Chapter 1296: Chapter 1296: The Pepper Shaker and the Teaspoon
“I haven’t seen any residents of this city. The information given to me by my teacher and Miss Feliana shows that only the buildings with signs can be considered relatively safe. My teacher and Miss Feliana prepared a lot of weapons and materials for me to enter these shops step by step to uncover the mysteries and meet the God of the Night. But now, the backpack is lost, and only a small portion of luggage is left inside this café…”
Her head hung low, and the tip of her drooping tail swept back and forth slightly, so Shard knew her mood without looking at her expression. However, Shard now understood what the small bundle at her feet referred to in the café menu illustration.
“Can transactions be made in these shops?”
Shard asked, pointing to the menu on the table, but Fiona cautiously shook her head:
“There are too many secrets here. Let’s just say most shops can be used for transactions.”
She reached into the large pocket of the maid’s skirt and fished out something with a brass color and round shape that looked like the base of some kind of instrument:
“This is the compass base prepared by Miss Feliana. My teacher and Miss Feliana researched many things in this city. Originally, I needed to find and enter three designated stores, transact and obtain all the parts of the compass, to find the road to the city’s center, but upon reaching the City of Eternal Night, I discovered it was more dangerous than imagined…”
The Red Dragon Girl appeared particularly dejected at this time, both hands folded together resting on her lap under the table:
“This is the first shop. Before entering here, I lost most of my luggage due to some accident and got eroded by the power of the night. To maintain self, not to be assimilated by the night, I was forced to make a transaction with the café, and then somehow got controlled by it.”
Shard understood this and felt the task given to the girl by Miss Feliana and Miss Orland was somewhat too dangerous.
“Is it just you on this mission?”
“Yes, it’s too dangerous here, and Miss Orland and Miss Feliana have become very urgent these past few years. Each of us carries many tasks. I know I’m not trying hard enough, but they trust me… something others cannot provide.”
She looked down at her reflection in the black tea:
“If you hadn’t come, I would’ve stayed here for a long time waiting for my teacher or Miss Feliana to rescue me.”
She never thought she would remain here forever. Like Shard, the Red Dragon Girl trusts those two Grand Witches very much.
“That feeling is truly terrifying. Clearly retaining a conscious mind, but unable to control one’s body. Shard, when I saw you barging in, I truly felt like I was dreaming…”
As she spoke, her eyes were actually a bit moist. Fiona was relatively young and not as strong as other witches Shard had encountered.
“Since I am here, it will be okay. Find the transaction materials from the three shops to exchange for the path to the Throne, right? Sounds no more difficult than collecting First Era texts for the Old God in the Gadis Library,”
Shard said, then pushed the menu to her:
“First, what do we need to get from this café?”
Fiona quickly flipped through the menu, which looked like it was only ten pages thin, but the last page Shard had flipped to was labeled page 108.
“I saw this after arriving, but unfortunately, we surely can’t buy it.”
She turned to the corresponding page number, and since they were originally sitting next to each other, Shard immediately saw the content clearly:
[Map of the City of Eternal Night, marking important locations and hidden roads within the city.]
[Map left by the monarch during the last visit to taste desserts.]
The left side image was a rolled-up parchment, stamped with a blue ink emblem on the back, which if Shard guessed correctly, should be the Holy Emblem of the God of the Night.
[Requires payment of a special Fate.]
Involving Fate, no cautiousness is excessive; hence, this is indeed not a product they can afford.
Fiona continued flipping forward, but before she reached the corresponding page number, Shard suddenly asked her to stop because he saw a very familiar name:
[Pepper shaker of The Great One – Lord of the Blood Feast, a relic, capable of making any food delicious when sprinkled. Frequent large doses will cause severe gluttony until the attention or descent of the Lord of the Blood Feast.]
[The delicious bait of the Lord of the Blood Feast.]
On the left side was an image of a metal canister with densely packed holes on top.
[Requires payment of a unique delicacy.]
“Shard, do you want this?”
The Red Dragon Girl asked curiously, and Shard shook his head immediately:
“No, no, just saw a familiar name, and the ‘unique delicacy’ as considered by the Deity is not something we can make. Moreover, even if we obtained this, I couldn’t take it away. Speaking of which, I have quite a destiny with this Deity.”
