Chapter 1294: Chapter 1294: The Café Menu Transaction
Shard did not mistake the person, nor was this an illusion. Because he had used the Maze Lock [Sleeping Princess] to aid this witch and had borrowed her power multiple times within it, Shard was very familiar with Miss Fiona Drago’s power.
In front of him was indeed the young lady he had encountered at the Gadis Library. From the Forest of Thousand Trees in the Western Continent to the Valley of Dead Silence in the Midland, and now to the City of Eternal Night in the Northern Continent, Shard had encountered the founder of Saint Byrons for the third time.
“Miss Fiona Drago?”
He called out the young witch’s name again, pronouncing it in the standard language of the Fifth Era, but the Red Dragon Witch dressed as a maid merely repeated her question:
“Welcome to the Dragon Maid Cafe. May I help you with anything?”
Her expression seemed somewhat dazed, and her eyes lacked any sign of true presence. Seeing this situation, Shard could only reach out to touch her forehead, attempting to investigate more carefully:
“Oh, the last time we met, you were at the Seventh Rank, and in just four short years, you’ve already reached the Eleventh Rank? Miss Feliana and Miss Orland really are…”
Then came a sudden surge of force:
“How rude!”
The witch grabbed Shard’s hand, trying to pin him directly to the ground, but at this moment, Shard had already transformed into a swarm of fluttering red butterflies. While the witch’s tail swept by, turning two butterflies unable to dodge into red glimmers, the majority of the butterfly swarm had already gathered by the white table closest to the door, where Shard took a seat:
“Apologies, please bring me the menu.”
Miss Drago stood motionless in place for at least half a minute before she walked over, handing the menu to him and then quietly standing aside waiting.
The menu had a red cover embossed with the store’s name in gold. Opening it, the left side of each page had pictures, and the right side contained text descriptions.
The first page boldly stated:
[The Great One – The God of Wealth “Golden Slug” blessed golden crisp pancakes, consuming them increases the eater’s fortune for 72 hours.]
[The pancakes might have a sticky slug-like texture, but that’s the blessing of the god.]
Below it was the price:
[Requires payment of 30 ounces (about 850.49g) of gold, or a sacrifice of 1.5 pounds (about 0.68kg) of one’s own body to the darkness.]
This price was quite fair, though it was unclear how potent a fortune boost for 72 hours would be.
Shard turned to the second page, where the next contents were equally astonishing:
[The Demon King’s Soul Black Coffee, drinking it causes one to fall into a high-ranking evil spirit demon.]
[Not everyone is qualified to drink this beverage. Souls of rubbish, do not order.]
[Requires payment of one’s soul or a satisfactory story.]
The accompanying image was of bubbling coffee, with the page intricately illustrated such that Shard could see countless wailing souls reaching out with their arms from the coffee, as if it were a hell of black lava.
Shard blinked and turned to the third page:
[The Philosopher’s Stone Macaron, available to-go.]
[Crafted by a Grand Sage, a delicate dessert that won’t cause weight gain or cavities even when consumed in excess.]
The accompanying image was of the colorful small round cookies commonly seen, which Mia greatly enjoyed. Although the description didn’t mention its effects, it was apparent this was essentially a true Philosopher’s Stone sculpted into the shape of small round cookies, the pinnacle achievement of alchemy.
Of course, the price was not cheap:
[Requires payment of 10 gallons (about 45.46L) of Water of Moonlight.]
Shard calculated that at the rate at which the ritual in his family’s attic produced “Water of Moonlight,” not even waiting until Angelina turned 17 today and reached Priest Augustus’s current age would gather enough material.
Realizing he couldn’t waste time, he stopped meticulously reading each page and turned directly to the last page. Just as he expected, the “Dragon Maid Cafe” sold not only pastries and coffee but everything suggested by its name.
[Half-Blood Dragon Maid – Fiona Drago, Eleventh Rank Witch also working as an Eleven-Ring Sorcerer, a lost mortal in the City of Eternal Night, father from Red Dragon Nobility, mother from Half-Blood Elf lineage.]
[A beautiful mortal woman, understanding time yet ignorant of the greatness of darkness.]
The attached picture on the side was an exceptionally beautiful and detailed portrait of the Red Dragon Witch. She wore a black and white maid’s long dress, with her hands clasped together and hanging in front of her chest, her large red tail drooping on the floor, wrapping around the base of her skirt, barely revealing the black small leather shoes, with the tail tip resting behind her, and a small bundle placed at her feet. The background was this cafe, though compared to the detailed depiction of the maid herself, the cafe appeared somewhat simplified.
