Chapter 20: Chapter 17: Mysterious Dish…

Echoes of Fire and Shadows

Chapter 17: Mysterious Dish...

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It has been two days since my meeting with Lia and Thiasis. After my emotional moment with my mother and the uncomfortable realization that I was almost flashed by my Auntie, we took Auntie back to her room so she could get some rest and she could recover.

After that, I also had a somewhat emotional moment with my dad and my sisters when they returned from the house of Mia’s family. It seemed like Mia and her family were already preparing everything to move out to our village.

Anyway, my sisters had a bit of a negative reaction to what I had found about my life as Crux. Just like my mom, they thought I was going to leave them to go back to be with my real parents. Liliana had a bit of a tantrum and Luna looked extremely broken-hearted…

It was not an easy feat, but I was able to calm them both down thanks to the help of my mother...

I obviously reassured them that I was not going to leave in the middle of the night as I did with Mom… They made me promise that I would take them with me if I ever decided to go to meet my biological parents. So apparently I'll be taking them to meet my real parents with me when the time comes. 

The whole event was something that made Thiasis extremely amused and she has not stopped teasing me about it since then…

As for my dad… He wasn't really shocked or anything. You could say that he took everything pretty calmly since he was pretty focused on nodding to himself and saying things like: “That explains your talents in martial arts” or “Who do you think would win in a fight? Me or your real old man?” 

He was also laughing a lot while asking those questions so I just assumed he was messing around with me and played along.

Anyhow, Auntie woke up a few hours later after I had that emotional moment with my father and sisters. Much to my surprise, she knew everything Lia had explained to me. Apparently, this was Thiasis doing. She explained that she had shown everything to Auntie in a dream.

Well, Auntie was no longer angry at Lia and Thiasis, however, she was extremely embarrassed about the fact that she almost flashed my Mom and me and the fact that I had seen her real elven ears. 

Things were awkward between us for the rest of the day, but we were eventually able to laugh it off and put it behind us after talking for a bit.

She didn't want to explain (even to my Mom) why she was not wearing any underwear though… She said that she was taking that to her grave.

Unfortunately for her, Thiasis told me the reason Auntie was not wearing her undergarments. The answer to that mystery is that Auntie simply forgot to put it on since she had gone to sleep without it since it was apparently pretty hot the night before we went to the temple.

Of course, I swore to myself that I would never tell Auntie that I knew her secret. So the one taking that to the grave is actually me...

After that, everything was good and normal.

The soap that we made turned out alright. It wasn't a masterpiece or nearly as good as the ones on Earth but it was certainly a massive improvement compared to the cheap one I saw on the market. 

So we now have decent floral scented soap bars. Everyone including Mia and her family liked the new soap. Something which leads us to my current predicament…

"Please! Let's sell it! A 60% cut for you and 40 for me! How does that sound?" Harold was trying to convince me to sell the soap.

"No, this was just an experiment… Maybe in the future." I shook my head while tossing some books into a wooden crate.

This has been my problem for the last two days… My family and I have been coming over to Mia's house to help them pack everything up for their move.

Mia's dad has been basically harassing me in order to get me to put the soap I made for sale.

"C'mon! Do it for your poor father-in-law! You also gotta start saving up for your wedding with my daughter! Also what about the dozens of grandbabies you two will give me? You need to start saving for them too!" Harold placed his hands on my shoulders and then started shaking me repeatedly.

Today he started to weaponize my engagement with his daughter… Sigh… It is a bit annoying, to say the least...

However, I do think it is pretty amusing in some way that he's now using my relationship with his daughter against me when in the past he had a panic attack when he found out that we were engaged.

Anyway, where was I? Ah, right… The soap. 

It is not that I am not on board with the idea of selling the soap, after all, I will probably need some money for my trips in the future. It is just that I think that I can try to make a better one that is actually cheap to make.

"Don't worry about that! You just need to focus on making it while I handle…- Guhuuuh…!" Harold couldn't finish his sentence due to a flying sandal hitting him right in the nose.

