Owen walked to a patch of the garden, dug around a bit, and found a few fresh potatoes.
These will do just fine.
Guaranteed to be a hit once they try them.
He quickly peeled, sliced, heated the oil, and fried the potatoes. With the help of his automated system, two plates of deliciously fragrant fries were soon ready.
"Here you go," he said, squeezing some of his homemade ketchup onto the plates.
The freshly fried fries gave off a mouth-watering aroma.
The two sisters swallowed hard.
"Even the food is filled with mana!" Flora was already too shocked to process it all. "But Master Owen is so thoughtful—he must have cut them into small strips to make sure we don't get overwhelmed by the mana if we eat too much."
"One small piece at a time is just the right amount of mana to replenish us without harming our bodies."
"Master Owen really is... such a kind person!"
Alice, more straightforward, asked, "Mr. Owen, your cooking skills are amazing. What is this fragrant food? I've never seen anything like it."
"These are called French fries," Owen explained. "They're just potatoes sliced and fried. They're a high-calorie food that kids really like."
Alice didn't know what "high-calorie" meant, but she assumed it must mean "high in magical power."
As for the "potatoes," they must have been those magical round foods Owen had dug up from the backyard, still covered in dirt.
Alice interpreted the name "potatoes" as "magic beans that grow in the earth."
"Are you sure we can eat this?" Flora asked cautiously. "Such a precious thing?"
"Of course, eat up. Don't let yourselves get too hungry," Owen replied, thinking these local girls were really polite—and quite complimentary. They were treating something as common as French fries as if it were a treasure.
No longer hesitating, the sisters gingerly picked up a fry, dipped it in the bright red ketchup, and took a bite, following Owen's suggestion.
The moment Flora tasted the first bite, her eyes widened, her entire being overwhelmed by the indescribable flavor.
"Is... is this food even real?" She couldn't believe that something this delicious could exist. Every cell in her body seemed to cheer, urging her to eat more.
"It's too good!" Alice was much more direct, eating one fry after another without stopping. "I'm going to cry! Why is this so delicious? What have I been eating for the past sixteen years? I've been living a wasted life!"
Tears streamed down her face.
Flora couldn't even speak anymore, her heart filled with gratitude.
Thank you, Master Owen!
More than anything, eating these fries made her feel like life was worth living.
Owen smiled as he watched them devour the fries like hungry wolves.
"Take your time, no need to rush," he said. "These are easy to make."
Seeing how much they enjoyed the food gave Owen a sense of satisfaction.
But… wasn't this a bit over the top?
Watching the sisters cry and eat, even fighting over the last fry, Owen couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
"How long have you two been starving?" Owen thought sympathetically. "Poor girls, driven to this state by hunger... Hey, hey, no pulling each other's hair!"
The fries were soon gone, leaving the sisters with full stomachs and satisfied smiles.
They felt so full.
So happy!
Life was good!
At that moment, both sisters felt a powerful surge of energy well up inside them.
The mana from the fries had been fully absorbed.
Their mana cores began to operate wildly.
"Ahhh, I... I can't take it!" Flora let out a small scream as her hair started to float, surrounded by a soft glow.
That glow formed into rings of light that encircled her.
Flora's level shot up from zero to Tier-1 Full.
"I've awakened magical powers!" Flora was overjoyed. "This is amazing! I'm now a Tier-1 mage!"
In this world, mages are divided into eight tiers, each divided into three sublevels: Base, Mid, and Full.
For an ordinary mage, even advancing by one small sublevel is incredibly difficult.
Yet, just from eating a plate of fries, Flora, who had only just awakened her mana core, had been boosted directly to Tier-1 Full.
Such an upgrade speed was practically unheard of.
"Hahaha, I've leveled up too, sis! I feel so strong!" Alice jumped off her chair, feeling her newfound strength. If she encountered those mercenaries again, she would definitely knock them flat.
Unlike Flora, Alice's body had become more toned and muscular, exuding a sense of power with every movement.
This was the physical manifestation of a warrior leveling up.
Like her sister, Alice had gone from zero to Tier-1 Full.
Alice tested her strength by moving her arms and legs, her movements so fast they left afterimages. She threw a punch into the air, and the rock outside the door emitted a dull sound in response.
"Wow, I'm so sorry, Mr. Owen!" Alice gasped in surprise. "I didn't mean to damage your rock."
"No problem…" Owen replied, beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he looked at the fist-shaped dent in the rock.
The locals in this world were really strange.
They acted weird when eating and even weirder after.
Oh well, maybe this was just the local culture. Looks like I need to spend more time interacting with the locals to understand this world better.
The sisters exchanged glances.
They had both come to the same conclusion.
This power boost was definitely because of Master Owen's fries!
"Thank you!" Flora dropped to her knees in front of Owen with deep respect. "You are our eternal benefactor. We will never forget the favor you've done us."
In her excitement, she almost blurted out "Thank you, Master!" but quickly corrected herself when she noticed the cat tail slipping past the bar.
"Thank you, Mr. Owen!" Alice knelt as well, knocking her head on the floor a few times in gratitude. "Mr. Owen, I know you may not need it, but if there's anyone you dislike, I'll go beat them up for you!"
"Huh? It's just a plate of fries! You're overreacting a bit." Owen was once again bewildered by the sisters' behavior.
This level of gratitude was making him feel both embarrassed and awkward.
"No, this was more than just food!" Flora said firmly. "We've received your grace, and we have nothing to repay you with. Please accept this humble gift as a token of our thanks."
She carefully pulled a golden badge from her pocket.
Alice's eyes widened in surprise.
That was their family's badge, a symbol of their identity!
But Flora was resolute.
No matter how precious, material things were just objects. What Owen had given them was real power—the awakening of their mana cores and the chance to become a Tier-1 mage. For something like that, she would gladly give her life, let alone a mere badge.
She never wanted to go back to the days when she and her sister were helplessly bullied.
"This must be valuable, but it's just fries. You don't have to give me something like that," Owen tried to refuse.
"I truly want to give this to you," Flora pleaded. "Mr. Owen, you don't realize how your simple act has saved our lives and given us a new beginning."
Isn't that a bit dramatic?
Owen felt a tingle of anxiety under Flora's intense gaze.
"Alright, alright, I'll accept it," Owen finally agreed, taking the badge.
He was worried that if he didn't, the sisters might come up with even more outrageous ways to express their gratitude.
"But honestly, fries aren't anything special," Owen said. "If you liked them, I can make more. Take some with you for the road."
The two girls were left speechless.
Such a precious magical food would be snatched up instantly at an auction. Even if priced at a million gold coins per fry, grand mages would fight over it.
And yet, Mr. Owen was giving them two bags for free!
Mr. Owen truly was the kindest soul.