Quinn

A few moments later, we were out of the health clinic and up to the rooftop terrace on the common building. Here, as we headed toward one of the outdoor dining tables, I saw Jonah, Leo, Max, and Josh, the foursome who had always hung out together and ran amok in the lodge.

Apparently, it was already decided who was the leader among them, which was naturally Jonah. Between them, they had also decided who'd take what job when they grew up to protect Norsewood. Jonah would follow in his father's footsteps and become the ultimate warrior and lord of the land whereas Leo, like his father, Mark, would be second in charge. As for Max and Josh, Max would be the admin man while Josh would be the captain of soldiers, much like his father, Connor Carter.

I felt their gazes on me, and the moment I was close, they jumped off their seats. I wondered why they weren't running around and playing sword fighting like they usually did at this hour of the day after their classes. Then again, their disheveled appearance told me that they were already exhausted from running amok.

"Hello, boys," I said. "Already tired from playing your sword fighting?"

They looked at each other, appearing to be rather... nervous?

Jonah cleared his throat and then said, "Uh, yes, we're... tired and, uh, hungry."

I ran my gaze over them, noting the messy hair and rumpled clothing. There was some sort of dark soot like dirt covering them, too. Not to mention small rips here and there on their clothes.

I said, "You boys are playing too rough." I shook my head. "What would your parents say?"

"You are my parent," Jonah retorted.

Oh... Yes, he was right, wasn't he? I had momentarily forgotten that I was one, that I was his parent, his stepmother. And to be frank, I had no clue what to do in this case. Was I allowed to reprimand him? I didn't know. I was vastly inexperienced in that arena, after all. But there was always one thing I could do in this case as a parent, and that was to feed them.

I said, "You said you're hungry?"

They all nodded eagerly.

Well, it was to be expected. They were growing boys, and growing boys were always hungry and ate a lot. More so especially if they were Norsewood boys. For one to grow to the size of Aldric, one would have to eat a lot.

Come to think of it, we didn't really have any morning or afternoon tea here, did we? That little snack between meals helps to ward off that hunger feeling I was currently having.

I said, "Then let's have something to eat."

They cheered excitedly. Food always perked them up.

Soon, everyone, including the Etons, sat around the table, and I summoned my magic circle. Within an instant, nine bowls of noodle soup materialized in front of us, along with chopsticks and Chinese spoons.

"Whoa!" Jonah expressed. "It's noodles in a broth."

Ah, he knew this was noodles. It was probably because he thought any food that was thin and long like that was called noodles, as he had had mie goreng the other night.

"What is it?" Leo asked. "What's noodles?"

"What's this thing for?" Max asked, picking up the chopsticks.

"My lady?"

I turned to look over my shoulder to see Gladys, Irene, and Grandma Liz. Oh, dear. It appeared Gladys and Irene's noses were particularly sensitive, especially when it came to me conjuring new food. They seemed to have the knack at catching me in the nick of time. And of course, Grandma Liz just had to be with them. Considering that she was a close family friend of Gladys', them being together now and again shouldn't surprise me.

Grandma Liz came scurrying over to me and took my hands into hers. "My lady," she said. "How have you been today? The horrible Norsewood weather doesn't bother you too much? My, but you're wearing awfully thin garments. Please, you must don on a jacket. I'm happy to offer mine."

I shook my head. "No. No. I'm fine, Grandma Liz." Even though we were outdoors, technically speaking, we were still indoors because of the glass dome roof arching over the entire complex of the lodge. Besides, it was always comfortably warm in here.

"My, what interesting-looking food," Gladys said, eyeing my bowl. "What is it, my lady?"

I held in my urge to chuckle. That was Gladys, all right. Every time I conjured new dishes, she'd eagerly show interest and want a taste. No, not just a taste, but rather, to devour and savor every bit of it. But of course, she wouldn't say it outright because she thought it'd be too ill-mannered.

Since I simply wanted to dig right into my pho, I said, "Why don't you take a seat, Gladys, Irene, Grandma Liz? Let's eat together."

"Really, my lady?" Gladys asked.

"Yes, really," I said.

"Are we dining with my lady?" Grandma Liz asked, her eyes sparkling at the prospect.

Irene said, "Sometimes, my lady magically makes new dishes, and we're allowed to taste them with her."

"Oh!" Grandma Liz said. "Then this dish has never been eaten in Norsewood before?"

Gladys said, "That is correct. My, but I've never seen such a dish before, long strings of white food thing in a clear broth with balls and slices of what looks like meat, and it smells divine."

"Does that mean we have the honor of tasting this very dish first with her ladyship?" Grandma Liz asked, her eyes large at that realization.

"Yes, indeed," Irene said. "Now quick, let us be seated."

Hence, the three eagerly made themselves comfortable, filling up the long table, squeezing the boys closer together. I summoned my magic circle and three more bowls of pho materialized.

From the other side, Rory asked, "Is this one of the dishes in a mom-and-pop restaurant that you mentioned, my lady?"

I nodded. "Yes and no. This dish is in high-end restaurants, too, but it's the best when it's a mom-and-pop's one. It's rice noodle soup. The soup is made of chicken and other secret ingredients. There are pork meatballs and slices of chicken meat and beef briskets in there as well as the rice noodles." Picking up the chopsticks and spoon, I said, "Let's dig in."

Since I had been craving pho for so long, I eagerly scooped some soup into the spoon and then tasted. "Mmmm..." With the full depth of flavor and the aromatic freshness, it was simply divine.

The moment I tasted it, it took me back to Vietnam, to the scene of lush greens and fields of rice paddies against the backdrop of mountains in the distance. It was just... beautiful and serene and peaceful. Next, I tried the noodles, and I even slurped in the process.

