"Hey Lyra, how much breadfruit juice is in this?" Sylph asked, swirling the liquid in her cup. "Not much, right? I just had lunch, and I've already downed half of this without feeling even a little bloated!"
Lyra glanced at the large pot simmering in the corner. "It took at least a dozen breadfruits to make that! But only one cup of actual juice was squeezed out. The rest is a blend with honey syrup."
Sylph's eyes widened with curiosity. "Only one cup from all those breadfruits? But breadfruit is usually so juicy!"
"True, but I used the most primitive juicing method," Lyra explained with a slight grimace. "Maybe it's the technique, but I couldn't get more juice out of it. Breadfruit seems to have this weird ability to soak up its own liquid. What I got wasn't pure juice; it was more like a mash. I had to filter it several times just to get that one cup of clear juice."
Vasida, who had already emptied her glass, chimed in, "Yeah, I don't feel full at all after drinking this. Does breadfruit lose its filling effect once juiced?"
Lyra nodded thoughtfully. "It looks that way. The juicing process must weaken that part of the breadfruit's magic properties."
Lilith, who had been sipping quietly, suddenly perked up. "But it's amazing for restoring magic power! It's much better than eating breadfruit directly!" She felt the energy surge back into her as her spring magic quickly recharged.
Lyra's face lit up with relief. "So it worked! I wasn't sure, but it seems like this juice really helps replenish magic power. Even though it doesn't fill you up, that's actually perfect for us, right? We can drink more at a time and restore our magic faster."
Realizing the potential, Lilith's eyes sparkled. "Lyra! You have to teach me how to make this! Can we do it together?"
"Of course!" Lyra smiled. "In fact, I was planning to make another batch. You all can help me; it's pretty simple!"
"Yes!" the girls cheered in unison, dashing off to gather their tools from their dorms.
Within minutes, Dormitory 69 was filled with the rhythmic sound of breadfruit being pounded.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
After a bit of hard work, Lilith shook her basin, frowning. "Ugh, the juice keeps soaking back into the pulp!"
"Just wrap it in a cloth and squeeze it out afterward," Lyra instructed patiently.
"This is exhausting!" Sylph complained, rubbing her sore wrists. She hadn't even juiced much but was already feeling the strain.
Lilith laughed, though she too was feeling the effort. "Yeah, it's a tough job! But once you learn cooking magic, you can let magic handle the work instead."
Sylph's ears perked up. "Wait, Senior Lilith, don't you already know cooking magic? Why not use that to make the juice?"
Lyra and Vasida turned to her, equally intrigued.
Lilith shook her head, amused by their wide-eyed innocence. "Do you think cooking magic works like that? You can't just wave a wand and make food appear out of nowhere! To use cooking magic, you have to understand the entire process. Every step. That's why witches who master cooking magic are considered master chefs."
Sylph blinked in surprise. "Oh… I thought you could just tell the pots and pans what to do, and they'd cook everything for you!"
Vasida nodded in agreement, remembering how her father taught their zombie chef at home to follow instructions exactly. It wasn't magic, but it seemed close enough!
Lilith chuckled. "Nope! Before you can use cooking magic, you need to know how to cook the dish by hand. You've got to be proficient at it, or else the magic won't work."
As they continued their hard work, Lyra muttered, "It would be so much easier if we had a juicer."
"A juicer?" the others asked in unison, unfamiliar with the term.
Lyra paused, realizing something. "Yeah, it's a machine designed to squeeze juice out of fruits. But now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen one at home…"
"That's right!" Lyra said with a grin. "Witches can handle all their kitchen chores using cooking magic. No more struggling with juicers!"
As if on cue, the wooden pestle in the corner began to move on its own, gently pressing into the fruit and extracting juice effortlessly. Even the fruit seemed to squeeze itself, neatly draining into the jar below. It was as if an invisible force was doing all the work, better than any fully automatic juicer. "Who needs machines when you've got magic?" Lyra added with a wink.
San, looking puzzled, tilted her head. "Machine? What's that?"
Lyra chuckled at the question. "Ah, right. Valen doesn't have machines. On the planet from my previous life, there was no magic. Humans there relied on things like oil and electricity to power their tools. Anything that ran on those sources of energy was called a machine."
Vasida, already familiar with Lyra's past life stories, simply nodded. "Makes sense." But Lilith and Sylph froze mid-action, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Wait, wait, previous life?" Lilith stammered. "You're from... another world?"
Lyra sighed, realizing the cat was out of the bag. "Well, looks like I can't hide it anymore. Yes, I'm a soul from another world." She paused dramatically, lowering her voice, "Now that you know my secret… you better be careful…"
Lilith and Sylph tensed, unsure what to expect. Suddenly, Lyra lifted her head, flashing a mischievous grin. "…Or I'll eat you up in one bite!" She bared her teeth playfully, breaking the tension with an exaggerated growl.
An awkward silence hung in the air until Lilith let out a relieved laugh. "Lyra, in your previous life… you were, um, not very old, were you?"
Lyra's face fell. "Excuse me?" she protested. "Who said I wasn't old? I was the last one to die in our shelter!"
"How old were you?" Sylph asked gently, her voice soft with concern.
Lyra hesitated before admitting, "Twenty... But I was a human back then! I was the last survivor in our shelter!" Her tone became defensive as if trying to reclaim some dignity.
Sylph's eyes filled with pity. "Oh, you poor thing... so young…"
"Don't worry, Lyra," Lilith said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "In this life, you're a witch! Witches live much longer. And the Valen world is powerful. Sure, the races are always bickering, but the world isn't in danger of ending any time soon."
Vasida joined in. "Exactly. You've got a long, magical life ahead of you."
Lyra quickly tried to salvage her pride. "I was just joking! I'm not some helpless child!"
But Lilith just smiled knowingly. "No need to explain, Lyra. We understand."
Vasida and Sylph both nodded sympathetically, much to Lyra's frustration. She threw up her hands in defeat. "Alright, alright, forget it. Let's just get back to juicing."
After hours of hard work, Lilith, Sylph, and the others had each produced a large jar of honey breadfruit juice. Lyra and Vasida, having worked together, had made even more, a massive pot full of the magical elixir. The jars were sealed and stored away, ready to be enjoyed later.
Lilith cast a freezing spell on the buckets they'd set aside. "This way, we'll have ice-cold juice tomorrow!" she said, clearly satisfied with their effort.
"I can already picture the other witches' envious looks when we're sipping this tomorrow," Vasida giggled, twirling one of her braids.
"And tomorrow's walk to the castle will be even better," Sylph added. "Lyra can give us another one of her famous lessons while we drink!"
"Thanks to this juice, we won't have to eat breadfruit to restore our magic anymore," Lyra said with a bright smile. She was genuinely happy to have found a way to help her fellow witches. The idea of sharing the honey breadfruit juice recipe with everyone crossed her mind, and she was about to suggest it when—
"No way!" a voice suddenly interrupted.
Lyra, Lilith, Sylph, and Vasida all froze. That voice hadn't come from any of them.
They exchanged nervous glances, looking around the dormitory. There were only four of them in the room... but they had all heard a fifth voice.
The air grew tense, and a chill ran down their spines as they realized something or someone; was watching them.