Chapter 115 | From Galgame Nobody to Eternal Sovereign

When Miaoyue arrived at the alchemy shop, a figure identical to Modi stood behind the counter.

It wore a dark spare robe from the shop, its cuffs and collar empty, clearly not equipment conjured entirely by magic. Beneath the hem of the robe, tiny, un-melted ice crystals were visible, and its skin resembled compacted snow covered with an illusion of human color. From a distance, it appeared flawless, but up close, it lacked the subtle rise and fall of a living person's breath.

This was the nature of things created by Simulacrum.

Partially real, shaped by magic, it looked almost identical to the original and moved no differently than an ordinary person.

It was not Modi himself; it would only obey the commands left by the spellcaster, unable to learn, grow stronger, or improvise new business wisdom when customers asked strange questions.

However, it was more than sufficient for dealing with ordinary people.

“I am Modi, the owner of the alchemy shop. How may I help you? For urgent matters, please leave your name, address, commission details, and maximum budget.”

Miaoyue blinked.

“Where’s Modi?”

“I am Modi, the owner of the alchemy shop. How may I help you? For urgent matters, please leave your name, address, commission details, and maximum budget.”

Ugh, a bot.

Miaoyue grew bored and walked directly towards the alchemy room in the back, sensing the Saintess’s presence there.

Modi himself was not present.

This was easy to understand. After all, she had just retrieved a large stack of permits for the Saintess. As the sect’s sole remaining Bishop, Modi must have been so moved that he was already gathering the remaining cultists, revising the scripture annotations, weeping profusely, and attempting to write this event into the latest volume of New Moon Miracles.

Miaoyue had no interest in such matters.

What truly interested her was showing the Saintess the paper stamped with the Royal Mining Seal, filled with a long list of permits and commissions.

Though she still hadn’t memorized all the names of those permits.

But that wasn’t important.

What was important was that she had brought the items back.

The Saintess would surely praise her good work and offer a mountain of snacks.

Of course, if the after-breakfast digestive tea and snacks could also be brought over, that would be even more perfect.

Now, she just wanted to find the Saintess and her tea and snacks.

Moonlight spread from her feet, trailing up the alchemy shop’s stairs.

Holding up her skirt, she padded barefoot up the wooden steps, past the second-floor herb room, the third-floor storage cabinets, finally stopping outside the top-floor ritual room.

A strange aroma wafted from under the door.

It wasn’t the warm, baked scent of sugar and fat mixed together like crescent pastries, nor the soft, milky aroma of milk jelly.

It was richer, more subtle, and more dangerous.

Real milk, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, and the bitter scent of fire-roasted sugar were all confined within a single tiny cup, then frozen at their softest point.

Miaoyue’s eyes lit up.

With her top-tier pastry chef’s sense of smell, this flavor was bound to be excellent.

She pushed the door open.

Inside the top-floor ritual room, crucibles, purification arrays, preservation cabinets, Moon Salt plates, and several circles of hastily redrawn alchemy runes were crammed together. The large cauldron in the center, which should have been used for processing ritual materials, was bubbling with light golden foam, and its rim was covered in a thin layer of frost from the cold air.

Below the frosted rim, tiny water droplets continuously condensed, slowly sliding down the black cauldron wall, only to be vaporized into a faint white mist upon touching the outer ring of the temperature control array.

The sweet aroma mingled with the mist, slowly spreading across the floor and runes.

Sophie stood by the cauldron, holding a small silver spoon.

On a nearby table sat a ritual offering plate, which was now empty.

The smile on Miaoyue’s face froze.

That was her plate!!!!

That was the ritual snack plate Modi had ordered to be prepared daily according to the most original version of the scriptures, wiped with pure cloth, washed with a purification array, sealed with a preservation rune, and only brought out after confirming no one had touched it.

Now, the plate was empty.

Sophie still had some sugar frosting on the corner of her mouth.

Miaoyue opened her mouth: “Ah.”

She opened her mouth again: “Ah ah.”

She raised a hand, pointed at the plate, then at the white sugar powder on Sophie’s lips, her pretty little face slowly puffing up.

