After the quartet of sorcerer apprentices had departed, the scavenger mercenaries arrived at the Dragonflame restaurant.
Upon witnessing the novel dynamic menu within the eatery, the patrons were taken aback. Vale, the dwarf, laughed heartily: "Splendid! At last, I can comprehend this menu." His proficiency in the Common language was subpar; while communication posed no obstacle, literacy proved challenging.
Usually, it was up to Simon and the others to explain the dishes listed on the menu. On ordinary days, Vale would order the same meal to avoid any fuss. However, the Dragonflame restaurant was always introducing new offerings, much to his delight and vexation.
"I'll have the dishes from the third row over there and the second row over here," Vale eagerly informed Lusen, the approaching server.
The mercenaries' purpose for visiting wasn't solely dining, but also to inquire about the meatballs Vila had brought to the Midnight Marsh. If they could purchase such paper-boxed, simultaneously preserved, and instantly heated meals, their stay in the marsh would be far more bearable.
Though they devoured hardtack and smoked meat strips without hesitation in their day-to-day lives, they would undoubtedly abandon them for better options. After all, who wouldn't prefer a tastier alternative?
"A full stomach makes for a strong fighter," Sage quipped with a grin.
In the end, they unanimously decided to have Simon ask the eatery's proprietor, for he was the one with the closest rapport.
"I reckon I was the first customer in this place!" Simon boasted proudly. He strode towards Ina behind the counter with his chest puffed out and his back straight, basking in the attention of his comrades.
"Miss Ina, we saw the paper-boxed meals you gave to the mages in the Midnight Marsh. Are they available for purchase?" he inquired.
Ina understood at once: "Ah, so you are the mercenaries Vila hired. How was the food taste?"
Simon eagerly offered praise: "Absolutely delectable. With such a meal, our days in the Midnight Marsh would not be shrouded in darkness."
Ina discerned Simon's intention to buy: "We indeed intend to sell these meals, but as you may have noticed..."
Simon hastily interjected: "We are willing to pay a higher price! Of course." The scavenger squad had had a fruitful year in the Midnight Marsh. They had acquired numerous valuable materials and secured several well-paid tasks from Vila, leaving them quite financially comfortable.
Ina smiled: "The price will indeed be slightly increased. However, it is not the cost of ingredients that restricts these meals, but rather certain elements of the box. As you may have observed, it is a simple magical artifact. Therefore, the eatery will only sell five self-heating boxed lunches per day, with a one-per-customer limit."
Seeing the wheels turning in Simon's eyes, Ina knew he was scheming to find a loophole, as his squad conveniently comprised five members. "One squad can share a single self-heating boxed lunch, and I'll ensure there is ample food inside. If I catch anyone cheating, they will no longer be able to purchase the lunches."
Ina desired to promote these convenient self-heating boxed lunches, but the current limitation was a shortage of Eternal Runes. After Lusen had copied the runes for so long, the earlier works were too fragmented to preserve the food effectively. Ina roughly estimated that only a hundred or so fragmented Eternal Runes were usable, providing a preservation period of three to five days. She wished she could enlist a group of mages to mass-produce Eternal Runes for her.
Simon, having been caught by Ina, had no choice but to abandon his original plan. Being able to purchase a single meal was still better than nothing. He placed an order, and Ina nodded understandingly: "I'll make you a meal with enough portions for five and with less intense flavors."
This arrangement posed no problem. In fact, the mercenaries in the Midnight Marsh implicitly refrained from consuming anything other than smoked meat soup and hardtack due to the long cooking process, fearing the aroma would attract magical beasts. However, one should not underestimate the eating speed of hungry mercenaries when presented with food.
"By the way," Ina added, "did you notice the asterisk next to the snake meat on the menu? That dish can temporarily increase your strength."
Simon had previously discovered the special effect of the boiled fish and helped Ina complete a random task. At that time, Ina had promised to mark dishes with similar special effects with an asterisk.
"Yes, I saw it. Thank you for your incredible creations!" Simon expressed his gratitude repeatedly, as if it was not he who had patronized the eatery, but the eatery that had done him a great favor.
Yet, it was true. Ina refrained from promoting the special effects of some dishes because even if the mercenaries rushed over upon hearing the news, the eatery could only accommodate a limited number of customers. Many were unaware of the benefits of snake meat, but it still sold out, didn't it?
In the evening, as the patrons left, Ina began preparing the food for the self-heating boxed lunches. Before Simon and his comrades had emerged from the Midnight Marsh, Ina had already extolled the merits of the lunches to the mercenaries. Some were deterred by the price, as the meals inside were even more expensive than the dishes at the eatery. While it was fine to indulge occasionally, they worried that if they became too accustomed to the taste, they would no longer be able to stomach hardtack, potentially losing several gold coins on a trip to the marsh due to increased expenses.
Others shared the same mindset as Simon and his Companions, believing that trying the meal once wouldn't hurt. In recent days, mercenaries who had taken self-heating boxed lunches had ventured into the Midnight Marsh, and many awaited their return to hear if the product lived up to its advertised miraculous effects.
This was Lusen's first time witnessing Ina prepare the self-heating boxed lunches. Ina took out a perfectly square paper box from an unknown source and first used a grabbing spell to transfer the fragmented Eternal Runes she had drawn to the bottom of the box. Lusen was delighted that his practice drafts could help the eatery, especially since Ina had selflessly provided him with precious Eternal Runes to study.
Next, Ina extended her palm toward the void, and a delicate crimson emblem appeared in the air above her hand. Ina grabbed the emblem and stamped it on the opening of the paper box. A light red magical array flickered momentarily.
Lusen finally recognized the emblem, trembling as he pointed to it with a pale face: "Isn't this a forbidden spell? The uh, fire..."
"Flame Emblem." Ina grasped the small emblem in her hand, and it immediately disappeared into her palm.
It was one of the most useful skills Ina had discovered in her list of abilities. The magic was compressed into a tiny flame emblem, which could explode instantly when released, burning an entire city to ashes with its intense fire.
However, Ina was more interested in another function of the Flame Emblem—it could directly brand a small heating magical array since it was essentially a one-time-use large heating magical array itself.
As long as she gently stamped the emblem on the boxed lunch, a small heating magical array would be created, which was much more convenient than drawing it herself.
After explaining to Lusen, he asked: "Doesn't that mean you have to summon a forbidden spell every time you use it?"
"Of course not, it's always here." Ina gestured to her palm. "All it needs is a bit of magical energy to maintain and the magic required for the small heating magical array." After all, her full reservoir of magical power would be wasted if left unused, and her current rate of magical energy consumption still couldn't catch up to her recovery speed.
Ina's control of magical power greatly impressed Lusen. To constantly maintain a forbidden spell without allowing it to dissipate or be released, while never appearing distracted in controlling the Flame Emblem, demonstrated formidable strength. Ina's power ranking in Lusen's mind soared from a high-level mage to an archmage, and finally to a legendary archmage. Even among legendary archmages, Miss Ina must be one of the very best!
While marveling at Ina's power, Lusen was also reminded of what Professor Derek often said: magic is not unattainable.
Even a forbidden spell like the Flame Emblem could be used in daily life, such as heating meals. Lusen wondered if the Flame Emblem would explode in anger if it were aware of its mundane use.