The macabre sight left Pamela absolutely speechless. The excitement bubbling within her had fizzled out, and her usual enthusiastic behaviour was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, Chaeyar remained as composed as ever and Sayi clutched at her head, cursing to herself as the migraine was slowly returning, the two of them were clearly unfazed at the scene. Blyn was comforting his frightened sibling, a resigned look in his eyes.
“In every world, there are always a few things in common.” Pamela commented.
“What are those few things?” Blyn asked.
“One of them is…” Pamela said, watching as they dragged the corpse away and left behind a ghastly pool of blood. “Treating lives carelessly.”
Sayi and Chaeyar glanced at the solemn Pamela, not saying a word. Meanwhile, Blyn continued hugging his brother, blocking the gnarly view from his sight. He didn’t know how to respond to Pamela’s depressing comment.
“Well, as long as I don’t bet my life or my limbs while asking for a favour, it should be fine!” Pamela beamed, reverting back to her cheery disposition.
“Most favours are always life-threatening.” Blyn warned.
“I can always find a way around it.” Pamela winked.
Blyn shook his head with a resigned sigh, glancing down at his brother. “I will be heading home first. Just head in the monastery, turn right and you’ll see a room tag with my family name. Ejinn.”
“Thank you for showing me where the groceries are!” Pamela said.
“I hope you’ll get what you want. There will be more selections in Mystanore, but you should only head there if you have enough money.” Blyn smiled, waving to them as he carried his brother.
“Give me a drink, migraine pill.” Sayi demanded with a grunt. “This fucking headache won’t stop.”
“No.”
“You dare say no to–”
“I ran out of ingredients.” Pamela shrugged and a mischievous smirk curved at her lips. “Unless you want some pure water again. It helped, right?”
Sayi glared at Pamela, and Pamela snickered, recalling the scene of Sayi splashing the pure water onto her face in dissatisfaction. She had encountered many nasty people in her life, but Sayi’s actions didn’t even come close to them.
“Sayi is a high-maintenance elder dragon.” Chaeyar placed a comforting hand on Pamela’s shoulder.
“What else can I do? I am stuck as a possession to this high-maintenance elder dragon. Woe is me.” Pamela pouted, her voice was filled with exaggerated sadness.
“What am I? A brat?!” Sayi glowered at the two of them.
Pamela and Chaeyar gave Sayi a look before walking onwards. At that silent response, Sayi flared up, glancing around and noticing the money that people were carrying on their palm.
“Fine! It’s money you need, right? Money for the ingredients!” Sayi clicked her tongue, snapping her fingers together.
In an instant, a pouch filled with silver and gold nuggets appeared in her palms. She shoved it towards Pamela who was practically forced to accept it. Pamela untied the pouch, gaping at the contents within it in disbelief.
“How’s that? You should feel honoured to stand side by side with an elder dragon.” Sayi smirked, tilting her chin up.
Praise me!
The two of them could hear those words in their mind as they stared at the proud Sayi.
“This is illegal, Sayi.” Chaeyar smiled kindly at her.
“What do you mean illegal? I used my Dragon’s Tongue to produce those fucking worthless things! Me, an elder dragon!”
“It’s still illegal, or do you wish to be chased around by the local authorities of this world too?”
“That human doesn’t seem to care.” Sayi harrumphed.
At this moment, Chaeyar realised Pamela had disappeared from his side and was already touring the marketplace.
“...?!”
One of the wares intrigued Pamela and she approached the merchant’s cart hastily, her amethyst eyes glimmered with glee. The object that caught her interest was a thin branch that had multiple flowers sprouting out from it. The flower had seven petals, and the thin petals of the flower resembled a shimmering rainbow. Pamela had never seen anything like it, and her hand started to itch. She wanted to take this flower and stuff it into her mouth to taste it, and maybe, even create a new drink out of this flower.
“What’s this?” Pamela questioned excitedly.
The stall owner was of average height and build, and there was an eager glint in their eyes as they found their first potential customer.
“Welcome, welcome! This is Eley’s Rainbow. A flower that can only be grown in Eleyville. When the world first collapsed, a wanderer who went by the name of Eley built this monastery to provide shelter for people around them. One day, they passed away mysteriously and left behind this single flower where their body was laid to rest.”
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“Hmm, I’ll take one.”
“I don’t accept money, instead, do me a favour.”
“And what’s the favour you need?”
“Make a consumable out of this flower, and let me be the first to test it. If you fail to pass this favour, I require compensation.”
There was a delightful sparkle in Pamela’s eyes. “I will acce–”
Chaeyar appeared beside Pamela in his usual clergy robes and covered her mouth with his hand. There was an enigmatic smile playing on his lips as he observed the merchant with shrewd eyes. His golden and blue heterochromia eyes sent chills down the merchant’s spine, and the merchant stiffened.
“This flower is commonly found in the garden of the monastery in Eleyville, sprouting from the trees. It is an unforgettable scenery, and something meant to be enjoyed from afar because of one reason,” Chaeyar said and he watched a drop of sweat rolling down the merchant’s face. “This flower is poisonous, albeit not life-threatening.”
“What a crafty human.” Sayi snorted, taking the branch from the table of the wooden cart, and running her fingers on the soft petals of the flower. “These are the humans I am used to.”
