Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 119

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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119. Fried Egg (1)

Disheveled hair and scratches scattered across their bodies.

Shoulders heaving up and down from rough breathing, and pupils dilated not from battle excitement but from terror.

The assault team’s appearance upon returning to the lobby after 6 days was far from normal.

Grey, who urgently questioned them about the situation, clicked his tongue and cut off the story midway.

“Tsk tsk. Being careless in the labyrinth.”

“No! I’m really wronged here! The bone bastards combined with each other to become a giant bone bastard! And even more bones were added! Yo!”

“You thought monsters wouldn’t become undead even if left alone on the Path of Light, right? So why didn’t you think that even undead defeated once on the Path of Darkness would revive if left alone?”

Grey sharply pointed out the assault team’s carelessness and negligence, clicking his tongue with his hands behind his back.

The assault team couldn’t say anything.

There was no room for excuses.

“Ugh, pathetic fools. Young ones already having rotten minds. That’s what Grandfather would have said. So? Did you defeat the Bone Golem?”

Olive pointed to her party’s tattered state.

“Don’t you see how we look? Of course we defeated it! If we hadn’t been careless, we could have defeated it more easily! Yo!”

The silver plating they had painstakingly melted silver coins to coat their weapons with was completely stripped off while defeating the Bone Golem, which was at the level of a 4th layer boss but gave nothing as it wasn’t actually a boss.

“You shouldn’t be careless. Tsk tsk.”

Grey kept clicking his tongue, looking at the assault team as if they were pathetic, stupid, and utterly useless fools.

“Grey! I share your concern for the assault team, but a child shouldn’t be ordering adults around like this!”

Philia couldn’t bear to see her master hanging his head like a guilty person in front of Grey and stepped forward, but.

“Philia, go away.”

“Hiing.”

At her master’s dismissal, she teared up and fled to her husband’s arms.

“And Olive. Sister.”

“Yes.”

“You know the probability of an escape magic tool appearing on just the 15th floor is slim. What was your intention in deliberately bringing it up, Sister Olive? Inducing party breakdown? Lowering the morale of people trapped in the labyrinth?”

Olive waved her hands frantically, making excuses earnestly.

“No, I really thought it might come out since Princess is here! If even one person could leave the labyrinth, we could change our strategy significantly.”

Grey’s eyes blazed at Olive’s clumsy excuse, unworthy of her reputation and experience.

“So?”

“I’m shorry, I was thinking about the best possible reward from the chest and spoke without thinking deeply.”

“…Let’s say that’s true. Then Your Highness.”

Grey’s next target after intensively questioning Olive was Serena.

Serena focused on managing her expression.

‘Sad thoughts, difficult thoughts. Expressionless like Ying.’

“Your Highness is… No. Your Highness wouldn’t have known anything.”

Grey, who was about to scold Serena, passed her by, thinking what could a royal girl who was just starting to properly learn magic know about labyrinths.

Serena was relieved, but then Grey, who had been passing her, turned his head.

“I hope Your Highness doesn’t forget that you’re the leader of this party.”

“I understand.”

Grey walked with his hands behind his back and arrived in front of Ralph.

Though he didn’t understand why he had to be scolded by the youngest Grey, Ralph figured Grey must be angry because he was worried about them.

Understanding it this way, Ralph shouted loudly as soon as Grey stood in front of him.

“I’m sorry for making you worry! I’ll work harder and become a knight who never lets his guard down!”

“Sigh, yes. What would Brother Ralph know? Just grow up healthy.”

Grey’s small hand patted Ralph’s head.

The young knight felt something strange about receiving well-wishes to grow well from a sibling 4 years younger and tilted his head.

“Lastly, Sister Ying.”

“…”

“It was good that you didn’t get caught up in the confusion Sister Olive caused and observed the surrounding situation, but you could have just warned or persuaded with words.”

“…”

“Zero’s Ying is a labyrinth explorer with very long experience. Sister Ying should have been able to anticipate that this kind of thing could happen.”

“…”

“The treasure chest too. If you had brought the whole chest as Sister Olive said, I might have been able to think of an appropriate reward.”

“…”

No matter what Grey said, Ying didn’t open her mouth.

The child who had been having a staring contest with the archer raised the white flag first.

Grey sighed and unclasped his hands from behind his back.

“So? What came out as a reward?”

Ying silently took out the reward she had shoved into her bag as soon as she took it from the chest.

Cluck cluck.

A bird with white feathers was held in the archer’s hands, tilting its head this way and that.

With its very familiar appearance, everyone in the lobby immediately saw through the bird’s identity.