He instantly fell to the ground on his back and started whimpering thanks to the pain.

"Stop harassing Julius!" Natalie yelled at Harold. "If you have the time to talk, you have the time to pack your things!" Natalie immediately scolded her husband. Her rabbit ears were moving angrily while she was doing it.

"Alright, alright, fine! Just don't throw more sandals at me!" Harold immediately relented while still covering and rubbing his nose to ease the pain.

"You're lucky I have already packed the kitchen knives." Natalie said in a joking manner… I hope…

"I think I'm gonna pack the things from the basement…" Harold looked extremely pale as he left and went downstairs.

Never in my life had I seen a man recover from a hit to the face and run away so quickly…

"Sigh… He's seriously getting me annoyed with how hard he is trying to make you sell your soap." Natalie sighed heavily.

Natalie got closer towards me and crouched right by my side. She immediately started patting my head and ruffling my hair.

"If he starts bothering you again just tell me and I will throw more of my sandals at him, okay?" She smiled warmly.

Ever since Harold started nagging me to sell the soap, Natalie warned me that I should never do business with her husband unless she is involved. She said that while he's a good man, his addiction to gambling makes him an untrustworthy business partner.

Then she told me that if I had any business ideas or anything that I wanted to sell, she would handle that for me. She said that we would split everything evenly.

Mom was present when I had that talk with Natalie, so she actually encouraged me to accept something which I did.

"Thank you very much, Natalie." I thanked her while I let her do as she wished with my hair…

"Anything for my future business partner and son~!" She winked at me while ruffling my hair.

I nodded and smiled in response.

Mom and Dad have also been going around Norvek interviewing some more people to move into our village.

Another five or six families have agreed so far. You wouldn't believe how much weight and power the name of the Skull Crusher has…

"Mom! Look at what I found!" Mia quickly came running upstairs. "Ugaah…-" As soon as she reached the last step, she fell face-first onto the wooden floor…

"Mia! Are you okay sweetie!?" Natalie immediately stood up and ran towards her daughter.

"I'm fine! This is only the fifth time today!" Mia stood up and dusted her clothing with a nonchalant expression.

Yeah… In the last two days, I have also learned how clumsy Mia can be sometimes… Let's just say that she and the stairs don't get along very well…

Or well… You could say that they DO have a very close relationship… 

"Jeez, you need to be more careful, Mia!" Natalie looked relieved. She started patting her daughter's head while confirming that she was unharmed.

"I was being careful! I just tripped all of a sudden!" Mia pouted in response.

When she did that, I was able to notice a very particular thing she was holding in her hands… It was a necklace.

As soon as I saw it, I couldn't help but touch the necklace that was currently glued to my neck…

I was reminded of one of the mysteries I hadn't solved yet about my reincarnation.

(Thiasis, I forgot to ask you about this necklace. Do you know why it appeared on Norvek half a year before I was transported to Falgren?) I asked the Goddess in my mind.

It is good that I now have somebody to answer these questions now.

(Well, I shouldn't be telling you this, but… Ah, who cares! Lia and I are pretty terrible when it comes to smaller details while we are using magic to manipulate space and time. So let's just say that it was a little mistake that your necklace was sent back in time.) Thiasis explained with amusement.

(I see… So that's how it ended up in the hands of the twins.) I was happy with the answer I had received. (By the way, does it have any special meaning or anything? Also, is there a way to take it off?) I asked her even more questions.

(It is a relic from your ancestors. Its only purpose is to declare who is next in line to become the rightful ruler of the Demons. If it stays glued to the neck of an individual, that person is selected as the next in line for the throne.) Thiasis explained with her usual happy demeanor. (As for taking it off… You can't actually do that... You can, however, put some mana into it while using the Dark Element and the necklace will become invisible and even untouchable if you desire that. Pretty neat, right?) Thiasis gave me another solution to my predicament.

I see… It has the purpose of choosing the next Demon King and it serves as proof of it for as long as it is attached to my neck huh.

(So the necklace is eternally stuck in my neck? That's good to know…) I smiled bitterly. (Though, it is worth trying to see if I can make it invisible just like you say.)

