Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 306

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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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306. Medicine from Another World

Cheese, butter, and milk. Having obtained the three sacred dairy treasures, Prince Willow also requested alcohol from Serena for cooking.

Serena expected the Prince to prepare various dishes like last time.

But unexpectedly, Prince Willow had prepared a single dish.

“I sautéed Minotaur meat and vegetables in butter, poured in alcohol, adjusted the pot height and simmered it gently over low heat!”

On top of that, he had simply grilled bread in a frying pan until warm and melted cheese on top.

Everyone except Lavenda, who had cooked together, was amazed by the surprisingly simple menu.

“Wasn’t it steak? I clearly saw you grilling meat!”

“At first I was thinking of grilling steak too. But don’t we need to conserve vegetables for a while?”

“Ugh.”

Sesi shrank her shoulders and looked around nervously. Prince Willow looked at Sesi with a gentle smile.

“I’m not blaming you. Since things turned out this way, I thought it would be good to make nutritious food by boiling vegetables and meat together, so I decided on stew.”

Satisfied with the taste of the completed stew, Prince Willow offered it with a smiling face.

“Have some before it gets cold. I grilled the beef as Olive suggested, frying it in butter while pouring alcohol over it. The meat’s texture and aroma should be excellent.”

Stew with plenty of large beef chunks was distributed to everyone. They all swallowed their saliva while looking at the stew emitting an enchanting aroma.

As Serena picked up her spoon, Lavenda hurriedly approached.

“Shall I sprinkle some cheese for you?”

“Please do.”

Lavenda grated cheese and sprinkled it over the stew. The cheese powder that danced like snowflakes and settled on the stew melted in the stew’s heat.

‘Oh my.’

She couldn’t hold back any longer. Serena forgot her dignity and scooped up a large piece of meat with broth and put it in her mouth.

‘This taste!’

She had often eaten Minotaur meat stew, but today’s stew taste was truly special. The meat was crispy on the outside like eating steak, but moist inside with tender, separated fibers.

The tender meat that had separated along the grain harmonized perfectly with the vegetables still blessed and the rich broth, creating a perfect taste harmony.

And what about the vegetables? Despite being full of the meat’s flavor and fat, they weren’t greasy at all. If it had been Serena from her previous life, she wouldn’t have understood how this harmony was possible.

Serena, reincarnated as a princess, could know the answer.

‘It’s the butter!’

Surprisingly, quality butter can neutralize greasiness. The butter had acted as a bridge, helping the meat fat blend well with the vegetables.

“Mmm! Mmmm! Mmmmm!”

“It’s really delicious! I dare say it’s heavenly!”

“It’s delicious. So delicious it’s scary.”

“Hana, there’s something even scarier.”

“Wh-what is it?”

“It’s even more delicious when eaten with bread!”

“Mmm!”

Sesi was right. Eating the cheese-topped bread with the stew elevated the taste several levels, like adding cold rice to ramen or frying rice with chicken galbi.

“Your Highness the 5th Prince. It was truly delicious. This is the first time I’ve eaten so much.”

Even Countess Nex, who had a small appetite, exclaimed repeatedly about how delicious it was.

Having eaten bread the size of a thumb and half a paper cup’s worth of stew and saying she ate a lot might sound sarcastic, but surprisingly, from Countess Nex’s perspective, it really was a lot.

“Growl. Grumble.”

Duri was so delighted that her eyes rolled back as she tried to monopolize the pot with remaining stew.

“No, Duri, you can’t!”

“I want to eat more too!”

As Hana and Sesi tried to stop Duri, something amazing happened.

“Groan. Groan. Grooooan.”

Duri, who had been putting her head in the pot, overcame her appetite on her own and gave up the pot.

Duri whimpered pitifully as she ladled stew into her bowl. Then she returned to her seat.

“Duri! Great! Good! The coolest in the world!”

“Duri is the kindest bear in the world!”

“Huff!”

Hana, Sesi, and Neet petted Duri’s head. Duri snorted repeatedly while eating the stew with a spoon. As if intending to savor the taste, she didn’t swallow immediately but rolled it around in her mouth for a long time.

Praise poured down on the admirable bear. Not just the Numeral Sisters but others also got up to pet Duri. Since she was large, there was plenty of space to pet, so no one needed to fight over it.

As a result of everyone except Countess Nex and Neet requesting refills, the pot was emptied.

People patted their full bellies and strolled around the 1st Floor for digestion.

“I’ll do the dishes! It’s my thanks for the delicious stew!”

“It’s fine, Count Ralph. Just help me move the bowls.”

“No! I’ll do the dishes too!”

Ralph left for the Herb Garden with Lavenda. Count Alpha supervised Prince Willow climbing the never-ending Stairs.

“Ugh, why, why must I make delicious stew and then be tortured! Why!”

Sesi, also full from overeating, called for Duri.

“Duri! Let’s play ball!”

Count Randy beckoned to Sesi with his finger.

“Now that we’ve finished eating, come back. What’s this about running away during an examination?”

“Hehe.”

You can’t spit on a smiling face, so Sesi returned to Count Randy with a smile, shuffling along. Since the examination was nearly finished, Sesi was released quickly.

“How is it? Would medicine be effective?”

