The lunches at the Knights of Favonius were all secret meals prepared by dietitians with Major Achievement in cooking.
While delicious, they could greatly replenish the trainees' energy and nutrition.
The price of one meal at Good Hunter could buy a whole table of dishes.
In this period of soaring prices due to the Dragon Calamity, being able to eat such high-quality food for free was one of the reasons some trainees signed up.
Each person received one plate, and thirty barrels were arranged in a row, containing Milk, Toast, sweet flower chicken, potato pancakes, turnip vegetable soup, Steak, grilled fish, fiery meat sauce noodles… more than ten kinds of dishes.
A hundred people shared the meal!
Only…
Ryan, sitting to the side, enjoyed a privileged, luxurious set meal.
One barrel of rice, one barrel of dishes, plus one barrel of soup, all for him alone.
Ryan, holding a large rice barrel and picking up dishes with chopsticks, was the center of attention.
The mystery was solved! Before, why did Noelle always leave three barrels and send them to the side?
"Why does he have so much?"
The Sword trainees who were eating suddenly felt unbalanced.
"But he has fewer types!"
Someone comforted him.
"Go and see, that big barrel in the middle, with both meat and vegetables, are there really fewer types?"
"And that soup, what kind of chicken Mushroom pork rib soup is it! A pile of meat at the bottom?"
"Adding it up, it probably used one large pig leg and two or three chickens!"
Someone walked over with their plate, indignant.
The Steak and Toast in their hands instantly lost their appeal!
"Noelle, why are you so biased?"
"Can this Ryan finish it? You sent him so much?"
One person spoke, and many immediately echoed.
"Exactly! Exactly! Why does he alone take up three barrels! We don't want that barrel of white rice, but at least share the other two barrels, right?"
Ryan's mind was full of question marks.
No, even eating a meal makes you feel unbalanced and full of jealousy?
The taste of these dishes is Liyue style, can you even eat them?
"Ah…" The Damselette, suddenly accused by the crowd, immediately bowed.
"I'm sorry!"
"If you want it, I can ask the chef to cook another portion! But these dishes are Ryan's alone, and you cannot take Ryan's share."
"He never wastes food; he always finishes it all!"
Noelle bowed apologetically, her words full of earnestness.
Ryan helplessly rubbed his forehead, looking at Noelle.
He had indeed caused trouble for this Damselette, his favorite Gundam Damselette in his game!
He watched Noelle, who was still explaining to the crowd, put down his chopsticks and wooden barrel, stood up, and walked to her.
"Let me speak!"
Ryan turned back and smiled at Noelle.
This Damselette's personality was so pure that it made one feel sorry for her persistence.
"Hello, everyone!" Ryan spoke loudly, his voice echoing throughout the hall.
"As fellow Sword trainees, you can certainly have my dishes, as long as you share yours with me."
"I can move them together right now!"
Ryan, one in each hand, steadily placed the soup and dishes side by side with the other wooden barrels.
"Is this acceptable?"
"If you want to eat white rice, I can contribute that too?"
Seeing Ryan being so obedient, the others found it hard to act up and could only say awkwardly: "It's fine! It's fine!"
Saying that, they took a little meat with their plates, out of curiosity.
"Is it really okay?" Noelle looked at Ryan as he returned, her expression uneasy.
"It's fine! Everyone eating together? What a happy thing!"
Ryan picked up the wooden barrel and looked at the Damselette.
Compared to eating, Noelle was even more "appetizing"!
Her lovely appearance, if written into a diary for "Three Thousand Damselettes of Another World," would be enough for him to use two pages to describe.
The petite Damselette wore a white, gold-emblazoned hat on her head, styled like a nurse's cap or a priest's cap.
Two red roses adorned the left and right sides of the hat.
Her silver-gray hair was slightly curled on both sides, gathering at her fair neck, and a delicate braid across her forehead was held by a small golden shield.
Her forest-green eyes, sincere and clear, met his gaze with a puzzled expression.
Her left shoulder, right elbow, chest, both forearms including her hands, and two straight legs were all encased in silver-white armor with golden patterns.
A rhomboid ruby was inlaid on her chest, and vivid roses were sewn onto the gauntlet of her left arm. Small red bows were on the outside of each ankle.
Armor, bows, Damselette, asymmetry—what a wonderful combination.
She had white and red collars around her neck.
Inside was a black bodysuit, and her lower body was an armored battle skirt in red and black. Over the battle skirt, she wore a black-and-white maid's ruffled apron.
A dark leather belt with a chain was diagonally fastened at her waist, a large red bow was tied at the back, and a Rock Element Vision, mysterious and brilliant, was embedded there.
She wasn't a Knight; she was the Knights of Favonius's versatile maid.
Excellent!
Ryan asked Noelle to stay here and have lunch together.
Feeling joyful, he had a great appetite.
"Everyone, eat while it's hot! If it's not to your taste, next time, I'll ask the Knights of Favonius's chefs to make improvements!"
Ryan, holding the large wooden barrel filled with white rice, specially steamed for him, happily wandered among the thirty-two available dishes.
A big mouthful of rice, a big mouthful of dishes.
The food in all the wooden barrels visibly decreased.
However, with many people taking, and many hands reaching, not many noticed anything unusual.
Ryan devoured his food, his chopsticks moving with afterimages.
Ten minutes earlier than usual, all thirty-two wooden barrels were empty.
Not a single piece of meat remained, not a single leaf of vegetable, not a drop of soup.
The trainees put down their plates, and Ryan simultaneously put down the empty wooden barrel.
He let out a satisfied burp!
It had been a long time since he had eaten so much!
Next time, he would have to compete with them again!
The trainees sitting aside, chatting, had puzzled expressions.
"Hey! Do you feel like there's less food today? I hardly ate anything?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? There were clearly two more barrels of dishes, and each barrel was as full as in previous days."
Several people immediately chimed in, refuting.
But after speaking, they became uncertain again.
Someone rubbed their stomach and whispered: "Now that you mention it, why do I also feel like I didn't eat enough! Yesterday, I could get three slices of fisherman's toast, but today I only ate two slices and it was gone!"
"Eh~ Me too! Before, I ate two pieces of Steak, but today, when I went to get the second piece, I found it was empty!"
As everyone talked, they found that most people felt they had eaten less than yesterday, and their stomachs indicated they could still eat more.
But…
But there were two more barrels of dishes today!
The strange and bizarre incident made the trainees look at Ryan, who was taking a stroll, in unison.
If there was anything different from yesterday, it was the addition of this ultimate glutton.
A few people who had been watching Ryan recalled the twenty minutes of eating just now and discovered the truth.
They said with a hint of regret: "Next time, you should let him eat alone on the side! Otherwise, someone on our side will definitely not be full!"
"Why?" someone asked.
They explained: "Didn't you see him eating just now?"
"This Ryan, I don't know what kind of demon he is, but his eating is too outrageous!"
"He's simply a Dragon's mouth and a Dragon's stomach."
"He doesn't even chew; fish bones, bones, anything can be stuffed into his mouth and swallowed in a few bites."
"He swept through his own food and also ate at least two or three barrels of our food."
The others looked shocked: "Really? Is that true?"
Recalling carefully, they pieced together their memories, talking over each other, and realized that this was indeed the culprit behind the mystery of the disappearing food.
Did this person sign up for training to eat the Knights of Favonius into poverty?