MNINAV Chapter 133

133

It wasn’t just magic.

Even those who wielded swords couldn’t produce any different results.

All they could do was retrieve the strange-looking sword that had been next to the Duke.

Someone else, stroking their chin, said.

"You’re right, but we can’t proceed without that child."

A young man spoke up.

"I’m suggesting we change the plan. All we need is to secure the child before she awakens, right? After that, the Duke will naturally follow."

"That’s true." 

Someone agreed.

A woman, fiddling with the ring on her finger, asked.

"So what exactly are you suggesting?"

"Right now, we’re taking huge losses. The Kingdoms of Viva and Laje are just materials. They’re not forces that can actually move."

Everyone nodded in agreement to the man’s statement.

"So, for now, we need to focus on expanding our power."

"Expanding our power, huh…"

The man at the head of the table half-opened his eyes.

"Yes. What we want is to create His world, isn’t it? Even if we secure Rose, we’ll still need to grow our power. Changing the order won’t ruin the plan."

Even after the young man finished speaking, silence lingered.

Everyone was calculating what would bring them the greatest benefit. Then, they turned their eyes to the man at the head of the table.

In the end, it was he who would make the final decision.

After a long contemplation, the man gave a slow nod.

"We’ll go with your suggestion."

The young man, looking deeply moved, stood up and bowed.

"Thank you!"

The man at the head of the table patted him on the shoulder and added.

"Let’s first focus our efforts on the capital and the Kingdom of Flea."

"Yes, understood."

Those in charge of the capital and the Kingdom of Flea responded.

"As for the Duke’s sword, let the research division handle it-"

Just then, the doors burst open.

"Priest! The Duke’s sword has disappeared!"

"What?!"

Everyone shot up from their seats in shock.

***

Each movement of the sword scattered sweat in the air.

The blade's trajectory was sharp, unpredictable, and beautiful.

The knights watched in awe as Hamil moved the sword, lost in her flow.

But Rose, instead of watching, seemed deep in thought.

"Rose?"

Fenrex approached after finishing his morning run around the lord’s estate instead of training at the drill grounds, but Rose remained absorbed in her thoughts.

"Rose?"

"Huh?"

Snapped out of her thoughts, Rose looked at Fenrex.

"What are you thinking about?"

"…Uncle’s sick."

"The Duke is sick?"

Fenrex asked in surprise, and Rose nodded.

"Yeah. Uncle’s sick."

"Didn’t they say he went to work?"

"That’s a lie."

Rose puffed out her cheeks.

At first, Rose had believed Edelmar’s words, which made her feel a little down.

Her uncle Ian always took her with him wherever he went.

So she went to ask Edelmar when her uncle would return but he wasn’t there.

That’s when Rose wandered around the estate looking for him.

And then… she overheard a conversation between Edelmar and Bernaba.

What she heard was shocking.

"They said Uncle was badly hurt. That’s why he hasn’t woken up yet."

"He hasn’t woken up?"

"Yeah."

Rose nodded gloomily.

Fenrex gently patted her head.

"He’ll wake up soon. So don’t worry too much."

"Mmm…"

But Rose still looked downcast, and Fenrex began to worry.

Even though the magical imprint had been lifted, he still hated seeing Rose look so sad.

"What should I do…?"

Then Fenrex suddenly remembered what Kura used to do when he was sick.

"Rose, wanna make Uncle a special soup?"

"Special soup?"

Fenrex smiled brightly.

"Yeah! My mom always made it for me when I was sick. After eating it, I’d get better right away."

"Really?"

"Yeah. If the Duke eats the special soup, he might wake up too!"

Rose’s eyes sparkled.

"Then I’ll do it!"

"Shhh!"

As Fenrex suddenly brought his finger to his lips, Rose quickly covered her mouth with both hands.

"We have to go in secret."

"Why?"

"Because kids aren’t supposed to go into the kitchen."

Kura always told Fenrex that children shouldn’t be in the kitchen.

So if the adults found out he and Rose were going there, they’d definitely stop them.

"Then how?"

"We sneak in."

"But… what if we get caught and scolded?"

Rose hesitated, but Fenrex replied.

"It won’t take long to make the special soup. If we ask someone else to do it, they’d have to bring it to the Duke. What if they ask why he needs soup? We can’t tell others he’s sick."

"Why not?"

Rose tilted her head in confusion.

When she was sick, everyone in the Duke’s estate knew.

After she recovered, the servants would ask if she felt better, and they’d each give her a snack and wish her not to get sick again.

So she couldn’t understand why it was a secret when her uncle was sick.

"If people find out the Duke is sick, they might try to kill him."

"Wha-?! Why?!"

"Because the world is survival of the fittest."

"Survival of the fittest?"

Fenrex nodded solemnly.

"Dad said weak things get eaten. If someone’s sick, they’re weak. And the Duke is sick now."

Rose’s face went pale.

"Then… will my uncle be eaten? I don’t want my uncle to become meat!"

"Then we have to keep it secret. If anyone finds out we’re making the soup because he’s sick, they might try to turn him into meat!"

Rose nodded firmly while keeping her mouth covered with both hands.

"Then let’s sneak over there just the two of us."

"Okay."

Like co-conspirators sharing a secret, Fenrex and Rose glanced around carefully.

The knights in the training grounds were all too focused on watching Hamil's impressive sword practice to notice the two children.

"Let’s go."

"Mm-hm."

Rose tiptoed behind Fenrex and the two of them quietly slipped away from the training grounds.

"Whew…"

Wiping her forehead, though there wasn’t even any sweat, Rose grabbed Fenrex’s hand and asked.

"Do you know where the kitchen is?"

"Of course."

