Baroque watched Dashi rolling on the floor in front of him, as well as the two standing on the side just watching.
“So, are you two not planning to go over and help him put out the fire?”
“Oh, right! Don't be afraid, Dashi! Miss Saintess is here!”
“Count me in!”
Jolted into action by his words, their eyes gleamed as they lunged straight toward Dashi.
“Hey! Don't stomp on it! Don't stomp on my tail!”
“Ow, ow, ow! That hurts! Whose cloth is this? I can't see!”
The two rushed forward and began stomping furiously on the flames on Dashi's tail as he rolled around on the floor.
Baroque watched them. They claimed to be putting out the fire, but it looked more like they were just flat-out stomping on him, didn't it?
“Hey, Lin Ling, water magic.”
“Oh, right. It seems Miss Saintess is actually a mage.”
Hearing Baroque's words, Lin Ling, who still had her foot raised, finally remembered that she was supposed to be a mage with extraordinary magic power.
“Um... Water Ball.”
A palm-sized water ball appeared in Lin Ling's hand, which she splashed directly onto Dashi's tail.
With a sharp sizzle, a plume of black smoke rose from Dashi's tail.
“Phew, it's... it's finally out.”
Seeing the slightly charred section of Dashi's tail, Lin Ling and Kainster exchanged a look.
“My soulmate should be able to use healing arts, right?”
“Well, that is true, but...”
As she spoke, Lin Ling cast her healing light toward Dashi's tail.
Crack~
But aside from the sound of a cracking scale, Dashi's tail remained completely charred.
“Miss Saintess's healing arts are pretty much in the lowest tier, you know.”
Lin Ling scratched her head, looking a bit embarrassed.
“Is that so? Then there's not much we can do.”
Having finished speaking, Kainster stood up and held his hands close to Dashi's tail.
“O great Goddess of Light, I pray in the name of your believer, requesting a minor light healing.”
But compared to Miss Saintess's faint glow, Kainster's magic failed to take effect at all.
“Ah, it's still no use. Under this suppression, I still can't cast magic.”
After attempting the spell, Kainster collapsed onto the floor with a thud, his face turning slightly pale.
It seemed he had indeed cast the magic, but the effect was completely absorbed by the overlying Holy Light Stasis.
“So, among all of you here, we can't even scrape together one person who knows how to heal?”
Baroque looked at Lin Ling, who was about to transfer magic power to Kainster but was turned down, and then at himself, who knew absolutely nothing about healing magic.
“It certainly seems that way.”
As a result, Dashi could only sit on a chair in the living room, cradling his blackened tail while continuing to carve his wood carving.
...
“Sorry to keep you all waiting.”
Mrs. Nashi poked her head out from behind the kitchen curtain, but as if suddenly remembering something, she immediately pulled it back.
After several flashes of multi-colored magic from within the kitchen, Mrs. Nashi parted the curtain and stepped out once more.
Staring at the covered plate in her hands, Lin Ling and Kainster exchanged a glance and immediately connected their mental networks.
【Soulmate, do you think we'll still be able to see tomorrow's sun after eating these cookies?】
【I catch your drift, soulmate.】
While the two were frantically communicating with their eyes, Mrs. Nashi placed the plate of cookies on the table in front of them.
“Cookies are ready. Everyone, please eat them while they're hot.”
Looking at Mrs. Nashi's still-gentle face, Lin Ling's hand trembled as she reached out to grab the lid covering the plate.
Witnessing this, Kainster stared at Lin Ling's reaching hand with a solemn expression of deep respect.
【My soulmate... you are truly a warrior.】
“Open!”
The moment Lin Ling lifted the lid, a burst of golden light erupted in the living room.
“Whoa! The light is blinding!”
“I can't see! I can't see a thing!”
The two sitting closest were hit directly by the dazzling radiance, leaving them struggling to open their eyes.
“Why is there a flashbang on the plate?!”
Squinting at the still-flashing plate, Lin Ling hurriedly slammed the lid back down.
“Da! Na! Suo!”
...
“I'm sorry~”
Following Mrs. Nashi's furious outburst, everyone gathered around Danasuo, who was now kneeling in apology on the dining table.
“Isn't it super cool to add a tiny bit of flash magic at a time like this?”
“It seems you still haven't learned your lesson.”
“I'm sorry, I was wrong.”
Faced with Mrs. Nashi's dark expression, Danasuo finally chose to surrender.
“Ahem, we should probably enjoy the food first.”
Baroque, who had been silent all this time, spoke up to break up the farce.
Although he didn't know why the Demon King was here—and looking as if she had just returned from a battlefield, to boot—she must have her own reasons.
After the flash magic on the plate was removed, Lin Ling once again took on the role of the honorable executor and lifted the lid.
This time, the aroma of actual cookies finally wafted from the plate.
Though the cookies inside varied slightly in shape, they at least didn't look like the bio-weapon grade disasters one would see in anime.
“Hmm...”
Sniff, sniff~
Chomp.
After sizing it up for a moment, Lin Ling finally popped the oddly-shaped cookie into her mouth.
Gulp.
“S-Soulmate, are you okay?”
Seeing Lin Ling go completely silent after putting the cookie in her mouth, the cookie-makers couldn't help but panic.
“Mmm~ Hmmm~”
“It's delicious.”
Finally, under Kainster's frantic shaking, the sound of Lin Ling chewing resumed.
At the same time, the cowlick on her head swayed happily, proving that Miss Saintess was indeed in a great mood.
Hearing Lin Ling say it was delicious, Ivelia finally relaxed her hands, which had been clenched nervously behind her back.
“Really?! I want to try one too.”
Seeing Lin Ling savoring the flavor, Kainster also reached out and picked a cookie from the plate.
“Mmh! It really is good!”
“This flavor... it must have been made by Zona!”
“Eh? Your Highness can tell?”
“With this slightly burnt preference, only Zona would know my tastes so well.”
Kainster gave Zona a big thumbs-up.
“Thank you very much for your approval.”
Zona bowed slightly to Kainster.
Watching Danasuo continuously rummaging through the pile of cookies to find the ones Leticia made, Baroque felt a bit out of place.
This made Baroque think of Samuel again.
“Huh? Cookies? Are you trying to pick a fight with me? There's no way I'd make something like that!”
That lioness would probably be crackling with electricity all over her body if she said that.
Though, lately, whenever the border was quiet, she would always disappear for a while.
“Mr. Baroque, you can head home early today.”
“?”
“Hehe, it's just that it's getting a bit late.”
Seeing Baroque's puzzled expression, Mrs. Nashi didn't explain further and simply walked toward the kitchen.
“Hey, Miss Saintess! That one is my cookie!”
“But Miss Saintess grabbed it first!”
Looking at the harmonious and joyful scene, Baroque stood up.
“I'll head back first.”
“Baroque, go back to Samuel's place tonight.”
“...Yes.”
Ivelia suddenly turned and mentioned it to Baroque as he reached the door. Though he was slightly confused, he still nodded.
Rate on N.U.