Of course, I decided to try to do what Thiasis had just suggested to me.

With only a little bit of focus, I moved some from all over my body towards my neck. The necklace immediately started absorbing all the mana I was sending to my neck…

I quickly imagined the necklace turning itself invisible, and just like Thiasis had told me, the necklace had disappeared…

As soon as I noticed that the necklace was actually gone, I tried to use my hands to confirm whether it had become untouchable as well…

It was surprisingly easier to do than when I made my dagger invisible when I fought those adventurers.

(How weird… I can feel that the necklace is glued to my neck, but I can't touch it with my hands… I don't know if I can get used to this feeling…) I expressed how strange I felt about using this magic.

Well, even if it does feel weird, this is pretty convenient.

(You'll get used to it!) Thiasis said happily. (Ah, whenever you want to make it appear again, you'll just have to absorb back the mana stored in the necklace and the spell will be dispelled.) Thiasis then explained how to make the necklace return to normal.

(Ah, I see… Let me try.) I closed my eyes and focused on the invisible necklace around my neck.

Slowly, I was able to drain the mana from it and made it return to its place of origin, in other words, my own body.

When I opened my eyes, the necklace was fully visible once again and I could touch it as well.

(See? Isn't my creation amazing?) I couldn't see Thiasis, but I was imagining her with a smug expression…

(You were the one who made it? It is really impressive.) I nodded and agreed with Thiasis.

(Liar… I was the one who made it.) Lia suddenly joined our conversation. She was not happy with her other half.

(Why does that matter! We are the same person!) Thiasis complained.

(I don't approve of you taking all the credit in order to look cool.) Lia was unamused.

Ah, so Lia came here to have a fight with herself… Good…

The two halves of the Goddess continued to argue in my mind while I ignored them and continued packing for my future in-laws.

That was until Mia sat in front of me and started tempting me with her fluffy rabbit ears… By this point, the fight between Lia and Thiasis had become background noise in my head.

"Julius, look! I found something cool!" Mia showed me a wooden necklace similar to my own. "Now we are a match!" She smiled very innocently.

The necklace had several carved patterns of some small and cute bunnies.

Hmm… It seems like this type of necklace is very common. Is it perhaps a traditional thing from this world?

I'll ask Lia later when she stops having an argument with her other half.

"That's a very cool necklace. I guess we really are a match now." I said with amusement. 

"Hehehe~!" Mia simply giggled innocently while her ears were moving with excitement.

While I was admiring how adorable she looked, I was able to hear several footsteps that were quickly approaching us.

Those footsteps belonged to Liliana and Luna.

"We are back! Let's have something tasty for lunch!" Liliana seemed extremely excited.

"W-W-We brought everything you asked for Julius." Luna stuttered a bit.

"Oh, you got everything? That's great! I'll get to making lunch in a minute." I smiled at them after quickly getting up from the ground. 

Yesterday, I was told by my Mom something very interesting about the skill she has that makes her able to see the Status of other people.

The name of the skill is [Appraisal]. This skill can only reveal the status of other people when it is on its maximum level.

For the record, the maximum level for all skills is Level 10.

The skill is apparently very difficult to obtain and even more difficult to level up. It is also pretty much useless on its early levels since it only gives the user knowledge they already had.

We were having lunch when she explained all that to me. That was when an idea came to my mind.

Since hygiene is not a priority for most people here (due to the high costs of hygiene products), I was worried that the ingredients we use for our food might not be the safest…

That is why I thought that I should learn that skill since it could help me identify if something is safe to eat or not.

My mom shot that idea down pretty quickly since apparently, it would take me at least three to ten years as a minimum to get the skill and get it to its maximum level…

It was a bit disheartening to hear that, but I still proposed another solution since I was still worried about the safety of our family. I'm still planning on getting that skill eventually though.

I asked my mom if she could go to the market and buy a few fresh ingredients for me. 