"I've missed this so much." I sighed and closed my eyes, just enjoying the moment. When I fluttered my eyes open again, I noticed that everyone was looking at me.

"So that's how you eat it," Josh said and then picked up his chopsticks, too.

"It's easy," Jonah said. Then he demonstrated and expertly picked up noodles with his chopsticks, which pleasantly surprised me. He had mastered the use of chopsticks, as he had declared a week ago.

I chuckled. "Well done, Jonah."

He raised his head and said, his eyes wide, "It's so good."

The others hesitantly started trying the noodle soup, too, quite carefully because they had never used chopsticks before, with noodles and soup escaping here and there. Grandma Liz was especially a mess, but that did not deter her from consuming her very first bowl of noodle soup. With her face stuck close to the bowl, she slurped the soup and noodles at the same time.

Gemma said, "This soup is divine, my lady."

"I've never tasted anything like this before," Hunter said. "It's so flavorful and fresh and light. I could eat this every day."

Rory looked stunned as he tried the soup, slurping the few strands of noodles he managed to get into his mouth with the chopsticks. He said, "My lady, this is rice? You said it's rice noodles. But how?"

I said, "Yes, it is rice noodles, as for how it is turned into noodles, there's a method."

"I love these rice noodles," Jonah declared.

"Me, too," Leo said.

"Me, three," Josh said.

"Me, four," Max said, popping a pork meatball into his mouth.

"Me, five," Hunter said, chuckling.

"And me, six," Hayden said, slurping more noodles.

Grandma Liz finally raised her head. With her eyes closed, she sighed, a grin on her face. "That was... delicious. I've never had anything like that before. It's warm and hearty yet light at the same time. Reminds me of... home."

Irene nodded. "Where it's warm and loved."

It appeared the introduction of rice noodle soup was successful.

"Will we be incorporating this dish into our menu, my lady?" Gladys asked.

I shook my head. "Unfortunately, no, as making the soup alone requires expertise and a lot of time. I believe a chef has to simmer the broth, especially if it's a beef bone one, in low heat for at least twelve hours."

"That long?" Gladys asked.

"Yes," I said. "Which is why it is so well-loved."

About fifteen minutes later, after we cleaned up and Gladys, Irene, and Grandma Liz returned to their duties and the Etons to their units, I was outside the dining hall in the residential area, surrounded by little ones, including Jonah and his friends.

With my magic glowing, causing a lot of oohs and aahs, five vending machines materialized. They were not the proper vending machines like the ones back on Earth. Rather, these were simply a flat screen, because they were magic.

Turning around, I said, "Who wants snacks?"

"Midnight snack?" Jonah asked. "But it's not midnight."

"What's a snack?" Leo asked.

"It's food that you eat between big meals, like between lunch and dinner or breakfast and lunch," I said.

"Or when you're hungry at night," Jonah said. "It's called a midnight snack."

"I want snacks." A boy raised his hand. "I'm always hungry now."

I guessed he meant he was always hungry around this time.

Jonah said, "But where's the food and what are those?"

I touched one of the vending machines and said, "This is the Vicky Vending Machine. See these slots of pictures here?" I point to the photos of all the fruits available on the screen. "These are fruits from where I came from. They are absolutely delicious."

Jonah leaned in and read a few. "Apple, pear, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry. We know those. We have them as desserts in puddings and puffs." He frowned. "Rambutan? It looks... hairy. Cherry? Why is it that color? What's a mango? I've never seen fruit so yellow before. Jackfruit? Isn't Jack a person's name? Why is there some fruit with a person's name?"

"They're all fruits, Jonah, and some of them, you have to peel the skin off, like the rambutan, mango, banana, and logan."

I guessed I didn't have to bore him with facts that the name jackfruit was derived from the term jaca in Portuguese, which in turn derived from the Malayalam language term chakka, because jackfruit was originated in southern India, as well as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and the Philippines, which was then spread to all of Southeast Asia.

A girl put her hand up. "I want to try the mango. Can I?"

"Of course, you can. But first, I have to show you how to ask Vicky to give you the fruit." I summoned my magic circle and a card materialized. "Everyone will get a card. It's a point card. Now, every morning, you'll automatically get two points in the card. One point will give you three different types of fruits, so I suggest you use one point for the morning snack and the other for the afternoon, like right now." I turned to Jonah and handed him the card. "This is yours."

He widened his eyes. "I get one, too?"

"Of course," I said. "Now, seeing you're still slightly hungry, even after that bowl of noodle soup, why don't you be the first and show the others how to ask the Vicky Vending Machine for some snacks?"

"How do I do that?" he asked.

I instructed him. "First, insert the card in through here." I pointed to the little slot, and he pushed the card in. "Next, you touch on the button of the fruit you'd like to eat."

The boy tilted his head to one side and said, "Well, I do want to see how hairy this rambutan thing is." He touched his fingertip on that one. "Next one is this one." He pushed on the cherry. "And this one." He pushed on the lychee. All red-colored fruits, eh? Instantly, a cup-sized paper bowl materialized, along with the fruits in it.

"Whoa!" Max expressed. "Look at the fruit. That red bunch is so hairy."

After retrieving his card, Jonah picked up his bowl of fruit, looking pleased as punch.

I said, "You have to peel the rambutan and lychee to eat, Jonah."

"I know," he said. "Because the picture tells you so."

I flicked my gaze to the photos of the fruits. The pictures showed both the fruits with and without their skin on when they needed peeling.

"Who's next?" I said, and all hands were raised. Hence, I spent the next hour creating point cards and helping the children get their snacks, and soon, the parents joined in, too. There was a lot of eyes widening in shocked surprise at how delicious and sweet the juicy fruit was.