Volume 1 Chapter 532

Chapter 532: Strange Reactions

Lolth spent quite some time explaining to the young girl that certain magical creatures in this world simply cannot exist.

Afterward, she led the bewildered and limping mercenaries step by step out of the Black Lake Marsh.

It was unclear whether it was due to the covert care of a certain Miss Witch, but Lolth and her companions did not encounter any attacks from magical creatures until they left the Black Lake Marsh.

The simple-minded mercenaries optimistically attributed this success entirely to Lolth.

"It must be the aura of Her Excellency Doyle that keeps those magical creatures at bay!"

Only Lolth knew that a legendary presence alone was insufficient to make all the magical creatures in this Life Exclusion Zone ignore a group of living beings.

This was likely either connected to the compass, which was clearly linked to the magic of this forbidden area, or Miss Yelixi was indeed continuing to control the magical creatures to prevent them from attacking her and Dorothy.

If that were the case, Lolth would have yet another reason to be grateful to Yelixi.

Of course, compared to the "favor" concerning Dorothy, ensuring their journey was free from magical creature disturbances was relatively minor.

Although the relationship between Yelixi and the woman in the red dress remains unclear, she at least guided Lolth on this path.

The compass was originally a gift from her to Lolth.

"Once Dorothy recovers, I must find time to return here and properly thank Miss Yelixi."

With this thought, Lolth left the forbidden area of Black Lake Marsh with the large mercenary group.

After politely declining the mercenary group’s offer to continue "escorting" her to the Holy Lieto Empire, Lolth parted ways with them on the outskirts of Black Lake Marsh.

Subsequently, she and Dorothy headed in the opposite direction of the large mercenary group.

The mercenary group was returning to a large city in South Sotua to complete their mission, while Lolth’s destination was the northeastern border of South Sotua, entering the territory of the Holy Lieto Empire.

This meant the two groups were practically heading in opposite directions.

"Well then, goodbye!"

After smiling and waving goodbye to the group of mercenaries who seemed increasingly peculiar, Lolth helped Dorothy onto the horse and left behind the group, whose imaginations were even more vivid than those of the average demon race.

She let out a long sigh of relief.

"Finally free."

Lolth mused to herself, then promptly concealed the powerful Holy Light energy that surrounded her.

After all, even though Dorothy had been freed from the curse, she was still in a somewhat unstable state.

It was best to avoid high-level battles whenever possible.

Although releasing legendary-level energy could reduce many "troubles," having a legendary-level priest wandering around at this time would easily attract greater problems.

Moreover, if the opponents noticed the legendary-level energy and still chose to confront Lolth…

Lolth thought for a moment that it would be better if the ones coming were all below legendary level but more frequent.

But fortunately, on this journey ahead, there were no disturbances at all.

Before dark, Lolth fed the horse carrots while slowly traveling, and when the sun set behind the mountains, she reached the next little town.

Lolth glanced at the map in her mind drawn by Magic Perception and confirmed the name of the town in front of her.

"We’ve arrived at ‘Guomu Town’," Lolth said, looking at the lights shining in the town that stood in front of an orchard, and calculated in her mind, "That means if we keep going tomorrow, we can leave South Sotua."

Black Lake Marsh indeed served as a significant shortcut, greatly reducing the distance. Moreover, within the marsh, Lolth seemed to have utilized Miss Witch Yelixi’s gift to find an even more efficient path.

Under normal circumstances, bypassing Black Lake Marsh to travel from the western side of South Sotua to the border with the Holy Lieto Empire would take nearly half a month, even on a well-trained warhorse fed with golden carrots.

Lolth managed to cut this time by more than half.

Dorothy, who didn’t fully grasp the situation, nodded vaguely and then remarked, "So… it’s almost over."

As she spoke, Dorothy felt a twinge of sadness and regret.

Although she hadn’t recalled anything specific, the girl vaguely sensed that opportunities to spend time with someone like Teacher Lolth were indeed rare.

