Pulling out my book and looking through it, there were so many amazing options I could make, given the ingredients. But I figured it would also be worth making a list of ingredients I'd need, and the items I wanted to try, so I wouldn't just impulsively buy everything I saw and hope for the best.

Flicking through the pages, a couple of things jumped out at me. Firstly, there were so many pies and cakes made using berries or simple fruits that looked incredibly easy to make.

The next thing I noticed was a lot of fruit reductions, which looked to be simply fruit, sugar, and some water reduced down to make a spread. Then there were fruit sauces called coulis. These all looked incredible—but it made me wonder: if I made a fruit jam, as they were called, and infused it, would I then be able to spread that onto a roll or something else that was also infused for double the buffs?

Or even just take a spoonful of preserved fruits straight from the container and get the buffs?

I looked in my inventory and saw I still had a mix of berries from the market. There weren't many left… but I could just put them all in, right?

I decided to try. Since the oven was full and Crisplet was busy with the tail, this was going to be entirely down to me.

Pulling out a pot, I unloaded all the berries I had into it. According to the book, I'd need the same weight of sugar as I had berries. I didn't know exactly how much that was—but I could guess?

I also added a pinch of both Blood Tear powder and some dried, crushed-up Virfolium. My intention here was to try to get a regeneration buff from it.

After adding the sugar to the pot and a cup of water Milo provided, I took it over to the edge of the oven. I took a bite of the roll for fire immunity before getting too close.

I wouldn't take it deep into the oven, but it should be hot enough at the entrance to get the result I was after.

As I slowly stirred it with a stone rod, the sugar began to dissolve. It took a little while, but soon the water began to boil off, leaving a sticky mixture behind.

I think this is what I was after!

Taking the pot out from the oven's entrance, I brought it back to the main living area where everyone was gathered, placing it down near where Micca and Liane were sitting. I knew both of them would ultimately want to try it once it was ready.

According to the book, I needed to let it cool down and set—so just to test, I used Infuse on it and was surprised when it worked.

That was a good sign!

While waiting for it to cool, I got my notebook from Milo and started writing down a wishlist of ingredients to get at the markets or alchemy shop. There were several cakes, and even a fruit pudding, that looked amazing, and I wanted to try making them.

I also wanted to get some empty barrels so I could ferment the sugar reed juice. Milo said that would make alcohol, which I wasn't the greatest fan of—but if I could infuse it, having alcohol that buffed or provided certain effects would be extremely sought after.

I also discovered that the notebook could now be stored in my inventory! I had never tried again after it failed when we got it, but the system must have seen it as cooking related now.

After about half an hour, I felt the jam was sufficiently cooled, so I pulled out a spoon and had a taste. Honestly, it was really good—perhaps a little too sweet and sticky; maybe I added too much sugar—but it tasted amazing.

Liane and Micca both had a taste, and surprisingly, Liane put hers on a roll she had in storage before eating it.

While they did that, I checked to see if I'd gotten any buffs. I was actually surprised at the results: +2 Endurance, Minor Regeneration, Minor Earth Magic Potency.

I didn't expect to get the earth magic potency without Crisplet's help, but clearly, due to the fire being created from the Treant wood, it counted.

Most of the day passed before Crisplet came out and indicated the tail was ready. It had been cooking for most of the day at this point, and we were now approaching late afternoon. I'd even had enough time to cook a large stew using the Skywolves I had in storage.

Taking a bite of the roll, I approached the oven and observed the tail, which was now a rich golden brown—and the smell was amazing.

I used Infuse on it before leaving the oven, then stored it away for safekeeping until we'd meet with the dragon:

Would you like to store [Legendary] Nemorax's Herb Smoked Tail x1 for 5 mana? Yes/No

Nemorax? Was that the name of the Tempest Dragon?

Coming back out, I let the team and Micca know it was done. I didn't know how to contact the dragon, but I was sure Lily could do it. So we'd just need to wait for her—or try to call her to us.

As we sat down for dinner, I served bowls of stew to everyone in my group. Sarah's party joined us again and paid for dinner. This time, however, Greg's party seemed to be sitting off to the side, away from the rest, and showing no interest in the food.

Taking a bite, I received a notification that was pushed to the front—like I'd taken damage.

Notifications:

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Poison attempt failed: Poison immunity.

"Poison attempt?" I said aloud, catching everyone's attention.

Before I knew it, the room erupted into chaos. Liane and Jen both had potions in hand, drinking anti-poison vials, and Hari knocked Micca's bowl out of her hands before she could take a bite.

Sarah's group wasn't so lucky—two members had already eaten the food. Sarah herself was drinking a potion, trying to help.

What surprised me most was Greg's group. They were suddenly on their feet, weapons in hand.

Moving toward us.

Why?

The next moment, Greg had Micca with a dagger to her throat, his party behind him with weapons out.

"You truly are a meddlesome child," Greg snarled at me.

"Not only do you work for monstrous creatures who seek to destroy our society—but you do so happily, making a mockery of us all." He glared at me, while I saw Sarah desperately trying to tend to her two poisoned party members—who clearly hadn't gotten an antidote in time.

I didn't know what was going on. My own party quickly gathered themselves. Micca looked terrified—the dagger had already broken her skin, and she was starting to bleed.

