You've gone too far! I've put up with you for a long time!"

"I'm taking leave tomorrow."

"You're clearly laughing at me! You haven't stopped once!"

"Head Chef, we've received strict training. No matter how funny something is, we won't laugh," Amiya said, turning her head aside. "Unless we can't hold it in."

"How about this, Head Chef? Go back and wait for news. Once we finish investigating, we'll definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

Out the door.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Back through the door.

"Head Chef, is there anything else?"

Out the door.

"Hahahahahaha!"

In the end, after Kal'tsit returned and discussed the matter again, he was assigned to the restaurant on the lowest level, where there were the fewest people and Kanna would almost never go. People generally only came to that restaurant before heading out or after returning, just to grab something to fill their stomachs. Other than that, its only customers were ordinary civilians who worked on the lower levels.

Although the place was quite remote, the head chef accepted the transfer at the thought of being far away from that terrifying figure. He brought his remaining staff there.

Fate! How Wonderfully Mysterious

Two days later, Popukar and Rosemary each received missions and prepared to leave Rhodes Island.

After seeing them off at the main gate, Kanna pondered how to complete the remaining two mission requirements. Then she looked up and spotted a restaurant nearby.

Her eyes lit up. If she ate this place clean, wouldn't that fulfill the condition of three different restaurants?

With that thought, she happily scurried inside.

When she came out with a frown, the head chef inside the restaurant was crying like a child despite being several decades old. How had the Hungry Dragon found him even after he had hidden somewhere so remote?

Had she discovered that he had once taken leave to avoid her? Was she here for him now? Unless he stopped working in food service altogether, no matter where he hid, the Hungry Dragon's shadow would follow him like a ghost.

At that thought, he looked utterly dejected and called his staff over to tell them that he was preparing to retire from the trade.

His subordinates actually had no complaints about their head chef. Seeing him so dispirited made them feel awful, so after discussing it, they came up with a not-quite-solution. Since making main dishes got them targeted, then they simply would not make main dishes anymore. Quite a few of the remaining people knew how to make desserts, so they could open a dessert shop together, make it big on Rhodes Island, and create another glorious era.

After his staff talked him around, the head chef finally abandoned the idea of retiring and decided to struggle alongside everyone one more time.

Meanwhile, Kal'tsit summoned Kanna and gave her a serious reprimand. Her unusually excessive binge eating had caused a food shortage crisis on Rhodes Island. Kal'tsit told her that until they reached the next supply point, she was not allowed to gorge herself in the mess halls again.

Kanna agreed to Kal'tsit's terms with a regretful expression, but she had no intention of giving up on the mission. If main meals were off limits, then there was still afternoon tea.

But having afternoon tea alone would be rather lame.

Two days later, Kanna happened to run into Eyjafjalla while wandering around Rhodes Island without finding a suitable target. Eyjafjalla was scratching her head as she said something to a short girl in front of her.

She was delighted when she saw Kanna and pulled the other girl over.

Kanna froze when she looked at the little girl before her. The girl was Myrtle, the French operator who had stacked the buffs of being short, female, and foreign—an underground dweller.

It turned out that a new dessert shop had opened. Bored, Myrtle had applied for a job handing out flyers, and she had happened to catch Eyjafjalla. But Eyjafjalla's love of sweets stopped at Honey Cake, and she was not particularly interested in anything else. She wanted to decline but could not find an excuse, and then she happened to run into Kanna.

Kanna's eyes flashed as she listened. Auntie! This was the perfect chance to complete the mission. She snatched the flyer from Myrtle, grabbed Eyjafjalla's hand, and said, "C'mon, let's try it! Just because Honey Cake isn't written on the flyer doesn't mean the shop doesn't have any! Besides, how will you know whether it suits your taste if you haven't tried it?"

Seeing Kanna so enthusiastic, Myrtle was delighted. She led the two of them to a somewhat secluded commercial street on Rhodes Island and pointed to the shop in the middle. "That's the one!"

Kanna nodded at the bustling scene inside and outside the shop. With so many people coming for desserts, this place clearly had some skill.

But when Kanna and Eyjafjalla entered the shop, Kanna suddenly noticed that the employees' expressions became strange. Their movements turned stiff, like puppets.

Kanna narrowed her eyes. Her silver pupils opened slightly, and she found no traces of Arts on their bodies. They did not appear to be under anyone's control, so she walked over to the counter with ease.

The clerk behind the counter broke out in a cold sweat the moment she saw Kanna and Eyjafjalla approaching.

The head chef had been telling the truth. As long as he still wanted to work in food service, the Hungry Dragon would follow him forever.

Half an hour later, the dessert shop officially closed, because there was not a single ingredient left inside. At that moment, a group of chefs, including the head chef, sat quietly on the floor with their arms wrapped around their legs. Their eyes were vacant as they stared at the darkened shop door, contemplating the meaning of life...

After leaving the shop, Eyjafjalla and Myrtle, who wore a stunned expression, noticed that Kanna's expression was strange as she smacked her lips.

"What's wrong, Kanna...? I didn't really like the Honey Cake, but the other desserts were pretty good!"

Kanna scratched her head, looking equally confused. "I don't know why, but I feel like I've been seeing the people in that shop a lot lately? But I've been eating at different restaurants this whole time, so it feels really strange!"

"Rhodes Island isn't that big, after all. Maybe you ran into them somewhere else and mixed them up?" Although they had not known each other before, after one afternoon tea, Myrtle and Kanna had practically become close sisters.

Kanna neither agreed nor disagreed with Myrtle's explanation. She could not think of any other reason at the moment, so she could only guess that perhaps, as Myrtle had said, she had seen them before and confused their faces.

Now that Kanna had completed the mission, her mind was focused on the reward. She had no extra thoughts to spare on recalling the strange details.

After saying goodbye to Eyjafjalla and Myrtle, Kanna returned to her room, curious about the use of the Skill Enhancement Scroll that the mission had rewarded her.

After she submitted the mission, a scroll appeared before her. Reading through it, she learned that the enhancement scroll could strengthen any skill that had not yet been enhanced. An enhanced skill would gain an additional effect, just like Eye of Thunder Punishment and Evil.

Thinking of how powerful the additional effect of Eye of Thunder Punishment and Evil was, Kanna's heart burned with excitement.

She began reviewing her skills. Aside from the already enhanced Eye of Thunder Punishment and Evil, there were four skills that could be enhanced.

The first was Palm Thunder, followed by Star Alignment and Myriad Thunder Prison, with Prayer for Rain as the last.

Since she did not know what effects they would gain after being enhanced, Kanna did not know how to decide for the moment.

After agonizing over it for a while, she realized that the system had given her this item, so the system surely knew which skill would benefit most from enhancement. She immediately pulled up the system interface again.

"Big Brother System, can you recommend which skill would be best to enhance?"