“Ah ah ah…”

With severe mysophobia, dessert sovereignty violated, and the ritual offering personally desecrated by the Saintess—these three events occurring simultaneously—the Moon Goddess’s language system apparently took a brief vacation from the mortal world.

Only then did Sophie notice her return.

“Oh, Goddess, you’re back,” she said, glancing at Miaoyue, then turning to look at the empty plate. “A bit faster than I expected; I haven’t refilled it yet.”

“How could you sneak a bite!” Miaoyue finally dragged her words back from the moon, accusing her indignantly.

“What sneak a bite?” Sophie put down the silver spoon, stating righteously, “I’m just checking the quality of the offering.”

“That’s my offering!”

“I am your Saintess.”

“A Saintess can’t sneak a bite of the Goddess’s offering!”

“Of course a Saintess can prioritize checking if there’s anything wrong with the offering.”

“You ate it all!”

“Which means there’s no problem.”

Miaoyue glared at her.

Sophie was glared at for three breaths, yet her face showed no trace of guilt.

She picked up a clean small silver cup nearby and scooped out a strange substance from the alchemy cauldron.

The substance, served in the silver cup, was topped with a very thin, hard caramel shell. The surface of the shell gleamed amber from the flame, and with a gentle shake, the semi-solid custard underneath trembled, soft and smooth.

Sophie tapped the surface gently with the silver spoon.

Crack.

The caramel shell cracked open.

Sweetness, milkiness, and a hint of bitter caramel aroma all burst forth.

Miaoyue, who had been glaring at Sophie, swallowed subtly.

“Try it,” Sophie said, handing over the silver cup. “Crème brûlée. Theoretically made with real milk, egg yolks, sugar, and temperature control. Modi’s cauldron has decent precision, barely enough to replicate it.”

Miaoyue stared at the silver cup.

It smelled and looked very appetizing.

But.

“No,” Miaoyue said, crossing her arms and turning her head away. “I won’t eat such suspicious stuff.”

“What’s suspicious about it?”

“It was scooped out of a cauldron.”

“The alchemy cauldron is very clean.” Sophie glanced at the large alchemy cauldron, shaped like a witch’s crucible.

As a magical construct, although the cauldron looked dirty, the Cleanliness Ritual would ensure that anything made in it was food-grade, as alchemy potions required even higher standards of cleanliness than ordinary food.

“I didn’t personally see it being clean from the start.”

“I just cleaned it with a magic array.”

“Then it’s been touched by you.”

Sophie: “…”

That hurt.

Miaoyue solemnly took half a step back.

“Furthermore, it was processed out of my sight. Someone once taught me not to eat suspicious food given by strangers.”

Sophie: I only said that back then to keep you from being tricked by strangers with lollipops.

“Am I a stranger?”

“The key part of that sentence is ‘suspicious food,’” Miaoyue emphasized forcefully. “Even if my Saintess isn’t a stranger, the food is still suspicious.”

Sophie looked at her, then at her eyes, which were practically glued to the crème brûlée.

“Didn’t you happily take things from me during our dates before?”

Miaoyue immediately lifted her chin.

“First, it’s different during a date.”

“How is it different?”

“The atmosphere is different.”

“Atmosphere.”

“The restrictions on a date stomach are a bit looser,” Miaoyue said primly. “And those foods were normal items I personally saw bought from vendors, not strangely processed out of my sight, so they were edible.”

So the Moon Goddess’s stomach could unlock permissions based on the situation.

Sophie fell silent.

Miaoyue glanced at the silver cup again.

Beneath the caramel cracks, the warm, soft custard slowly sagged a little, and glistening syrup seeped out through the fissures.

Her cheeks puffed out even more.

“Anyway, it’s all magically synthesized food, I’m not eating it!”

“Date food is also magically synthesized, are you really not eating it?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll eat it.”

Sophie extended the silver spoon towards the cup.

Miaoyue’s gaze instantly followed.

She said nothing.

But her eyes were screaming no.

Sophie sighed, speechless.

“What’s with all your fuss? I make you something delicious, and you’re still not happy.”

This, of course, wasn’t Sophie’s first attempt.

In fact, before that small silver cup was brought out, three failed attempts were already piled in the corner of the ritual room.

