Gopuran skewered the thick cuts of steak onto sharpened sticks and settled cross legged beside the firepit. She began turning them slowly over the flames.
Meanwhile, Gopuro's gaze remained glued to the sizzling steak. His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open, and a thin trail of drool had already begun slipping from the corner of his lips.
Even Gopuran, disciplined as she tried to be, could not fully resist the temptation. Her stomach growled audibly, loud enough to make her ears twitch, and she had to swallow hard to keep from snatching a bite while it was still half raw.
Still, she held firm.
She was determined to do this properly.
As the steak cooked, the most mouthwatering aroma filled the chamber, rich and savory, layered with the smell of charred fat and seared meat. The fire crackled merrily, and every few seconds a droplet of melting fat dripped into the flames with a sharp hiss, sending up tiny bursts of fragrant smoke that made the air shimmer.
But after only two minutes, all restraint crumbled.
The two goblins could wait no longer.
Gopuro moved first, and Gopuran followed right after. Each grabbed a stick, lifted the steak to their mouths, and bit down with completely unrestrained enthusiasm.
Their teeth sank deep into the tender flesh, tearing away large chunks as they chewed.
Instantly, their faces melted into expressions of pure bliss.
Their eyes squeezed shut. Both of them clutched their cheeks with their hands as muffled, ecstatic groans escaped their throats.
(Damn, is it really that good?)
I watched, half amused and half incredulous.
(It is probably still rare in the middle. I can still see red.)
(And there is no seasoning at all.)
(A proper steak needs salt, pepper, maybe a little herb rub.)
Yet seeing their sheer joy made my non-existent mouth water. As a castle, I couldn't eat. I couldn't even taste. The unfairness of it all stung.
Feeling generous, and perhaps a little jealous, I decided to reward their hard work even further.
I materialized several plump raw chickens, a generous pile of fresh crusty bread, and a bucket of cool milk. The System would not allow me to buy milk without something to contain it, so I had ended up purchasing a wooden bucket from the furniture shop first.
The moment they saw the extra food, the goblins' eyes lit up like lanterns.
They grilled the chicken only halfway before tearing into it, toasted the bread over the fire, and gulped down the milk until their bellies swelled. Contented sighs soon escaped both of them.
It was, without exaggeration, an amazing feast.
*****
Moments later...
With the goblins finally resting, sprawled contentedly near the dying fire, I turned my attention to some rough calculations about the day's productivity.
I had started with 91 Castle Points.
I spent 40 points purchasing Powerstones as quest rewards for the pair, plus another hefty 15 on food and water throughout the day. They were only about the size of large humans, yet they ate like starving horses. That brought the total expenditure to a whopping 55 points.
Ouch.
But on the income side, things looked very positive.
The passive [Generator] skill had granted me 10 points automatically. Better yet, the two goblins had brought in a staggering 826 units of Wood.
The System was purchasing Wood at a steady rate of 1 point per 5 units. If I sold it all, that translated to 165.2 points. Call it 165 for simplicity.
Combined with the Generator income, my total revenue reached 175 points.
After subtracting the 55 point outlay for wages and provisions, my net profit came to a tidy 120 points.
I ended up selling enough Wood to make 60 points so I could pay and feed my citizens the next day. The rest, I decided to keep in my inventory as Wood. There was no need to convert it all just yet.
(Not bad at all. Not bad!)
(And what if I have more citizens?)
I had already started dreaming. Visions of grandeur flickered through my mind.
(A hundred… no, a thousand goblins? I'd be swimming in points! Filthy rich!)
The logical next step was clear: send Gopuro and Gopuran back to their tribes. They could spread word of the generous castle lord who offered endless quests, Powerstones, and feasts. More citizens meant exponential growth, and, more importantly, it would help repair my reputation among the wild goblins who still viewed me with suspicion and fear after I had slain so many of their kin.
But before dispatching them, I wanted to run a few more experiments with my [Quest Creation] skill. Specifically, to probe its limits of what kinds of tasks I could assign, what restrictions existed, and how flexible the rewards and conditions could be.
This would likely take half a day.
At the same time, I needed to prepare for the arrival of more goblins. My current accommodations were embarrassingly bare. I required basic furniture at the very least to maximize my appeal. Perhaps even something grander: a towering dragon statue in the main hall to impress newcomers and project authority! I also needed to find a way to make sure the racoons in my basement would be safe as well. I was thinking of making a separate entry path for them.
And of course, there were the points. Granting citizenship would cost Castle Points per goblin.
(Wait—oh, right!)
I still had that in my inventory: the corpse of the wolf I'd killed.
The System was offering a generous 250 points for it. Tempting, but I'd held off on selling instinctively. Good thing, too, because I now had a far better use in mind.
I summoned my [Stone Knife]—the one with the [Butchering] skill—and gently placed it in front of Gopuran.
Previously, every monster corpse I obtained had gone straight to the System for a quick point conversion, simply because I lacked any means to process them. But now I had citizens. Capable ones.
(My girl, you wanted more quests, right? Wood gathering is off the table at night. It's too dangerous. But how about this instead?)
I created a new quest on the spot and assigned it directly to her: "Wolf Carcass Dismantling." For the reward, I set it at 1 Powerstone (F). I had no idea yet what usable materials the wolf would yield, nor how long the task would take, but it seemed fair.
Gopuran accepted without hesitation.
[Ding!]
[Gopuran has accepted your "Wolf Carcass Dismantling" quest!]
(Alright! Excellent.)
I materialized the wolf's giant body right in front of her. She grabbed the knife eagerly and set to work without delay, her small hands moving with surprising confidence.
Gopuro watched from the side, eyes narrowed with unmistakable jealousy.
(Sorry, buddy. I only have one knife with the [Butchering] skill!)