Chapter 1597 Sweet Fire and Butter Breeze <TOC> Chapter 1599 The Treatment of Ingredients
Translator: SumTLMan
The woman lying on the bed, even in her unconscious state, still exudes an air of indomitable spirit.
She is none other than Carvelyn.
After Gloria gave her nod of approval, Alan jubilantly returned to their temporary abode and brought Carvelyn to Bliss Pavilion. Accompanying them was Sunisha.
“I hope you can save Carvelyn,” Sunisha deeply bowed to Gloria, her expression tinged with a touch of urgency.
Though Carvelyn had only recently fAlan unconscious, Sunisha had a premonition that if any more time were wasted — even just an hour — it could inflict irreparable harm on Carvelyn.
Gloria looked at Carvelyn: “I’ll assess her condition first.”
She extended her hand, attempting to touch Carvelyn. However, before her hand could make contact with the skin, Carvelyn’s red armor seemingly transformed into a liquid state, swiftly flowing over her entire body and sprouting sharp spikes that were menacingly pointed.
This bizarre transformation caught everyone by surprise.
“Does it automatically adapt its form to protect its wearer? Is this the effect of the Shepherd God Garment?” Coral curiously inquired.
“Correct,” responded Shirley. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the Shepherd God Garment, filled with covetous desire. But she quickly sighed, recognizing that while she would love to ‘borrow’ the Shepherd God Garment for a few days, the garment belonged to the Shepherd family. Should she take it, even her instructor couldn’t shield her from the family’s repercussions.
“So, how do we examine her condition if the armor is defending her?” Coral chimed in again.
While Gloria could certainly resort to brute force to dismantle the Shepherd God Garment, that approach would be a case of the cure being worse than the disease.
At this moment, Sunisha approached Carvelyn’s bedside and crouched down, whispering softly as if murmuring an incantation, “Don’t worry. We’re only going to assess Carvelyn’s condition. You can sense it too; she’s in bad shape right now…”
Coral looked at Sunisha in puzzlement: “What you’re saying is true, but can a garment really understand?”
However, in the next moment, under Sunisha’s soft whisper, the Shepherd God Garment began to change. From a spiky defense armor, it slowly transformed, finally becoming a few thin pieces of white cloth, only covering Carvelyn’s prominent peaks and low valleys.
Coral watched this unfold, her mind filled with question marks: “Is this even possible? Could this garment be sentient, like Shalem’s book?”
Whether it was sentient or not, no one answered her because those who could answer were all lost in their own thoughts at the moment.
After the Shepherd God Garment retracted, Gloria reached out to touch Carvelyn, wanting to examine her specific condition. The moment her hand touched the skin, Carvelyn’s body shuddered. Her face, which had been placid, suddenly contorted in some pain. Her brows furrowed involuntarily, and her forehead quickly became covered in beads of sweat.
Gloria watched this, seemingly having realized something. She moved even faster, rubbing Carvelyn’s body. As she did, Carvelyn’s exposed skin became moist and oily, Drenched in Fragrant Sweat.
Gloria paused her actions, sinking into deep thought.
“Something is odd,” Angel suddenly said, his eyes taking on a seriousness.
Leon, standing next to Angel, felt awkward looking over at Carvelyn, who was rather exposed. Coupled with the wafting feminine scent from her, Leon felt increasingly uneasy. Hearing Angel’s whisper, he took a step back and looked at Angel: “What’s odd?”
“The scent,” Angel replied softly.
Because Gloria was lost in thought and everyone was anxiously waiting for an answer, Angel’s words naturally reached everyone’s ears.
Coral: “Is there something strange about the scent? Could it be a poisonous fragrance?”
Sunisha also looked at Angel curiously, wanting to get some clues from him.
At this moment, however, Angel fell silent. He had a speculation in mind but wasn’t sure if it was correct.
When Carvelyn was brought to Bliss Pavilion by Sunisha, Angel felt something amiss as he looked at Carvelyn lying unconscious on the bed. His keen energy perception sensed that Carvelyn was emitting a subtle yet captivating aura.
At first, Angel didn’t understand what was going on, assuming it was a pheromone unique to Carvelyn.