The first one resembled sweet holy water.

The second was like a fried egg drowned in milk.

The third one successfully solidified, but when Sophie cracked open the caramel surface, the custard inside sprang out and splattered half her face.

Hiso in his previous life, of course, had no leisurely interest in researching such things.

In the game, no matter how many desserts he ate, they wouldn’t fill him up, nor would they grant stats, achievements, or hidden routes. Moreover, his vampire body at the time was dominated by Bloodthirsty Craving, his human taste buds were largely diminished, and so-called delicacies were, at most, just text descriptions, favorability items, and character interaction material for him.

But now it was different. Sophie was no longer driven by the vampires’ craving for blood, and she had regained a sense of taste that could be genuinely pleased by sugar, cream, egg yolks, and the aroma of caramel.

Since she had already arrived in another world, she might as well make her life there a little more refined.

After the War of the Eight Princes nightmare she had last night, maybe everyone would let her off if there was good food (probably).

The most convenient aspect of rituals was that she didn’t actually need to know how to make crème brûlée.

She only needed to know the outcome.

She needed to know the texture a modern dessert should have: a thin, crisp caramel shell on top, revealing a delicate, soft, semi-solid custard underneath when cracked. The first taste should be the slight bitterness of caramel, followed by the richness of milk and egg yolk; the sweetness shouldn't be cloying, and the temperature shouldn't be as aggressive as piping hot soup.

That was enough.

A chef needed a recipe, experience, heat control, and intuition.

A Ritual Master needed a goal, materials, constraints, and verifiable results.

Real milk, egg yolks, sugar, spices, and a purified container were placed into the alchemy cauldron. The purification arrays removed impurities, the preservation runes locked in the aroma, the temperature control array broke down the heating process into dozens of stable stages, and the Moon Salt plates fixed the final product’s form, preventing it from oscillating between “not yet cooked” and “already a sweet custard corpse.”

If it wasn't firm enough, she'd adjust the water ratio.

If it was too hard, she'd reduce the intensity of the egg yolk binding array.

If the milky flavor dissipated, she'd switch to a different aroma-preserving rune.

If the caramel shell wasn’t crisp, she’d individually extract and re-burn the surface sugar crystals.

Relying on her Ritual Mastery, she simply adjusted the ritual parameters again and again until the contents of the cauldron finally approached the ideal form from her memory.

The most interesting part was the yield bonus: she could put in one set of ingredients and get many puddings at once. Chefs would weep with envy; as for the conservation of mass, to hell with it.

Sophie scooped up a small spoonful of crème brûlée. The translucent custard quivered gently on the spoon’s tip, caramel fragments embedded in its surface, glinting with a faint amber light.

“Here, eat.”

Miaoyue cautiously retreated.

Sophie held the silver spoon steady in one hand, while the other reached out and grabbed Miaoyue’s wrist.

Miaoyue instantly bristled.

“Eek!”

She instinctively recoiled, her waist-length black hair trembling with her.

“Y-you, how could you touch me! I am a Goddess!”

But Sophie’s fingertips were already pressed against her skin.

The next instant, Pickpocketing activated.

【Log: Due to successfully casting [Pickpocketing] on [New Moon Witch], Pickpocketing proficiency has significantly increased, now at Lv. Max】

【Log: You have met the advancement conditions for the normal skill [Pickpocketing]. Mastery route selection has been unlocked. You may choose one of three skill advancements】

【Quest: Normal Skill Advancement Quest has been initiated】

【Log: You have achieved [Moonlit Shadow Hand], [First Skill Mastery], [She Should Thank Me], and gained 6 Free Attribute Points】

Sophie ignored the system prompts; the spoon of pudding in her hand had already vanished.

That small spoonful of crème brûlée, without Miaoyue being prepared, appeared precisely and completely in her mouth, without touching her teeth or lips.

Miaoyue froze completely.

“I wouldn’t… Mmph! Hmph—mmph—”

Her eyes widened instantly. One hand was still held by Sophie, while the other instinctively covered her mouth.

Her purple eyes first showed shock, then grievance, and finally, bewilderment.

