Chapter 3180: Chapter 3181: Granny Kekoruo’s Secret Ceremony Box

"Granny Kekoruo’s Secret Ceremony Box..." Angel muttered softly, "Granny Kekoruo, why does this sound somewhat familiar?"

Angel chose to ignore the sudden déjà vu and continued reading.

According to the introduction, this Secret Ceremony Box isn’t a Secret Treasure, nor a clue to a Mysterious Object, but an extremely rare special tool.

—A gourmet tool.

Or rather, it is an auxiliary tool for gourmets.

Inside the Secret Ceremony Box, there is a peculiar ritual solidified, named "Sweet Wind Honey Fire Sugar Vein."

When the user activates this ritual and casts a food creation spell, it can enhance the effects of the food.

The so-called food creation spells are like Magic Bread and Milking Technique... these kinds of spells that conjure food from thin air.

Simply put, the function of this Secret Ceremony Box is to make something unpalatable taste better, and something good taste even better, and food with beneficial effects will become more potent.

Overall, it’s a quite useful tool for Gourmet Witches.

But for wizards of other factions, this tool is rather pointless.

The black-robed man seemed to know this tool wasn’t great, and after Angel had almost finished looking, he said, "The items on the list are just a portion, more goods I can’t put on the list. If the guest has any special needs, feel free to let me know, perhaps I have just what you need..."

After the black-robed man finished speaking, he waited for Angel’s response for quite a while but didn’t hear Angel speak.

He looked up, only to see Angel’s eyes fixated on the image of the Secret Ceremony Box, seemingly pondering something.

The black-robed man paused... Could it be that this person is not just an Alchemist but also a rare Gourmet Witch?

Otherwise, why keep staring at this Secret Ceremony Box?

However, the black-robed man was mistaken, for Angel was not focusing on the Secret Ceremony Box, but rather its prefix: Granny Kekoruo.

When he first saw this name, he felt a vague sense of familiarity but didn’t think much of it.

When Angel realized that this Secret Ceremony Box was a gourmet tool, fragments buried deep within the Memory Casket surfaced in his mind.

Angel had seen many records of the Origin World in the Culori Chronicles.

He had also received extensive information about the Origin World from Frost and the Observer.

Thus, he had some understanding of certain organizations within the Origin World.

As far as he knew, there was a "Central City" model Supernova Organization in the Origin World named "Milk Fountain Village". This organization is somewhat akin to the Candy House in the Southern Domain, catering to Gourmet Sorcerers, but its scale and scope far surpass that of the Candy House, being the true "Holy Land" for Gourmet Witches!

And "Milk Fountain Village" has a tradition where each generation of the Manager adds their name in front of Milk Fountain Village, as the true name of the village.

The current Manager of Milk Fountain Village is named: Kokoroa.

Hence, Milk Fountain Village is also called "Kokoroa’s Milk Fountain Village."

Notably, Kekoruo is the surname.

The reason Angel found the Secret Ceremony Box familiar was due to seeing the surname "Kekoruo."

Kekoruo is an exceptionally rare surname, coupled with the "gourmet" label, Angel strongly suspected that this Secret Ceremony Box might have originated from Milk Fountain Village?

Moreover, was it a tool from the lineage of the Managers of Milk Fountain Village?

While Angel was deep in thought, the voice of the black-robed man rang out again: "Are you interested in this Secret Ceremony Box? For Gourmet Witches, this tool offers excellent enhancements..."

Angel interrupted, "I’m not a Gourmet Witch."

The black-robed man’s voice came to an abrupt stop... If you’re not a gourmet wizard, why the intense interest in this box?

Suppressing the urge to complain inwardly, the black-robed man continued, "It’s fine; even if you’re not a gourmet wizard, it doesn’t matter, as long as you’ve learned any food creation trick or spell, you can benefit from this tool."

There are quite a few low-level tricks in the gourmet category that can be used to create food, and many wizards with a penchant for culinary delights often cross specializations to study them.

Therefore, if Angel had learned any such tricks, this Secret Ceremony Box would be useful to him too.

The black-robed man eyed Angel intently, and after a moment of silence, Angel said, "I have indeed learned one gourmet trick, but..."

Suddenly, Angel paused.

The black-robed man, even Laplace next to him, curiously looked over, "But... what?"

Angel’s eyes momentarily lost focus as if he had thought of something, he coughed into his hand, "...Nothing."

Then, Angel turned to the black-robed man, "Did you obtain this Secret Ceremony Box from Milk Fountain Village?"

"Milk Fountain Village?" The black-robed man looked puzzled at Angel, "What’s that name, is it a place?"

From the black-robed man’s demeanor, Angel sensed the same confusion he felt, indicating the black-robed man was not lying, he truly didn’t know of Milk Fountain Village.

