Chapter 435: A Culinary Disaster
Ashina spread out her palm.
"This is the loot we picked up. It’s clearly a divine artifact, but it’s obviously not third tier. It looks like we only killed part of her. She’ll definitely come back for revenge."
"Don’t be too nervous. Plenty of people want to kill me. If she wants to take a shot at me, she’ll have to get in line."
Phield was not worried in the slightest. He took the loot from Ashina. It was a crystal clear red gemstone that emitted a faint glow of divine power.
After letting a drop of his blood fall onto it, Phield successfully claimed it as his own.
Divine Artifact: Flawless Soul Stone (First Tier, Consumable)
Origin: Goddess of Souls
Description: Perfectly restores soul power five times. One use has already been consumed.
"Now that’s a good item."
Phield’s eyes lit up.
"With this, I won’t have to worry so much about exhausting my soul power anymore."
"I’m just happy if it can help you."
Ashina smiled in relief.
When Phield returned to the temporary camp, Firomina and Charlotte immediately ran over and circled around him several times.
"My lord, are you all right? You scared me to death. That explosion just now was incredibly loud."
Charlotte finally breathed a sigh of relief, and Firomina immediately imitated her with an exaggerated exhale.
"It wasn’t a big deal. Dinner should be ready by now, right?"
Phield waved his hand and casually wrapped an arm around Firomina as she rushed toward him.
"Esteemed Baron, dinner is already prepared."
The maid beside them immediately answered.
"I prepared something delicious for you!"
Charlotte looked extremely excited as she patted her chest confidently.
"I didn’t waste a single fish you caught, my lord. I turned every one of them into a delicious dish."
Phield felt deeply comforted.
"I can’t wait to taste your cooking. It was worth spending the entire afternoon fishing."
Even though he had not actually caught anything himself.
"I want some too! Eating fish once in a while is pretty nice."
Ashina happily raised her hand.
Ashina was always the most enthusiastic when it came to food. She immediately rushed to the dining table and eagerly picked up a fork.
She looked around the table.
Ashina froze in confusion and pointed at the items on the table.
"Wait, who put used socks on the dining table? That’s too much. Has dinner not been served yet? I’m starving."
Her eyes unconsciously shifted toward Charlotte.
Phield secretly thought to himself, "Don’t tell me this woman is planning to force everyone to eat something strange."
Something like foot-smelling lemon tea.
Phield walked over to the dining table.
Several dried fish lay on the plates, shriveled and pitch black, each one arranged in a horribly twisted position. Every fish looked as though it had died with its eyes wide open, its lifeless eyes staring blankly toward the sky.
What made it even more ridiculous was that Charlotte had thoughtfully decorated the plates with wildflowers.
Even the bread and meat were completely charred black. Phield had no idea how she had managed to accomplish that.
"What socks?"
Charlotte scratched her head.
"This is tonight’s dinner. Go ahead and eat. Don’t be shy with me. I’m not eating, though. I already filled myself up while testing the food."
"What? You monster!"
Ashina opened her mouth dramatically and sucked in a deep breath. Then she dropped onto the ground and began rolling around while crying out in despair.
"I’m not eating! I’m not eating! Even a dog wouldn’t eat this! Give me back my dinner! Waaaaah!"
She had personally caught those fish from the lake, only for them to be treated so cruelly.
Ashina simply could not accept it.
"Wha, what?"
Charlotte had never expected Ashina to break down like this. She hurriedly tried to comfort her like a child.
"D, did you not like it? I can make you another portion."
Who would have thought that hearing this would only make Ashina roll around even more vigorously.
"I’m sorry, my lord."
The maid beside them was sweating profusely. She had no idea what to say and felt as though either side would be unhappy with her.
"We’ll prepare another meal immediately."
"Ahem. This has nothing to do with you."
Phield laughed.
Ashina was not actually that petty. She was probably just fooling around.
Charlotte, however...
Phield secretly glanced at the flustered Charlotte. Judging from her panicked expression, she probably genuinely believed that she had done a good job.
After all, she had once been a pampered noble lady. She had never needed to cook for herself.
"Everyone, calm down. Things cannot always be judged by appearances."
Ashina immediately stopped acting, pouted her lips, and stood up. She looked as aggrieved as a child.
Phield smiled.
"It might actually taste good."
He took out his personal chopsticks and calmly reached toward the fish on the plate.
He poked one of them.
"Bang!"
The so called roasted fish on the plate suddenly exploded into pieces, sending charred fish meat flying all over Phield’s face.
"Hiss... Charlotte, I’ve discovered that you’re actually a military engineer."
Phield pulled a piece of fish off his face and tossed it into his mouth. He forced a smile and ruthlessly commented,
"Not bad. The explosive power is pretty impressive."
"Waaaaah."
Charlotte looked utterly miserable.
"My lord, Miss Relycca requests an audience."
A cavalryman approached to report.
"Oh? She recovered pretty quickly."
Afraid that Charlotte might become depressed, Phield took her hand and leaned closer, encouraging her with a serious tone.
"Don’t think about unimportant things. You’re the only Divine Chosen in the entire territory who can actually pass as a normal person. Come on. Let’s go meet some other noble ladies."
Charlotte was basically the only normal person in the entire territory.
"Mm!"
Charlotte immediately perked up. She quickly regained her spirit and proudly raised her chin, looking just like a proud white swan.
"Baron Phield, have you dealt with the witch?"
Relycca’s questioning voice came from a distance.
She arrived at Phield’s temporary camp on horseback with her exhausted attendants. She was clearly irritated.
"I suppose dinner isn’t more important than the witch, is it?"
"Calm down, Miss Relycca. I understand why you’re anxious. No one wants a murderous monster appearing within their territory."
Phield calmly stepped forward to greet her.
"I’ve already dealt with the witch. Her remains are in the ruins of the village. Send someone over to take a look, and you’ll know whether I’m telling the truth."
"That quickly?"
Relycca gave him a suspicious look.
She secretly thought, "The enemy must have been extremely weak. I need to find a way to avoid paying him those five hundred gold coins."
"Keep a low profile."
Phield smiled confidently.
He noticed Ashina standing nearby with a pitiful expression. After thinking for a moment, he politely invited Relycca.
"My esteemed lady, why don’t you join us for dinner? Please give this humble knight the opportunity to put a smile on a beautiful lady’s face."
"Uh... I actually prepared a banquet."
Relycca looked around.
She could not help noticing that every one of Phield’s maids was prettier than the last. Relycca knew exactly what she herself looked like. She was only slightly prettier than an ordinary village woman.
There was no reason for Phield to be going out of his way to flatter her.
Then she saw Phield’s dining table.
Relycca sucked in a sharp breath.
The entire table was covered in charred black lumps that looked more like pieces of coal than food.
The way Relycca looked at Phield immediately changed. The hostility in her eyes vanished and was replaced by sympathy.
So this was how badly Phield lived.
His cavalry was powerful only because they came from his family. It had nothing to do with Phield himself.
Phield’s personal life must have been extremely difficult.
Realizing this, Relycca let out a long sigh.
She had actually been thinking about refusing to pay his commission.
What a terrible person she was!
She spoke meaningfully.
"You’ve had a hard time with your family all these years."
"Yeah."
Phield raised his head toward the sky with an expression of profound hardship and immediately began making things up.
"Sister Relycca, the happy memories you gave me when I was young have always been what kept me going."
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