The thin, crisp layer cracked on her tongue, carrying a hint of fire-roasted bitterness. With an almost imperceptible crack, the custard beneath, so delicate it barely seemed like food, melted across her tongue.

White mist still wafted gently from the cauldron’s rim. The caramel aroma overpowered the scent of stars, and even the initially stark Moon Salt presence in the ritual room.

Cold, soft, sweet.

The milky fragrance first gently settled on the back of her tongue, then the syrup slowly crept up, tender, viscous, and pervasive, seeping into every inch of her taste buds.

Miaoyue’s previously tense shoulders relaxed bit by bit.

She wanted to stay angry.

She should stay angry.

The Saintess had stolen her offering and even used a strange skill to shove suspicious dessert into her mouth. From the perspective of the Moon Goddess’s dignity, Saintess discipline, or even food safety, this was a very serious matter.

But the moment the custard melted on her tongue, her protests were reduced to muffled whimpers.

“Mmph… mm-mm.”

She covered her mouth, the corners of her eyes reddened, and her throat subtly bobbed. She wanted to swallow it but couldn’t bear for the sweetness to disappear too quickly, so she could only hold it in small sips, even her breathing softening.

The slight bitterness of the caramel dispersed between her teeth, but the milky fragrance clung even deeper.

Miaoyue’s bristling fur slowly smoothed back down.

She glared at Sophie, puffed up with anger, but her furious eyes were so moist they held no intimidation whatsoever.

The New Moon, softened by syrup, clearly wished to hang high in the sky, yet had fallen into a lake made of desserts.

Fishing for the moon in a lake was merely an empty dream.

But if it were a dessert lake, that might be a different story.

Sophie raised an eyebrow triumphantly: “Is it good?”

Miaoyue shook her head vigorously.

The next second, she honestly swallowed it.

“Mmph.”

She covered her mouth, speaking almost in a whisper.

“I am a Goddess, and your teacher… you can’t touch me.”

Sophie looked down at her hand, still clasping Miaoyue’s wrist.

Instead of letting go, she squeezed Miaoyue’s soft skin harder.

“What’s wrong with touching you? Precisely because I’m your Saintess, I need to take good care of you. Besides, I never agreed to be your disciple.”

—No one but Teacher was allowed to touch her.

—It was clearly uncomfortable to be touched by others.

—She would push away an entire plate, even if just the offering plate had been touched by someone.

—And a place like her wrist was far more important than a snack plate.

Miaoyue felt like crying. This Saintess was utterly outrageous, bullying her ever since she arrived.

She was a completely rebellious disciple who disrespected her teacher!

She should immediately flick Sophie away, use moonlight to hoist this boundary-less Saintess onto the ritual room roof, and tell her, very seriously, very formally, very goddess-like, that she must never do this again.

What was this about a Saintess taking care of a Goddess? She had been a Saintess herself; why didn't she know about this?

If the Saintess before her showed even a hint of malice, or any self-serving thoughts beyond pure goodwill, Miaoyue would not hesitate to cleave this person in half and blast her to smithereens.

But she didn't.

Miaoyue could only feel pure goodwill from Sophie… no, that wasn't quite right.

What she felt, perhaps, was pure lust? When Sophie touched her, it really felt like she was caressing her lover.

Why would there be such pure lust between girls?

Did this person have no sense of boundaries?

If it were Teacher, he wouldn't harbor such lust for her. In fact, Teacher had never desired her in such a way.

Miaoyue was stunned.

The crème brûlée was in her mouth, but the sensation of being grabbed on her arm slowly seeped inward from her wrist.

—The Saintess’s skin was also very soft, not at all what a vampire with Blood Armor should feel like.

Damn this wicked Saintess.

If it were Teacher, he wouldn’t do this…

If it were Teacher, he would ask her first!

If it were Teacher, he would place the snacks on a clean plate, push it in front of her, and wait for her to reach out herself!

If it were Teacher, he would stop when she frowned, explain all suspicious things clearly, and tell her in a reassuring voice, “Little Yue, it’s okay if you don’t want to eat it!”

If it were Teacher, it wouldn’t be so sudden!

If it were Teacher, it wouldn’t be so rough!