I, of course, had to explain what were the things I wanted her to watch out for. I told her everything that I knew about diseases like salmonella in order to see if she could find any fresh eggs or any other ingredient that carried those diseases.

So I basically told her to watch out for any contaminated food.

My mom's eyes were basically sparkling throughout the entire explanation… She even made me explain everything again from the beginning in order not to miss anything important.

Anyway… That would bring us to today where my Mom wanted to put her new knowledge to the test.

She took the twins as her assistants and ran off to the market a while ago.

"Mia." I offered my hand to help her get up.

"Thanks!" Mia held my hand tightly as she stood up. "Hehehe~!" Mia giggled while she kept holding my hand even though I had already helped her get up…

Natalie was looking at the two of us with an amused expression. She also winked at me a few times…

Sheesh…

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"Go ahead, Luna! It is your turn!" Liliana smiled at Luna before she started pushing her towards me.

"Ehh? W-Wait!" Luna panicked a bit while she was being pushed.

This is also something that has become normal in my life in the last two days… Both of my sisters have become even more clingy than before.

I don't really particularly mind since I like spending time with them and their attention.

As soon as Luna reached Mia and me, I offered her my remaining hand while smiling at her.

"..." As usual, Luna was averting her gaze and blushing slightly. Despite her embarrassment, she accepted my hand and held it tightly.

Just like Natalie, Liliana was looking at us with amusement while nudging Luna. That was just a small taste of all the teasing we would have to endure for the rest of the day...

"I'm getting a bit hungry, so why don't we go downstairs and get some lunch." I suggested with a smile.

"I want to eat something tasty!" Mia was drooling a bit.

"I wonder what my new son is going to make us~." Natalie started teasing me.

"I want to know too!" Liliana looked at me with great expectations.

"Me too…" Luna muttered. 

"I will only say that you're all in for a surprise." I said with confidence. "Let's get going then." I urged everyone to follow me to the kitchen.

What I had planned to make will definitely blow away their expectations!

While I was going downstairs the feeling of having forgotten about something suddenly hit me, but I couldn't tell what it was.

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"More please!" Mia, Liliana, and Luna raised their plates demanding more food. All three of them were looking at me with pleading expressions.

"On it." I agreed to their request, as I had already started making seconds of my special dish.

"This is really good... I love how sweet it is!" Natalie seemed extremely delighted.

"I agree. The sweetness is just perfect~." My mother nodded in agreement before taking another bite from my dish.

"Although I'm not really a fan of sweet things, this is pretty amazing." Auntie looked satisfied after emptying her plate.

"Aye. I wonder if you could make it spicy?" My dad was already thinking about how to modify his meal...

"I have achieved heaven…" Klein looked overjoyed while ravenously eating what was left on his plate.

"Julius, give some more of that dish to your good ol' father-in-law!" Harold raised his plate just like my sisters and Mia did.

"Marching." I nodded as I started making even more second servings of my special dish.

Fufufu! My plans were nothing but a great success!

Now, I'm sure you must be wondering what is the mysterious and marvelous dish that I made for them, right?

Well, that question has a pretty simple answer, my non-existent friend! The answer to that question is…

Pancakes!

"Marching another batch of delicious pancakes." I said with pride as I placed another plate with a tower of pancakes in the middle of the table.

"Hurray!" Mia and the twins looked at the tower of pancakes with sparkling eyes...

I was pretty surprised when I found out that my Mom was able to actually get all the ingredients that I asked for.

Eggs, milk, oil or butter, baking soda, salt, baking powder, a bit of honey, and sugar.

The baking soda and baking powder were apparently the hardest things to buy as well as the most expensive ones. 

Mom got them from a local and very popular bakery that is located at the market.

As for the other ingredients… Mom didn't have a lot of trouble finding them. They were expensive, but she was able to buy a lot for me to use.

Mom refused to tell me how much she spent… She said that I didn't need to worry about that and that I should just give it my all in the kitchen.

Anyway, Mom also noticed something extremely concerning… A lot of stalls had several ingredients that were carriers of Salmonella and other dangerous diseases.

