After waiting for a few seconds, Yasenia saw Sarah opening the door and smiling. "Good afternoon, Yasenia. Did you need anything?"
Yasenia smiled back, showing nothing in her face about just having investigated her stay in the sect. "Good afternoon. Can we go inside to talk?"
Sarah nodded and guided her to the living room. The acute nose of the dragoness twitched, making her frown a bit at the smell coming from Sarah. 'Did she only wash the outside without erasing the scent?'
Yasenia commented on purpose with a curious gaze. "Sarah, what's this smell coming from you? It's a bit strong."
Sarah immediately blushed. 'System, clean the scent!'
[Ten Points deducted. Cleaning Completed]
Sarah laughed, embarrassed. "Sorry for that."
Yasenia blinked, confused. 'That treasure again? I didn't feel energy fluctuations, and the smell is gone.'
Sarah coughed and changed the subject. "Do you want something to eat, Yasenia?"
[Host, we can use aphrodisiac food. Starting from capturing her body should be a good start.]
Sarah's eyebrow twitched. 'Shut up. Don't you remember how protective she is of Angel? If we do something to her with the food, we will have to flee!'
Yasenia nodded and sat on the couch Sarah pointed at. "If you have something delicious, I'm all for it. I really like tasting different kinds of foods."
Sarah's eyes shone a bit. 'Oh? Is the way to the heart starting from the stomach? The ancients are wise!'
Then, she asked the system. 'System, do you have something delicious? We might be able to attack her stomach first to worm ourselves into her heart!'
Sarah remembered a few novels she read in which the protagonist seduced the heroine by being a good cook and gentle, slowly gaining her goodwill and showing off other charms later.
[Host. After analyzing, a food that will impress someone like Yasenia will cost 2,000 points or more. It must be at least Heaven-ranked food.]
Her eyes subconsciously widened. 'Ha? 2,000 Shop Points!? That's half the price of a peak-level Earth-level sword!'
[Host. I said 2,000 is the minimum. If you really want to impress her, you should buy this
Sarah's heart was bleeding as she felt an enormous hole that swallowed everything ruthlessly opening in her wallet.
Yasenia asked after Sarah became dazed one more time. "Sarah, I'm sorry to interrupt your thoughts."
Sarah came to herself again and shook her hands. "No, no. I was thinking about what food to give you. I have a few dishes already cooked, and I was deciding on which one to choose."
Angel lifted an eyebrow. "Are you a Spirit Cook like Yasenia?"
Sarah rubbed her head and smiled. "Something like that…"
Yasenia was interested. "Oh? That's a rare profession to choose."
Sarah coughed. "Oh, is it? Why did you choose it, Yasenia?"
Yasenia used her tail to circle Angel's waist and close the distance between them, kissing her Baby's forehead right after. "Of course, it was to make delicious food for my dears. I reached the middle-level Heaven-ranked Spirit Cook grade a few months ago, which is something I'm proud of."
Sarah's mouth twitched. 'As expected, she is a monster even in professions. Doesn't it cost like 100,000 Points to increase a profession to the middle level of the Heaven rank? I only have peak-level Earth-ranked alchemy learned.'
Sarah laughed, trying to brag a bit. "Oh, well, I'm more comfortable with alchemy."
Yasenia smiled and answered without the intention to brag. "Impressive, I also know alchemy! Although, I'm much worse at the high level of the Earth-rank." Yasenia sighed, feeling a bit inadequate. "Even Blacksmithing and Formations are still in the peak and high levels of the Earth-rank."
Sarah really wanted to know how the brain of the seductive dragoness worked, who looked sincerely distressed. 'Isn't she like quite young!? How does she know so many professions without a system!?'
Angel cheered Yasenia up. "Don't worry, Yasenia. Don't you have us for that? We are all in the high levels of the profession, so you don't need to worry! Moreover, Kali, Andrea, and I are touching the edges of the peak level!"
Sarah found a saving straw and smiled. "Right? High-level Earth-Rank is very good. To be able to reach peak level is an achievement!"
With a strange look, Angel spoke. "I meant Heaven-ranked."
Sarah smiled. "Oh, I misspoke, hahaha." But she felt that if she were living in an anime, she would be coughing blood by the liters.
'No wonder I need so many points to simply buy her a meal. Our levels are too far apart!'
