Food is paramount to the people.
Last time I talked about how delicious the Zoldyck family's snacks were, and this time I want to continue talking about how delicious their meals are. They are one of my few sources of joy every day.
If it weren't for their healthy eating habits restricting my potential, "Moer Si" might have evolved into "Black Dog Er Yao Yao."
Speaking of which, I heard that their food is all poisoned. Can that still be called "healthy eating"?
Don't ask me why I don't know if it's poisoned. I ate it without any discomfort, and the young Illumi didn't suddenly collapse at the dining table like the victims in "Detective Conan." It would be too suspicious for me to ask this family "whether poison was put in the dishes" for no reason.
It's better to have fewer troubles than more. Curiosity killed the cat. Unless absolutely necessary, I always choose to remain silent.
In the "real world," to save money, I almost never went shopping. Occasionally buying new clothes or watching movies were all done online. After starting work, I never traveled. I've always used the phone I bought in college. I don't subscribe to any video streaming services and prefer pirated versions when available; otherwise, I simply forgo them. I never spend money on games, treating them all as casual simulation games, and adopting a zen attitude towards everything, living a life devoid of passion, detached from worldly desires.
In this minimalist lifestyle, the only thing that costs little but quickly brings immense happiness is "eating."
My happiest moments are when I buy various ingredients and make a spicy beef hot pot at home.
One pot of hot pot soup base can last for three days. On the first day, I mainly put in meat and vermicelli. On the second day, I add more affordable items like tofu and vegetables. On the third day, I use the soup base to mix with rice and eat it with a plate of vegetables. The satisfaction from one hot pot is enough for me to get through the next two weeks with simple meals.
However, eating too much hot pot can cause internal heat and mouth sores. I've only eaten it about seven or eight times a year. Other times, I browse the internet for specialty desserts from around the world, search for reviews of their flavors, and imagine their taste. In a way, that's also considered eating.
After eating for free at the Zoldyck family's place for nearly six years, I understood two very important truths.
Truth one: eating someone else's food for free every day is incredibly satisfying, especially when the food is exceptionally good. The satisfaction level increases linearly.
Truth two: as long as the food is delicious enough, picky eating ceases to exist. The only thing to be wary of is not overeating and becoming fat, fortunately, the Zoldycks have put me on a limit.
Because I showed excessive enthusiasm for eating, Madam Kikyo, who maintained her slender waist despite giving birth twice, imposed the cruel "half-portion policy" on me early on.
"Is there something wrong with Moer's body?" even my grandfather Zeno couldn't help but comment at the dining table. "Giving her so little, are you sure you're not raising a cat?"
"..." My stomach was rumbling.
Mom, hungry, food.jpg
Kikyo reluctantly ordered them to add a bit more to my plate, then pinched my cheek and admonished, "You need to eat less snacks from now on too. Moer Si, excellent girls should manage their figures."
From that day on, the first thing I did every morning was have the butler record my measurements and weight, then report it to Madam Kikyo. If she felt I was tending towards gaining weight, she would cancel my snacks for the day.
"..." This only made me feel the meals more delicious and made me hungrier, damn it!
I think it was probably because Madam Kikyo deducted my precious rations too early and neglected to monitor my height, which is why my height eventually remained at 165cm.
Watching my younger brothers grow taller like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, all except the underage ones, had to look down to speak to me.
...I got used to it.
"See how beautiful that is!" Kikyo skillfully tightened the sash on my dress. "Wonderful, Moer, dresses suit you perfectly!"
"..." It's because of being starved, starved.
The tightened sash undoubtedly hindered my ability to eat happily. I tried to loosen it secretly, but Kikyo discovered it immediately. She was like a living, twenty-four-hour surveillance camera. If every mother were like her, I believe there would be no tragic child disappearances in the world.
Hunger is the best seasoning. In any case, I was addicted to the delicious meals at the Zoldyck's every day, while Kikyo urged me to eat less.
Spare me, I promise I won't get fat. I didn't get fat in the "real world," and "eating" is my rare hobby!
She was very worried that I would be easily lured away by someone with a piece of cake. "Moer Si, when you go out to work in the future, if you see pastries on a table at your destination, will you choose to eat one immediately?!"
To be honest, in the "real world," I would have disdained it, but in my current state, I very likely would. Hungry.
The Zoldyck's professional courses are divided into two categories: one focuses on physical function training, and the other on mental willpower training. There are many types of willpower. Enduring whips in torture training is willpower to tolerate pain. Other forms of willpower naturally include the willpower to endure hunger. Madam Kikyo believed I lacked this willpower the most, so she conducted focused training.
The main content was to resist the temptation of readily available food, no matter how hungry I was.
Initially, a piece of chocolate was used to test willpower, then a piece of bread, and then gradually upgraded to hot and fragrant roasted meat.
How terrifying, Madam Kikyo. She actually saw through my great love for meat.
Under the stimulation of the food's aroma, I still had to focus my energy on completing the day's cultural homework. My mind was in a loop of "hungry, hungry," and my homework, as expected, turned out to be a mess, followed by corresponding punishments.
During this period, Kikyo even resorted to the despicable tactic of "entrapment," deliberately creating opportunities for me to steal food. Don't ask me if I took the bait; just assume I don't remember!
During that time, I was so hungry that I had to walk by holding onto the walls every day. For self-preservation, I consciously engaged in selective amnesia regarding the specific details.
The things I remember most clearly, besides the roasted meat, were how Illumi would avoid me from afar during that period, choosing to detour immediately instead of greeting me politely.
Is this the instinct of Zoldyck's "danger perception"?
Even the trained falcons, no, eagles, trembled under my touch during that period.
Finally, relying on my powerful imagination skills accumulated in the "real world," I began to imagine the taste of food, then further imagined that I had already eaten it, thus tricking my brain and taming my appetite, earning Kikyo's approval.
The moment Kikyo announced the result, I saw a new line of text above her dialogue box:
[Enduring Hunger: Level 6]
Huh?
Is this a skill level?
Did I starve myself senseless? "Enduring Hunger" can be a skill?
With a thought, I saw other skills:
[Biting the Bullet: Level 8]
Uh, judging by the literal meaning, it's probably similar to pain tolerance, right?
[Shadow Step: Level 3]
This is a basic skill taught in the Zoldyck professional courses. I wonder what the maximum level is?
...That's it.
Just this?
To start working as soon as possible and achieve the goal of "completing 999 Zoldyck missions," I should really level up and learn some skills.