For beastkin children in their growth phase, three meals a day weren’t nearly enough.

When traveling, the Duke made sure Fenrex was fed, but since arriving at the estate, he hadn’t, so Fenrex often raided the kitchen for snacks.

Naturally, he knew exactly where the kitchen was and what was in it.

"Wow! You’re a genius!"

Rose clapped her hands as they reached the kitchen with Fenrex leading the way.

"This is nothing,"

Fenrex said, turning his head bashfully.

"Let’s make the soup before anyone shows up."

"Yeah!"

Rose ran toward the center of the kitchen, then suddenly stopped.

"What’s wrong?"

"How do you make soup?"

Fenrex waved a finger with confidence.

"Don’t worry, I know everything."

Moving with ease, Fenrex found a deep pot and placed it on the hearth.

"We need to add water. Rose, you handle that while I get the ingredients."

"Got it!"

Rose looked around and grabbed a cup. She turned on the tap and filled the cup with water.

Carefully, she walked to the pot and poured it in. It wasn’t even enough to cover the bottom, but the act itself made her beam with joy.

She ran back to the tap, filled the cup again, and repeated the process, happily going back and forth.

Meanwhile, Fenrex slipped into the pantry next to the kitchen.

The first thing he grabbed was a smoked sausage, which he popped into his mouth and stuffed more into his pockets.

Then he picked up a basket tucked in the corner.

"Mom always said everything in the special soup had to be good for the body."

The first thing he spotted was garlic.

"Garlic’s good for you. Oh! And onions too."

Although Fenrex didn’t like them, he filled the basket with vegetables that Kura had said were healthy.

"Mushrooms, bell peppers, and there was meat too…"

He added some lamb, which had a strong smell and had been set aside for smoking.

Just then, something odd caught his eye.

"What’s that?"

It looked like a wooden stick, but its cross-section was full of holes, and sticky juice seeped out when he touched it.

Fenrex dabbed his finger in the juice and gave it a quick taste.

"Ugh."

It tasted awful, and the texture was sticky too.

"Then it must be good for you."

His mom always said things that were bad for you tasted good, so logically, things that tasted bad had to be good for you.

So Fenrex, with firm conviction, packed a bunch of the weird sticks into the basket and headed back to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Rose was still hard at work, sweating as she carried water in a cup.

"Rose, what are you doing?"

"Getting water. Look how much I’ve already filled!"

Fenrex checked the pot and saw that the water had barely reached the bottom.

"Do we need more?"

After a moment of thought, Fenrex nodded.

"Let’s just add a little more."

"Okay!"

Fenrex also picked up a cup and began helping carry water.

It turns out the old saying was true, many hands make light work. With both children moving together, the water level started rising more quickly.

By the time the large pot was filled to about a quarter, Rose was panting.

"Wow… making food is really hard."

"Yeah, but we’ve finished the water part, so we’re good."

"Now what?"

"Now we add the ingredients."

Fenrex pointed to the basket he had set down on the floor.

Rose peeked into it, then her face fell.

"So special soup just means putting in all the yucky stuff, huh…"

"My mom says the stuff that’s good for you always tastes bad."

"Aww… poor Uncle."

Rose pouted sadly.

Her uncle was already hurt, and now he’d have to eat this terrible soup on top of it. That seemed far too pitiful.

"But… if it helps him get better faster, then we have to do it."

"True."

Rose reached for the basket, but Fenrex stopped her and lifted it himself.

"It’s heavy, I’ll carry it."

"Okay. So we just put all of this in?"

"Okay."

Rose ran over to the pot with Fenrex and grabbed some garlic from the basket.

"Do I just put this in like it is?"

"Yep."

The whole unpeeled garlic bulbs, with roots still attached, went straight into the pot.

"This too?"

"Yeah."

Unwashed carrots with dirt and whole bell peppers with stems still on them were tossed in without a second thought.

"Well, at least there's meat. That’s a relief."

"Dad says meat is important protein."

"What’s protein?"

Fenrex shrugged.

Rose tilted her head, then tossed the strong-smelling meat into the pot as-is.

"What’s this?"

"No idea."

Rose picked up one of the strange sticks and turned it over curiously. Sticky liquid smeared on her hand.

"Eww, it’s sticky!"

"It tastes weird too."

"Then why put it in?"

"Exactly because it tastes weird. That means it must be good for you!"

Understanding dawned on Rose, and she nodded as she dropped the stick into the pot.

But the long stick didn’t fit as neatly as the other ingredients.

"This one’s too big…"

Fenrex pulled a sausage from his pocket and popped it into Rose’s mouth.

"I’ll break it up for you."

"Mm. What is this? It’s yummy!"

"Sausage. I got it from the pantry."

"Ooh!"

"If you want more, go grab some."

"Okay!"

As Rose dashed off to the pantry, Fenrex used force to snap the stick into pieces and put them in the pot.

Rose came back munching on another sausage.

"Is it done now?"

"Not yet. We have to stir it."

"Stir?"

Fenrex grabbed a large ladle and swirled it around inside the pot.

The raw, uncut ingredients floated on the surface and swirled around lazily.

"Hmm…"

Fenrex tilted his head.

This didn’t look anything like the special soup his mom made…

Then something caught his eye, ashes.

"Oh right, fire!"

"Fire?"

"Yeah. Soup’s supposed to be hot. I forgot to start the fire!"

"Oh! That’s right! But… how do we do that?"

Fenrex tapped his forehead, thinking hard.

"What do you need to make a fire again?"

"Uh… firewood! I saw the knight uncles bring firewood when they made a fire."

"Right! Rose, go outside and gather some sticks. I’ll look for a candle."

"Okay!"

Still chewing on a sausage, Rose ran out of the kitchen.

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