However, Sarah finally decided to buy it with a bleeding heart. 'Goodbye, my five thousand points…'
Sarah smiled. "Here are a few dishes I cooked in the past. I hope you like them."
Yasenia saw a plate with a large, juicy, and perfectly cooked steak and side dishes appearing, and her eyes widened. "Wow."
Angel sniffed, and her eyes also shone. "Oh! Your level is not worse than Yasenia!"
Seeing the intended reaction, Sarah felt that it was worth it. With an expectant heart, she thought. 'Will this increase favorability from them? I remember that Angel's points were quite valuable.'
Mirrory was floating in the room, hidden from the System's and Sarah's sight. Then, she suddenly felt that when Angel's favorability of Sarah began slightly increasing, something tried to escape her body. 'Hm? Ho~. So, this is how the system got those slivers of Fate from Angel and Kali in the past? Interesting… I can't feel any negative repercussions, but…' Her green eyes flashed with coldness, and her long, bright crimson-red hair floated about without wind. 'How dare you touch her?'
Without warning, Sarah felt a fleeting pain in her forehead, like someone poked her with a needle, making her frown. 'Ouch! What happened!?'
[Host. I don't know what happened, but Angel's Fate is suddenly shrouded in mystery, and you've lost 30,000 Shop Points. I can't see her favorability stat or anything else.]
"What!?"
Her loud exclamation startled Angel and Yasenia.
Mirrory just looked on coldly and sent a message to Tatyana. 'Create a Fate Protection amulet for the children. I've learned how this thing works.'
Tatyana was working on something, but she stopped and took out her hand from the insides of a wailing person. 'Oh? Tell me more.'
Meanwhile, Angel thought that she was surprised that her cooking level was comparable to Yasenia, so she smiled. "No need to be so surprised. This food is excellent and praiseworthy!"
Yasenia nodded. "That's right. You should not be that surprised, hahaha."
Sarah could only smile when she wanted to cry. 'My week-worth of hard-earned points… Why? What happened? Is there some strange misfortune god targeting me?'
Sarah pointed at the plate and said with a charming smile. "Please eat."
Angel and Yasenia were completely immune to her charms, so they just nodded and dug into it.
When the perfectly cooked meat entered their mouth, an explosion of flavors made their eyes widen and glitter. Angel munched it with relish. "Delicious~."
Yasenia agreed, and as she felt the level of craft, she couldn't help but look at Sarah with new eyes. 'Isn't she better than me? It's cooked so perfectly that I can't detect any flaws. As if it was made by something artificial instead of a person.'
Yasenia was not bothered, so she asked with sincerity. "Say, Sarah. Do you want to cook together at another time? I think we could learn from each other and better our craft."
Sarah was internally crying with complex emotions. 'I got what I wanted, but how the hell do you want me to teach you anything!? A cookbook manual, technique, and tools to reach your level would consume half a year's worth of points on my part of not spending!'
Sarah had many expenses, especially those to upgrade her lovers and herself, plus other things that she was using the system to fulfill, like materials for crafting and such. So, if she really wanted to agree to this, her only choice was to wait a minimum of a year.
Worse, if Yasenia came to eat often, her pocket would enter an economic crisis the world has yet to see!
Sarah coughed and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Yasenia. I'm not good at teaching, and when cooking, I like to be alone in the room…"
Yasenia sighed, but she agreed with a nod. "That's a shame. If you change your mind in the future, please inform me. It's the first time someone of my generation bests me at something I'm putting real effort into."
Angel blinked. "Is she really better than you?"
Yasenia laughed softly and nodded. "Yes. Look how perfectly cooked these vegetables are here. The heat and softness are retained through a complex cooking technique while preventing that heat from overcooking the food and leaking juices. Moreover, the meat is tender with crispy skin, and the savor is perfectly balanced. The meat's juices only burst once it enters the mouth and you bite. Although I can replicate this to some extent, the level used here is very high. Furthermore, the seasoning…"
Sarah felt like she was listening to a person speaking another language. Angel also didn't understand many principles Yasenia spoke about, but seeing the dragoness's passion for cooking made her smile, and she patiently listened.
Yasenia stopped speaking after three minutes and laughed. "Sorry, I went on a rambling there."
Sarah waved her hands. "No problem. I feel flattered that you praised it so much."
