Returning to the Church, it was already the next day.
As expected, going out once in a while is fine, but doing it too much is pure torture.
The phrase “tired from travel” truly wasn’t made up for nothing.
There’s nothing more comfortable than your own home.
“Lady Celia, you’re back!”
Lynn ran out from the Church and dove straight into Celia’s arms.
Celia reached out and ruffled Lynn’s soft hair. The feeling was quite nice.
“Mm, I’m back. Nothing happened these past two days, right?”
“No, no, everything’s fine.” Lynn shook her head.
Elent followed them off the carriage, clutching that mysterious Recipe Book, his whole being brimming with excitement, looking eager to give it a try.
“Priestess, there’s no time to lose. Let’s head to the Black Forest tonight to find some Glowing Mushrooms!”
Young people sure are full of energy.
“Wait a second.” Celia called out to him.
Elent stopped in his tracks, turning back with a confused look.
“Since Glowing Mushrooms only appear at night, what’s the rush now?”
“Let’s enjoy life first.”
Elent thought about it, realized Celia made a good point, and nodded in agreement.
Celia took out the Red Sun Fruit she bought in Baker City, picked out the biggest and reddest one, and handed it to Lynn.
“You’ve worked hard, Lynn. This is a specialty of Baker City, give it a try.”
Lynn took it and bit off a huge chunk. The flesh was crisp, and a sweet juice gushed out.
“So sweet!” Lynn’s eyes narrowed into slits.
Watching her look so satisfied, Celia suddenly had an idea.
There were so many Red Sun Fruits, it would be a shame to just eat them like this.
If she made them into jam to spread on bread, they could enjoy it for quite a while.
“Let’s make jam,” she announced.
With that, she marched into the kitchen, looking full of confidence.
The process of making jam, at least in theory, she understood well. Cut the fruit, add sugar, add water, boil.
Celia had watched so many Short Videos; she could recite the steps with her eyes closed.
Soon, the clattering of pots and pans rang out from the kitchen. Celia stared at the row of spice jars, debating for a long time between salt and sugar. Finally, she trusted her instincts and grabbed a handful of sparkling white powder, tossing it into the pot.
A salty smell wafted out.
Not good!
Celia frantically tried to scoop out the salt, nearly burning the whole pot in the process.
In the end, Lynn couldn’t bear to watch any longer.
“Lady Celia, let me do it.”
Not long after, a sweet and sour aroma floated out from the kitchen, quickly covering up the burnt smell from earlier.
The afternoon sun shone warmly on their bodies. In the backyard, Celia had already sunk into her reclining chair, eyes half-closed, her whole being as lazy as a puddle of mud.
Elent was stretching nearby. The new strength within him was a little hard to control, and he was itching to put it to use.
He caught sight of the sheets hanging on the clothesline and suddenly had an idea.
“Priestess, I’ll use wind to dry them!” Elent called out excitedly.
He then closed his eyes and tried to sense the movement of the air. Moments later, a gust of wind arose out of nowhere.
The wind was much stronger than he expected.
The sheets on the line flapped loudly, and even a Priestess Robe Celia had just hung up didn’t escape—it was swept up into the sky and landed on the tip of the Cross atop the Church’s roof.
The surroundings fell silent at once.
Celia opened her eyes and looked at the white robe swaying in the wind, then shifted her gaze to Elent’s face.
He looked thoroughly embarrassed, as if he wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it.
“Sigh.”
“Seems like you have nowhere to use your strength.” Celia sat up and pointed to a patch of freshly turned soil nearby.
“Perfect, pull up the weeds in that patch and water it.”
For the next hour, Elent became the laborer of the backyard.
Celia reclined back into her chair, sipping the tea Lynn had brewed, and watched Elent work.
Celia finally understood why her former boss in her past life liked watching others work. Honestly, it feels great!
Elent did the work with great care. This bit of farmwork was nothing to him; in fact, he thought it was even better for training his control than simply swinging a sword.
After finishing, Elent felt like his body had only just warmed up and was desperate to burn off more energy.
“Priestess, why don’t we have a spar? That way I’ll be better prepared when we head to the Black Forest tonight.”
Celia took a sip of tea.
“No.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“The Priestess’s meditation time is a sacred moment for communicating with the divine. It cannot be disturbed.”
Celia’s real meaning: Don’t bother her.
But Elent didn’t pick up on that. Instead, he was awed by her explanation. He didn’t quite understand, but it sounded amazing, so he dropped the subject.
“Then what should I do?”
“Go chop some firewood. Think of it as arm training,” Celia said, pointing casually.
“Yes, ma’am!”
Elent accepted his assignment and left. Soon, rhythmic sounds of chopping wood echoed from the backyard.
Lynn came over carrying a small jar of jam and a few slices of bread, placing them on the little table beside Celia.
The golden dusk light painted the yard orange.
Celia leaned in her chair, dipping bread into the jam, while Elent worked up a sweat not far away, and Lynn sat on a small stool nearby mending clothes.
This is the peaceful rural life!
Night fell, and Elent finished splitting the last log, walking over to Celia.
“Priestess, it’s dark. Shouldn’t we head out now?”
“Go on, be careful.” Celia waved her hand dismissively.
“Alright!”
Elent replied, then turned to leave. After two steps, he stopped and turned back with a puzzled look.
“Um, Priestess, aren’t you coming with us?”
In Elent’s mind, this was only natural. They were a team, with the same goals, so they should act together.
Celia paused, her teacup halfway to her lips.
Go to the Black Forest? At night? Pitch dark, who knows what’s out there in the woods, plus the mosquitoes. Wouldn’t lying in bed be far more pleasant?
“I’m a Priestess. My duty is to pray in the rear.”
Celia replied with perfect confidence.
“But, the Black Forest is dangerous.”
“You’re a Hero Candidate, and I’m a Priestess who couldn’t even truss a chicken.”
“If I went, wouldn’t I just be holding you back? You’ll be more agile on your own.”
Celia declared the facts with a perfectly straight face.
Couldn’t even truss a chicken?
Elent recalled that blinding spell that nearly left a rabbit permanently blind, then remembered the miracle of summoning a half-man-high carrot out of thin air.
The words at the tip of his tongue were swallowed back.
This Priestess seems to have a strange misunderstanding about her own abilities.
“Leave the professional work to professionals. You’re the adventurer; you go out and complete the mission. I’m in charge of logistics and staying behind to provide spiritual support. Clear division of labor is efficient, understand?”
She’d heard this a thousand times in her previous life. Now, saying it herself, it rolled off the tongue.
Elent nodded half-believing, half-doubting. It sounded reasonable, but something felt off.
“Go on, I believe in you.” Celia patted Elent’s shoulder, her tone radiating a boss’s deep trust in their subordinate.
“I’ll pray for you at the Church. Saint Celery be with you.”
Having drawn this big pie in front of Elent, Celia turned and walked back into the Church.
Go to the Black Forest? No way.
Just hearing the name, you can tell it’s dark and damp, probably crawling with mosquitoes and who knows what snakes or bugs on the ground.
Wouldn’t it be much better to lie in the backyard, sunbathing and drinking tea?
Finally living the retired life—who’d want to take on extra work?
Celia walked into her room and dove straight onto the bed, rolling around.