The residence of Keyins, the Life Witch, was located at the very end of the hidden area on the dungeon's first floor.
After packing up their things, the three of them decided to head back the way they came.
As they passed the stream, Flora stopped, her gaze falling on the flower bushes and fruit trees lining the banks. “These are all varieties Keyins cultivated while researching cuisine, and most of them are edible. It's recorded in the log. Let's take some back to plant at the apartment before we leave.”
“Sure.” Chen Mian looked around and nodded. Once they brought back that “ghost tenant,” the apartment would be able to upgrade again.
“Sure,” Chen Mian nodded, thinking to himself that with the “ghost tenant,” the apartment could upgrade, which would clear up another plot of land and unlock several new functions.
“Let's take these fish too,” he said, glancing at the fish swimming in the water.
“Are you planning to dig a fish pond, Mr. Chen Mian?” Flora looked up with a slight smile.
“Who knows, maybe it'll just pop up on its own by the time we get back.”
“Like the hot spring and the vegetable garden?” Flora's eyes lit up with excitement. If a breeding pond really appeared at the apartment, these fish might even undergo further mutations. Combined with Keyins's notes, she would be able to develop an even wider variety of magical cuisine.
“Flora, how about we catch a few first to cook and taste? I'm a bit hungry,” Loviki said, staring eagerly at the fish swimming back and forth in the water.
“I agree,” Chen Mian said.
“Alright!” Flora smiled at the two of them, then flipped open Keyins's notes to the chapter on cooking fish.
The three of them squatted in a row by the stream.
Flora was in charge of identifying which ones were edible, Loviki was in charge of catching them, and Chen Mian was in charge of... squatting and watching.
“That one! The one with the golden belly!” Loviki rolled up her sleeves and squatted by the stream, her black hair slipping out of her hood and dangling over the water.
Chen Mian casually pulled her hood off.
Her fluffy black hair instantly cascaded down.
Loviki was startled for a moment, her lips quietly curving upward, before she returned her focus to the fish in the water.
She plunged both hands into the water, sending splashes everywhere, but the fish slipped through her fingers, splashing water all over her face.
Loviki wiped her face expressionlessly. “It's too slippery.”
Suppressing a laugh, Flora closed the thick journal, rolled up her sleeves to reveal her fair forearms, and gently dipped her hands into the water.
Unlike Loviki, she didn't make a sudden grab. Instead, she waited quietly with her fingers slightly spread.
A golden fish slowly swam over, passing right over her palm.
Flora gently closed her fingers, and the fish landed securely in her hands.
“Got it.” She looked up, her lips curving into a sweet smile.
Loviki was silent for a moment. “...Did you use magic?”
“No.” Flora put the fish into a nearby wooden bucket filled with water and shook the droplets off her hands. “The fish here aren't very afraid of people. Just move slower, Loviki, so you don't startle them.”
Loviki followed her example, quietly submerging her hands in the water and waiting for the fish to swim over on their own.
A fish swam through her fingers.
She didn't grab it, simply watching quietly as it swam past.
It wasn't until a second fish stopped in her palm that her fingers suddenly snapped shut.
“I caught it!” She lifted the fish in her hand. Water splashed everywhere as the tail thrashed wildly, soaking her sleeve. Beside her, Flora's eyes crinkled with laughter.
Chen Mian also caught a fish. Flora took out a cloth bag from her pack and placed the three fish inside. “Three is enough.”
Smiling, Loviki turned and squatted back by the stream. She caught another fish using the same method, only to let it go again.
Flora also picked some pale purple fruits growing on the vines, which had a faint honeyed fragrance, along with some aromatic herbs.
“This fruit is a variety modified by Keyins called the Windbell Berry. It combines the characteristics of purple berries and windbell flowers, carrying the fragrances of both.” Flora wrapped the fruits and herbs in a cloth and placed them in her backpack. “The log mentions that in her hometown, windbell flowers would cover the windy cliffs every spring. But after her friends and family passed away, she never went back, so she often missed their scent. This must have been Keyins's favorite fruit; she mentions it frequently in her log.”