With a curious tone, the dragoness asked. "By the way, how old are you? I don't know much about you even though we've met before."
Sarah smiled in relief. 'Finally, something I can talk about.'
"I'm thirty-three years old. How about you?"
Yasenia blinked, confused. 'Just thirty? Does this mean that she was in her teens when she entered the trial? Or maybe…'
Yasenia answered with a normal tone. "I'm forty-nine, about to be fifty years old in one month."
Angel laughed. "So old! You have almost double my age!"
Yasenia smiled and tickled Angel, making her burst into uncontrollable laughter. "Who is old, eh? Care to repeat it?"
"Hahaha, Yasenia, stop! Hahaha! You are not old! You are not old! Hahaha!"
Sarah also chuckled at the side.
Yasenia placed her heavily breathing baby on her lap, hugging her softly while Angel snuggled in her embrace.
Then, she asked Sarah in passing. "By the way, how long did the trial in the Lost Town last for you, Sarah?"
The baby's ears perked up, listening closely.
Sarah frowned and thought. "It was quite long. I didn't keep track of time, but I think I stayed inside for nearly a year. I didn't expect that only two weeks had passed outside, and I was quite surprised."
Sarah looked at Yasenia's thoughtful expression and asked. "So… What was the prize?"
Yasenia shook her head and didn't disclose any details. "A thing that helped me become stronger. I already consumed it."
Inside her head, the dragoness was surprised. 'The time we spent is not the same? So strange… Well, whatever.'
Sarah asked back. "What about yours?"
Yasenia smiled. "A little longer. I thought we had the same trial duration, but I was mistaken."
Yasenia tasted the food again and smiled while changing the subject. "Can you give me the recipe? I would love to try making it."
Angel also ate and smiled. "Hehe, Yasenia, you have competition!"
Yasenia laughed and kissed the bloated cheeks of her baby.
Sarah asked the system. 'How expensive is the recipe?'
[Host. It costs 700 Points.]
'So cheap?'
[Host. Creating the dish needs the ingredients and skill of a high-level expert, so it is more expensive than a jade with information about the recipe.]
'I see. Well, buy it.'
Sarah extended her hand, and the recipe materialized. "Here. The ingredients are a bit rare, so if you want them, ask me."
Yasenia nodded and asked for Sarah's jade card. "Give me the Sect Card."
Sarah blinked and gave it. Then, Yasenia added fifty thousand Astral Points. "Here. A heaven-ranked recipe is valuable. I won't be stingy with it. Remember that if you have combat techniques or other recipes, you can sell them for Astral Points in the main shopping area."
Sarah took the card with a few added zeros and blinked. 'Wow~. I'm now quite wealthy.' She looked at Yasenia and asked out of impulse. 'System, how is the affection reading? Is it possible?'
[Host. I don't know what happened, but I'm now unable to look at Angel's status. It's even more hidden than Yasenia's. Getting a reading from both of them is impossible.]
Sarah was surprised, but she didn't show it. 'Well, it's not that big of a surprise.' Sarah remembered the frozen mission and sighed. 'She is somewhat of a last boss or something…'
Then, she finally asked the main question. "So… Did you need something, Yasenia?"
Since the pleasantries were finished, Yasenia began doing what she came for.
*******************************************************
Tatyana: Interesting conversation.
Valeria: Mirrory, well defended~.
Mirrory: Humph, obviously.
Author: I summon you!
WPOmega: I'm here again~.
Yasenia: Welcome back, WPOmega.
WPOmega: So, this time, I want to ask… The seniors!
Valeria: Let's listen.
WPOmega: With Kali being the unique situation that she is in, it makes me wonder if there's a way in which alchemists tend to approach combat and how well Kali fits that.
Tatyana: That's a broad question. There isn't a "fixed" method for fighting. Some use "enhancement pills" to boost themselves, others use attacking pills as if they were talismans, and others use poisonous pills, powders, and hidden weapons with varied effects and coated in different substances.
Valeria: Not only that, an alchemist has an attribute, so they can be a fighter that doesn't rely on it and fight. Fire, Earth, Nature, and similar are best for becoming an alchemist, but others can also do so with enough effort. A darkness cultivator could fight normally and then also know how to create pills, medical powders, and more.
WPOmega: I see. The possibilities are infinite.
Author: Correct! And this is all for today~. Bye-bye!