"Yes, everything will be fine soon."

Lolth smiled and gently patted Dorothy’s head, oblivious to the fleeting emotion that had crossed the girl’s mind.

Then, the two dismounted and walked towards "Guomu Town," which, though not particularly grand or expansive, was still quite bustling.

This area in South Sotua is unusual, with more non-mercenary Superoperators than mercenaries.

Most Superoperators here are engaged in tasks like guarding orchards.

While it might seem like a misuse of their talents, the fact that they could develop a thriving fruit tree cultivation industry in the monster-ridden and complex environment of South Sotua speaks volumes about their exceptional capabilities.

The town mayor is neither a native of South Sotua nor from a mercenary background.

He is a mage from the Wizard Association.

Although his strength is only at the Superlative Level, he is exceptionally skilled in nature and earth element magic.

During his travels, this mage stumbled upon the soil of "Guomu Town," which had a unique affinity for nature and life magic.

Thus, he decided to settle there and established his own orchard.

Nature magic, which was only somewhat effective on regular crops, worked twice as effectively around the land of Guomu Town!

The small town, already renowned for its "lush fruit trees," expanded rapidly after a lecturer from the Wizard Association became the mayor. With more efficient farming methods enhanced by magic, the agriculture and fruit industry became even more prosperous.

Soon, even the royal family of South Sotua chose this place as their primary source for fruits, spices, and other ingredients.

This led to scenes of Superoperators willingly guarding the orchards.

Because these orchards were of significant value, the owners could afford to hire Superoperators to protect them.

For many retired mercenaries or South Sotua Superoperators who preferred not to take risks, this was an excellent opportunity.

Watching the orchard leisurely, dealing with small magical creatures that came to steal fruits—every day, they only needed to complete these tasks that posed no threat to their lives, and during harvest season, they could help pick fruits to earn some money, which, though not substantial, was enough to meet their needs.

For many Superoperators, this was already a favorable option.

It is not the only path for Superoperators of South Sotua to engage in constant struggle and conflict.

Of course, along the extensive eastern border between South Sotua and the Holy Lieto Empire, there are numerous routes and paths to choose from, and Lolth selected this small town as her starting point.

It could be said that her intentions were already clear.

Lolth’s planting skills far surpassed those of the mayor from the Wizard Association in Guomu Town, because no matter how much effort the other put in, the magic applied to the plants only enhanced their growth and improved their taste in a conventional manner.

Lolth, however, had succeeded in cultivating something that only gods and nature could create…

Beings imbued with magic.

They could be used as ingredients as well as magical materials—even more advanced than ordinary magical materials.

After all, what is inside contains active magic that can be absorbed by ordinary people through food!

Just this alone is enough for a host in a shopping show to emphasize repeatedly in an exaggerated tone like those found in my past life!

However, this does not mean that Lolth thinks the fruits and vegetables in this town lack value.

Lolth wants to learn about anything that has the potential to be "delicious" and anything that is already called "delicious."

This is also beneficial for Dorothy!

Dorothy’s memory loss is due to an issue with her soul, and these issues can also manifest as unstable emotions.

During such times, enjoying delicious food to keep the soul happy is, in Lolth’s opinion, very helpful for Dorothy.

No, no matter when, people should always try to taste delicious food as much as possible!

That is Lolth’s point of view!

After bringing Dorothy into Fruitwood Town, Lolth saw a row of fruit stands at the entrance.

This was the most diverse range of fruits Lolth had seen since coming to this world, aside from her own territory.

All kinds of ripe fruits were displayed on rows of stands, and the fruit stand owners sitting behind them had some magical energy around them.

Lolth led Dorothy to one of the fruit stands and looked at Dorothy.

"Would you like to eat something?"

She asked softly. Dorothy originally wanted to say no, but seeing the colorful fruits, the little girl unconsciously swallowed.

"Then… I’ll have this yellow, round one."

Dorothy said quietly.

