Unfortunately, The Recipe Book still didn’t show any reaction.
‘Forget it then.’
Chilling the Happy Water produced the same effect anyway.
Celia sat upon the Slime, holding a bottle of freshly made, pitch-black Happy Water in her hand.
Drinking chilled Happy Water while a cold breeze blew was nothing short of paradise.
The Slime, enhanced by the Alchemical Freezer, was not only moderately firm but also constantly emitted a low temperature.
It was pure bliss.
Elent stood to the side, wiping water stains off the floor with a rag. Every so often, he looked up at the frost-covered throne.
Thanks to the Slime’s tireless efforts, the originally muggy air inside the church had been dispelled, making it much cooler.
Even though the temperature of the room had dropped, no one would complain about a little extra coolness in this heat.
Celia noticed the Hero’s gaze and tried to lift her right leg to change her posture and show more dignity.
But she didn’t budge; her clothes were tightly adhered to the Slime’s surface.
After long-term contact with the low temperature, combined with the Slime’s natural tendency to suction when exposed to heat, Celia’s rear had physically frozen to the throne.
‘It’s broken; I can’t get up.’
If she forced herself to stand, the only outcome would be her clothes staying with the Slime while she stood in the hall with her bare legs exposed.
That sort of thing absolutely could not happen.
“Lady Priestess, aren’t you cold sitting there for so long?” Elent couldn’t help but ask. After all, a thin layer of tiny ice crystals had already formed on Celia’s eyebrows.
“This is cultivation,” Celia replied, pretending nothing was wrong. “A calm mind naturally keeps one cool. My body is cold, but my heart is not.”
“As expected of the Priestess!” Elent said with solemn respect.
Just then, the wooden doors of the church were slammed open from the outside.
*Bang!*
The Old Village Chief rushed in, drenched in sweat, carrying a figure wrapped tightly in an old blanket on his back.
“Miss Celia, help!”
The Village Chief’s voice was frantic. The figure on his back was radiating waves of heat, causing the surrounding air to ripple with distortion.
Given a Priestess’s professional ethics, she should have stood up immediately and hurried forward to check on the injured.
But reality didn’t allow for that.
Celia pressed her back more firmly against the cold back of the chair, maintained her upright sitting posture, and tilted her chin slightly toward the long table in front of her.
“Put her there.”
Her voice was cold, brief, and authoritative.
The Village Chief blinked. In his eyes, the young Priestess sat atop a frost-shrouded throne of ice, remaining as steady as a mountain even in a crisis.
She hadn’t even lifted an eyelid. This calm and unruffled demeanor did much to settle his panicked mind.
“Yes, yes!”
With Elent’s help, the Village Chief carefully laid the person from his back onto the long table and pushed it in front of Celia.
The blanket slipped off, revealing the patient inside.
It was a Young Girl who didn’t look very old. Her long silver hair was a tangled mess, and her skin was a sickly crimson.
Her eyes were tightly shut, and her breathing was rapid, each exhale carrying a scorching heat.
Celia reached out and touched the girl’s forehead.
‘So hot!’
It seemed to be more than just a fever. A violent surge of Fire Element magic was running wild inside the girl’s body like a pressure cooker about to explode.
Ordinary cooling methods wouldn’t be fast enough. This stagnant magic had to be guided out immediately.
Celia retracted her hand, her gaze falling on the armrest beneath her.
A Slime that hadn’t completely frozen solid was vibrating slightly.
‘Isn’t this a perfect tool?’
“Elent, flip her over. Back facing up,” Celia ordered.
Elent did as he was told, flipping the girl over and lifting the clothing on her back.
The girl’s smooth back was currently covered in red blotches, and the veins on either side of her spine were slightly bulging, showing an ominous purple-black color.
Celia reached out and gave a forceful tug.
Pop.
With the crisp sound of mucus separating, a glob of translucent, ice-blue jelly was yanked from the main body.
The Slime struggled violently in Celia’s palm, still emitting a cold mist.
Celia aimed the cold Slime at the girl’s back and pressed it down.
Extreme cold met extreme heat, triggering a cloud of white mist.
The moment the Slime touched the burning skin, its originally rounded body began to shrink, and its base suctioned tightly to the edges of the skin.
The unconscious girl let out a muffled groan.
It was working.
Celia didn’t stop, plucking more slimes from her throne and pressing them one by one onto the girl’s back.
Elent and the Village Chief stood to the side, watching the scene with wide eyes.
Several round Slimes were suctioned onto the girl’s back. This method of treatment was unheard of, appearing both eerie and somewhat ridiculous.
After only three seconds, the originally ice-blue slimes began to turn murky.
Wisps of purple-black mist seeped through the pores and were greedily devoured by the slimes.
The slimes began to swell, their color rapidly turning a deep purple, and they throbbed rhythmically like a heart under the intense heat.
The crimson on the girl’s back began to fade, and her breathing gradually stabilized.
“What… what kind of divine art is this?” the Village Chief asked tremulously.
Celia let go, some Slime residue still clinging to her fingertips.
“An ancient method, Elemental Guidance,” Celia made up an answer on the spot.
The last Slime, having reached its limit after gorging on magic, could take no more.
*Pop!*
With a sharp sound, the purple Slime flew off, tracing a parabola through the air before hitting Elent square in the face.
“Ugh!” Elent scrambled to pull the glob of sulfur-smelling slime off his face.
On the table, the girl’s eyelashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes. Her vision shifted from blurry to clear.
The first thing she saw was a flurry of white mist floating through the air, and then, a figure visible through the frost.
That person sat high upon a crystal-clear frozen throne, looking down at her with a cold, indifferent expression.
There wasn’t a single ripple of emotion in those emerald eyes, as if everything in the world was nothing more than dust to her.
And around that person, several wriggling purple monsters were scattered.
‘Where is this? And who is the person in front of me!’
The girl’s pupils suddenly constricted, a flash of wariness and awe appearing in her heterochromatic eyes.
‘Could this be the legendary… Witch who lives in seclusion in the frozen lands…?’
Looking at the awakened girl, Celia felt a surge of relief.
‘Finally, it’s settled.’
However…
Celia secretly tried to shift her hips.
‘I still can’t move.’
Thus, under the girl’s watchful gaze, this “Witch” maintained her haughty sitting posture and spoke coldly.
“Now that you’re awake, pay the medical fee.”
“That will be 100 gold coins.”
‘This child looks like she has quite a bit of money; the gem hanging from her neck looks expensive at a glance.’
Besides, if they had encountered an ordinary Priestess, they might not have been able to treat her.
‘She’s lucky she ran into me. After I put in so much effort to save her, asking for 100 gold coins isn’t too much, right?’
“100… gold coins?”
Hearing the number, the girl stared at Celia in a daze. Then, under Celia’s expectant gaze, two streaks of tears began to fall.
“Um… that…”
“Can I pay in installments? Like, over 100 years?”
“Huh?”
You are way too greedy.