With a grin, Zero made a rustling sound as he squirmed in my hand.

“Yes, quite impressive.”

‘Playing hard to get…’

“Anyway, what do we do now?”

Everyone perked up their ears at the words of the small hamster god, waiting for what I would say.

Receiving the attention of many people made my stomach churn a bit.

Successfully narrowing down the culprit to a sorcerer, but beyond that, we couldn’t know, so it seemed like we had to find out by heading into it blindly.

I folded my fingers and slowly spoke about the things that needed to be done.
“We need to cast a barrier to prevent zombies from going outside beyond the city walls. Also, it’s necessary to gradually reclaim parts of the city’s land. The most important thing is to inform the outside world. We have to spread the news that zombies have appeared and find people who will fight alongside us.”

Upon informing them of various tasks, Mihael couldn’t bear it and tried to leave the reception room.

“I’ll immediately bring the people from the doomed temple.”

I grabbed him.

“Whoa, whoa, Mihael. Hold on. While I also find the people from the temple annoying, they’ve been gone for quite a while. Instead of recklessly searching for them, it’s more reasonable to deal with what we can right away.”

“…Right.”

“So let’s start with the most important thing.”

As I grinned, Aston asked, “What’s the most important thing, Duchess?”

“That is…,” I said vaguely while taking something out of my inventory.

It was the ‘Anais’s Blessed Jar’ that I obtained as a quest reward.

…?

People were puzzled by the appearance of the ugly and oversized jar.

“What do you want to do with that?”

When Roos asked, instead of answering, I put a piece of bread into the jar.

“Watch.”

As I swirled the jar a few times, the piece of bread inside doubled.

“Unbelievable.”

Jacqueline covered her mouth in surprise.

“This jar contains moisture. It has the effect of doubling the food you put in it.”

“Where did you get such a precious jar?”

In response to Cloud’s question, I answered sincerely, “It’s a reward given to me by the hamster god who watches over me, in return for supplying food to Duchess Kitten.”

“Wow…”

The impressed gazes of people were focused on Zero.

‘Haha. It’s not like Zero just gave it willingly; he asked for snacks as he came out between the zombies.’

Although small, in the special position of being a god, and to some extent, allowing me to use a unique and wonderful ability, people’s hearts seemed to lean toward Zero.

“Can we call you Mr. Zero?”

“Should I offer a sacrifice? Helping Duchess Kitten and protecting us, shouldn’t we do at least this much?”

“Do you like sweet things? Oh, can a hamster eat sweet things without getting sick?”

Bubble, bubble. Bustle, bustle.

“Ugh… Uh… Don’t pay too much attention to me! If you have questions, ask through the chosen saint I’ve designated, Elizabeth!”

Overwhelmed by too much attention, the disoriented Zero escaped from my hand to hide behind me.

At this rate, it’s unclear who the guardian is.

I chuckled and put Zero back on my shoulder, showing the moisture while saying, “Let’s fill our stomachs first. As a small welcome party for those who have survived.”

A party!

The sound of saliva collecting in the mouths of the survivors, who had been tense all along, was heard.

“Let’s think about what to do next while enjoying delicious food.”

“…Sounds good!”

Mihael, Roos, and I put all the food we collected into the moisture. When we took it out, we had a truly abundant food warehouse.

“Thank you, Duchess! And Mr. Mihael and the magician as well.”

“Oh, and Mr. Zero too! Thanks to him, we won’t go hungry. Thank you.”

“No, it’s nothing special…”

Even the gruff Zero turned into a well-behaved hamster in front of praise.

“Hmm, hmm. It would be nice to repay the gratitude by making delicious treats.”

“Oh, of course! I’ll make them deliciously sweet.”

“You’re a good human. Remember that!”

The worried faces of the kitchen staff, who had been gradually piling up concerns about the food storage that was starting to show the floor, brightened.

“Moreover, it seems that the preparation of meals for the increased number of people will not be difficult since other servants from different families who used to work in the kitchen have also joined.”

The head chef boasted confidently that I would show off my skills.

Indeed, for the dinner lineup, there was a splendid array of roasted turkey, pumpkin soup, a sandwich packed with thin ham, eggs, cheese, and lettuce, and pasta cooked rich and spicy.