"Young Master, the farthest distance only reaches about twenty kilometers." Ben said helplessly.
"Twenty kilometers?" Lucas frowned. This distance did not satisfy him. What he wanted were carrier pigeons that could travel at least a hundred or even two hundred kilometers. Twenty kilometers might seem far on foot, but when flying, it was very short.
"If they go any farther, the pigeons can't find their way home. Some take a whole day to return, and the slowest ones take up to three days." Ben reported.
"Uncle Ben, have you had breakfast yet?" Lucas raised an eyebrow, pondering what could be causing the issue. For a distance of just twenty kilometers, the pigeons taking so long to return seemed unusual.
"Not yet," Ben was momentarily stunned before responding, "I just came from the pigeon loft."
"Let's go, have some breakfast first. We'll talk after eating." Lucas stepped toward the dining hall, his mind replaying the training materials for carrier pigeons, wondering what he had overlooked.
"Yes." Ben nodded and immediately followed.
"..." Mina's blue eyes flickered. She knew about the carrier pigeons—Young Master wanted to train obedient birds to quickly transmit messages over great distances, like a hundred-mile flying courier.
"Carrier pigeons? What's that?" Catherine was momentarily stunned. Yet another new term! She had never heard of such a thing before.
"No idea. Let's listen in and find out." Dahlia grabbed Catherine's hand and pulled her along. She was already used to it—Sedona City was full of new words like boxing, pizza, steamed buns, hockey, and more.
They had to see the actual objects or have someone specifically explain them before they could understand what these new words meant. Otherwise, just hearing the names left them completely confused.
"Ayesha, you're sneaking food again! Young Master hasn't arrived yet!" Annie's adorable, exasperated voice echoed from the dining hall.
"What's the big deal? I just took a tiny, tiny, tiny bite." Ayesha stretched out her words, acting shamelessly.
"You…! Big cow, you've changed! You've turned into a shameless cow!" Annie shouted in frustration.
Lucas couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. The beast-eared girls never seemed to tire of playing around every day.
Pushing open the dining hall door, he stepped inside.
"Creak…"
The sound of the door opening brought silence to the lively dining hall. Everyone turned toward the entrance, and upon seeing Lucas, they greeted him cheerfully.
"Good morning, Young Master!" Annie, Ayesha, and Nicole called out in unison.
"Morning. Sorry to keep you waiting." Lucas said warmly as he walked to the main seat and gestured for everyone to sit.
Nicole waved at Catherine and Dahlia, signaling them to sit beside her. Among the people in the castle, she was the one they were most familiar with.
Once everyone was seated, breakfast was served—noodle soup topped with chopped scallions and large chunks of braised meat. Those who liked spice could add a bit of red chili oil.
"Slurp~~"
The sound of noodles being slurped filled the dining hall, followed by the rich aroma of bone broth. A sip of the slow-cooked broth warmed the body from the inside out, making it almost addictive.
"Delicious!" Ayesha exclaimed excitedly, slurping down mouthfuls of noodles. She quickly finished the soup in her bowl with a few loud gulps before eagerly picking up a second serving.
The horned girl had loved noodles ever since Lucas cooked them for her on the ship. From that moment on, noodles became her favorite food.
"This is so good!" Catherine mumbled with her mouth full, one hand rubbing her stomach while the other continued shoveling noodles into her mouth non-stop.
"Hey, hey! Slow down! Be careful, or your stomach won't be able to handle it," Dahlia warned, tugging on Catherine's ear. "Don't say I didn't warn you—imagine embarrassing yourself in front of Lord Lucas!"
"Dahlia, it's really delicious! You have to try it!" Catherine clumsily picked up some noodles with her chopsticks and shoved them into Dahlia's mouth.
"..." Dahlia froze for a moment, then slowly chewed and swallowed. Without a word, she pulled Catherine's bowl toward herself, snatched the chopsticks from her hand, and started eating at lightning speed.
"Hey, you—!" Catherine's eyes widened in shock. She pouted, glancing at the other noodle bowls on the table. She wanted to eat more, but her stomach just wouldn't cooperate.
"What's wrong? Does it not taste good?" Nicole licked the corner of her lips and looked at Catherine curiously. "Or are you not feeling well?"
"M-me?" Catherine's cheeks turned slightly red. She leaned close to Nicole's ear and whispered, acting a little coy, "Nicole, I already had steamed buns this morning… My stomach can't fit any more."
"Hehe…" Nicole covered her mouth and chuckled softly. She leaned in as well and whispered back, "Next time you want some, I'll make it for you."
"Really?" Catherine's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Mm-hmm." Nicole nodded gently with a warm smile.
...
Twenty minutes later, the battle at the dining table finally came to an end. Nicole waved for the maids to clean up the empty bowls, leaving behind a group of people slumped in their seats, rubbing their full stomachs.
Lucas leaned back slightly, resting a hand on his stomach. Lazily tapping his index finger in the air, he asked, "Which types of birds are currently being used as carrier pigeons? And which ones return the fastest?"
"Young Master, we currently have three types of birds. The fastest to return is the Mooncoo." Ben immediately replied.
Lucas was familiar with this bird—it was unique to this era. It had a very gentle temperament and was about twice the size of an Earth pigeon. Most of its feathers were gray with small white spots, but its most distinctive feature was the white patch on its head, which was how it got its name.
"The slowest returning carrier pigeons—none of them are Mooncoo, right?" Lucas asked.
"No, they all returned with the first batch." Ben confirmed.
Lucas nodded thoughtfully before asking another question. "What are the carrier pigeons being fed?"
"Just wheat." Ben replied.
"Feeding only wheat isn't good enough. It won't create a strong enough incentive for the pigeons to return home." Lucas shook his head.
Now he was certain—the slowest birds to return were most likely trying to escape. However, since it was winter and food was scarce outside, they had no choice but to return to the castle after three days.
If those birds ever found food elsewhere, they would surely follow their instincts and escape. That's why Lucas came up with a plan—to spoil their taste buds. It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go back. Even birds are no exception.
"Please instruct me, Young Master." Ben said seriously. He had grown quite fond of raising carrier pigeons.
"Use food to tempt them," Lucas said with a light smile. "Find out what they love the most, feed them that for a few days, and then test their message-carrying range again.
Mix different kinds of food and compare which one they prefer. Once they get used to the best food, if they fly out and realize the food outside isn't as good as what they get at the castle, they'll definitely come back."
"This…" Ben was stunned. He had never thought of this approach. He had assumed that pigeons would return to Sedona City in winter simply because food was scarce—but spoiling their taste to make them willingly come back? That was a whole new level of strategy.
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