“A chicken?”

“A chicken came out of the chest?”

“Living creatures don’t come out as rewards in labyrinths. This is probably.”

Grey took the chicken from the archer and examined it, lifting its feathers and investigating its beak and interior.

The examination was quickly finished.

“This isn’t a living creature, it’s a golem.”

“What?”

It looked like a chicken, moved like a chicken, and clucked like a chicken, but it wasn’t a chicken but a golem?

Serena, who had been observing the chicken up close, was also surprised.

“But it’s a chicken.”

Lavenda, unable to believe what she heard, forgot her usual policy of not interfering in nobles’ conversations and asked Grey back.

Grey handed the chicken to the mysterious stranger.

Lavenda felt the chicken’s soft feathers and body temperature warmer than her own hands as she touched the chicken here and there.

“It’s soft, warm, and it’s a chicken.”

“Put your ear to its beak or chest.”

Lavenda did as Grey instructed.

Her confused lavender-colored eyes suddenly became clear.

“The chicken isn’t breathing!”

“I told you it’s a golem.”

Grey took the chicken back and examined it here and there.

“A golem so precise it can’t be distinguished by the naked eye, and its behavior is exactly like a chicken. A chicken golem completed with golem manufacturing technology beyond modern imagination. It’s a labyrinth treasure.”

Labyrinth treasure. That’s what they call special magic tools that can only be obtained in labyrinths.

“So? Yo? What can you do with that? Yo?”

It was certainly a precious item, but what could one do with a chicken golem?

To Olive’s question, Grey answered with an indifferent expression.

“What would you do with it? It’s just a chicken.”

“But you said it’s a golem? Yo?”

“Yes. It’s a toy with amazing technology that perfectly mimics chicken behavior.”

Thud!

Olive was shocked as if a formless rock had fallen on her head.

“A, a toy?”

“Where would you use a chicken you can’t eat? It’s just a toy. We might be able to obtain new golem manufacturing technology by dismantling and analyzing its structure, but since we don’t have tools now, it’s just a toy or ornament.”

Grey tossed the chicken golem.

The chicken flapped its wings vigorously, landed on the floor, then pecked at the ground while bobbing its head like an ordinary chicken looking for food.

“From a sparkling sparkling sparkling sparkling chest. A toy?”

“It is a precious item. I’ll buy this. I can pay you the money after we leave the labyrinth, right?”

“If I had known this would happen, I should have prayed for my weapon to come out! I’m ruined!”

Olive rolled around on the ground, regretting her outburst.

“Wounds from undead are dangerous even if they just graze you, so hurry up and get treatment.”

On one side, the guide was rolling on the ground and even doing breakdancing, while on the other side, a chicken-shaped golem was leisurely pecking at the floor.

Serena felt an indescribably complex and subtle emotion as she was led by the maid’s hand to wash and treat her wounds.

***

“Dinner is ready.”

Lavenda announced mealtime.

People flocked around the campfire.

“The stew smells particularly fragrant today.”

Prince Willow closed his eyes and inhaled the stew’s aroma.

Lavenda hid her awkwardness and smiled warmly.

“The assault team members gave us spices and seasonings.”

“Haha, is that so. Thanks to Your Highness Serena, our dining table grows richer by the day.”

‘How nauseating before we even eat.’

Serena brushed off Prince Willow’s greeting and received the stew Lavenda handed her.

‘Hm? Something’s different.’

As she was about to eat, something felt different from usual.

It wasn’t just Serena who felt the discomfort – the assault team members were all blinking rapidly.

‘Is it because the spice aroma is so rich? No, that’s not it.’

The answer came from Olive, who had the most sensitive senses among the assault team.

“The bowls are different from usual?”

“Ah! That’s right! The bowls suddenly got better!”

‘Now that you mention it.’

Serena examined the tableware, which was the source of the discomfort.

The party’s tableware had all been replaced.

The surface felt smooth to the touch, and the surface was sleek without any traces of carving knives.

There were no splinters or sawdust that sometimes stuck to their hands, as if they had been thoroughly sanded and coated with something.

“Haha, I made them while you were away from the lobby. Do you like them?”

“Of course I like them! You know how scared I was that splinters would stab my lips every time I ate stew or porridge.”

Ralph touched the tableware with a slightly stiff expression.

“Did you perhaps th-throw away what Grandmother Krom made?”

“How could I do such a thing. I’ve stored them safely, so don’t worry.”

“Thank you for the new bowls!”

Ralph was relieved by the prince’s consideration and took a big spoonful of stew.

