The air shimmered faintly and then the portal reopened with a whoosh of wind.

From it rolled out an entire barrage of industrial oil fryers—six of them in total, each one massive and shining under the light like metallic beasts.

They were attached to small propane tanks, connected with thick black hoses that snaked across the ground.

And right behind them, stumbling out of the portal, came Luca.

"Sorry I'm late!" He called out, wiping sweat from his forehead. "There was this old lady on the road whose car broke down, so I helped her fix it. Took me an extra bit of—"

He stopped mid-sentence.

"…Wait, you probably don't even know what a car is, right?"

"It's—uh—it's a thing that moves fast. On wheels. Kind of like a carriage but—"

But before he could even attempt an explanation, his gaze shifted toward the table and his words died in his throat.

There, laid out in neat, perfect rows, were more than a hundred and fifty chicken pieces.

Each one of them was beautifully battered, evenly coated, golden-white with flour, looking ready to be dropped into oil.

The sight was enough to make any chef's heart skip.

"Whoa…" He muttered, stepping closer in awe. "You...actually finished all of this?"

At that moment, Luna turned around. She had a smear of flour on her cheek and streaks of it across her apron, her hair a bit messy, her face glowing from effort.

And the moment she saw him, her whole expression brightened.

"You're back!" She said happily, waving at him before gesturing toward the table. "What do you think? I followed every single instruction you gave me."

"Maybe it's not exactly how it's supposed to look since it's my first time making it...but I did my best!"

Her tone grew sheepish toward the end, and she rubbed her wrist nervously.

"I'm sorry if it's not perfect."

Luca stood there for a second, completely still, before he finally broke into a grin.

"Luna...this is incredible."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"I mean it." He said warmly. "You did a perfect job. The batter looks light, the coating's even—this looks professional!"

"Honestly, I thought you'd have a hard time handling the chicken, and I'd need to help you through half of it, but you did everything yourself."

"You really outdid yourself, Luna. You truly did."

Luna blinked rapidly, her lips trembling slightly before she broke into a bright, proud smile.

"R-Really? You mean it?"

He chuckled, brushing a bit of flour off her cheek with his thumb.

"Of course I mean it."

Before Luna could melt into a puddle right there, a familiar voice chimed in behind them.

"What about me, Hero?"

They turned to see Nyx striding toward them—her face freshly washed off all the blood, her hair slightly damp, but her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"I also did quite a bit of the heavy lifting, you know. My hand still hurts from all the chopping!"

Luca laughed nervously, sensing trouble.

"Ah, right, right, I was getting to that—"

But Nyx raised her hand to stop him, flashing that devilish smile of hers.

"Actually...never mind. You don't have to say a thing. You already know how much I've contributed."

She leaned on her cleaver dramatically.

"Though, I was wondering...can I keep this?"

Luca blinked. "The cleaver?"

"Mmhm." She swung it lightly, admiring its weight. "It's such a lovely thing. Cuts like a dream. Perfect for slicing bones. So...can I?"

He hesitated. In the back of his mind, he imagined that cleaver joining her personal torture collection in that creepy shed Luna had mentioned.

But, well—she had earned it.

"Sure." He said finally. "But try not to...play around with it too much, alright? I don't want you chopping off your fingers or someone else's by mistake."

Nyx's grin widened, and she hugged the cleaver like it was a beloved pet.

"You have my word."

…Which did not sound comforting at all.

But before he could think too hard about that, she had already turned her attention toward the metallic machines he'd brought in.

She walked up to one, tapped its side with a knuckle, and tilted her head curiously.

"And what about these? Are they some kind of weapon? They look like weapons.".

"You could only wish."

He laughed, while brushing away the remaining flour from Luna's cheek, earning a flustered giggle from her.

"These aren't weapons, they're fryers. Oil fryers from my world. They're used in restaurants to cook large amounts of fried chicken quickly."

"Machines...just for cooking chicken?" Luna blinked in awe.

"Yup." Luca said proudly. "You pour oil into this hollow space here and see this tank underneath? That's propane gas. It heats the oil, no firewood needed."

"And look, there's even a temperature control, so we can make sure every piece is perfectly cooked without burning anything."

"Your world sounds incredible!" Luna's eyes sparkled. "You even have machines that cook for you!"

Luca grinned. "Pretty convenient, huh?"

Meanwhile, Nyx was still inspecting one of the fryers, running her fingers along the metal rim and suddenly a dangerous gleam entered her eyes.

"Even if you say it's not a weapon." She murmured. "I can already think of...other uses."

"Like you could easily tie someone up and dunk them in here. Watch the oil bubble, watch the skin peel, hear them scream—"

"Okay, okay!" Luca clapped his hands, cutting her off quickly. "No, we're not turning my fryers into death traps, you little psychopath."

"Shame." Nyx just chuckled, twirling her cleaver. "It'd be very effective in bringing out confession. Just seeing it in action would make anyone tell even their dirtiest of secrets."

"Stop talking and just pour the oil in, Nyx."

