Days without the Hero felt as if time were passing exceptionally slowly.
Celia lay on her chair; the Happy Water in her hand had already lost its carbonation, turning into a bottle of warm sugar water.
Nasty.
Celia stared at the sky, her heart constantly preoccupied with Elent.
‘Already so much time has passed… surely the Hero is all right? He wouldn’t have gotten lost in the Black Forest, right?’
Just as Celia lay on her chair filled with worry, a commotion drifted from a distance.
“Lady Celia, I’m back!”
The Church doors were pushed open, and Lynn walked in carrying a basket of fresh vegetables.
“Miss Yuna’s side just finished up, so I rushed back as fast as I could.” Lynn wiped the sweat from her forehead and then scanned the empty Backyard.
“Eh? Where is Mr. Elent? I don’t see him.”
Celia said nothing, merely pointing at the slip of paper on the table.
Lynn leaned in to take a look, and her small face turned pale.
“Going to the depths of the Black Forest to pick herbs?”
“And entering the Black Forest in this kind of weather?!” Lynn’s voice was trembling.
“That is far too dangerous! I heard that the Magical Beasts in the depths become especially violent before a storm.”
“That was that idiot’s own choice.”
Celia rolled over, turning her back to Lynn, her voice devoid of emotion.
“Don’t worry about Elent. He is a Hero Candidate with thick skin, anyway; getting a little wet won’t kill him.”
Though she said this, the young girl’s fingers were tapping against the armrest of the lounge chair.
Clearly, she was not as calm as her words suggested.
“But…”
Lynn turned to look out the window. By now, the sky had completely darkened, and heavy dark clouds pressed down toward the ground like a mass of spilled ink.
Thunder rumbled in the distance from time to time, and the palpable moisture in the air signaled that the arrival of a torrential downpour was not far off.
“Have faith in the Hero,” Celia said.
“All right.”
Lynn looked at the sky outside and swallowed her worries.
“By the way, Lady Celia hasn’t had dinner yet, right? I will go make some.”
Given Lynn’s knowledge of Celia’s cooking skills, Lady Celia probably had not eaten all day.
“While it won’t match Mr. Elent’s skill, I cannot let Lady Celia go hungry.”
The little assistant carried the vegetable basket into the Kitchen. Not long after, a startled cry came from inside.
“Lady Celia, come quickly! That—that book is so strange!”
Lynn ran out holding the Mysterious Recipe Book.
“Its appearance seems a bit odd?”
Celia sat up immediately upon hearing Lynn’s words.
A bit odd? What did that mean? Had a new recipe been unlocked?
Celia took the recipe book and looked.
Sure enough, this book that usually played dead was currently emitting a faint glow, and the patterns on the cover were pulsing as if they were breathing.
Celia flipped the pages, and a detailed illustration emerged on a previously blank page.
The drawing showed a crystal-clear, jelly-like dessert garnished with a few mint leaves and surrounded by several ice cubes.
It even thoughtfully depicted cold mist rising from it.
Just looking at the drawing made one feel a piercing chill.
[Ice Spirit Jelly]
[Required Materials: Ice Spirit Grass, mint leaves, Slime Liquid, and honey]
[Effect: Eliminates heat and swelling, highly effective against itching]
At the very bottom of the recipe, there was a line of small text:
‘Specific demand detected; special recommendation.’
Celia stared at the new recipe.
‘That idiot Hero must have flipped through the recipe book as well and saw this new recipe.’
No wonder he suddenly ran off to the Black Forest.
The mystery was solved. It was this worthless recipe book.
While the Hero’s head was filled with thoughts of how to stop her itching, it had conveniently unlocked this so-called perfect solution.
Then, that simple-minded Hero actually believed the book’s nonsense and ran into the Black Forest alone to find Ice Spirit Grass.
“Well then.”
Celia laughed in exasperation, reaching out to punch the recipe book several times.
“A worthless recipe book has actually learned how to issue quests?”
The book seemed far more than it appeared on the surface, but Celia was in no mood to study it right now.
It would not be too late to settle the score later.
The recipe book seemed to sense the dangerous aura emanating from the Witch.
The light on the cover flickered and quickly dimmed, turning back into an ordinary old book in an attempt to play dead and get away with it.
“Lady Celia?”
Lynn looked at Celia’s grim face and asked cautiously, “What is written in there?”
“Nothing.”
Celia casually closed the recipe book and threw it back onto the table.
“It is just a story about an idiot getting fooled by a worthless book.”
“It will be bad if it rains.”
As if summoned by her fears, a bolt of lightning suddenly slashed across the sky, followed by a clap of thunder.
Then, raindrops fell without warning, pitter-pattering against the roof.
The storm had begun.
Lynn shrank her neck in fear and looked worriedly toward the door.
“It’s raining, and Mr. Elent still isn’t back.” Lynn looked at Celia, hesitating to speak.
Celia went to the Backyard. The howling wind mixed with rain lashed against her face, soaking her clothes.
That idiot must still be looking for Ice Spirit Grass right now, right?
Was it worth going to such a dangerous place just to stop an itch?
Celia touched her back. It actually did not itch much anymore.
Even if left alone for one or two days, the discomfort would have gradually faded on its own.
“What a hassle.”
Celia sighed and turned to look at Iris, who was shrinking into a corner trying to diminish her presence.
“Iris, give me that.”
Iris froze for a moment, then followed Celia’s finger.
A long-handled black umbrella stood in the corner.
It had been left behind by a merchant caravan that had been delighted by Iris’s service; supposedly, it was made from the hide of some powerful magical beast and was extremely sturdy.
“The umbrella?” Iris hurried over to grab it and handed it to Celia.
“Lady Witch, are you going out?”
Iris glanced at the torrential rain outside. Going out in this weather, even a witch would be soaked like a drowned rat, right?
“Am I supposed to just sit here and wait?”
Celia took the umbrella and picked up her Holy Codex before speaking to Lynn.
“Lynn, please watch the house.”
“As for Iris, you are coming with me.”
“Eh, me?!” Iris pointed at her own nose, her face full of shock. “Where—where are we going?”
“The Black Forest.”
Celia opened the umbrella. The black canopy looked like a blooming black lotus under the dim light of the sky.
The girl glanced back at the recipe book playing dead on the table, a cold light flashing in her emerald eyes.
“We are going to fish back that idiot chef who’d risk his life just to make a meal.”
“By the way…”
Celia walked to the Church entrance. Even though her voice was torn by the wind and rain, it still reached their ears.
“Remember to boil a pot of hot water for when we return.”
aww she really cares.