Then he blinked for a different reason and chewed slowly.

‘Why is he acting like that?’

Was he trying to savor the taste as much as possible since it had been so long since he’d had proper cooking?

Serena took a small spoonful of stew with her new spoon and put it in her mouth, soon understanding the cause of Ralph’s strange behavior.

‘The taste!’

“What is this! It tastes terrible!”

Olive, who had similarly tasted the stew, burst out in complaint.

At the words that the stew tasted bad, Lavenda, who hadn’t yet sat down and was still cleaning up, became flustered.

“It doesn’t taste good?”

“Miss Popuri! Didn’t you use the seasonings we brought? It tastes bad! It’s weird!”

“I did add them! I’m sorry! I’ll boil it again!”

“This isn’t about not adding spices, but the taste being strange because you couldn’t get the proportions right.”

The alchemist analyzed the cause of the bad cooking.

Lavenda’s face turned red up to her ears as she added more seasonings to the stew.

Count Randy’s eyes widened.

“The salt content is fine, so don’t add more salt! That herb should be quickly added and removed to just impart flavor! Don’t pour honey into the stew!”

Until now, they hadn’t been able to produce food worthy of being called cooking due to lack of ingredients, so no one had known.

But with the addition of seasonings, the party discovered a new fact.

‘Lavenda can’t cook!’

Lavenda, who had been stopped by the alchemist while trying to pour seasonings and spices into the stew, looked tearful.

‘Well, I suppose. In a big city like Vieta, it would be cheaper to buy food than cook it yourself. Since Lavenda worked as a massage apprentice from a young age, she would have stayed away from cooking that involved handling fire and knives.’

Lavenda Puri. A cold city woman when you think about it. But she gives warm massages to her clients.

With little cooking experience, there was no way she could cook well in an environment lacking ingredients and tools.

‘Until now, there were no seasonings, so even if she just threw in whatever ingredients were available and boiled them, people didn’t complain. But with seasonings added, they expected real cooking and were disappointed when something tasteless came out.’

But to cry out that it tastes bad the moment you eat it?

Is this the attitude to show after not lifting a finger during all the meal preparation?

“Olive. If you’re not satisfied with Miss Lavenda’s cooking skills, don’t just complain but teach her how to cook more deliciously.”

“Me? I only ate out, so I don’t know how to make anything except mixed porridge.”

“Then don’t complain and just eat. Don’t forget to be grateful to Miss Lavenda who put effort into cooking.”

Olive stirred the stew with her spoon while grumbling.

“I clearly saw her put effort into boiling it, but the taste is exactly the same as if she’d just carelessly boiled it…”

“Olive!”

“Sorry! I’ll eat whatever you give me!”

Although ingredients had become somewhat abundant, the place where the party was located was still a labyrinth.

As everyone tried to accept reality and eat the stew without complaint, Lavenda’s face turned pale.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll boil it again. Actually, I haven’t cooked much before…”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. If you give me a chance, I can do better.”

“Hmm. Why don’t you leave it to me.”

Prince Willow tasted the stew and pondered, then collected the stew from the party, put it back in the pot, and boiled it again.

He added several seasonings and waited for the stew to bubble, then served the stew to the party again.

“Just boiling it more won’t make it taste better. It’s delicious, isn’t it?”

“It’s delicious!”

“Mm! The taste is good.”

Even Philia, who had a picky palate, acknowledged the taste of the stew Prince Willow had corrected.

Lavenda, who ate the stew with trembling hands, looked at the prince like someone who had been betrayed.

Her expression seemed to ask why the prince was good at cooking.

“I’ve been interested in creative activities like cooking, crafting, and drawing since I was young. I haven’t cooked in a while, so I’m glad it’s delicious.”

Prince Willow smiled warmly and patted the back of Lavenda’s hand.

“Why don’t you leave the cooking to me from now on? My heart was on edge every time I watched you use a knife.”

Lavenda’s eyes widened.

“No! If you just teach me the recipes, I’ll work hard!”

“I’m in favor!”

Although Lavenda refused, Olive immediately shouted her agreement.

The others also agreed without much deep thought.

‘Lavenda does have a lot of work to do. If she doesn’t have friends, I should at least reduce her workload. The prince also can’t leave the lobby, so he’ll need other things to do.’

Serena thought seriously before casting her vote in favor.

“I’m fine with it too.”

Lavenda looked troubled, as if she couldn’t dare push work onto the prince, but when everyone agreed, she finally smiled.

As if burdened by having the prince cook, the mysterious stranger’s cheeks trembled.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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