Seeing that Sayi remained unaffected after touching the petals of the flowers, the merchant began to sweat profusely.
Why isn’t she getting any rashes on her body? Who…who exactly are these two people?
Pamela looked back and forth between their exchange, and without hesitation, she reached out and plucked a few petals of the flower. Even before any of them could comprehend the situation, Pamela stuffed those same petals she plucked into her mouth.
“...!”
“...?!”
“...”
She chewed on the petals, her expression contemplative and unfazed despite the rashes appearing on her arms and neck. Just then, the golden thread floated out from her body, curling around the areas that were affected by the poison from the flower. The merchant was flabbergasted at such a sight, and meanwhile, Sayi and Chaeyar couldn’t believe the reckless action that Pamela took.
“It reminds me of butterfly pea.” Pamela murmured to herself, scratching at her arm absentmindedly.
The rashes that appeared on her naked arms and legs were starting to disappear with time. The golden thread began to uncoil itself and dug back into Pamela’s body.
“Wait a minute, you…” Chaeyar stuttered out.
“I’ve never seen a human like you.” Sayi frowned, tilting her head. “Did you even know what you were protected by?”
The merchant could only remain speechless. It seemed like there were people awakening with new powers everyday, and powers he had never heard or seen before.
“You’ll give me these flowers if I fulfil your request, right?” Pamela leaned in, her eyes wide as she ignored Sayi.
The merchant could only nod his head vigorously.
“Give me some space, move,” Pamela said, shoving everyone out of the way and using the cart as a makeshift table. “I’ll make you something that you’ve never seen before.”
There was a bright glimmer in Pamela’s amethyst eyes as she licked her lips eagerly. Without a second thought for the environment or people observing her, she took out a few objects from her interdimensional bag.
“Sayi, could you dry those flowers?”
“What? How dare you command me like a–”
“Please. I’ll make you the best migraine pill later on!”
“...tsk.”
Without a word, Sayi used her dragon magic to dry up the flowers as requested. Whereas, Chaeyar was now watching the scene with curiosity. The passion he felt from Pamela about making drinks was rather infectious.
“Ah, are you able to consume alcohol?” Pamela asked.
“Ye-yeah,” the owner replied in confusion. “What does that have to do with this…?”
“Hmm.” Pamela smiled cryptically.
She boiled some pure water that she brought along in the metal jug that could miraculously function without electricity. After a few minutes of letting the hot water cool, she poured it over the dried flowers. There was a faint flowery scent lingering in the air, and the water gradually turned into a myriad of colours.
Just like a rainbow.
Pamela grinned and kept herself busy, preparing a transparent glass cup. She poured various ingredients and syrup into it, and finished it off with the boiled Eley’s Rainbow as the final ingredient, using it as the top layer of the drink. The colorful liquid sat at the brim, forming a meandering path in the drink that glittered under the light. Meanwhile, the middle and bottom layer of the drink is a mixture between purple and blue. The ice clinked noisily against the cup, and Pamela took a step back, seemingly admiring the first drink she created with an ingredient from this world.
The drink resembled the shimmering rainbow you see after the rain, and with the floral scent drifting by their noses, it felt as if they were laying down on a flower field under the cloudy sky.
“Ah, just a moment.” Pamela whispered.
She took out a slice of lemon, garnishing the drink with it. It was truly the final touch of the drink.
“What’s that?” Sayi asked.
“A touch of my grandmother’s goodwill.” Pamela said with a fond look in her eyes.
Sayi decided not to question any further, since it was a topic she did not want to pry in. Despite the fondness in her tone, Chaeyar could sense a tinge of sadness within her words. He watched as Pamela inhaled deeply, placing a coaster before the merchant and placing the drink on it.
“For you, a cup of Eley’s Paradise.”
Upon seeing the beautiful drink before his eyes, the merchant could only blink at it in disbelief. He couldn’t believe something so gorgeous was created from the pair of petite hands before him.
***
Featured Drinks
Eley's Paradise
Inspired by: Galaxy Cocktails
Cocktail glass splashing on dark toned smoky background or colorful cocktail in glass. Party club entertainment. Mixed light. Selective focus New Year and Christmas party concept. Different tasty cocktails with creative New Year holiday artwork decoration on background. Colorful cocktail in glass. Party club entertainment. Copy space. Alcohol - Drink Stock Photo [https://media.istockphoto.com/id/1196147965/photo/cocktail-glass-splashing-on-dark-toned-smoky-background-or-colorful-cocktail-in-glass-party.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=is&k=20&c=TPItdKZrou7gr8kHIA-xjtjkABUZAZDs9WlQaaYbnPE=]
Unfortunately, I am unable to find the right image to do it justice. Moreover, the drink is completely fictional and cannot exist in real life c':
Cocktails Tip of the Day
No tips for the day, but I stumbled upon a cool video for people who play Honkai: Star Rail! It's about someone trying to recreate the drinks in the event "Vignettes In A Cup" in real life. I am no mixologist or expert bartender, but I do hope to see more videos like these!
Making Honkai Star Rail Drinks REAL!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4gZrmVRsvA&t=1985s
If there is one thing I learned about cocktails and mocktails, the "layering" of the drinks can be really complex but the end result is so fascinating! Sadly, making such drinks with different layers is pretty expensive because of the different drinks you have to use to create those specific layers.