After a thorough wash and change into fresh clothes, Bai Mo returned to the lakeside in the sea of trees.
His brief departure hadn't drawn Zilchak's attention—at the moment, Zilchak was busy stuffing several adventurers into a hollow tree, hanging a "request for help" tag outside. As for how long it would take for them to be rescued, Zilchak didn't care. Time was tight, and they had more pressing concerns. Just managing to get them to safety was kindness enough.
"Let's go, Zilchak. I'm all set. Once we settle in for the night, let's take a proper bath too."
"You're right. I haven't bathed in four or five days. Now that you've mentioned it, I can feel how grimy I am. Having a spatial storage magic like yours really is a blessing." Almost every adventurer Bai Mo encountered envied his storage magic.
Unfortunately, Bai Mo didn't actually know real spatial storage magic. It was too late now to go learn it from Tohru, and he couldn't break his current character setting. He had to keep it mysterious—perhaps something to revisit in the future.
Back at their designated meeting spot, Bai Mo saw Senxi tending to a large bat, while Leos was organizing a batch of freshly harvested mandrake roots. Marusiel, meanwhile, sat in a corner, staring up at the sky with a "wise" expression, clearly lost in thought.
"What's wrong with her?" Zilchak asked, puzzled. "Why does Marusiel look... a bit dazed?"
Leos sighed, a little helpless. "Marusiel tried to use the method her magic academy taught—using a dog to harvest mandrake roots. But we don't have any dogs around here."
"So, she got creative and used a giant bat instead. Unfortunately, it got caught in the mandrake's scream radius. Her brain's probably still ringing."
"I know Marusiel's been feeling useless along the journey, and she just wanted to contribute somehow," Leos added regretfully. "But as a purification mage, her talents truly shine later in the adventure. I should've stopped her from doing something so dangerous…"
Zilchak understood. After all, apart from Leos, the one who had the closest relationship with Falin—the girl devoured by the red dragon—was Marusiel. Her actions now were likely driven by worry and guilt.
"Judging by the roots, the ones without heads must be the ones you pulled out, right?" Bai Mo said to Senxi. "You must've decapitated them before they could scream."
"Yeah, let's go ahead and cook." Senxi nodded. "We finally get to use those Serpent-Tailed Chicken eggs."
Using Serpent-Tailed Chicken meat and some aromatic herbs they'd gathered earlier, they stir-fried the ingredients. The eggs were beaten with salt, pepper, and chopped herbs, then lightly pan-fried into thin omelets. These were placed on top of freshly made mandrake fried rice.
As Bai Mo pointed to the pile of decapitated mandrakes, he remarked, "These headless ones must be Senxi's. But that single stalk with a head—and a deeper color—must be the one Marusiel pulled out."
"Looks like it," Leos agreed. "And hers does look a little different."
Senxi leaned in to inspect it. "Yeah, it's distinct. But to know for sure, we'll have to compare the flavors. Let's cook both."
"Mandrake is best absorbed when made into a soup," Senxi explained, "but since we already had chicken soup at noon, I'll make a Mandrake Root Omelette Rice this time."
She chopped the mandrake roots into fingernail-sized pieces, using them as part of the rice base. To that, she added some freshly picked walking mushrooms, bracken ferns, and a few other local greens.
Senxi made five servings—one for each person, plus an extra plate using the mandrake Marusiel had collected. The goal was to compare the taste difference between hers and the others'.
After tasting both versions of the dish, everyone could tell immediately: Marusiel's mandrake root tasted significantly better.
"There's no bitterness like the other version, and the juice is richer. It's also crisper and more refreshing—great texture!"
"Maybe we could use this in pickled dishes too," Bai Mo mused.
Senxi nodded, walking over to the now-recovered Marusiel and apologizing. "I'm sorry, Marusiel. I really did overlook the importance of ingredient handling in favor of efficiency. Your knowledge and training from those books truly made a difference."
"It's not like I was studying a cookbook!" Marusiel huffed—but she kept on eating anyway.
Looking at the mandrake head Senxi had placed in her bowl, Marusiel felt like she was being watched by some ancient god.
As Bai Mo pulled out another mandrake, he didn't even pause. One by one, he harvested the rest.
"You know," Bai Mo explained, "mandrake screaming actually helps expel toxins and impurities from within, improving its medicinal quality. I apologize for teasing you earlier."
"Here," he added, offering the best part of the mandrake to Marusiel. "This is a little token of appreciation."
Some of these mandrake heads looked so bizarre one had to wonder—what kind of torment had they experienced before death?
After finishing their meal, the group moved on toward the shortcut through the dungeon. Along the way, they passed another mandrake field.
Seeing it, Bai Mo turned to Marusiel and the others. "Since we're here, we shouldn't waste the opportunity. Marusiel's mandrakes were excellent—let's gather more."
"But using the bat method again would be too much of a hassle," someone complained.
"No need for that," Bai Mo smiled. "Just step back a few dozen meters and leave it to me. I'll be done in a few minutes."
Though unsure what he was planning, the group did as told.
Once they were at a safe distance, Bai Mo casually began pulling out mandrakes one by one. Their screams rang out, but he didn't even flinch.
By the time he returned, having collected more than twenty mandrake roots, his face remained completely composed.
Marusiel stared at him in awe. "How... how are you not affected by the screams?"
"Simple," Bai Mo replied. "I sealed off my hearing."
"You... you what?!"
"Has your magic academy never thought of using deaf people to harvest mandrakes?"
"That... that's a completely new perspective!"
"Well," Bai Mo added, "they'd still need to be strong. Mandrake screams don't just target your ears—they can vibrate your internal organs. Without a sturdy body, you'd still be in trouble."
Watching Bai Mo, who remained completely unaffected, Marusiel couldn't help but raise her opinion of him once more.
"Just what kind of wild barbarian is this guy?" she thought. "Can he stop saying deadly things so casually?"
Still... if he's on your side, it's really reassuring.
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T/N:
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