It’s hot, it’s stick, and it smells really weird. I feel like it is melting together with my mouth as its warm spreads throughout my tongue and slides down to my throat. The rich flavor permeats my senses as it brought me down gaping for breath.

I can’t stop it. I keep forcing myself to put it in my mouth even though it’s hot and sticky. I can feel something warm spreading throughout my chest as if it is bursting in euphoria. Nothing less to say, I could get addicted to it.

“How is it, Asagao? Is it to your liking?”

“This curry is definitely worth every mile we hiked today. It’s extremely addicting.”

“Yeah! One my secrets to it is a mixture of umami from boiled dried fish and chili sauce with finely ground pepper.”

“Those are really intriguing ingredients. Maybe I should try cooking it like that.”

“And a small dose of an aphrodisiac!”

“Pffft!”

Though small in quantity, I spurt out the curry in my mouth as soon as I heard him saying that he put aphrodisiac to it. I’ve been thinking of it for a while now but Miss Cecille isn’t getting any bite while Alstroe and Daisy who just woke up are guzzling down the content of the platter.

What is this guy trying to feed us?! I know its curry but even though, won’t it be bad?!

“Alstroe is fine. For you and the lion girl there, you’ll just feel a certain level of excitement but not to the point of arousal.”

“Well, you did say it’s just a small dose after all. More like, I can’t even feel any arousal…yet, I guess. On that note, why does Miss Cecille seem to refuse to eat it?”

“I wonder too…”

Upon discussing it, Miss Cecille threw a sharp glare at Tzari.

“I’m allergic to fish.”

“…You are?”

“I am.”

“Even though you live in a port town?”

“What of it?”

I don’t know what to say. Even Tzari has this petrified countenance that surely I must have on right now too. I’ve never seen Miss Cecille eat a fish too. The Nanab Harbor Town is famous for the horned fish and it made them prosper to what of it now.

To think, of all the people, Miss Cecille who lives in that town actually have an allergy to fish.

“One bite of this shit and the effect immediately took effect. Rashes started appearing in my arms and I already have a runny nose.”

She sprouted a really annoyed countenance as she stares at her arms encroached with a lot of red dots.

“At this point, I just want to cut my arms.”

“Please don’t! I think I got some medicine here!”

“That would be a big help! Thanks, Miss Asagao.”

I took out a bottle of potion that I received from Violetta. It seems that it is called status ailment recovery potion as it cures any abnormal statuses such as paralyze, petrification, poison, and a lot more to some degrees.

Sure enough, Miss Cecille took a little sip and the effect immediately showed a positive result. The red spots started receding until they disappeared and her runny nose stops.

“This is a really handy potion.”

“Well, well, while you are at it, why don’t you savor my curry then drink the potion afterward. In that way, you’ll eat the fish in which you have an allergy and cure it later on.”

“Ah, sorry, I actually don’t like it so I’ll chew a beef jerky or something.”

“Ahahaha, harsh.”

Even though Tzari’s face becomes a little pale, he laughs it off like it’s nothing.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

It’s no use troubling myself with it so I continued having my fill until I sate my hunger. Daisy gracefully puts down her spoon and dab her lips with a handkerchief from her pocket and drank a water.

Seeing that everyone is finished with their foods, Alstroe stood and picked up the plates for us and heads to the sink to wash the dishes.

Tzari then proceeds to beckon us somewhere else.

He leads us to the inner part of the shrine. We passed a long hallway seemingly lingering with the smell of incense. The wooden passage way with high ceiling is a little bit eerie like what you’d see in a classic Asian horror movie.

After the long hallway, we arrived at spacious open room. The dusky cloud floats in the horizon and the place is protected with tall brick wall all around. Behind those walls are actually more mountains taller than this place covered with wintry landscape.

All in all, It’s also cold here.

The spiciness of the curry earlier and the added special dose seems to be effective in keeping our body hot so I think I’ll appreciate Tzari’s thoughtfulness of adding that.

What spread across the spacious paved field are training materials and dummy weapons.

“Let’s test your aptitude with Ki here. Not just aptitude. Alstroe has her blindspots in this kind of things so let me personally test you two.”

“Me included?!”

I exclaimed.

Tzari said with a smile, however, I cannot be certain for his words.

“Though don’t get your hopes up.”

“I knew it!”

“But still, let me check it for you.”

Tzari walks towards me, outstretch his arm, and quickly put his right hand on my chest and start feeling it up with a press.

………

“I hope you have a valid reason for doing that. If none, you are just pathetically finding something to grab on…”

“You’re awfully calm about this. I was hoping for a more vivid reaction.”

I am not that mad. I think I stopped caring about it once I accepted this body as mine and how this body is awfully flat despite growing up a little.

I am lying if I said I don’t feel embarrassed about it though.

“This is one way to see person’s potential with Ki, by peering deeper inside them and looking for the root of their Ki. A common core of living things as what an object lacks.”

“So touching my chest is necessary? And how long do you intend to keep your hand on my chest.”

“That’s weird. You…don’t have any presence of Ki inside you.”

“Are you done?”

“It’s as if they are overwritten with something else. That reminds me, you are a transcendental being, right? Only worldly beings can have Ki core. Those who are from a higher level of existence seems to lack it.”