"May I inquire about the origin of this Secret Ceremony Box?"

After asking, Angel felt slightly impolite, so he added, "I mean, I’m quite interested in the Secret Ceremony Box, its origin should be legitimate, right? I don’t want to purchase it only to run into trouble."

Angel’s comment not only made the black-robed man’s eyes light up, but also puzzled Laplace, "You’re interested in this box?"

Angel gently nodded.

He was indeed somewhat interested in the Secret Ceremony Box, mainly due to the "Kokoro" surname; if his guess was correct, it might very well be linked with the lineage of the Managers of Milk Fountain Village.

Moreover, even if he couldn’t use it, he knew Greya. If he gave this to Greya, he might get a better return.

So, if the price was right, he wouldn’t hesitate to buy it for a look.

Besides, Angel also had a not-so-valid reason: he wanted to see what exactly the black-robed man was trying to gain from him.

The black-robed man was far too attentive for no apparent reason, and Angel couldn’t believe such attention comes without a purpose. He must have ulterior motives.

Therefore, Angel also wanted to use this purchase to probe the black-robed man’s intentions.

Of course, if the black-robed man’s conditions were too outrageous, Angel could always choose not to buy the Secret Ceremony Box. After all, the box indeed had no direct use for him, similar to how "Haikute’s Breath" was something he might only buy to trade with others.

Laplace didn’t know the intricate thoughts swirling in Angel’s mind; seeing Angel interested in gourmet tools, he merely assumed Angel had a fondness for culinary delights.

This wasn’t unusual. Not only human wizards, but even Wise Sovereigns enjoy eating. According to Laplace, the Wise Sovereign often had Da Bao and Xiao Bao bring meat dishes from the outside world for him.

On the other hand, the black-robed man didn’t expect Angel to really be interested in the Secret Ceremony Box, and he hastily said, "Rest assured, there won’t be any trouble. This tool has been with me for over two hundred years, without any issues."

Perhaps thinking that saying this might not be enough to convince Angel, the black-robed figure pondered for a moment and then said, "This Secret Ceremony Box was something I found in a ruin, a burial item of a certain corpse. Its owner is already dead, so there definitely won’t be any trouble."

Angel: "Are you sure that the owner of the Secret Ceremony Box is the corpse in the ruin?"

The black-robed figure hesitated for a moment and shook his head. "I’m not sure, but that’s all I know. Tracing back further not only doesn’t align with my interests, but I also don’t have the capability to do so."

The words of the black-robed figure were quite sincere, and Angel also understood that delving deeper into the tracing issue indeed had no real significance.

Angel thought for a moment: "Since the owner was already a corpse when you obtained the Secret Ceremony Box, how do you know it’s called ’Granny Kekoruo’s Secret Ceremony Box’? Or did you name it that yourself?"

Black-robed figure: "There was a handbook on the corpse, which recorded some user notes of the Secret Ceremony Box. However, its origin was not specified."

"I have no other questions." Angel paused: "Shall we now discuss the price..."

Just as Angel was about to inquire about the price of the Secret Ceremony Box, he heard Luigi’s voice from the side: "Hey, are you planning to buy this thing?"

Angel turned to look, and at some point, Luigi, who had finished looking at the music sheets, was already standing beside him, craning his head to look at the list.

"The breath of Sea Cavern... Spiral-patterned spiky fruit..." Luigi muttered: "What are these things? Are you buying Granny Kekoruo’s Secret Ceremony Box? Isn’t this a Gourmet Witch’s tool? You’re not a Gourmet Witch..."

Angel retorted with a bit of irritation: "I’m not a Gourmet Witch, but I can still perform some Gourmet Witch tricks."

Luigi looked at Angel with some suspicion, but he didn’t ask further and instead turned to look at the black-robed figure: "How much for these two music sheets?"

The black-robed figure glanced at the music sheets in Luigi’s hand but didn’t speak. Instead, he turned to Angel: "Are you two making the payment together?"

Luigi frowned and was about to say something, but Angel interrupted him: "Shouldn’t it not be time for the final checkout yet? We haven’t even seen the actual items; we just want to know the price first before making a decision."

The black-robed figure seemed to realize he was being a bit hasty and gave a dry laugh. "I was too eager; I just haven’t been able to sell anything for a while, so I got a bit too impatient."

Angel nodded indifferently: "Why don’t you state the price first, and we’ll see if it fits?"

The black-robed figure went silent for a moment, then pointed to the two music sheets in Luigi’s hand: "These two music sheets are quite significant. They are hymns of a transcendent religion, and one of the sheets involves a special secret ceremony."