"What do you want?" Jen asked, her voice low and steady as she glared at them.

"We want you all dead—but apparently, that's not possible. So we'll take the dragon tail. All of it. Or the girl dies," Greg said.

Liane had a deadly look in her eyes. "You hurt that girl, and you'll all be dead before you so much as raise a weapon."

"Just shut your mouth and hand over the tail," Greg snapped, "and this silly, traitorous girl will live another day."

"You do realise the dragon will come after you? You idiot," Hari said, trying to reason with him.

"No, it won't. It'll blame you. Those beasts are mindless things—it will do my job for me. Now hurry up and hand over the tail. All of it," Greg practically yelled.

I looked at the others and was just about to pull it out of storage when something happened… something I don't think I'll ever forget.

Greg's arms—fell off?

No, they were cut. Both of them. There was a pause from everyone as it took a moment to realise what had happened. Micca, surprisingly, was the first to act, running forward towards us with a scream.

The next few seconds felt like they played out in slow motion. A head hit the ground—it was like the body hadn't even realised it was dead yet, still standing there, headless.

I looked on in shock. Was this Milo? I knew he had done this to the bandits, but these guys should be on the same level as him. This couldn't be right.

As another of Greg's party raised a weapon, he too was killed in an instant—his entire body cleaved in two in a gruesome scene.

Jen quickly shielded Micca from what was happening, but I couldn't turn away.

I was stunned.

The final member of Greg's party dropped his staff and fell to his knees—when it clicked in my mind what must be happening. If it wasn't Milo, the only answer was Lily…

"Stop!" I tried to call, and maybe Lily listened to me—but I hadn't even noticed Crisplet come out.

I watched as Greg erupted into flames—his clothes, then his flesh, turning to ash before my eyes in a powerful pillar of fire.

He didn't even scream.

The final member of their party remained kneeling on the floor, eyes wide, but still alive.

"Crisplet, Lily—stop!" I called again, hoping they'd listen.

And it seemed to work. Lily appeared between me and the two other groups. Sarah's group had been a victim too, but Lily was clearly eyeing them off as well.

Crisplet came over. Greg's charred remains sat smouldering on the floor. The little flame elemental looked terrifying—blood red, with a powerful heat radiating from him.

"The other group is not our enemy," I said, hoping Lily wouldn't kill them. Ultimately, I had no control here—I hadn't even known Lily was here. I didn't even sense her this time.

Hari pulled himself together enough to take control of the situation and started issuing orders.

"Jen, get Micca out of here. Milo, cage the remaining member—we need to have some words. Liane, I think Trev has enough protection; go help Sarah with her team—some of them look to be doing poorly," Hari barked, snapping back into leadership mode. He cast another glance at me, where Lily and Crisplet were still pacing back and forth in front of me.

Sure enough, a cage of stone and air erupted around the last surviving member of the Stone Front party, and Jen was already leading Micca away toward the stables.

Hari never took his eyes off the kneeling man, who was still frozen in place, staring at the smouldering scene.

"You idiots. What did you expect to happen?" Hari practically growled at him.

"I… I… I don't know. Greg just said to go along with it—he's never done something like this before," the party member stammered. His staff was swallowed up by stone—precautionary, though unnecessary for a mage who was already broken.

A couple of moments later, I saw Sarah's party beginning to recover.

What surprised me most was seeing some of my food being used in the process, alongside several potions from both Sarah and Liane.

I was still stunned.

All this—over what? A dragon tail?

No, not even that. Greg had said it was because I was working for the monsters. What did that even mean?

Once things had calmed a little, I could still feel the unease lingering. Everyone was still on edge, especially with Lily present. Her pressure hadn't faded at all.

"Uh… Lily, the dragon tail is ready, if you'd like to get Sylverith," I said carefully.

She looked at me, then to the others in the room—clearly not convinced the danger had passed.

"I'll be fine now. These guys will protect me. Crisplet will protect me," I added, trying to reassure her.

After one glance at Crisplet—and a bright burst of sparks later—Lily vanished.

Were they… able to talk to each other?

Not the time to worry about it. The first thing I did was go around and purify all the items that had stew, just in case we'd have to deal with the poison again. That included all the bowls that had already been used.

Once that was done, I went to check on Micca. I knew Jen was with her, but I needed to make sure she was okay.

Heading into the stables, I spotted them. The cut on her throat had already healed, but she had tears in her eyes as Jen was talking to her.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Crisplet was still following me.

"I… I think so?" Micca said between sobs. Jen just nodded at me.

I left quickly because Crisplet was spooking the horses and Drakhal—even if unintentionally. I wasn't going to ask Crisplet not to defend me; I feel like I'd just be ignored anyway.

When I re-entered the main room, I noticed that the three corpses had been sunk into the stone, with only their storage items left on the ground for now.

Hari appeared to be questioning the remaining party member—and looking furious. I made my way over to Liane and Sarah. Two of her party members looked to be suffering the worst—both incredibly pale—but, importantly, they were alive.

It was at that moment I heard the unmistakable sound of wings outside.

Lily reappeared in the room just as a heavy thud sounded from outside, followed by a small tremor through the ground.

Guess it's time to see Sylverith.

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