He said exasperatedly, summoning several giant canisters of golden cooking oil from a portal to which Nyx happily got to work—

—humming to herself as she poured, clearly imagining very different uses for the machines.

As Luca turned back toward the table, something caught his eye.

Several large bowls filled with rich, glossy sauces.

One type was dark brown, and the other a deep red.

"Wait...no way." He muttered, stepping closer.

He dipped a finger into one, tasted it and his eyes widened in shock.

It was delicious. Perfectly balanced, sweet, spicy, savory, exactly how it should be.

He tried the second, and it was even better.

He then turned to Luna, his voice filled with surprise.

"Luna...did you make this too?"

She blinked. "U-Um…"

"I mean, I gave you the recipe just in case, but I didn't expect you to actually finish the sauce—especially not this well!"

He said in awe, wondering if she has a talent for cooking.

"Not to mention that this sauce is quite complex, you need to balance so many flavors, but you nailed it! Also—"

But Luna's cheeks flushed bright red as she quickly said,

"Actually...I didn't make it."

Luca blinked. "Huh? Then…"

He turned to Nyx. "So it was you?"

Nyx raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like someone who makes sauce, hero?"

He hesitated. "…Good point."

"Then who?" He asked, puzzled. "Another villager? Someone helping us secretly?"

Luna shook her head again.

"No, it's...not a villager either."

Luca frowned, completely lost.

"Then who made it, Luna?"

Luna hesitated, then looked up at him shyly, her voice quiet but certain.

"It wasn't a who, Luca." She said softly. "It was a what."

"Huh? A what?"

She nodded slowly before finally saying,

"The sauce...was actually made by the spirit of the forest."

"."

".."

"..."

"...The spirit of the what now?"

"The spirit of the forest!"

Luna said quickly, almost tripping over her words in her excitement.

"I'm talking about the spirit of the forest, Luca!"

Luca's brows furrowed as he folded his arms.

"You're going to have to explain that one to me, Luna."

"I will, I will." She said hurriedly, nodding. "What happened is that after I finished coating the chicken, I wanted to move on to the sauces."

"But when I looked at your recipe, it was well…"

She rubbed her arm sheepishly.

"...it looked really complicated. Too complicated."

"I didn't even know where to start! But I didn't want to waste time or let you down either, so I thought and thought and then I remembered—maybe I could ask her for help."

Luca raised an eyebrow. "Her?"

"...The Spirit of the Forest."

Luna repeated, lowering her voice as if speaking about something sacred.

"So I took all the ingredients you listed and placed them near that big tree over there."

She pointed toward a towering tree with roots as thick as her waist.

"Then I also put your recipe there, and I just...spoke to her."

"You...spoke to her?" Luca echoed, absolutely having no clue where this was going.

Luna nodded earnestly.

"Yes. I told her what we were doing, that we wanted to make something wonderful, something that would help the village and I asked for her help. And then I went back to finish my other work."

"And when I came back a little later…"

She gestured toward the table full of sauces, her eyes glowing with pride.

"...the bowls were filled. Perfectly mixed, perfectly seasoned. Just like magic! The spirit must have heard me and decided to help."

Luca stared at her like she'd just told him she was friends with a talking cloud.

"Okay, hold on—back up a little."

He finally exhaled, his brow furrowed in disbelief.

"What exactly is this Spirit of the Forest you're talking about?"

"Please tell me it's not actually some kind of floating leaf ghost wandering around granting culinary miracles."

To his surprise, Luna nodded solemnly.

"She really does exist. For thousands of years, we elves have believed in her. She's the Mother of the Forest, the soul that connects every tree, every blade of grass, every animal you see here."

"She's been watching over us long before we even learned how to speak elvish."

Luca's eyebrows shot up.

"You mean she's an actual entity? Like, alive-alive?"

Luna nodded again, her voice filled with quiet reverence.

"Yes. Along with the goddesses above, we also pray to her before every meal and celebration."

"But until a few decades ago, she never really did anything directly. Everyone believed she was more of a concept—something to honor, not something that actually responded."

"But then..." Her face brightened, excitement replacing her calm.

"A few decades back, she started manifesting herself! She began helping villagers in small, miraculous ways."

Luca tilted his head. "Helping? How?"

"Oh, all kinds of things!" Luna said eagerly, counting on her fingers. "Like when someone's too weak to carry water from the stream, the buckets suddenly go back home on their own!"

"Or if someone loses something precious, they'll wake up and find it neatly placed outside their door."

"Sometimes, if a villager can't pick fruit because they're tired, baskets of fresh fruit appear at their doorstep overnight!"

She smiled warmly, clearly proud.

"She's been doing stuff like this for years now. Always quietly, always kindly."

"So basically...."

Luca said slowly.

"You have a supernatural forest caretaker who acts like your personal maid?"

"Don't call her that!" Luna puffed her cheeks. "She's...She's our guardian."

"Right." Luca muttered under his breath. "Guardian maid."

Still, he couldn't deny he was intrigued.