Luigi frowned: "You’re just saying this to hike up the price, right? Just quote the price directly."

The black-robed figure shook his head: "No, I’m not hiking the price. I just want to inform the customer that playing this music sheet outside might attract the attention of that sect. This is simply a kind reminder."

Luigi shrugged: "That’s no problem for me. I’m not planning on performing in the real world."

Luigi was well aware that this music sheet definitely originated from outside the Mirror Domain.

The Daylight Mirror Domain doesn’t have any religion.

The black-robed figure smiled: "Indeed, if the customer doesn’t leave the Mirror Domain, then it shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll give the quote; these two music sheets are called ’Impure Blood Purification Melody’ and ’Dark Alley Canon’. The former is twenty Crystalline, and the latter involves a secret ceremony, so its price is higher, at two hundred Crystalline."

Two music sheets, a total of two hundred and twenty Crystalline.

To Angel’s understanding of the Daylight Mirror Domain’s prices, this price was alright. To know that the first item he inquired about in the City of Hot Gold cost as high as fifty thousand Crystalline.

And that item was a "heavy" mirror.

These two music sheets definitely couldn’t compare to that mirror, but the price was indeed not high.

However, if the two music sheets were just ordinary music sheets, then the price would be a bit steep. In reality, you could probably buy them with gold coins.

But reality and the Mirror Domain shouldn’t be mixed, and the black-robed figure had brought these music sheets to the gathering and found "buyers in need", so a bit of markup was normal.

This markup was within a normal range.

Indeed, as Angel thought, Luigi’s ears perked up when he heard the price was only two hundred and twenty Crystalline and immediately wanted to pay for the purchase.

The price was indeed very reasonable. Considering he bought music sheets in the Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy, they started at a thousand Crystalline. Even more so, he couldn’t find what he specifically wanted.

These two music sheets with obvious religious characteristics were precisely to his liking, and the price was cheaper than those at the Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy, so he didn’t even haggle and wanted to make the purchase right away.

However, the black-robed figure didn’t immediately accept the Crystalline but smiled: "Why don’t you wait and checkout together? You might end up using fewer Crystalline in total."

The black-robed figure was implying something.

Luigi didn’t understand and thought buying together might offer a discount. With such a good deal, of course, he readily agreed.

Angel, however, understood that the black-robed figure was giving him a cue.

The black-robed figure also knew that his attentiveness was noticed by Angel, so he didn’t deliberately hide it and actively "hinted" that payment could be made using an "alternative" transaction method when checking out.

Angel smiled, not responding immediately, but focused on the black-robed figure: "What about the Secret Ceremony Box? How much would it cost in Magic Crystals?"

Angel made sure to emphasize "Magic Crystals".

The black-robed figure replied with a solemn expression: "Twenty thousand Magic Crystals."

As soon as he said the price, Angel hadn’t even spoken, but Luigi immediately frowned: "This price is way too steep. He’s not even a Gourmet Sorcerer..."

The black-robed figure replied indifferently: "This Secret Ceremony Box is originally meant for Gourmet Sorcerers, so naturally, the price is set for Gourmet Sorcerers. I can’t just set a different price because a non-Gourmet Sorcerer wants to buy it, right?"

"Moreover, even if I sell this to a Gourmet Sorcerer, it’s definitely not expensive." The black-robed figure looked toward Angel: "What do you say, esteemed guest?"

Angel did not deny it and nodded: "Indeed, it’s not expensive. I even think it’s priced much lower."

Solely based on functionality, this tool could definitely sell for a hundred thousand Magic Crystals, or even higher, if sold to Gourmet Sorcerers.

After all, among the non-technical branches in the Wizards’ Realm, Gourmet Sorcerers are the wealthiest.

Just look at Greya; she made a fortune just by relying on her Gourmet Spell Techniques, never short of money. If this item went on auction and Greya knew about it, she might even bring half her fortune for the bidding.

Angel smiled: "Selling it expensive has its reasons, and being cheap must also have its reasons, right? The Secret Ceremony Box must have some flaws not listed in the inventory, right?"

The black-robed figure nodded: "The guest is indeed knowledgeable; this Secret Ceremony Box does have some imperfections."

The black-robed figure made a "please wait" gesture, then walked to the Oddity Box and reached out to fish out a box from the blood-red mist.

From the outside, it looked like a ceramic box with Gothic-style rose vine patterns.

The box wasn’t large, enough for two hands to hold.

Unlike ordinary boxes, this one had tiny holes at each of its four corners, with four markings above the holes.

Dancing orange-red flames, calm blue water, swirling pink wind, and light green vines.

If these markings were elemental symbols, they would represent wind, water, fire, and natural elements respectively.

The question is, what’s the significance of these markings on the box?

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