“The examination results show Sesi has a faster pulse than average and weak gall bladder. Lord Willow described her as anxious, but she seems to have been born naturally timid. I suggest giving her medicine with calming effects normally, and stronger medicine for emergencies during Labyrinth raids.”

Fortunately, the Genius Alchemist’s response was positive. Count Randy delivered the welcome news that materials for regular medication were sufficient in the current Lobby, and most could be obtained on the 5th Floor when supplies ran low.

“However.”

‘I knew it.’

When there’s positive news, there must be negative news too. That was the way of the world.

“We don’t have musk, the main ingredient for the emergency medicine Uhwang Cheongsimwon. I rarely use it and it’s an ingredient easily obtained with money, so I don’t keep it in stock.”

Serena blinked her one eye at the familiar-sounding medicine name.

“Uhwang what did you say?”

“Uhwang Cheongsimwon. It may sound unfamiliar as it’s knowledge from another world.”

According to Count Randy, knowledge from other worlds could be accessed through Labyrinths or Deities, and Uhwang Cheongsimwon was also passed down that way.

“You might doubt its efficacy since it’s medicine from another world, but it has excellent mind and body stabilizing effects.”

“Yes, I believe it.”

Wasn’t there a review about taking it on an important exam day and failing because it made them drowsy?

Of course, Serena’s Grandmother used to chat with her peers that modern medicine wasn’t as effective as before because several main ingredients were missing.

‘Not kimchi, but Uhwang Cheongsimwon here. Which country is Uhwang Cheongsimwon from? I think countries other than ours used it too.’

While Serena was confused by the sudden appearance of medicine from her previous world, Count Randy seriously pondered how to obtain musk.

“It would be best if vending machines sold it, but opening Treasure Chests would be faster.”

“Musk… It’s not hard to obtain, so it should come from 5th Floor Treasure Chests.”

“What’s musk?”

“I don’t know what it is, but it sounds expensive. If ingredients are expensive, isn’t the medicine expensive too?”

“Sesi, did you forget? We’re rich now! We can buy potions!”

“Mmm!”

The Number Siblings, who didn’t know what musk was, showed their heartwarming bond.

Low, being a former Hunter, quietly approached upon hearing a familiar term.

“Um… Are you looking for musk?”

“Oh, right. Low was a Hunter. Do you happen to have any musk?”

Among herb gatherers and Hunters, many carried precious items around because they couldn’t find sellers who would pay proper prices.

Count Randy boasted that he was exactly the person who would pay fair prices considering market rates under the golden will. The Mysterious Stranger hurriedly waved his hands.

“That’s not it. I saw a musk deer in the Labyrinth. A male one too. I saw it clearly with my own eyes.”

“Really?”

Count Randy brightened. While Treasure Chests and vending machines were random draws, musk could be obtained 100% guaranteed by catching a male musk deer. If he had spotted a musk deer, hunting it would be more convenient and certain.

“Which Floor did you see it on?”

“Haha, exactly the Floor you’re thinking of, Count.”

Count Randy’s smile faded. The layer in Heuji’s Labyrinth where musk deer might appear was precisely.

“The 10th layer?”

The snowy mountains where travel itself was treacherous and monsters didn’t launch preemptive attacks. It was a perfect match for musk deer habitat.

“Yes.”

“You didn’t mistake it for chamois. Hmm, that was a slip of the tongue.”

It was none other than Low, a former hunter, so there was no way he would mistake chamois for musk deer. When Count Randy apologized for his verbal mistake, Low bowed his head.

Having heard the entire story, Serena decided on the labyrinth conquest direction.

“Good. The 1st unit will hunt musk deer on the 10th layer, and the 2nd unit will perfectly conquer the 5th layer. We’ll swap Olive and Low and…”

Serena worked her mind hard due to the party member exchange.

‘I want to bring Duri to the 1st unit like last time. But then the 2nd unit’s strength becomes insufficient.’

The 4-star Young Knight caught the eye of the Princess who was earnestly deliberating personnel selection.

‘Right. Now I can take Ralph along. But honestly, in the snowy mountains, Bear is stronger than a knight.’

Swapping party members was more difficult than most puzzles. When the Princess’s mouth didn’t open easily, everyone quietly watched for cues.

Then Low cautiously spoke up.

“Since we plan to catch the musk deer with traps, we don’t intend to fight monsters. Everyone except me and my assistant can stay at the mountain hut.”

Low, who was about to close his mouth, seemed to remember something belatedly and hurriedly added.

“Ah, it would be better if Duri doesn’t come. If there’s a bear scent, it would be somewhat problematic, wouldn’t it? Hehehe.”

Since Low, the main force of the musk deer hunt, provided additional information, it was a great help to Serena. Serena, given how things turned out, openly asked for Low’s opinion.

“What kind of person do you prefer as an assistant?”

“Knights have a strong blood scent… Someone who is agile and good at climbing mountains, and if we end up fighting monsters, can escape well, and even if they get lost, can return to the party well…”

Mages and alchemists were excluded from candidacy as they were too sluggish to climb mountains. Imperial Knights with good stamina were excluded due to their blood scent.

Low’s gaze, as he revealed the requirements, turned toward someone who seemed agile and good at mountain climbing, would likely escape well to allies if monsters appeared, and whom Low didn’t even feel shy around.

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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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