024 - Loss And New Hope (3)

Ten minutes earlier...

"Woah, cough!"

A strong aroma of spices entered the air as soon as Faerie opened the door.

Aside from the stinging aroma of spices, Faerie was taken aback by another sight.

The kitchen she saw in front of her at the time was not unlike any modern kitchen on earth.

There is an oven that appears to be built to be as portable as possible so that it may be easily filled with regular food that you want to bake over hot coals. Along with that, there is a sizable bread-toasting oven.

This kitchen also has a variety of cooking utensils, such as frying pans, flat pans, spatulas, tongs, a kettle, a waffle grill, and other baking and cooking containers, such as pots, strainers, and cauldrons.

There are also numerous sizes of stew pots. It's not an exaggeration to state that this enormous kitchen has everything from the largest to the smallest tools.

Faerie shook her head, astounded to see such complete cooking utensils in the middle ages.

'It's not like the mansion's kitchen, but the restaurant's kitchen....' Faerie thought, amazed.

Because the stove did not exist until the 18th century, chefs had to learn how to cook directly over an open fire. As a result, they were forced to use a specialized firebox.

The people of this novel use fuel made of magic crystal stones that contain different elements as a result.

For example, the flames in this special fireplace firebox are powered by fire magic crystal stones.

Then there's a refrigerator powered by ice magic crystals.

"Woah... Is this the name of technological advancement in an era full of magic?"

Faerie was surprised for a moment before reverting to her original plan of walking to the kitchen to brew the tea leaves given to her by the Goddess.

Her gaze moved.

A door in the room's corner appears to be used to store various foodstuffs.

And a large L-shaped table nearby appeared to serve the same function as a kitchen counter table on earth.

Faerie approached the table, which had jars of various seasonings on both the left and right sides. But her gaze was drawn away from the spices and toward the vacant side of the table.

Faerie had a look around at the white cabinets, which stored various glass and ceramic tableware.

"There are numerous types of plates, bowls, glasses, and cups..." Faerie murmured.

She took a cup and placed it on the table.

Faerie's mouth slightly opened. "Inventory."

A thin screen appeared and floated above the empty air after saying one word that seemed like an activation code.

There are numerous grids, each of which displays a separate icon that represents a specific object, similar to the game screen in general.

However, the majority of the grids are empty. Only a few slots are filled.

Faerie chose the slot with the leaf icon by raising her index finger.

After that, several green leaves appeared from the empty air, oddly sparkling and strikingly beautiful.

"Oh my...."

At first glance, it appears as though mint leaves are entering Faerie's nose because of how sweet and energizing the smell of the green leaves is.

'This looks like an ordinary leaf....'

Faerie was taken aback for a time when she noticed some leaves on the kitchen counter that Goddess said were tea leaves.

But she decided to ignore the strange feeling for the time being because her chest began to hurt again.

"Urrrrgh---" Faerie bit her lower lip to keep a loud groan from exiting her mouth and waking her three maids.

Faerie struggled to boil water in a kettle over the small stove.

A few minutes later...

The kettle quickly emitted a loud whistle-like sound, signaling that the water within was boiling. Hot steam escapes from the hole at the end of the kettle, causing the lid to vibrate.

Faerie grabbed a glove to easily hold the boiling kettle. She added a few tea leaves she had taken to her cup and immediately poured boiling water.

The sight of a few green leaves emitting a strangely beautiful shine, as well as a refreshing aroma beginning to melt by the boiling water and eventually mixing into a beautiful clear green color, calmed Faerie, if only for a time.

"Sugar or no sugar?" She noticed a jar full of white crystals, similar to the crystals in the other jars on the table.

"... I don't like sweets anyway, and... urgh..!" Her chest and stomach ached again and again as if she'd been stabbed with a thousand burning needles.

It's excruciatingly painful.

She grasped her cup, which was emitting hot steam, with shaky hands. The trembling lips and the wavering cup fused as they made contact.

As if she didn't care about her lips, her throat would scald from drinking hot water.

It wasn't painful from how hot the water was when the hot tea drink began to enter her mouth and then her throat.

However, the sensation of being 'healed' began to spread throughout and permeate all parts of her body.

"Aaaaahhhhh!~" After successfully drinking it in one gulp, Faerie let out a deep sigh of relief.

The pain in her chest, stomach, throat, and especially her heart vanished without a trace as if she had never been sick in the first place.

Faerie looked at the empty cup in awe. She felt healthy just by having a cup of tea.

"Should I have another drink?" Faerie licked her lips, which still left the scent of the tea.