If it were Teacher, he wouldn’t say “What’s with all your fuss?” while grabbing her wrist!

If it were Teacher, he certainly wouldn’t use such a foul skill to shove something so sweet it made her weak directly into her mouth!

The Saintess before her was too rough.

Too lacking in boundaries.

Too righteous.

Too disrespectful of the Moon Goddess’s dignity.

She didn’t even feel guilty for her misdeeds, as if pulling the Moon Goddess down from her high perch and feeding her by her side was a perfectly natural thing to do.

Miaoyue tried hard to find other intentions in her.

For her, no matter how beautifully someone spoke, if there was even a hint of desire to use, test, harm, possess, or sacrifice her hidden in their heart, she would sense it.

But Sophie had none of that. She had no malice, no reverence, no greed, no craving for power or blessings.

She genuinely just craved her.

W-what was she doing? She already had Kaila as a lover, was she trying to cheat?

Scum!!!

But she was, coincidentally, her Saintess.

Although she didn't know why Modi was so adamant that Sophie was her Saintess, Miaoyue still believed it.

Unbelievably rough.

She clearly didn't understand the Moon Goddess's rules.

She fed her dubious things, stole offerings, and even humiliated her, a mysophobe.

She deserved to be punished.

Miaoyue swallowed the mouthful of pudding, thinking indignantly.

But her nose twitched subtly, and the aroma from the large cauldron filled her nostrils.

So fragrant…

Gulp.

Miaoyue swallowed.

For the sake of the dessert.

For the sake of both being girls.

For the sake of her being her Saintess.

Perhaps, she could be a little lenient.

Just a little.

Truly, just a tiny bit.

She wouldn’t punish her this time.

The moment this thought surfaced, Miaoyue’s earlobes flushed crimson.

She seemed to finally realize how dangerous a place a single bite of dessert had almost dragged her into, and she hastily looked up.

“My Saintess, though your desire for me to taste dessert is fervent, you shouldn’t do such things to your teacher and Goddess…”

“Can’t a disciple have physical contact with their teacher?” Sophie asked casually. “If it’s just touching, by the way, does the Moon Goddess want more?”

Miaoyue was about to say of course not, but then fell silent.

She had done it too.

But… but she didn’t accept anyone other than Teacher touching her!

What’s more!

“No more!” Miaoyue stared at the hand Sophie was holding, her gaze burning, almost as if it could scorch her away. “Besides… my Saintess, you already have a lover, you should have some self-respect! You shouldn’t be flirting around.”

Sophie was too frivolous about love.

Miaoyue was very displeased with this.

How could one treat something like affection by taking a bite of crescent pastries today, milk jelly tomorrow, and then reaching for a new pudding the day after?

If it were Teacher, he wouldn’t be like this.

If it were Teacher, he would speak of affection very carefully.

If it were Teacher, he would put away all jokes, tests, and unnecessary escape routes before she even spoke.

If it were Teacher, he would look into her eyes, wait for her to finish speaking, and be so serious that she would feel ashamed to even think of running away.

If it were Teacher, even if he were mischievous, he wouldn’t treat love as a dessert to be casually shared with many people.

At least, Miaoyue had always believed this.

Therefore, her Saintess’s behavior of dating the Hero while also touching the Goddess was simply too frivolous.

It was outrageous.

It needed criticism.

Lover?

Sophie snorted lightly. Who was that? She didn't care.

Was Little Yue referring to Miss Kaila, the Hero who didn’t let her sleep in her arms yesterday? Sophie wasn't very familiar with her, you know.

Holding a grudge.jpg.

Sophie held a grudge about this; it would take at least three hours for her to forgive Miss Hero.

“Lover? I haven’t heard anything about that.”

“But you clearly went on a date with her yesterday,” Miaoyue said, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Doesn’t going on a date make you lovers?”

“You were also at the date yesterday, weren’t you?” Sophie said. “By that logic, aren’t you also my lover?”

Miaoyue’s Heroic Intelligence began to activate.

Miaoyue in deep thought…

Miaoyue’s deep thought concluded.

It seems… there’s no problem?

No, there’s a huge problem!