"Oh, that’s Hilly Honey Fruit, also known as Golden Melon. It’s really delicious," Lolth pinched Dorothy’s cheek. "This fruit comes from your hometown, so you must have eaten a lot of it."

"Is that so?" Dorothy looked at the round, yellow fruit the size of a fist with a net-like pattern, trying hard to remember, and finally shook her head in disappointment. "I have no memory of it."

"That’s okay, maybe eating it will help you remember," Lolth switched from pinching Dorothy’s cheek to rubbing her chin. "Even if you have forgotten the taste, that’s fine. I think it might be even better… The surprise of tasting something delicious for the first time is irreplaceable. If you get to enjoy the same taste twice, I might even be a little jealous."

As Lolth spoke, she looked at the man behind the fruit stand.

"Sir, we’ll take two Hilly Honey Fruits."

The vendor behind the fruit stand was lounging in a chair and seemed to be dozing off, but Lolth’s voice woke him up, and he immediately spoke.

"Hilly Honey Fruits start at five, I can’t sell just two…"

As he said this, he sat up and then noticed Lolth and Dorothy’s expressions.

Before Lolth could say, "Okay, then I would like five," the boss seemed to notice the same priest uniform from The Church of Light that Lolth was wearing and paused for a moment.

He stared at the Holy Light annulus symbol on Lolth’s shoulder and upper arm for a long time, then changed his words immediately.

"Ah, I’m sorry… I misspoke, what I meant was… um, two for sale, and five also for sale."

He said this and stood up a bit awkwardly.

Lolth looked at the boss and felt a bit curious.

"Oh? Is that so… then I’ll have two," Lolth said, scratching her head, "how much for two?"

"Well, this, um, how much do you think is reasonable?"

The boss’s voice seemed a little nervous.

Hearing the boss’s question, Lolth found it rather amusing.

"Hey, this is funny, you run a fruit stand, and you’re asking me how much is reasonable?"

Lolth chuckled softly, and a bead of sweat appeared on the boss’s forehead.

"Ah, yes, yes," he bent down, picked up the two biggest fruits, and handed them to Lolth, "Then… two copper coins, please…"

As he said this, Lolth took the fruit, weighed it in her hands, and looked at the fruit scale by the owner’s feet, gently shaking her head.

"You’re not going to weigh them at all… Never mind."

Saying this, she hugged the fruit, then used one free hand to take a handful of copper coins and gave them to the owner.

"This should be about the right price… Don’t be so cautious, I’m not a bad person."

Lolth said this while holding the two fruits and leading Dorothy away from the fruit stand.

With magic gathered at her fingertips, she gently peeled back the top of the honey fruit, revealing the sweet, half-liquid flesh inside, like honeycomb.

"Come and try this."

Lolth handed the honey fruit to Dorothy, who turned to look at the owner, who appeared relieved as if he had escaped a disaster, showing a puzzled expression.

"Teacher, why is that boss so scared?"

"I don’t know, maybe he has some misunderstanding about The Church of Light," Lolth said casually, "After all, it’s only a day’s journey to the Holy Lieto Empire, and the people from The Church of Light do eat fruit, so they might come here to shop sometimes."

Lolth guessed that those from The Church of Light who came here might not be very friendly towards the common people selling fruit.

"I see," Dorothy said, then asked, "But the mercenaries seem to have a good impression of The Church of Light, right?"

"Hmm… maybe it’s because they meet different people," Lolth scratched her head in confusion, "Perhaps we’ll have answers once we get to the Holy Empire… Anyway, let’s eat quickly, or it won’t be sweet anymore."

As Lolth said this, she opened a honey fruit, held it up, and took a gentle sip. The sweet, cold fruit flesh slid into her mouth.

Dorothy followed her example, and a look of surprise appeared on her face.

"It’s really sweet!"

Before the two could continue enjoying this delicious treat, soon…

Ahead on the street, there came a noisy sound again.