But when Gloria began to touch Carvelyn, massaging her body, Angel’s sense of unease intensified.
That’s because he realized Gloria’s technique — or spell, to be precise — was not like a human examination but more like how she would prepare meat before cooking.
This chilling sense of déjà vu became even more certain when Carvelyn began to emit a fragrance. Angel became even more convinced that Gloria was essentially massaging “food.”
“A specialized spell combined with the power of gourmet food can not only improve the texture of the food but can also bring out the food’s flavors from the inside out,” was something Gloria had said to Angel when preparing food.
It couldn’t be more apt for the current scene.
As a fragrant sweat began to emanate, Angel now understood why he sensed an enticing aura around Carvelyn. It was not pheromones; it was the captivating aroma of “food.”
However, Angel had never consumed a human and had no intention of doing so, so he hadn’t equated Carvelyn with food.
But now, seeing this unfold before his eyes, Angel understood.
At this point, Gloria also snapped out of her contemplation and slowly stood up, her face wearing a strange expression.
Unable to get an answer from Angel, Sunisha could only turn her gaze to Gloria, “My Lady, how is Carvelyn’s condition now?”
Gloria bluntly replied, “Not good.”
Angel inquired, “Is it a matter concerning food?”
Gloria nodded approvingly, casting a favorable glance at Angel. “I’m surprised you noticed this before Sunisha did. It seems you do possess some culinary flair.”
Initially wearing a serious expression, Angel’s face immediately transformed into a smile. “I feel the same way. Recently, I’ve been tweaking the Magic Bread I make. The aroma is now richer than before. Would you like to try some later?”
Gloria’s initially approving smile instantly froze. The mere thought of Angel’s Magic Bread brought an olfactory illusion of fermented, moldy sock odor to her nose.
Gloria said, “Never mind, I’ll pass. You can give it to Toby as a reward for its hard work in training.”
Perched on Angel’s shoulder and taking a rest, Toby felt unfairly targeted. Upon hearing Gloria’s words, its feathers puffed up in sudden indignation.
Gloria continued, “Look how happy it is, spreading its feathers in anticipation. Later, you can make different flavors of Magic Bread to reward it: savory, fresh, salty — all the varieties.”
The more Gloria spoke, the more agitated Toby became, almost chirping in irritation. Only Angel and Gloria understood what Toby meant. While the others couldn’t comprehend Toby’s chirps, they could clearly see that it was not pleased but rather annoyed.
Leon couldn’t help but glance at his earnest younger brother, becoming curious. “What sort of magical allure does Angel’s Magic Bread possess that Toby would be so resistant to it?”
As Toby was about to embody a mythical griffon to display its inflamed rage, Gloria quickly interrupted to steer the conversation back on track.
“Angel is right; it’s indeed a matter concerning food,” Gloria said, directing her gaze towards Sunisha and Alan.
Alan questioned, “Is there a problem with the food being consumed?”
Gloria shook her head, “What I mean is, someone is planning to turn Carvelyn into what they call… living ingredients.”
Upon hearing Gloria’s words, an awkward silence engulfed everyone present for several moments.
Leon suddenly felt a wave of nausea in his chest. He had seen instances of cannibalism among desperate refugees during the war between Goldfinch and Sea Wave. Yet, those acts had been committed out of extreme necessity, pushing the boundaries of what it means to be human. Now, he was confronted with people who were using living humans as ingredients, violently shaking the moral compass he had built over the years.
However, Leon was the only one in the room who seemed disturbed. The others, including Sunisha, remained calm, merely furrowing their brows.
It’s not that they condoned cannibalism. It’s just that in the Wizarding World, they had encountered atrocities that were even more horrifying. With exposure to such extreme situations over time, a certain level of desensitization had set in.
Nevertheless, this calm did not indicate an abandonment of their own moral boundaries. It was more that, on the seemingly endless journey of wizardry, one’s view of other people’s boundaries tends to erode over time, gradually giving way to uncomfortable realities and… compromises.
Chapter 1597 Sweet Fire and Butter Breeze <TOC> Chapter 1599 The Treatment of Ingredients