Chapter 325: Chocolate

Although the water source issue within the caravan had been temporarily resolved, the travelers remained uneasy.

The culprit who had poisoned the water supply was still at large, which meant that even with a new water source, there was a risk of it being contaminated again.

As a result, everyone remained on guard against the others in the caravan, eyeing each other with suspicion.

Natalia, riding a fine horse and guarding the carriage where Liyakade and the others were, pulled out the cross hanging from her neck.

Having been attacked by that mysterious black-clad figure the previous day, it was almost a certainty that the culprit was hiding within the caravan.

It was a pity Natalia hadn’t managed to catch the person, allowing them to remain at large.

Thinking back to the previous night, Natalia still felt a lingering fear.

After being poisoned by that strange toxin, her entire body had felt light and airy, to the point where she couldn’t even see things clearly in front of her or sense danger.

If it hadn’t been for Alice’s help, she might have…

At this thought, Natalia couldn’t help but grip the cross tighter.

However, something strange happened.

As Natalia tightened her grip on the cross, she felt a faint tremor, and a slight warmth spread through her palm.

This warmth was pointing towards Liyakade’s carriage nearby, just like the tremor Natalia had felt after seeing Liyakade and the others off yesterday.

Ever since Natalia became a nun and received the cross, this had never happened before.

Perhaps Alice’s pure Light Element baptism had caused a new change in the cross?

Natalia was puzzled, wondering what this tremor meant.

Since it appeared after Alice infused it with pure Light Element, the cross must be pointing towards Alice, right?

Maybe it served as a locator, making it easier to find Alice.

Natalia speculated about the cross’s tremor.

She wanted to test it, but she had learned that morning that Liyakade had rescued prisoners from the mountains and brought them back to camp for Alice to heal.

She knew Alice was resting now due to depleted Magic Power, so she didn’t want to disturb her.

However, what Natalia didn’t know was that the cross wasn’t pointing at Alice at all.

It was pointing at Liyakade, who was in the carriage.

Through multiple infusions of Alice’s pure Light Element, Natalia’s cross had awakened a deeper ability: the power to locate nearby dangerous members of the Demon Race.

Sacred relics with this function were extremely rare in the Church, as they required long-term Light Element nourishment to be usable.

An apprentice nun like Natalia had no right to touch such sacred relics.

However, under the nourishment of Alice’s Light Element, this ordinary cross had begun to possess a sliver of the function of those sacred relics.

Natalia just hadn’t realized it yet.

If Natalia were to realize that the cross’s direction wasn’t Alice, but Liyakade, then she would surely begin to suspect Liyakade’s identity again.

After all, Liyakade was just a Wind Element Mage.

If the cross didn’t even point to Alice, why would it point to a Wind Element Mage for no reason?

Unbeknownst to all, Liyakade’s identity was once again on the verge of being exposed.

And the cross suddenly pointing at the carriage wasn’t a coincidence.

It was because Liyakade inside the carriage had consumed a leaf of Purple Mist Donkey Grass.

On the carriage, Field was studying the map with Mi La, while Alice was still asleep, her head resting on Liyakade’s lap.

Liyakade looked at Alice’s sleeping face, her delicate hand resting on Alice’s cheek, gently playing with her hair.

‘Mmm…’

A faint burning sensation came from her fingertips.

This feeling was back.

It was Alice unconsciously releasing Light Element, which meant the effect of the Purple Mist Donkey Grass had worn off.

Seeing this, before Alice woke up, Liyakade took another leaf of Purple Mist Donkey Grass from her Storage Ring and placed it in her mouth.

A cool sensation came with the leaf entering her mouth, and the burning at her fingertips slowly faded.

She could feel her Magic Power rapidly replenishing, and her spirits lifted.

No wonder this exotic plant only grew near the Kingdom Border, close to the Demon Realm.

It was clearly a herb suited for the Demon Race.

If humans accidentally used it, they would naturally experience adverse effects.

The sudden surge of Magic Power and the brief activation of her Demon Race aura were the true reasons for Natalia’s cross reacting.

