Chapter 99

By the time an hour had passed, Zwey's tension had eased. Although she still looked apologetic and kept her head down, she would smile when spoken to and answer questions without hesitation.

Ein was also quick to support her whenever needed, and it seemed she would soon be able to get along with everyone. Cecilia heaved a sigh of relief.

From the direction of Zwey and Ein, Jade's loud voice could be heard.

"So, when one of you replicates and transfers something, it becomes 'shared,' right?"

"Yeah. If you just transfer, the thing you had disappears, and if you just replicate, one person ends up with two. So, by using both replication and transfer at the same time, it becomes the ability to share."

"Both of your abilities sound really useful. Replication could be great for mass-producing goods, and transfer could save on transportation costs!"

Jade was particularly engaged in conversation with the twins, perhaps due to his outgoing personality, or because he hadn't noticed the tension between Cecilia and Zwey, or maybe because of his merchant nature. He was listening to them intently.

"It's not as good as it sounds. Our abilities have limitations and a high cost."

"Limitations?"

When Jade tilted his head, Ein raised a finger as if explaining to a child.

"Replication only works if I understand the shape and form well, so complex things are difficult, and living things are basically impossible."

"Transfer only works to five designated locations that I choose."

"In other words, you can only replicate simple things and transfer them to specified locations?"

Zwey nodded in agreement with Jade's words.

"Yeah. Plus, I can only designate locations I've touched. When I sent Cecilia, I had registered Lean's clothes as one of the five locations, just in case something happened."

Cecilia nodded in understanding. She had been so anxious when she was sent that she hadn't received much explanation, and she hadn't understood where she was being sent or how it was possible. Lean's clothes were probably registered when they rode in the carriage together as knights.

Jade leaned in even further.

"What about the cost?"

"It makes you hungry. Essentially, it drains a lot of your energy."

"It depends on the shape, distance, and size of the object, but Ein can do about twenty a day, and I can transport three people a day before I'm completely drained."

"There's almost no cost between us, though."

"We can't share memories with others, but we can with each other."

Their abilities complemented each other, and there was no cost between them. Jade seemed to think so too, saying, "It feels like a twin's power."

"That's why we crave sweets after using our powers."

"Most of the time, we end up eating pudding in the cafeteria together."

As Ein and Zwey looked at each other affectionately, Cecilia suddenly perked up and stood from her seat.

"By the way!"

"What's wrong, Cecilia? Why did you suddenly stand up?"

"Last time, I got a recipe for baked pudding from the head chef!"

Cecilia said this with a smile, surprising Gilbert. She then approached the twins' table. "Do you both like pudding? I'll make some, and we can eat it together?"

"Really? That's okay?"

"Is it your homemade pudding?"

"Yeah! Actually, I practiced before to give it to you two, but I failed..."

Cecilia scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed. Oscar, the first victim of her previous attempt, quickly stopped her.

"You! I told you not to cook until you figured out what went wrong..."

"I did! The head chef told me!"

Oscar fell silent at her beaming smile. Cecilia puffed out her chest proudly.

"Beginners often fail when adding heat! Apparently, the heat is too strong, and it creates something like bubbles, 's' or something? The head chef said, 'If you fail with pudding, that's about the only thing that could happen!'"

"Well, the heat was definitely too much. The surface was charred..."

Gilbert, the second victim, looked into the distance as he spoke, already in a state of enlightenment. Still, his willingness to eat it was admirable. The third victim, on the other hand, shuddered and looked away, showing no intention of trying again.

"I was planning to make it for everyone, but I'll treat you two as well."

"Really? That's too much trouble..."

"It's fine, really! I'll use a lot of sugar to help you recover!"

This was the same woman who had poured an entire bottle of sugar into a pudding last time. Zwey, unaware that the person in front of him could create poison from anything, was simply declining out of politeness.

"But I caused trouble for Cecilia, and now she's making pudding for me..."

"It's fine! I practiced to get you two to eat it!"

"But..."

"Master Zwey."

Leen placed a hand on Zwey's shoulder and suggested with a full smile.

"Would you like to try Lady Cecilia's cooking?"

"Huh?"

"I think I deserve this much of a punishment!"

Leen's cheerful smile left Zwey frozen, tilting his head in confusion. "Punishment?"

Gilbert quickly interjected, "Leen, please don't call Lady Cecilia's cooking a 'punishment,'" but she wasn't listening. It seemed Leen was quite upset about the marks on Cecilia's neck.

Just as Leen was about to take another step toward Zwey, a knock was heard at the salon door. Oscar called out, "Come in," and two soldiers from the church entered the room. They straightened their backs upon seeing Cecilia and the others.

"Princess Candidate, Sir Knight, thank you for your hard work today!"

Their clear voices left the group looking at each other in confusion. Ignoring their reactions, the soldier continued.

"The High Priestess wishes to meet with the Princess Candidate and the Sir Knight. Could you please come to the temple together?"

At that moment, Cecilia's mind flashed back to her conversation with Grace.

"To completely remove the 'hindrance,' it is necessary to enter the temple where the current High Priestess resides."

"Why?"

"There are multiple reasons, but the main one is that we need to obtain a certain item to remove the 'hindrance.' To enter the temple, we need to open the True Route."

Cecilia, Leen, and Grace looked at each other and nodded slightly.

This is—

(The True Route has opened!)

Part three is over! It was a wild ride! Thank you for coming along!

I hope you enjoy part four as well!

(I'm thinking of resuming updates in about a month!)

If you enjoyed it, I'd appreciate it if you could leave a point!

Until the start of part four, I'll be waiting! >_<