Magic was one thing, but a literal manifested spirit doing chores for people?

That was another level entirely.

He ran a hand through his hair and stared at the sauces again, half expecting them to start glowing.

"Alright." He said finally. "So you're saying this...spirit...actually made these sauces? As in—took my recipe, from my world, and just whipped them up?"

"Yes." Luna said simply.

"But that doesn't even make sense." He sighed. "These recipes are from my world. There's no way some ancient forest entity would know about frying chicken, let alone how to make dipping sauce!"

Luna just smiled innocently.

"I don't know how she does it. But the spirit always helps those who ask sincerely. She doesn't speak, but she understands everything."

"...And you've seen her?" Luca asked, folding his arms again.

Luna shook her head.

"No one's ever truly seen her. She doesn't have a body, or at least not one we know of. But she's always around us. You can feel her. Especially when she helps you."

At that moment, Nyx slid closer, placing a hand on Luna's shoulder with a teasing smirk.

"You're forgetting the most important part, Luna."

Luna blinked. "Huh?"

Nyx's grin widened. "You're not telling him the fact that the fact the fact that the spirit adores you...

"...You're basically her chosen one."

Luna's cheeks turned scarlet. "N-No, I'm not! I'm just the same as everyone else!"

"Oh, please." Nyx chuckled. "You're her precious chosen one. Everyone in the village knows it."

"I'm not special." Luna said quickly, shaking her head. "The spirit helps everyone the same way."

"Uh-huh." Nyx arched an eyebrow, smirking. "Then how come she always answers your requests first? Everyone else waits for help, but you get miracles within minutes."

Luca raised a brow. "Wait—so Luna's, what, the favorite?"

"Pretty much." Nyx nodded, amused. "The spirit loves helping anyone who needs it, but when it comes to this little one..." She said, patting Luna's head fondly. "...it's like she has a direct link to the divine."

Luna groaned softly, hiding her face in her hands.

"Auntie…"

"Oh, don't be modest." Nyx said cheerfully. "Even Lulu gets help, but her requests are ridiculous."

Luca perked up. "Ridiculous how?"

Nyx rolled her eyes.

"She once prayed for a chicken taller than the trees so she could ride it into battle. Another time she asked for wings made of feathers so she could fly with her 'avian brethren.' The spirit's probably still trying to figure out what to do with her."

Luca couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Yeah, that sounds like her alright. A giant chicken mount—imagine the look on everyone's faces if that showed up."

"The spirit ignored her both times, thankfully." Nyx shrugged.

"Probably for the best." Luca said with a grin.

Then an idea suddenly struck him and his grin grew mischievous.

"Technically." He said. "I'm part of this village now, right?"

Nyx tilted her head. "That's true."

"Which means..." Luca continued, cupping his hands around his mouth. "...the spirit should also hear my requests!"

Before anyone could stop him, he turned toward the trees and bellowed.

"O great Spirit of the Forest, if you can hear me—please heed my request!"

Luna's eyes widened in panic.

"L-Luca, what are you doing—?!"

"I want a harem of busty, beautiful slime girls!"

He shouted, voice echoing through the clearing.

"Preferably with huge chests and round asses! Make them clingy, affectionate, and soft as heaven itself!"

"LUCA!"

Luna shrieked, running up and smacking his arm repeatedly.

"You can't say things like that to the Spirit! That's sacrilegious!"

He laughed, dodging her hits. "What? I'm just testing the system! You said she grants wishes!"

"Not that kind of wish!" Luna yelled, her cheeks puffed and burning bright red. "You're being perverted!"

He dodged another playful punch and teased.

"Why? Are you jealous of the slime girls?"

Luna froze mid-swing, blushing furiously.

"W-What—?! N-No!"

"I'm just saying—you're surrounded by beautiful elves already, and you're thinking of slime girls?!"

Luca grinned, leaning closer with that familiar roguish smirk.

"Elves are beautiful. I agree completely. I mean—adorable ears, graceful faces, lovely figures…"

He reached out and gently brushed a finger along Luna's ear, making her flinch and turn even redder.

"See? These ears are amazing."

"But slime girls..."

Luca continued dramatically.

"...are on a completely different level!"

"Think about it—the possibilities are endless! They can change shape, form, texture—imagine the flexibility, the feel, the—!"

"LUUUCA!" Luna cried again, trying to punch him as she looked like she was about to blow up.

"Wait, wait! I'm just saying they're scientifically fascinating!"

"Scientifically perverted!...Now come back here so I can punch you for putting elves under slime girls!"

She yelled, chasing him around the fryers while Nyx leaned on a table, smiling at the cat and mouse chase.

"Careful, Hero." Nyx called out between giggles. "If the spirit really is watching, she might just grant your wish."

Luca dodged another swing, grinning over his shoulder as he said,

"Then I'll die a happy man!"

"Not before I beat you for it!"

Luna shouted back, chasing him all over...

...while not even knowing that the Spirit of the Forest was watching over the scene with a bewildered look on her face.

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