How could there be multiple lovers…

Before Miaoyue could speak, Sophie preempted her. “Precisely for that reason, neither the Moon Goddess, Miss Hero, nor I are lovers.”

“Just friends.”

“Just friends?” Miaoyue asked, incredulous. “You’ve already developed that far, and you’re still just friends?”

“Exactly,” Sophie said. “Simply looking at our relationship, I am also both the Moon Goddess’s Saintess and her unilaterally acknowledged disciple. So, my relationship with the Moon Goddess is even more intimate than with Miss Hero.”

Miaoyue: “…”

Miaoyue in deep thought…

Miaoyue’s deep thought concluded.

“My Saintess, are you… confessing?”

“Not really. More than that, I want to ask if you’d like to try some more of my pudding. It won’t taste as good if you wait too long.”

“More, a little more,” Miaoyue whispered, swallowing.

Sophie gave a triumphant smile: “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t eat suspicious food?”

“I’m inspecting it.”

“Inspecting what?”

“Inspecting whether you secretly ate my offerings and then made something even more delicious as an apology.”

“And the inspection results?”

Miaoyue was silent for a few seconds.

“It slid down before I could taste it properly, so it doesn’t count.”

“Hehehe.” Sophie contentedly released Miaoyue’s hand and turned to continue scooping pudding into the cups.

Miaoyue raised her arm, looking at the fresh red mark on her soft skin, feeling the lingering coolness on her skin.

It had been a long time since she had been touched by anyone… Since Teacher, she had either appeared as an avatar or used moonlight to perform pulling motions in her stead.

If she hadn't been overcome with anger and failed to react today…

Not clean anymore…

Damn it…

The more Miaoyue thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. Looking at Sophie’s back, she mumbled sullenly.

The bubbles in the large cauldron were still gurgling, continuing to fill the ritual room with sweetness for Sophie.

“My Saintess, if you don’t have the resolve to never let go of someone for life, don’t do such boundary-less things next time!”

“Is that so…” Sophie said, carrying the offering plate filled with silver cups of pudding, and turned to Miaoyue. “Does it have to be so heavy, for life?”

“Mm-hmm,” Miaoyue nodded seriously. “Unless you have the resolve to never let go for life, don’t casually do such things to others next time, especially to a Goddess! It’s too boundary-less! Your… friends will also be sad.”

In the eyes of all believers, deities were naturally perfect and untouchable. Miaoyue had no idea what kind of spell Sophie was under.

“Well, first of all, I wasn’t pulling just anyone; it was Miaoyue, the former New Moon Saintess.”

Sophie placed the plate on the table, picked up a silver cup, and walked towards Miaoyue.

“I’m clearly a Goddess,” Miaoyue mumbled softly.

“But you really were a Saintess before, weren’t you?”

“Before was before…”

Miaoyue mumbled, reaching out to take the silver cup.

But she didn’t touch the hard silver cup.

Her fingertips met empty air for a moment.

The anticipated cold, smooth, metallic rim of the cup wasn’t placed in her hand. Instead, a lighter, softer sensation landed in her palm.

Sophie’s fingertip pressed against hers, first touching her curled-up fingers, then slowly pressing into her palm along her knuckles.

That wasn’t the silver cup.

A silver cup wouldn’t have a slightly cool temperature.

A silver cup wouldn’t gently squeeze back when touched.

Nor would a silver cup make her palm lines feel as if they were slowly being filled by something soft, delaying her refusal by half a beat.

The coolness from Sophie’s earlier grasp still lingered on her arm, but this time, that coolness seeped into her more sensitive palm, like a thin flake of snow falling onto warm caramel, slowly melting.

Icy cold, soft and glutinous, with a pudding-like texture.

Excessively close.

There was none of the damp reverence of a kneeling worshiper.

None of the cautious distance of royalty reaching out to probe.

Nor was there the powerful, reliable, secure feeling she had when Teacher once led her across the Star-Gazing Terrace, where she had nothing to fear as long as she followed behind him.

Sophie lowered her head, looking at the hand she had tricked with a feint and then grasped.

She had already been worshipped as the Moon Goddess, had already forced all of Solitude to learn to rely on others, and when the moonlight fell, all lonely souls would instinctively seek another's warmth.