[Eternal dominion requires a light payment.]
“Light?”
The quantity is not specified here, so Shard doesn’t know the exact amount. But no matter what, he can’t leave Miss Fiona here. Not only because she’s his friend, but also he needs to know the current situation; Saint Byrons also needs this future principal.
“Miss Maid, I want this.”
He placed the menu on the table and spoke to Fiona. The red dragon girl looked down at the menu:
“The guest has purchased the maid; may I ask through what channel you wish to pay?”
“Hmm… what payment methods are allowed here?”
Shard asked in response.
Then Fiona turned and walked to the counter, bringing out a black glass jar. Such glass jars are commonly used to store materials that cannot be directly exposed to light; the Shard Family’s basement has them.
“Please use this.”
She opened the lid of the glass jar. Shard instinctively looked inside, and the abyss-like darkness immediately made him feel dizzy.
All the surrounding light gathered towards the jar at that moment, and the room immediately darkened. Shard noticed that even the night outside seemed restless, so he quickly extended his finger:
“Moonlight.”
When the bright silver moonlight appeared, the black jar immediately abandoned the surrounding ordinary light. From Shard’s fingertips, several silver threads connected to the depths of the jar, with the light being quickly absorbed by it.
“How much do I need to pay?”
Feeling the rapid consumption of his spirit within, Shard asked Fiona beside him. At these locations where the Tree Father tests, time and space have no concept, and spirit and stamina cannot recover easily.
The maid did not answer, just stood there quietly watching Shard’s hand. Shard knew he couldn’t waste too much time, so he promptly summoned the Ring of Fate, releasing the Light Spell with his strongest posture.
Under normal circumstances, such a Light Spell could sweep over half the city, but at this moment, it only created hundreds of silver bright lines between Shard’s finger and the black jar.
The rapid consumption of spirit did not yield any optimistic signs, with the jar continuously absorbing the light, and Shard merely concentrated on waiting. He was not worried this was a trap, knowing that such places most value honesty.
During the waiting period as his spirit was continually consumed, Shard discovered that in this state, with the light connecting from his finger to the other end, he could more easily manipulate light to “transform,” essentially changing the light into other forms.
This skill enabled him to develop multiple variations of the Moonlight Slash, a basic Arcane Technique when he was at a low ring level. Taking advantage of this precious state, Shard contemplated the variations of his offensive arcane techniques.
The first thought was from recently, when Iluna demonstrated the Sun in Hand to Miss Galina, gradually, the moonlight from Shard’s fingertips transformed into appearing from his palm, as if he was holding a round silver moon:
“But this way lacks attack power.”
He pondered and then considered his technique [Binding Aura], he laboriously changed the silver sphere in his palm into a ring floating in his hand.
This process was rather challenging, taking nearly five minutes to complete. Watching the dense silver threads from the ring connect to the black jar, resembling a moldy doughnut, Shard felt that besides actual attack power, this appearance might produce a stronger mental attack:
“A simple ring still lacks attack power, even if I placed it over my head, I wouldn’t transform into an angel.”
He continued to think, then controlled the perimeter of the ring to create jagged light blades. But this merely altered the appearance of [Binding Aura] without escalating its attack power. This is akin to drawing a “king” symbol on Mia’s forehead with ink, not transforming Mia Cat into Damia Tiger.
The change in shape wasn’t enough to produce fundamental alterations.
But Shard was already unable to continue thinking, because the rapid extraction of light left his spirit dangerously depleted. The Pink Vial of Desire couldn’t be brought here, even if Shard partially exempted the rule of spirits not recovering; the slow recovery rate couldn’t offset such terrifying consumption. With the uncertainty of what would happen next, the current situation was quite dangerous.
[So, abandon this witch?]
“She” asked with a smile.
“How could I?”
Shard spoke, and surprisingly, directly placed his glowing hand into the black jar. Darkness devoured his hand, but the glimmer of Silvermoon protected Shard’s hand from completely disappearing. The emptiness of darkness made the extraction of spirit even quicker, with even the Ring of Fate behind him showing signs of faltering. But just at this moment, amidst the flowing stream of light, some burning golden embers appeared, as the skin on Shard’s fingers cracked in a frightening manner as if scorched, with golden light emanating from the cracks.
The cracking swiftly spread to Shard’s entire arm, the divine embers’ light thoroughly illuminating the mouth of the jar. Shard ceased the casting of the Light Spell at this moment. The darkness seemed fearful of the divine light; in just a few seconds, the container itself began trembling, with the sound of faint movements, spider-web-like cracks clearly appeared on the surface of the black glass jar.