Many people will have a bad time if they buy those ingredients…

This is a problem that I cannot solve on my own, sadly. I simply lack the medical knowledge as well as the power to do anything in this situation.

However, I know someone who might be able to do something...

"Do you want some more, Auntie?" I asked my aunt with a warm smile.

"Well… Just two or three more won't do any harm." My Auntie looked at the tower of pancakes with a bit of greed in her eyes.

I'll probably have to make some third servings for everyone.

Mom suggested having Auntie talk with the local lord in order to reach an acceptable solution in this matter.

The solution we want to propose is that the guild or the lord should hire people who have the skill [Appraisal] at Level 3 as a minimum to inspect ingredients at the market.

Why that level? According to Lia, after you reach that level, you should be able to see if any ingredients are carriers of diseases. 

Of course, I don't know in which situation the local lord is, so maybe what I want to suggest isn't likely to happen, but I still would like to try.

"Gods... The second batch is better than the first one!" Natalie seemed completely ecstatic. "Julius, you have to give me the recipe! Please teach me how to make this!" She looked at me with a pleading expression.

"I would love to learn how to make it as well." My mom smiled warmly at me while taking another pancake from the tower.

"Sure thing." I nodded in agreement.

My recipe is a pretty common one and I'm certain that Natalie and my mom will learn it quickly, however… They are one hundred years too early to surpass me when it comes to making pancakes!

Pancakes were the first I learned how to make and I have been making them for years! 

I won't lose to someone who just learned of the greatness of pancakes! These punks will never be able to surpass me! The Great Demon King of Pancakes!

All jokes aside, I'm really looking forward to seeing (and tasting) Mom's first attempt at making my favorite meal.

"Do you guys think you can handle a third batch?" I was extremely pleased that they liked my food.

Most of the people at the table were very busy munching and enjoying the pancakes, so they simply nodded vigorously.

"Alright." I smiled as I turned my back at them.

Pancakes were a complete success amongst the inhabitants of this world, now I wonder what I should make next time…

(Umm… Julius?) Thiasis suddenly called my name shyly.

For the record, Lia and Thiasis finally stopped fighting when I was taking a look at the ingredients my mom had brought. Just like their previous fight, they reconciled almost immediately.

(What's the matter?) I asked.

(I think we might have a problem… Do you think you can dye your hair brown with magic?) She asked me to do something seemingly impossible.

(I don't think I can do that…) I looked at the empty air with worry.

I have never read about a type of magic that would let you change the color of your hair, so it might be safe to say that it might not be possible or it hasn't been invented yet.

(Well, things may take a dangerous twist…) Thiasis seemed worried.

As soon as I heard those words, the front door suddenly burst open… 

I immediately turned my head around only to see Martin, who looked pale and sweaty… He was also panting a lot…

He definitely looked like he had run a marathon.

"Pant… Pant…" Martin kept panting while trying to recover his breath.

"Easy there, Martin." Auntie immediately looked at him with a bit of annoyance. "I suppose there's an emergency and you came here to tell me." Auntie tried to guess his motives while still being annoyed because her meal was interrupted.

Martin nodded vigorously.

"Then? What are we dealing with? A monster stampede? A bandit attack?" Auntie asked.

Martin shook his head rapidly before taking a deep breath...

"No, it is not any of that…" He said after he recovered enough to speak. "A carriage with the coat of arms of the Royal Family is currently at the gates of Norvek…" Martin seemed extremely worried.

Oh… Shit...

As soon as the words 'Royal Family' left his lips, everyone at the table stopped eating and looked at Martin with concern. My Mom, my Dad, and Auntie were obviously even more concerned than everyone else.

Things might have really taken a sudden turn… Let's just hope it is not for the worst...

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-----??? POV-----

I looked through the window of my carriage towards the outside. Norvek had not changed a single bit compared to the last time I was here.

"Remind me why we are here again. You said that we had sufficient supplies to reach the forest and go back to Mutm." I raised an eyebrow while questioning my mentor.

