PATRIARCH FOWL
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Casual Heroing, Chapter 168
🕑 Added 2023-08-20 18:46:56 +0000 UTC*golden means it should have been gold-colored. Patreon doesn't support that, though. 😭
Next chapter comes out Monday, August 21th!
THOSE ARE SOME SKILLS! ⭐⭐⭐
4/4 chapters this week!
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Chapter 168 - Embracing Change
Underneath the warm glow of the kitchen light, Lucinda and Flaminia hunched over the sizzling pan containing the last steak. This last meal was on Lucinda's shift – her focused eyes were unmoving, unlike the swift hands that were wielding a rosemary branch dripping with butter.
Thirteen days had passed, and Lucinda moved her hands rhythmically now, making each droplet of butter fall equidistant from the one before. This technique she had come up with greatly enhanced the effect of the [Greater Nourishment] rune.
Flaminia watched with a smile on her face. The [Mage] had been out of her element at the beginning, showing a complete lack of culinary sense and skill. But there had been an eagerness and a willingness to adapt that had brought them closer than even the gossip they had talked about on their breaks. She could see how careful Lucinda was about not upsetting the patterns of the magic flowing from her to the steak—Flaminia had learned much about discipline during these thirteen days too, and she had been handsomely rewarded for it.
[Sugarsweet Baker - Level 39]
[Magical Chef – Level 6]
She had gotten five more levels in the bolded class and three more in her main class.
Lucinda, too, had leveled up in her classes, but that wasn't her biggest achievement.
The sight in front of Flaminia was humbling – the way Lucinda had embraced the madness of this culinary endeavor. She hadn't left the room more than a handful of times, just collapsing on Joey's bed when she was too tired to work. Flaminia had been long used to having complete control of any kitchen she worked in, but she had had to learn how to let Lucinda do her thing, causing them both to benefit greatly from it.
They had both learned how to work in silence for hours, completely absorbed in the task. Lucinda had learned from Flaminia the nuances of cuisine and how closely they resembled the nuances of magic; Flaminia, on the other hand, had learned just how talented the redhead was and how to tame her own ego and listen to someone who had never spent any meaningful time in the kitchen.
Their work was a well-choreographed dance, a silent conversation. Lucinda's hesitations were met with Flaminia's bold actions, and Flaminia's uncertainties were steadied by Lucinda's measured precision.
Yet, below this synchronicity, a subtle tension lingered. The work they had performed had unearthed something that had been buried deep inside their heart of hearts—a certain reluctance marred them both. After all, they had mixed magic and cooking, venturing into uncharted territories.
Lucinda gave Flaminia a slight nod, and the pink-haired woman stepped forward as soon as the rosemary branch left the steak, moving her hand over the steak.
"[Food: Rune Overcharge]," Flaminia spoke the words and felt a good chunk of Mana leave her body and enter the steak. Under the [Mana Sense] vision, the conduits of Mana that had been solidifying thus far suddenly swelled in size and thrummed with the newly acquired energy.
Lucinda took a deep breath and almost fell backward, completely out of Mana.
Flaminia picked up the slack and flicked the steak from the pan to a plate, and went up to the bed, leaving it there. As soon as they both diverted their eyes, the steak disappeared, just like all the times before. This time, though, it came back with a little piece of paper that Flaminia immediately picked up.
"We are done here," she said to Lucinda, bringing the message to her.
"It says 'all done, be back soon,'" Lucinda recited the words with a tired shrug but let out a sigh of relief.
"He's alive, at least. It means he survived his training."
"He better have: the duel is ten hours away," Flaminia noted. "Are you going to wait for him here? Want me to give you two some space? I know that some [Soldiers] like to, you know, release some tension before a battle."
Lucinda looked at Flaminia with a scoff, too familiar with the pink-haired Elf’s sexual remarks by now.
"No. I've told you already, don't tell him, please. I helped because… magic. Because of magic. Just give me some time to rest, and I'll decide what to tell Joey."
Flaminia looked at Lucinda and shook her head.
"Without your help, he would've probably died, Lucinda."