“Sister Liyakade, what are you eating that’s so good? Mi La wants some too.”

Unexpectedly, Mi La had caught sight of Liyakade putting the Purple Mist Donkey Grass in her mouth.

Seeing Liyakade’s pleased expression after eating it, Mi La thought she was sneaking a tasty treat.

“Uh… This isn’t something a kid can eat. If a kid eats it, they’ll get a stomachache.”

“Boo…”

Seeing Mi La’s need to protest, Liyakade found it amusing.

She couldn’t really let Mi La eat it, but explaining its origin was troublesome, so she just made up an excuse.

“Grumble…”

Right after Mi La spoke, her stomach growled.

It seemed she hadn’t eaten enough.

After all, she had been rationing her food while hiding in the cellar.

Although Liyakade had asked Graham to prepare some porridge for the women and Mi La that morning, Mi La hadn’t eaten much in the hurry.

“So little Mi La is hungry. Although I can’t give you this, I can let you eat something else.”

With that, Liyakade took out a box of chocolate from her Storage Ring and handed it to Mi La.

“The caravan won’t be serving meals for a while, so there’s probably no hot food. I can only give you this kind of snack for now.”

“What’s this?”

Seeing there was other food, Mi La’s previously downcast little head lifted.

She curiously took the small box Liyakade handed her and opened it.

But when she saw the contents, her curious expression froze.

Inside were square, pitch-black objects that felt hard to the touch.

They didn’t look edible at all.

“Sister Liyakade… this…?”

Mi La felt a bit troubled.

How was she supposed to eat something that looked like a brick?

Was this some special food only the Demon Race ate?

But she wasn’t a member of the Demon Race!

“Just try it and you’ll know.”

Seeing Mi La’s troubled expression, Liyakade just smiled.

Then she broke off a piece of chocolate from Mi La’s hand and popped it into her mouth without hesitation.

Only then did Mi La realize that although it felt hard, it wasn’t rock-hard.

A gentle push could break it apart.

Seeing Liyakade eat it without any hesitation, Mi La imitated her, breaking off a piece and putting it into her mouth.

As the chocolate entered her mouth, Mi La’s eyes lit up.

This dark, hard little thing actually melted on her tongue, softening quickly.

And to her surprise, it was sweet.

She had thought it was just some ordinary dry ration, but it tasted far better than she had imagined.

“How is it? Good, right?”

“Mm… Delicious! Sister Liyakade, what exactly is this?”

“It’s called chocolate. You can consider it a kind of snack.”

It turned out that this world didn’t have chocolate as a snack.

Although cacao beans and coffee made from them existed, no one had ever thought to make chocolate.

Before leaving the Royal City, they had wanted to bring some snacks for the journey.

After learning that chocolate didn’t exist, Liyakade asked Field to order the chefs in the Palace to grind and refine a batch of cacao beans into a solid form according to her instructions, and then package it.

Although chocolate melts in hot weather, storing it in a Storage Ring prevented that, making it very convenient to carry on the trip.

Field and Alice had tried it before and declared it delicious.

They were curious where Liyakade had learned to make chocolate.

Liyakade could only answer that her Ancestor had taught her.

“Sister Liyakade, is there more? Mi La wants more…”

“Ha ha, you didn’t believe me when I said it was good just now. Yes, there’s more, but you can’t eat too much, or it’ll get cloying.”

With that, Liyakade took out a few more small squares from her Storage Ring and handed them to Mi La.

Field, who was looking at the map, couldn’t help but glance at their interaction.

Seeing the innocent and cute Mi La, Field smiled warmly.

In her eyes, the fact that Mi La had successfully avenged her family and escaped the shadow of their murder was the best thing possible.

Since Liyakade had already agreed to take Mi La in, Field would also treat Mi La with care.

And… watching Liyakade truly acting like a sister, taking care of Mi La, it was a refreshing sight for Field.

Although Liyakade usually took care of her and Alice as well, most of the time it was mutual help among equals.

There was no particular distinction of older or younger sister.

So this current situation was quite novel for Field to observe.