Suddenly, Faerie's ears picked up a strange sound coming from behind her as she was about to go for the tea once more.

!!

A strange sound from outside, followed by the door opening slowly, had Faerie's heart skip a beat. Faerie's eyes widened as she noticed the silhouette that getting bigger.

It was impossible for a maid working at the mansion to be so cautious.

Therefore, just one name could be used to identify the owner of the silhouette.

'Intruder?'

'How could there possibly be an intruder?! Isn't it still a few more years before the second Imperial Prince discovers this Princess?!'

Faerie's thoughts began to race. But she decided to put that thought aside because she needed to deal with this intruder first.

Faerie quickly screamed without thinking. She would scream as loud as she could, hoping that the three maids, especially the head maid Melanie, a sword master, would wake up and rush to her rescue.

"HEL-"

Faerie's mouth was covered by a soft foreign palm coated in calluses and scars, which made it seem a touch harsh.

"Hummpphh...!"

Faerie wanted to scream as loud as she could since she assumed the figure that had frightened her was a strange man trying to get into the mansion.

'... This hand...'

But when Faerie touched her small palm, she discovered that the culprit who was covering her lips was a woman.

In this mansion, only one woman would have calluses and scars on her hands.

'I was quite unlucky today....'

'Not only did I drop a precious guarantee on one of the main character's best friend knights, but I also stumbled across a dangerous person I shouldn't have met alone.' Faerie grumbled in her head.

Faerie tapped the hands that had loosened, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief instead of feeling constricted. The palm gently released from her mouth, as though recognizing the significance of Faerie's finger tapping.

"…" Faerie took a step back so she could see the person who had frightened her and covered her mouth. And she was right.

"What are you doing in the kitchen at this hour?"

It was Melanie. A cold-hearted sword master who pretended to be a maid on an island in the middle of nowhere to keep an eye on her master's daughter.

Back to the present...

Melanie, who typically wore her hair in a neat bun, was now free to touch her bottom.

She was a mature woman. Men would be charmed by her current appearance in only pajamas, even though she was a sword master.

"... I heard some strange noises in the kitchen, Your Highness." She replied while her gaze remained fixed on Faerie.

Faerie moaned gently at the stare she couldn't avoid immediately.

"Sorry about that. I awoke thirsty." Faerie responded with a straightforward explanation.

Melanie took a peek at the empty cup and the boiling kettle. "... Your Highness made it... by yourself?"

"Isn't there a bell to call the maids if Your Highness needs anything? Why don't Princess call Meila, Mona, or me?"

Faerie cursed her foolishness once more.

She had just discovered that the function of the odd gold bell in her bedroom was to summon the maid.

"Hahaha… Forget it, just make me some tea." Faerie swiftly changed the topic.

Melanie tilted her head in curiosity when Faerie quietly plucked a few more leaves from the <inventory> and handed them to her.

"What kind of tea leaves are these? They are new to me."

Faerie's heart sank when she heard that.

She knew nothing about green tea leaves.

The black and ugly ball, no, she meant the Goddess Gaia had given Faerie some 'tea leaves' to brew in case Faerie's hair fell out bald due to stress.

While Melanie was busy making her tea, Faerie became suspicious of something and decided to use her cheating abilities to check.

"Activate <Mind's eye>."

The Goddess's gift is not something to be taken lightly.

Even if it wasn't beneficial for her, it would undoubtedly help others. Furthermore, this tea leaf appears to be capable of fully removing pain.

Thinking about it makes Faerie realize that she must be skilled at using the things bestowed upon her by the Goddess for the contract that binds her to run smoothly.

"Please have a drink, Princess."

Melanie made a perfect cup of clear green tea, which Faerie drank without noticing because she was too focused on the floating screen in front of her.

[Name: Flower Petal of the Yggdrasil.]

[Classification: Sacred Item (Consumption).]

[Can heal, purify, and strengthen the body to some extent. There is a low possibility that it will cause various side effects depending on who consumes it.]

[Yggdrasil is a tree of life whose roots spread forth in a dimension inhabited by God and Goddess. According to legend, Yggdrasil's branches can reach into otherworldly dimensions.]

[Under some conditions and circumstances, green petals that resemble leaves will sprout at the tips of the branches. These are Yggdrasil's leaves.]

[How to consume:

> If you chew...

> If you boil the flower petals and consume them with hot water, you have a low chance of having an 'immortal' constitution like a God.]

"Pffttttt!" Faerie spits up her tea, surprised to see the information in front of her.