The food looked appetizing, but the moment Ceres took a bite,
She grimaced.
No matter how much she tried, she simply could not stomach the bland taste anymore.
"Did you not like it, Your Highness?"
Delphine's worried voice cut through the silence as she watched Ceres struggle to swallow her food.
She had made sure not to skimp on any ingredients.
But it seemed nothing she did could fix the fact that the Empress do not like the food in Aquilonis anymore.
"How about the Malvera pie?" Ceres asked.
"I was planning to serve that during your tea time later, Your Highness," Delphine explained. "Since the Malvera tree only produces 379 fruits a year, I already calculated how many you should consume daily while reserving extras in case you need more from time to time."
Ceres closed her eyes, thinking.
Was it really worth it to use 5 HP just for salt and spices?
But she really couldn't take it anymore.
The lack of taste in food was torturous.
And Delphine was right. She couldn't just rely on Malvera fruit. The supply was limited.
They were all sitting in the dining hall, Ceres had insisted that Delphine and Legion eat with her.
The two had almost refused until she raised an eyebrow at them.
Now, their meal was stalled because they were too busy watching her face contort in pure agony at the tasteless food.
"Can you cook something else?" Ceres finally said. "But this time, I want you to add something."
"Of course, Your Highness." Delphine immediately stood up.
Ceres stood as well.
Immediately, Legion was at her side, offering his hand to support her.
She accepted it, standing gracefully before following Delphine.
"Ahm… Your Highness?" Delphine looked back, confused. "Where are you going?"
"To the kitchen," Ceres said matter-of-factly. "You're cooking again, aren't you?"
Delphine blinked. "Are… are you going to help?"
Ceres scoffed.
"Of course not. I don't know how to cook." She placed her hands on her hips. "But I'll tell you what I want you to make and how to do it."
Ceres had never been in the kitchen back on Earth.
The only time she entered was when she pestered her mom or Nanny Joan.
The only time she had ever attempted to cook was when she tried to make eggs.
The result?
Half burnt, half raw.
Her mom and nanny had laughed at her.
But what made her even angrier was the fact that her dad had laughed too.
After that, she vowed never to cook again.
And she kept that promise.
So no, she was not about to start learning now.
Delphine had no choice but to lead the way to the kitchen, followed by Ceres, with Legion at her side.
Upon entering, Ceres looked over the ingredients available.
Her automatic appraisal did its job.
Many of the ingredients existed on Earth.
They had garlic and onions, though they looked entirely different from the ones she was familiar with.
But there was no salt.
No pepper either.
Ceres sat in an empty chair.
At least they have a meat grinder.
"Grind a cut of Ironhide Beefloin and Bristleback Swine," she ordered. "And add onions and garlic as well."
'Ori, does this world have pepper?'
'There is a variety of pepper, Your Highness, but not in this kingdom. It does not grow here due to the cold. There is some in the Desert Kingdom of Gaianthos.'
'I can create a new variety of pepper, right? One that can grow in this cold? Or one that will grow anywhere as long as an Aquilonian plants it?'
'Yes. That is possible, Your Highness. You simply need to create and set the conditions.'
"Legion, get me a pot with soil," she commanded.
Without hesitation, he teleported.
Within seconds, he reappeared, placing a pot filled with soil in front of her.
"That ability really comes in handy," Ceres mused, impressed.
Legion smirked. "It is, Your Highness. And I must thank you for it."
"I told you to stop thanking me. You already had the skill. I just enhanced it."
Legion and Delphine exchanged glances.
"Ahm… Our skills are very common, Your Highness," Delphine explained as she continued grinding the meat. "These are mostly the skills of commoners like us. But the gifts you gave us are very unique."
She hesitated.
"I'm not entirely sure, since we never studied advanced magic, but teleportation is considered a high-level magic. Not even the Court Magician can do teleportation as easily as Legion.
"They have to chant a long spell just to do it. So, in battle, it's not really useful."
Ceres's eyes widened.
"Really?"
Legion nodded. "I know the chant, Your Highness. Those of us with Blink Step memorized it, hoping that one day, we'd be able to use it."
"Show me," she said.
Legion stepped into the center of the room.
Then, with serious determination, he raised his arms and began to chant.
"O endless tides of fate untold,
Ye echoes vast, both young and old!
O space that bends, O time that sways,
Unchain mine path, part the ways!
By dawn and dusk, by sun and shade,
Through cosmic veil mine step be laid!
Let stars bear witness, let heavens see,
I call the void, now carry me!"
He moved his hands dramatically.
His feet shifted.
His body posed.
A long, extravagant chant,
And nothing happened.
Silence.
Then, Ceres BURST into laughter.
She clutched her stomach, tears forming in her eyes.
Legion just stood there, looking mildly embarrassed.
"What the hell was that?" she wheezed between laughs.
Delphine giggled, trying to suppress her laughter.
But seeing the Empress laughing so freely, she couldn't hold it back.