"I don't know that I have space for Joey in my life," Lucinda rebutted.
Flaminia observed the [Mage] who went about her business, gathering her personal belongings around the house and erasing every trace of herself.
They had spoken a lot in these days. There had been long bouts of conversations about their lives, and they had discovered more in common than one would have initially surmised. In fact, both had been quite rebellious as teenagers, and both had not known what their futures would have brought back then. However, while Lucinda had decided to still buckle up and help her parents make ends meet while not accepting any classes, Flaminia had gone in a different direction.
Still, they both started rather late, even though Lucinda was a few years younger than Flaminia. The pink-haired [Chef] had repeatedly reassured her that having a talent like hers was better than having a jumpstart in levels.
'I'm almost level 40, and I started late too. You'll catch up.'
That's what Flaminia had repeated to the [Mage] over and over. She had been quite curious to find Lucinda so insecure about herself and her future. All Amorium knew about the late prodigy and her bright future, but the girl herself seemed to ignore what everyone else thought.
"I'm going home," Lucinda said after gathering her things.
"Will you come to the duel?" Flaminia asked.
Lucinda hesitated for a second before nodding and turning away, heading to the door.
"Lucinda!" Flaminia raised her voice, startling the [Mage].
"What?" Lucinda turned with a frown.
Flaminia walked to the redhead and gave her a hug.
"Take care, and thank you again. Tell Joey, too."
"I-I'll think about it," Lucinda nodded.
Flaminia released the hug and fished inside her bag of holding, taking out a scribbled piece of paper and handing it to Lucinda.
"If you ever want to try baking something again, try this," she winked at the redhead.
Lucinda blushed. She had told Flaminia about her baking failure in a moment of weakness.
"It's a recipe," Flaminia explained after seeing Lucinda staring weirdly at the piece of paper.
"I know! Whatever!" Lucinda walked away and slammed the door of Joey's apartment.
Now, alone in the house, Flaminia started tidying up and cleaning the mess they had left behind. All the grease from the steaks left a certain stench in the apartment, and she reasoned that it would take more than a bar of soap to get the smell out.
"I should probably talk to Agostina," Flaminia thought out loud.
She had already had to explain why she and Lucinda had been cooking in Joey's apartment so much, and that had almost earned them a beating from the old lady. However, Agostina clearly had a soft spot for the Human and let it slide. Perhaps, she would know how to get the apartment clean in time.
"I need some rest before that."
They had been working non-stop, and deep exhaustion set in her bones and muscles. Even after eating some of the steaks to stave off the tiredness, they had pulled another all-nighter that had clearly been one too many.
Thinking of all they had achieved so far, Flaminia felt both accomplished and partially lost. She was extremely close to level 40, but it felt like all the great expectations she had held for this milestone had evaporated together with the fumes of the steak grease.
The achievement felt hollow.
She felt lost.
She sat on the bed, almost dreading reaching the level at this exact juncture.
What would she do if she didn't get anything interesting from level 40? Something she had worked her entire life to achieve?
She slowly laid down, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.
[Class Consolidation Requirements Met]
[Magical Chef - Level 6 Removed!]
[Sugarsweet Baker - Level 39 Removed!]
[Starsugar Runewoven Pâtissier Class Acquired!] *golden
[Starsugar Runewoven Pâtissier - Level 5!] *golden
[Skill - Starsugar Acquired!] *golden
[Skill - Runic Frosting Acquired!]
[Skill - Mana Leavening Acquired!]
[Skill - Runewoven Recipe Acquired!] *golden
Flaminia snapped her eyes open and thought of her old skills, terrified. A second later, she breathed out a sigh of relief. They were still there. On top of them, these new…
Flaminia licked her lips, trying to decide what to do next.
"Am I going to accept?" She murmured, while the window to refuse this change was quickly closing, as the newly acquired skills started forever etching themselves into her soul.
Comments
Still, Domitilla is best girl!
I don't care what anyone says, I love Flaminia, I never had a friend without flaws, but I have a lot of respect for Joey staying by her side, friends trip and you pick them back up, I think there's more Flam to see.