In fact, he thought, if the cultists in Tobesk had this last summer, they wouldn’t need to trouble themselves with preparing that complex Divine Descent Ritual. As for why the café would have a pepper shaker, Shard understood well. This world never notably produced pepper at any time, regarded as quite a precious spice; some indeed believed sprinkling pepper on desserts or even coffee was a sophisticated dining style.
The menu continued to be flipped until Fiona found her target. On the left side of the page was a golden teaspoon with intricate patterns on its surface, and on the right was the product information written:
[The precious tea spoon, an artifact of the City of Eternal Night, carries the breath of the City of Eternal Night.]
[Precious yet meaningless, but very beautiful.]
[Light is required for payment.]
“Light payment again?”
Shard was a bit surprised, while Fiona sheepishly explained:
“In this coffeehouse, items that are neither valuable nor distinctive require light for payment… I’m not saying I…”
“I understand, the judgment standards are different. Perhaps in the eyes of the gods, we are all unremarkable mortals, but to Miss Feliana, to Miss Orland, and to me, you are unique.”
The young girl showed a faint smile, and Shard then remarked:
“Then let’s buy this.”
As he spoke, he glanced behind him. The black jar that Dragon Maid Fiona had placed under the counter had somehow appeared on top of it again.
“I’ll do it.”
The Red Dragon Girl stood up quickly but was held back by Shard grabbing her sleeve:
“No, no, no, let me do it. After eating during the Blood Feast, I’ve recovered a bit, so let me.”
“You have already consumed too much saving me earlier. This time it’s just buying a tea spoon, I think I can handle it.”
“Listen to me.”
Shard also stood up, slightly taller than Fiona, who was wearing black buttoned low-heeled leather shoes:
“First, my spirit is very depleted right now. Isn’t yours too?”
The Red Dragon Girl slightly turned her eyes away from him, her tail tip tapping the ground.
“Second, as you know, I can leave soon, and I’ll have my ways to restore my spirit. But you will stay here, facing this eerie city and long night alone. Whatever the reason, you mustn’t be the one this time.”
Saying this, he pointed at himself:
“Moreover, I’m quite confident in my Light Spell skills.”
Fiona couldn’t argue against him and could only watch as he generated some Holy Water and drank it down, then moved the black jar back.
They couldn’t foresee how much light the tea spoon would demand, so before Shard was ready to act, Fiona needed Shard to promise:
“If you can’t hold on, don’t force it; retract your arm and let me take over. Shard, I’m also a formally acknowledged apprentice by the teacher, and I’m much stronger than you.”
The last sentence, however, was spoken with some lack of confidence.
The lid of the black jar was opened once again, and as the light source intensity in the café decreased, the night outside seemed like it wanted to seep in through the door cracks. Shard didn’t immediately extend his arm into the jar but instead honestly created a Silvermoon glow in his palm.
If it weren’t necessary, he wouldn’t actively use the power of Divine Afterglow. Fortunately, it truly wasn’t needed this time, as the value of the “precious tea spoon” seemed far less than Miss Fiona Drago’s. Shard’s spirit was merely depleted once more, and the jar stopped absorbing on its own.
The darkness within the jar faded away, revealing the slender silver tea spoon lying at the bottom of the container. Shard picked it up, and Fiona then supported the sweating Shard back to his seat and handed a sugar cake to his mouth:
“Actually, you don’t need to feed me…”
Seeing her expression, Shard knew it was best not to refuse, so he obediently finished off the sugar cake and then watched the Red Dragon Girl pour the remaining Holy Water into his cup, mixing it with coffee before handing it over to Shard.
Feeling much better now than before, he had the time to curiously ask:
“Your coffee stirring technique just now was very professional; did becoming a maid at this store give you the knowledge and experience?”
“No. When I was by the teacher’s side, these chores were done by us apprentices; it’s an apprentice’s duty.”
She looked at the table full of sweets and softly added:
“Actually, I’m quite good at cooking these desserts.”
The spoon can’t take effect just yet; they need to find two other items and combine them with the Compass’ base to function. The next target location is the silverware shop in the City of Eternal Night, which means they have to leave this warm and cozy café.
At this moment, the night outside was deep, completely devoid of any light, and walking out wasn’t an option. If they had to wait for the darkness to dissipate and the lights to come on, who knows how long they would need to wait, and by then, Shard might have already left.