For the first time, she saw the Empress truly laugh.
It was beautiful.
Joyous.
Legion's embarrassment faded.
Instead, he smiled.
If making a fool of himself meant seeing the Empress like this, he'd gladly embarrass himself a thousand times over.
"That's the chant for teleportation," he admitted, still smiling.
"But what was all that ridiculous hand movement?" Ceres asked, still giggling. "You looked like you were dancing to a terrible song."
Legion sighed, but there was amusement in his expression.
"Those are movements to enhance mana control. The bigger the spell, the more mana it requires, and the more exaggerated the movements need to be," he explained.
Ceres laughed again.
"Oh, thank the heavens I can't control mana. I would never do those ridiculous dance moves." She smirked. "But why don't your other skills require all those dramatic gestures?"
"They're low-level magic, Your Highness," Delphine answered, still busy grinding the meat.
Ceres nodded thoughtfully.
Then, she pulled the pot of soil closer to her.
She closed her eyes and willed for a black pepper plant to grow...
One that would thrive in any weather, as long as it was cared for by an Aquilonian.
One whose fruits would be five times larger than its Earth counterpart.
And just like that,
Before their very eyes,
A strange new plant sprouted from the soil.
Its branches stretched outward, heavy with round green and red fruits hanging in clusters.
Legion and Delphine stared in awe.
They had seen the Empress perform miracles before, yet every time, they were still left speechless.
"Get me a large container with a cover," Ceres ordered Legion.
Without hesitation, Legion teleported away, and reappeared less than a minute later with a large wooden barrel, the kind usually used for storing wine.
He placed it beside the Empress.
And once again, she did something impossible.
Ceres willed the barrel to be filled with salt.
A fine, snow-white substance suddenly materialized inside, looking like powdered sand, but unmistakably salt.
When it was full, she turned her attention back to the black pepper plant.
She plucked ten ripe fruits from the branches.
Then, she commanded...
"Dry."
Immediately, the fruits shrunk and darkened as if they had been dried under the sun for weeks.
Those three simple acts of magic cost her 15 HP, bringing her total down to 86 HP.
Yet neither Delphine nor Legion had recovered from their shock.
They had seen the Empress do magic before, but they still hadn't gotten used to it.
And at this rate, it would be a long time before they ever did.
"This," Ceres said, holding up the dried fruits, "is called black pepper."
She gestured to the plant.
"Plant them in the Empress Garden. You can propagate them using either the stems or seeds. Whatever you prefer.
"They will grow anywhere, but only if an Aquilonian is the one taking care of them."
She then pointed at the dried fruits.
"You use these to season food. But you have to dry them first, like this. And once they're dry, you grind them into a fine powder."
Delphine listened intently, taking mental notes.
Then, Ceres turned to the barrel of salt.
"And this," she gestured, "is salt. You add it to food to enhance flavor."
She gave Delphine a knowing smile.
"But you can't just throw it in carelessly. I don't actually know how much should be used for different dishes, so… we'll have to experiment until we get it right."
Delphine nodded eagerly.
Finally, she asked, "Your Highness… how do we grow the salt?"
Ceres blinked.
"You don't grow salt," she explained. "And this is something I need you to get, Legion."
Legion straightened. "As you command, Your Highness."
"Salt is actually very abundant here," she continued.
Delphine and Legion exchanged confused looks.
They had never seen anything like the white substance the Empress had just created.
"You can actually harvest it when seawater dries," Ceres explained. "So, with your teleportation, I want you to get seawater."
Legion frowned.
"My teleportation only allows me to travel to places I've already been, Your Highness," he reminded her.
"I know. I was the one who gave you that ability." Ceres rolled her eyes. Then she paused. "Wait, don't tell me you've never been to the sea?"
Legion hesitated.
"… I did tell you last night, Your Highness," he admitted. "I have never left Aquilonis."
Ceres frowned.
"But we're at the border of the Frozen Sea."
"Unless you are part of the Monster Hunt Expedition, no one goes there, Your Highness. Monsters roam freely in that area."
"Oh."
Ceres tapped her fingers against the table.
"Then, aside from the Frozen Sea, where's the nearest sea in Aquilonis?"
"Your home kingdom, Your Highness. Vaelundis."
Ceres stiffened.
'Ori, how long does it take to travel from here to Vaelundis?'
'Royal families can use teleportation portals built in each kingdom's Magic Tower, but only a High Court Magician can activate them. With the portal, they can arrive instantly.
'For nobles and commoners traveling by carriage, it would take three months, and twice that by foot, assuming no delays.'
Ceres's eyes widened.
Three months?
That far?
A sudden heaviness filled her chest.
She couldn't afford to waste 5 HP every time she needed to make salt.
And there was another reason she wanted to harvest it manually.
The people of Aquilonis are struggling to survive.
If she could give them something, a resource that only they could produce and trade to other kingdoms…
Wouldn't that make their lives easier?