“Haah… both of you, please stand up. There’s no need to be so scared; I can’t speak if you’re still bowing in fear like that.”

“B-but, Miss Immortal! We’ve ruined the cloak you were wearing, please! Forgive us and our kingdom!”

“Stand up! I forgive you; besides, the cloak I was wearing was just trash. If you want to replace it, just give me the cloak you have.”

“I-I have a cloak for the Miss Immortal! It’s just that this cloak doesn’t compare to the level of treasure you were wearing.”

“Level of treasure? What level is your cloak? Just give it to me.”

“T-this, Miss Immortal, I’m sorry if the replacement cloak I provide is only at the Unique level.”

“That’s fine.”

'D-damn, i was just pretending to be an expert, but they were truly deceived. What is this cloak they gave me? I-it's so beautiful, with a mix of black and purple. Doesn’t it make me look amazing? I-i’m really scared of my own face that managed to fool them. But what does 'level of treasure' mean? Is it similar to the Xianxia novels I read? If so, what level is this Unique? Can this cloak protect me? Unfortunately, I don’t have any information at all. If I ask, they’ll definitely be suspicious, right?'

Wearing the cloak given by the miss cultivator, Vheena felt relieved to no longer be in her shabby robe. She covered her face again with the cloak to avoid being seen, contemplating what to say when she spoke to them.

'Miss cultivator asked to see my face earlier, but was stopped by her muscular subordinate. Does that mean they already know who I am and are looking for me? Could it be because of the fruits and vegetables I brought? It’s pointless to guess their reasons; I should just ask them directly. Maybe I can also gather information from them.'

“Uhum, it’s not pleasant for me to talk here. Is there a place where we can speak privately?”

“Y-yes, of course, Miss Immortal. Please, follow us.”

Following the two who led the way, Vheena was brought to a fairly luxurious restaurant in the border city. Upon arriving in front of the restaurant, the muscular cultivator apologized for bringing her to such a modest place.

“Miss Immortal, I apologize for bringing you to this inadequate and small establishment. There’s nowhere else in this border city that I deemed worthy enough to welcome you.”

“It’s fine, and please don’t call me Immortal. Just call me Vheena.”

“Understood, Miss Immort-Vheena.”

Entering the restaurant, Vheena was guided by the waiter to a private room. She was invited to sit first, while the two others remained standing, watching her intently. Vheena insisted they take a seat, and after a stiff motion, they complied with her command. Once they had ordered their food and the waiter closed the door before leaving, Vheena began to interrogate them for the information she sought.

"Now that it's just the three of us, tell me, who are you two really?"

"I am the humble Feng Tuo, and the lady I accompany and protect is the princess of the Fallen Rainbow kingdom."

'Damn! I was too bold to deceive important people from a kingdom, even though I didn't know they were important before. Still, I was too careless. Will I be alright? C-calm down, I need to stay calm. As long as I haven’t been found out, I should be fine. I just have to act like an expert so they don’t suspect anything.'

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"Then... what brings you to this remote border town? Did you receive some information about me that made you want to meet?"

"No, we have never received any information about you, Miss Vheena. Our original goal was the Death Forest to search for a legendary plant to create a potion for our ailing king. Since the Death Forest is extremely dangerous, I was afraid to take the princess there, so I asked her to wait for me in this border town. The princess accidentally found you here because of the fruit you carry. Believing this was a great opportunity, we decided to stay in the town temporarily, waiting for you to reappear. Truly, we have no intention of disturbing your peace, Miss Vheena."

‘This person didn’t return to the kingdom with the plants the king requested but chose to wait for me, whom they think is some immortal? W-what a reckless gamble they’ve made. What if their king is dying because they didn’t bring back the desired plants? Won’t they be executed? And they think meeting me is a great opportunity just because of the fruit they bought from me? …I suspected it! There must be some benefit to the fruits or vegetables I cultivate, even cultivators are willing to wait for me because of what I carry. Could my cheat be the ability to grow plants with numerous benefits? I need to ask them to understand the effects of that fruit.’

"I'm sorry, you mentioned you were waiting for me because of the fruit you bought from me? Is the fruit I carry really that beneficial for you? What are its effects that make you willing to wait for me? Please tell me."

"Yes, Miss Vheena, your fruit is indeed very useful because—"

‘What? Why did you suddenly stop speaking, Miss Cultivator? Why are you staring at your subordinate? Have I been found out?’

"I'm sorry, Miss Vheena. What I meant to say is… y-your fruit is very delicious for us cultivators, m-making me addicted to it. T-the reason we found and waited for you is that we sensed your mysterious aura attached to the fruit I bought."

‘Huh? Damn! I thought I had been discovered when you fell silent, but what do you mean by your words, Miss Cultivator? You suddenly went quiet, yet you’re saying my fruit is tasty—where’s the benefit you wanted to tell me about? And what do you mean by my aura being attached to the fruit? Are you saying I smell and it stuck to the fruit you bought?’

Knock.. knock…

"Excuse me, sir and ma'am, may we come in? We would like to serve the food you ordered."

"That's fine, please come in."

Interrupted by the server entering, Vheena helplessly buried her curiosity about the fruit. She was also sure they wouldn't tell the truth after hearing the miss cultivator change her words. She didn't know the reason behind the cultivator's change of heart, so Vheena could only shift her curiosity to the delicious-smelling food brought by the servers.

'Ugh... this is so delicious. I haven’t tasted food this good in two years. I've only eaten fruits, vegetables, eggs, chicken, or fish from the river, and I didn't use any salt or spices when cooking. I don't know what spices look like in this world, and that forest is too dangerous for me to explore just to find them. So, all this time, I’ve only eaten bland food without any seasoning or salt. I’m so happy to finally taste delicious food like I used to in my world,' Vheena thought, maintaining a neutral expression to hide her touched face as she eagerly devoured the restaurant food.

'Marquis, did my excuse work? Is it true that the Miss immortal is pretending to be an ordinary person, as you said during our telepathic communication?'

'It seems so, Princess. The Miss immortal didn't continue our conversation and is only eating human food that is of no use to her with indifference. I'm sure she doesn't want to continue the discussion; she likely wants to show us that she just wants to live an ordinary human life, as evidenced by how eagerly she eats.'

'So you mean we should pretend that the Miss immortal doesn't have great powers, and we should also play along with her pretense of being an ordinary human?'

'I'm sure that's the case. Just look at the Miss immortal face; isn't she truly an immortal? She's likely pretending that the items she brought are useless. When you responded to her fruit, there were many significant benefits, and I didn't interrupt your words. I'm certain she will leave us, thinking we're trying to take advantage of her. It’s better if we play along with her pretense. After all, we should feel lucky to meet an immortal after thousands of years of their absence. If we can stay close to her, we will surely gain many great benefits.'

Vheena, engrossed in her meal, was unaware that she was being misunderstood by the two in front of her, who were telepathically discussing what they thought was her pretense of being an ordinary person.