Chapter 126 – Earth Cuisine Tasting Banquet

Lilith woke up early today. She’d finished all her Breadfruit juice again, and the third blood analysis fusion of her Bloodthirst Needle still wasn’t complete—she needed to invest more Mana.

She had to go to Breadfruit Grove to pick another batch of Breadfruit to replenish her Mana.

When she opened her door, slips of paper fluttered to the ground. “What’s this?”

She picked them up and immediately recognized the familiar handwriting that made her wallet ache. She didn’t even need to check the signature—she’d signed who-knows-how-many contracts written in that very hand.

Don’t tell me Mo Lan’s card advertisements have reached the Dormitory!

Lilith felt equal parts anticipation and dread. “Let me take one more look. If it’s a card advertisement, I absolutely will not fall for it!”

“That’s right! Stay strong!”

Lilith looked at the slip of paper again: “Invitation to a Free Earth Cuisine Card Tasting Banquet…”

Her gaze locked onto the word “free” and refused to budge.

“Wait, what? The signature says Moira! How can it be ‘free’?”

Lilith could hardly believe it. “Has Moira turned over a new leaf?”

She read the invitation over and over, front and back, several times, confirming that this was indeed a free dinner.

Yet she couldn’t bring herself to feel happy. If anything, she felt a faint sense of unease.

Once upon a time, Mo Lan had offered to give them Status Cards for free, and Lilith had refused, even lecturing her that witches valued fair trade and didn’t like taking things for nothing—terrified that this little junior would pick up human habits from her past life and end up getting taken advantage of.

The result? Mo Lan immediately went further and further down the path of a goblin merchant.

To this day, Lilith still often regretted those words she’d said to Mo Lan that morning.

“Lilith! You got one too!” The witch living in the Dormitory next to Lilith had also discovered her invitation. “Moira’s inviting us to the Ingredient Collection Station for a banquet! Besides hot pot, there are all sorts of other dishes—none of which I’ve ever heard of. How wonderful, what a treat!”

“Oh, Amelia. You’re still so naive!” Lilith shook her head.

Last time Mo Lan offered something free, it kicked off her merchant mode.

This time it was free again—Lilith didn’t even dare imagine what would happen!

“What do you mean? You’re not thinking of skipping it, are you?” Amelia asked, puzzled.

“Of course I’m going!” Lilith said.

This time, she would absolutely keep her mouth in check, control her hands, and under no circumstances sign even one more of Mo Lan’s contracts! As long as she didn’t sign, her Mana wouldn’t leave her!

Thinking about her Mana made her feel even worse. “Forget it, I’m not talking about this anymore. I’m going to pick Breadfruit!”

“Poor Lilith, feeding that Bloodthirst Needle of hers—how many Breadfruits has she eaten by now!” Amelia still didn’t know about the Breadfruit juice and the juicer.

That evening, Lilith arrived at the banquet venue—the Ingredient Collection Station—a full hour before the time written on the invitation.

From a distance, she could see wisps of cooking smoke rising from the grass outside the Ingredient Collection Station. Four mobile kitchens were set up, along with more than twenty portable stoves.

The first-year witches were bustling about in full swing, many of them personally washing vegetables and chopping ingredients.

As she drew closer, she caught a peculiar aroma drifting from several large pots lined up nearby. Inside, dark brown broth churned and bubbled. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed dubious.

“Moira, this has been simmering for almost three hours now, hasn’t it? Is it still not done?” Iris had been circling these braising pots the entire time, especially the ones with meat. “The meat keeps getting darker and darker—can this really taste good? And stewing it this long, won’t it fall apart?”

“Almost done! The color deepening means the braising flavors have soaked in! That’s exactly why I used large cuts of meat—so they wouldn’t fall apart. Don’t worry, it’ll be absolutely delicious! This is a century-old secret recipe from Earth!”

Mo Lan spoke with confidence. Spotting a dark speck growing larger in the sky, she quickly called out, “Lilith! Over here!”

Lilith landed beside her. “What’s in this pot? It’s not some kind of dark cuisine, is it? Why is it all black and murky? It looks pretty gross!”

Mo Lan had already heard this question many times today. “The Dodo Bird eggs over there, along with some vegetable dishes, are already done braising. Go try one, and you’ll see how delicious the braising spices are!”

Iris, who had just been questioning how good the braised meat could possibly be, was full of praise for the vegetable and egg dishes. “The braised vegetables and eggs are really good!”

Lilith remained skeptical. Mo Lan pushed her over to the dining table and pressed a braised Dodo Bird egg into her hand. “Go on, try it!”

Lilith looked at the egg with its crackled shell stained brown, furrowing her brow as she peeled it.

She took one bite, then another. Before long, the entire Dodo Bird egg was gone.

“Delicious!” The little egg was only about half the size of her fist. Lilith felt she hadn’t even gotten to the essence of it yet. She couldn’t help wanting to try another, but her outstretched hand was blocked by Mo Lan.

“The banquet hasn’t started yet! Later, once the noodles are cooked, if you put one of these in your instant noodle soup, it’s even better! Save some room—there are lots more delicious things to eat and drink!”

No matter how many braised eggs people ate, she could only promote one Braising Spice Card from it.

Of course she needed every witch to save room and sample a little of everything!

Lilith: “…”

She’d lost her composure!

How was this dark little braised egg so delicious!

She silently averted her eyes, not daring to look again, afraid she wouldn’t be able to control her own hands.

“Hm? What’s this?” Lilith noticed a large wooden sign stuck in the ground at the edge of the table. It looked like it had been taken from the farmland tool shed. A sheet of paper was pasted on it, with something written in colorful ink.

“An introduction for the Braising Spice Card?”

“That’s right! Later, all the braised dishes will be laid out on this long table. They’re all made with this braising spice pack—it’s super simple. Just simmer it in water, and you’re done. All the instructions are written right there.”

Mo Lan immediately launched into her sales pitch. “If you don’t eat your fill at the banquet, you can buy a card and braise things yourself back home. One card can braise loads of stuff! And it’s only 2 Mana!”

Lilith’s expression shifted between cloudy and clear. After a long pause, she finally squeezed out: “Noted.”

Damn it, her heart was wavering again!

No, no, no! It hadn’t even been that long, and she was already caving!

No matter how many times she’d told herself on the way here that she absolutely would not spend another single point of Mana, it didn’t change the fact that one braised egg had shaken her resolve.

Of course, she had only wavered slightly. She held firm and didn’t say she’d buy one, instead redirecting her attention. “Is there anything I can help with?”

She’d come this early to lend a hand, not to listen to sales pitches and buy cards.

“Of course! I’ve prepared 120 small bowls for serving instant noodles to everyone. Could you help me portion out the noodle seasoning into these bowls? One card’s worth of seasoning split into four portions, one per bowl. Once everyone’s here, we can start cooking the noodles,” Mo Lan said.