“Good grief, there’s only the best sensation a flat chest can give that big busts can’t.”

He is not specifically massaging my breasts but his hand is only focused on the middle of it. He slowly separates his hand from my chest but then again, I can’t help but threw a glare at him.

“Next is little miss lion over there.”

“I am not going to let you touch me. I am going to be angry for Miss Asagao’s stead too.”

How touching!

Daisy shows her anger for me but she seems to misunderstands it.

“Oh, are you defending your friend?”

“Molesters are to be fried golden brown!”

“Now this is interesting! Her Ki grows stronger when her emotion is swayed.”

I heard something good right now.

Tzari’s smile proves that Daisy has something else on her.

“This is a good timing then. How about we gauged you two by having a sparring match? Well, that’s the reason I brought you two here.”

“We are going to fight each other?”

“Hmm? No.”

“…What do you mean?”

Upon Daisy’s query, Tzari turns his gaze towards Miss Cecille who was watching quietly on one side. Seeing that Tzari looked at her, she sprouted glaring eyes that could kill someone.

“Tzari, you do realize that these two are royalties. For a commoner like me to raise a weapon at them, even as a joke, will get me in various trouble.”

“What of it? This place is actually out of the border of human continent now you see. Off the map by a tiny margin to be exact so you are legally fighting them in equal grounds.”

“I am a CITIZEN of that country and Miss Asagao is a royalty of that said country. Even I won’t dare to hurt Miss Daisy too even if she is a royalty of the beast kingdom.”

“Then, if you get their consent, it will be okay, right?”

Tzari immediately turns towards our direction and gave a gleeful smile.

If it is a fight, I won’t back down. There’s only one answer to give. Even without Tzari asking, I immediately answered.

“I’ll fight!”

“Eh?!”

The short shriek of surprise came from Daisy beside me. When I try to meet her eyes, she has this disbelief and widened stare like I said something unbelievable.

It made me uncomfortable. Maybe perhaps, Daisy thinks I can’t fight?

Fair enough, I do think she can’t too.

“You heard them.”

“Tzari, I swear…”

“What’s your call?”

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

“Good! Get your weapons around here. I’m sure you’ll find something you fancy.”

Now surely this has escalated so fast that now, we are going to fight Miss Cecille all of a sudden. Miss Cecille started walking around to find her preferred weapon while I took off on my own.

That’s what I wanted to say but Daisy tugs on my clothes and pull on my hand to somewhere a little distant.

“Hey, are you sure you are going to fight? Aren’t you like, super fragile?”

“Said by the one who was complaining about blisters earlier.”

“Wha--?! I ‘ve never been in a mountain climbing before! I can’t help it! I am the daughter of King Folga! I’m pretty it’s obvious that I am trained to a degree!”

“I had my fair share of training too so you can count on me.”

“Hahaha! Well, you’ll be my support now!”

Okay…

If she is stronger than me, I better do as she says.

“So, what is your specialty? Healing magic? Enhancement magic? What weapon do you use?”

“Full frontal attack with a sword. I can manage to block with variants of barriers.”

“…What?! Stop lying!”

“I’m not lying! The style that I use is Calm Dragon Tempest and it utilizes all kinds of weapons but I have only trained with swords. I recently started training with the spear too but it’s just the basics of the basics.”

“Calm Dragon Tempest? Never heard of that before. Anyway, let’s see…geez, whatever. Let’s just try to synchronize with each other, okay?”

“Okay.”

Now I’m worried.

As we walk around, I found a short sword which I gave a few swings and deemed it passable because it’s light enough for me to carry with one hand. Daisy found a broadsword made of wood and she gave it a swing herself.

WHOOSH

She does pack some strength in those arms of her.

Even as a child, her strength is already comparable to an adult given as her special trait as a Beast kin. It seems that this is going to be a cinch.

Soon after, Miss Cecille stands in front of me and Daisy with a wooden pole in hand.

“Miss Asagao, Miss Daisy, first and foremost, I was an adventurer and it is not an exaggeration to say that I am quite a famous one. Way before I became an adventurer, I learned the arts of the spear from the Angel of War called Milin. I believe you know of her.”

“Milin…huh. Do you know a lot about her?”

“Yeah. Her exploits, her prowess, her records on the battlefield.”

That’s one surprise that tickled my curiosity.

As Miss Cecille said that, Tzari walks over a little away from us and speaks.

“I know of Milin too. She possibly could be the strongest human alive if I do say myself. Talents, wits, and even ferocity. If Ashfon Astlan Lionheart would be stipped of his Ira or if you strip magicians of their magic or I am restricted from using my Ki, without a doubt, Milin would come on top.”

I always thought that Milin is just a first class pervert and was mistakenly appointed as the head maid. To think that people see her and evaluate her so highly like this is just conflicting. I’ll complain later in her grave.

But, I’ll take this information to heart.

“Then, let’s start.”

Miss Cecille said so as he prepares the pole in her hand and swings it.

As she swings the pole, it created a breeze that swayed our hair and gave a light shockwave.

Uh…

The atmosphere around her changes.

As I thought, this will be a cinch.

Cinch for us to lose badly.