Chapter 63
Chapter 63: Free Dinner!
The fishing that followed went much smoother, without catching any treasure chests or other strange things. Besides a surprise turtle, the rest were normal fish found in the Larech River basin.
However, each one was exceptionally large.
Lolth’s tank was designed based on past experiences, but now it seemed a bit inadequate.
She caught a total of eight freshwater fish and a snapping turtle, each weighing around twenty pounds on average. The tank could barely fit two or three of them at most.
Even if they could fit, the fish would have a hard time moving around.
The snapping turtle was the size of a large washbasin! It could only be placed diagonally or vertically in the tank!
This harvest could already be considered a "bumper crop," making Lolth see the potential for aquaculture here!
However, a bumper crop also comes with its own set of troubles.
In order to keep these fish active, Lolth had to use water elemental magic to create nine floating water orbs, each holding one of the eight fish and the snapping turtle.
Although elemental magic wasn’t Lolth’s specialty, luckily it wasn’t something she struggled with either.
After all, spatial magic can be considered one of the most difficult types of magic. Lolth developed her extremely strong and precise control ability over her own magic through this.
Creating water balls using magic and keeping them floating is not a very difficult task.
If one specializes in water magic, some official-level mages can also achieve it.
However, controlling nine water balls at the same time requires a significant amount of magical power and control. It probably requires a very strong Elite Level or Superlative Level caster to accomplish it.
After catching nine fish, Lolth stood up and noticed that it was almost afternoon. It was time to go back to the torture tower to prepare dinner.
Since she had a great catch while fishing, Lolth would definitely have a feast of fish tonight.
Of course, eight fish plus a turtle would definitely be too much for three people to finish.
Even though Isabella, the Grand Knight, has a slightly larger appetite than usual people.
After cleaning and packing up the fishing gear and fishing kit into the magic bag, Lolth was not in a hurry to return to the torture tower.
She wandered around the town again and improved the function of the automatic Space Magic Array.
After making simple changes, Lolth added magical detection and alarm functions to the magic array to prevent strange non-living things from harming the safety of the town residents.
Moreover, if the same magic array in the same location is repeatedly activated in a short period or directly breached, Lolth will receive an alert and can investigate what is happening, or remotely control and adjust the power of the magic array.
This not only prevents a large number of magical creatures from repeatedly attacking the magic array even if affected by Psychological Shockwave, eventually breaking through the magic array using this method; it also prevents the possibility of "visitors" and "residents" getting trapped because they didn’t take the main road and happen to be a stubborn person who tries repeatedly until driving themselves to mental breakdown.
In this way, even if a powerful enemy comes, Lolth can give advance warning.
However, Lolth did not know that if she had installed this function on the automatic Space Magic Array yesterday, Isabella might not have almost had a breakdown…
Of course, when Lolth was updating and upgrading the magic array, moving around the outskirts of Hillenbrand Town, she encountered many residents of Hillenbrand Town who had lowered their guard and resumed normal activities.
Some people greeted Lolth respectfully, while others still seemed a bit fearful and avoided her in advance.
However, Lolth noticed that they always looked surprised at the direction of her back when they first saw her.
At first, she thought she had attracted some unclean spirits or something similar, until she met the third person, Lolth, and suddenly realized…
Nine huge fish and old turtles were swimming in the water balls floating behind her…
Even though there were many powerful people in this world, it was rare to see a real mage casting spells in this remote town.
It was rare to see someone using water magic to transport fish, even in a city in the clouds!
"Oh no, now I’ll definitely be seen as foolish!"
Lolth felt a bit helpless as she touched her forehead.
Of course, there didn’t seem to be much conflict between a foolish lord and a good lord.
It just had a big impact on how reliable she seemed to others.
Back at the torture tower, feeling somewhat embarrassed, Lolth decided to cook all eight fish and distribute them to the residents in the town square to improve her image.
Perfect! Let’s see if our cooking, appreciated by nobles Tina and Isabella, will also be liked by the general public!
Thinking about serving the working people, Lolth decided to make the food bold and flavorful, with intense and fresh tastes!
Using magic, Lolth killed the freshwater fish in the water sphere, drained blood, removed scales, innards, and bones, and set them aside.
The turtle, luckily, was spared and kept in a water barrel for raising.
Lolth went into the pantry’s walk-in fridge, took out the ingredients she needed from the mountain-like stacks of food.
Chili peppers, pickled vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes, bean sprouts, pork belly slices, and various spices.
Lolth planned to cook tomato fish and pickled vegetable boiled fish!
Two types of tangy fish soup, one spicy and refreshing, the other rich and savory, were excellent side dishes!
Stewed with bean sprouts, potatoes, and pork belly slices, alongside steaming hot rice, Lolth believed it would impress the residents of Hillenbrand Town.
Soon, before the sun set, Lolth had finished making both kinds of fish soup!
After putting them in two insulated iron barrels and covering them, Lolth used her magic powers to transport herself back to the central square, carrying a bucket of rice.
To her surprise, the stone tablet had already been raised upright!
Tina, dressed in a maid outfit, was directing a few young men to clean up the debris and soil around the stone tablet from the carving and erection process.
On the huge stone tablet, about five meters high and two meters wide, there were regulations carved in the common language of the continent, clearly visible from a distance.
"Not bad for efficiency…"
Lolth walked over, unable to help but compliment.
Hearing Lolth’s praise, Tina turned around, showing a happy expression.
"Of course! Master Lolth, these are the regulations you personally drafted! They must be completed as soon as possible!"
The stone tablet was quickly set up, and she naturally deserves some credit.
The craftsmen were energetic because they also received help from the elf’s magical spells!
"There’s no need to rush, it’s important to balance work and rest," Lolth took out three large iron barrels from the magic bag and placed them on the ground in the square, then took out a white horn and switched it to town-wide broadcast mode, "Alright, everyone take a break now. Today’s work ends here!"
Her voice echoed through the entire Hillenbrand once again.
"To celebrate the completion of the law stone tablet in Hillenbrand Town, the lord will host a banquet in the central square. There will be free food for everyone to enjoy!"