As Camille and I were deep in conversation, a maid approached us with a panicked and worried expression.
"Lady Camille, one of the knights said that we've almost run out of food stock. He said because a lot of people are sick, many of them need food," the maid said anxiously.
"Do we still have our own stock?" Camille asked.
"We don't have enough, my Lady. You already distributed our last food today," the maid replied.
Camille fell silent, biting her nail in distress.
"I should have brought more food while I was on my way here. I've already informed my dad, but it will take two days before it arrives. What should we do?" she said, panic evident in her voice.
Realizing the urgency of the situation, I decided to offer my help.
"Lady Camille, I have a suggestion."
"What is it, Sir Cale?" Camille asked, her eyes filled with hope.
"As you know, I'm a merchant," I began.
"Yes," Camille nodded.
"I have food with me, a product for my country. It's a food that can last for a couple of years, but the food I have is only two months away from expiring. I can offer it to you at a discounted price," I explained.
Camille's expression shifted to one of relief, but concern still lingered.
"That's a relief, but I don't think it's enough. There are 300 sick people, and I don't think the food in your bag is enough to feed them," she said, eyeing my backpack.
"Don't worry, Lady Camille. I have enough for all of them," I assured her, even though I only had three packs of instant ramen in my bag. I just needed to show them that a small package could suffice.
"Can you boil some water for me?" I asked the maid.
"I can, sir, but what do you want to do with hot water?" the maid inquired.
"I'll show you. Can you lead me to the kitchen?" I requested.
The maid hesitated, glancing at Camille, who nodded in approval.
"Okay, sir, just follow me," the maid said.
"I'm coming too. I want to know how you'll be able to feed 300 people with just a small bag," Camille said, following us.
Arriving at the kitchen, I helped the maid boil the water. Then, I took out three packs of instant ramen from my bag. Camille and the maid looked at them with interest as I prepared the noodles, pouring the boiling water into the cups and letting the aroma fill the air.
"We just have to wait for five minutes, and then we can finally eat," I announced.
After the wait, I opened the covers, and the enticing smell wafted once again. Taking a fork, I scooped some noodles and started eating. I noticed Camille and the maid eyeing the two remaining packs with longing.
"Ms. Maid and Lady Camille, you can try it if you want and tell me if it's enough to satisfy them," I offered.
Camille eagerly took one of the cups and trembled as she took a bite.
"Woooooooh yaaaaaaah!" she exclaimed, her legs shaking.
Meanwhile, the maid's reaction mirrored Camille's, and she, too, started to tremble uncontrollably.
Before I could comprehend what was happening, a female knight burst into the scene, pointing her sword at me.
"What did you do? Get away from Lady Camille!" she demanded, her voice filled with fury.
"I didn't do anything! I just gave them food to eat. I didn't know this would happen," I exclaimed, panic rising within me as I raised my hands in surrender.
"Hehe," a creepy laugh emanated from Camille.
"Hehe, I want more! I want it!" she exclaimed, devouring the noodles with ferocity, her demeanor transformed into that of a ravenous beast.
The female knight looked at me with anger, her sword still pointed in my direction.
"What did you do to my lady? What did you feed her to become like this?" she accused, her eyes blazing with fury.
30 minutes of Camille explaining what happened to the female knight named Aisha, who had light purple hair, almost silver, and purple eyes.
"So that's the reason. My apologies, Mr. Cale," the female knight apologized while bowing.
"It's okay. No need to apologize. I, too, didn't expect that Lady Camille and Ms. Maid would react like that because of the food I brought," I said.
"Ahem. So, Cale, do you really want to sell that food for a discounted price?" Camille said, changing the topic.
"Yes, but as I said, I'm a traveling merchant. I still don't know what kind of currency you have. I'm from a different country, so it's my first time coming here," I said, lying with a straight face.
"So that's why. Let me explain our currency to you," after that, Camille started to explain how currency works there.
"So you're saying 50 copper is 1 silver, and 50 silver is 1 small gold, and 5 gold is 1 big gold. 5 copper is enough to buy 1 bread, and 1 silver is enough for a commoner to live comfortably."
"Hmm, so let's say the instant ramen is 8 copper, and so with 300 citizens sick right now and needing food, it becomes 2400 copper. Turn it to silver, and it becomes 48 silver coins," I said, calculating the price of the 300 ramen packs.
"Are you sure to sell it for just 8 copper, Sir Cale?" Camille asked.
"Eh, after all, I said that I was going to give you a discount, right?"
"Yeah, I remember that," Camille said.
"Oh, Miss Camille, I want to have a store in Meroll City. Can you help me with that? If you agree, I'll give you a pack of chocolate," I said.
"Sure, but how many chocolates are in 1 pack?" Camille asked.
"It has 12 chocolates, the same size you eat," I said.
"Really? Okay, I'll tell Roderick to handle it for you," Camille said excitedly.
"Then I have to go now," I said, ready to leave.
"Why do you already leave? Did you say that it's your first time here? Do you already know where you're going?" Camille asked.
Now that I think about it, if I leave now, I don't have a safe place to summon the door. On my way back, the only safe place for now is the room I woke up in. I still don't know if Camille will let me stay.
"Now that you mention it, I still don't know where to go and what to do. Many people are sick right now, so a lot of people don't have enough money to buy something from me," I said, acting like I was thinking.
"If you want, Sir Cale, you can stay here in the mansion. If you already know what you want to do, you can leave anytime you want. How about it?" Camille said with a smile.
"Then I accept. Thank you, Lady Camille," I said, bowing.
"No need for that. Just let me buy your weird food if you have stock, okay?" Camille said with a smile.
After that, Aisha, Camille, Salie, and I started talking while I gave them some sandwiches from inside my bag, and we chatted until Roderick appeared, and bowed.
"Lady Camille, your father's letter arrived," Roderick said, handing her an envelope with the sigil of Romero on it, and after that, Roderick disappeared.
Camille started to read it with a sigh, then closed it.
"I just remembered that in the next two months, I need to leave because I'm attending the Ashford Academy," Camille said.
'Ashford? It feels like I've already heard of it. Never mind, I should ask Camille directly.'
"So, what's the Ashford Academy, Lady Camille?" I asked.
"No need to be formal, just Camille is fine. As for Ashford Academy, it's an academy that teaches all kinds of talented students 18 years old and above. You can learn swordsmanship and magic there," Camille started to explain about Ashford and its history.
In the past, Ashford was one of the powerful Duke-ranked aristocrats, but after the head of the family died, his eldest son went missing, and his second son died. After the main family of Duke Ashford was gone, the branch family got an idea to create a school where they could share all the Ashford Family Arts and magic techniques. After the king approved of it, it became the number 1 school in the whole kingdom.
After that, the duke family in the past became the number 1 school, and no one in the branch family knows where the eldest is. Even right now, they're waiting for the new head to appear, praying that someday someone with true pure blood of Ashford will appear and become the new duke.
That's all Camille said to me.