Flora paused, then smiled and continued, “However, the fruiting season of the Windbell Berry is very short. Since she had no concept of time, she would often immerse herself in her research, only to remember and find the trees completely bare. So, she conducted the same experiment on the fruit trees as she did with the bread, making the fruits jump down and run back home on their own.”
“Did she succeed?” Loviki asked.
“She was half-successful.” Flora paused. “The fruits jumped down, but they got smashed upon landing.”
“...Isn't that just a failure then?!”
“She placed ice-element containers underneath. The chilled jam tasted delicious, too.”
Loviki nodded, somewhat agreeing with this eccentric witch's culinary philosophy. At least, the jam Flora made and kept in the fridge really did taste better than eating the fruit raw.
The three walked back the way they came. When they passed through the crevice, Chen Mian stopped. He raised his right hand, and mana surged from his palm, carving a complex rune onto the surface of the gap.
The rune flared briefly, and the crevice vanished, becoming completely invisible to the naked eye.
Chen Mian withdrew his hand. “Now, only those with our mana imprint can enter.”
Loviki smirked. “Afraid someone else will take the stuff?”
“If this place gets picked clean before we return, where is Flora going to find ingredients for her new magical cuisine?”
Loviki looked at Chen Mian, then at Flora, her lips curving into a knowing grin. “Oho~”
Flora's ears turned slightly red again.
“Keep doing that and there won't be any food left for you,” Chen Mian said, flicking Loviki's forehead.
“No way.” Loviki covered her forehead and turned away, her black hair whipping across his face before she silently pulled her hood back up.
The three returned to the market-like corridor at the entrance of the dungeon.
Stepping from the gloomy hidden area back into the bustling corridor, they momentarily felt as if they had returned to the mortal world.
Flora stopped and looked around, finding a spacious small room.
“Let's cook here.”
Chen Mian had no objections.
Loviki raised both hands in enthusiastic agreement.
Flora gently rolled up her sleeves, took out the bag of fruits and herbs from her backpack, and retrieved a small parcel containing the seasonings she had prepared before setting off: butter, salt, sugar, soy sauce, and a small jar of honey.
“Do you need any help?” Loviki squatted nearby, eager to try.
“Then help me prep the fish.” Flora handed her one of the fish. “Scale it, gut it, and then scrape the black membrane inside the belly clean.”
Loviki took the fish and stared down at the still-flopping creature with a highly focused expression.
After a long pause, she finally looked up at Flora. “...How do I scale it?”
“Are you really an adventurer?” Chen Mian looked at Loviki with a look of mock disgust.
“I only ever bring water, dry rations, and some potions when I enter dungeons,” Loviki replied innocently.
He squatted down, picked up a knife, and demonstrated. Loviki followed his technique, using the back of the knife to scrape against the direction of the scales.
With her first scrape, a fish scale flew out, nearly hitting Chen Mian in the face.
The scale hovered in front of him before slowly drifting down to the ground.
“I didn't do it on purpose,” Loviki said, her head lowered and her ears flushing red.
With her second scrape, the scales flew even further.
By the third scrape, the fish finally stopped struggling, seemingly having resigned itself to its fate.
Having finished scaling, Loviki flipped the fish over, stared at its belly for a few seconds, then inserted the tip of the knife and carefully sliced downward.
As the belly split open and the innards were exposed, she leaned backward with a subtle, complicated expression.
Chen Mian guided her from the side. “Pull all the guts out, and make sure to scrape the black membrane clean, otherwise it'll taste bitter.”
Taking a deep breath, she reached inside to scoop them out.
Chen Mian squatted nearby, watching her movements with a slight smile.
This was probably Loviki's first time doing anything like this.
Once she placed the fully prepped fish into the nearby basin of clean water, she finally let out a sigh of relief, looking as if she had accomplished a monumental task.
“You're a fast learner, genius.”
“Of course!” Loviki smirked, grabbing another fish to start prepping, her movements noticeably more practiced.
Rate on N.U.