My mentor is a middle-aged woman who happens to be my paternal aunt. She has long white hair that usually arranges into a ponytail and a pair of extremely beautiful golden eyes. She's 1.60 meters tall and has a trained body.

Her current outfit consists of a large red coat with a black shirt underneath with matching pants as well as a pair of boots specially made for travel. Her whole outfit is adorned with several golden accessories to make her beauty stand out more. A golden rapier was lying on her lap.

Her name is Eliana Rilaes Marcel.

"Indeed. We have the supplies to reach the forest, however, the person we are looking for is currently in this town." She said with confidence while looking through the same window. "It doesn't really concern us right now since it is not the motive of our visit, but what in the world Earl Casca is doing with the money we gave him this year? Where are the improvements for the town that he was asking so desperately for?" My aunt rubbed her chin before taking a sip of her glass of wine.

"I'm certain that he spent it in paying the massive debt he had towards House Laurent. You can never trust anyone from the Casca Earldom with money from the crown." I told her my own conclusions.

"Well, you might not be so far from the truth there." She smiled while looking at the guards outside. "Marina, whatever you do, don't lower your guard against the Skull Crusher. We are not here to fight him, but as the Crown Princess, you need to keep your composure at all times. Make sure to remember that." The smile of my aunt disappeared almost instantly as she gave me a warning.

"This is not the first time I meet him. I will be fine." I wasn't worried at all.

"Keep my warning in mind. I have the feeling that things might not go as we expect today." She looked outside the carriage with a serious expression.

Before I could ask her what she meant, the door of our carriage was opened.

"Please pardon my intrusion, your highness." My butler was the one who opened the door.

His name is Tian Sebas. He has been serving the crown for decades. He was the personal butler of my aunt and now he's my butler.

"Have you found them, Tian Sebas?" My aunt asked.

"Yes, your highness. I have already sent a few messengers to inform them of your arrival." He bowed. "Although, if you don't mind the impertinence of this old man, are you sure that you don't want to pay a visit to Earl Casca?" Tian Sebas asked my aunt.

"I wonder… I'll leave that decision to Marina since she's the future Empress." My aunt said with amusement.

"You said it before, Earl Casca is not the motive of our visit. We are not going to pay him a visit since it is unnecessary." I immediately told them my thoughts.

Earl Casca is an annoying old man, and his sons and daughters are even more annoying and ill-mannered than him. The only saving grace of their family is the wife of the Earl. She's the only person from their family I can actually have a civilized conversation with.

There's no reason to subject myself to the burden of meeting them when it is unnecessary.

"Very well, you heard the Crown Princess. Although I'm still curious about what happened to the money we gave him… Tian Sebas, investigate that while we are discussing things with the Skull Crusher." My aunt gave new orders to the old butler.

"Understood. That is more than enough time for me." He acknowledged his new orders. "Then, if you'll excuse me, your highness." He bowed to me before closing the door of the carriage.

A few moments after the doors were closed, the carriage started moving slowly. We were now on our way to our destination.

"You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find useful subordinates like Tian Sebas… I was told by my father, in other words, your grandfather, that he found him in the ruins of a devastated town during the last civil war seventy years ago. Tian Sebas was an orphan, yet he proved to be far more useful and competent than most nobles and knights." My Aunt smiled at me while she told me the story of the old butler.

"What's the point of this sudden history lesson?" I said with indifference.

"Marina… Don't be like that..." My aunt looked slightly annoyed at me. "Sigh… The point is that sooner rather than later you'll have to find your own subordinates. Tian Sebas will not live forever, after all." She sighed heavily before looking outside again.

Subordinates huh…

"As the Crown Princess, you'll have to find people you can trust with your life. Whether you have to force them to serve you or they serve you willingly, it doesn't matter as long as they serve you well." She spoke with an extremely serious tone.

"Very well. I'm sure I can find someone like that in the Imperial Academy." I agreed with her line of thinking and started to formulate a plan to recruit someone.

"Who knows? Maybe you will find someone useful while we are here." My aunt Eliana then looked at me and smiled warmly.

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Chapter 17: Mysterious Dish...

END

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