Chapter 184 : Where Did It Go?
Chapter 184: Where Did It Go?
Lucy was stunned.
She stared blankly at the small mountain of white “snow” before her, her nose filled with that deadly fragrance.
This was… way too fragrant, wasn’t it?
Lucy swallowed. The fear from earlier had long been thrown out of her mind. Her hand moved uncontrollably toward the nearest piece of popcorn.
It was still glowing.
A faint golden halo flowed across its surface. It felt warm to the touch, with an unbelievably soft and bouncy texture.
“Just one bite… if it doesn’t kill me, it’s a win.”
Lucy closed her eyes and, with the resolve of someone facing death, stuffed the popcorn—bigger than her mouth—inside.
“Crunch.”
The moment her teeth closed, Lucy’s eyes shot wide open to their limit.
There was no dry texture as she had expected.
It melted instantly in her mouth, then exploded into a warm current on her tongue. It wasn’t just the taste of food—it felt like a mass of pure energy sliding down her throat into her stomach, then spreading wildly through her limbs and bones.
Her stomach, which had been cramping from hunger, was instantly soothed.
Even her newly grown leg, which had still been sore and weak, now felt as if it were soaking in a hot spring, filled with a tingling warmth.
Delicious!
Too delicious!
Lucy’s rationality snapped completely. Like a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar, she used both hands, grabbing popcorn from the stove and stuffing it into her mouth.
She didn’t even need to chew. These magical popcorn pieces melted into warm streams the moment they entered her mouth.
As she ate more, Lucy felt her body growing hotter and hotter.
A faint red glow began to appear on her skin. Her heartbeat doubled in speed, each beat strong and forceful, as if a slumbering little beast inside her was awakening.
Even her vision became clearer—those previously blurry outlines in the dark corners were now perfectly visible.
“Burp—”
That entire pot of popcorn—enough to fill a basin—was completely devoured by Lucy in a frenzy.
She didn’t even spare the pieces that had fallen to the ground and gotten dusty.
Lucy let out a satisfied burp, patted her round belly, and entered a strange state of excitement. She felt like she could even run three laps around the Palace of Eternal Night while doing handstands.
Touching her burning cheeks, Lucy felt dizzy, like she had drunk an entire barrel of strong liquor.
Whatever. She had already eaten it.
Glancing at the empty pan and the now-cleared clay jar, her guilty instincts as a thief kicked in again.
Lucy quickly washed the pan and put it back in place, then covered the empty jar and pushed it back into the corner. She even wiped the stove clean with her sleeve until it gleamed.
Destroy the evidence—perfect.
Lucy chuckled. Although her body felt strangely overheated, she still slipped out of the kitchen like a well-fed cat, disappearing swiftly into the dark corridor.
The kitchen returned to silence.
Only that lingering sweet, caramelized fragrance remained in the air.
……
Ten minutes later.
“Tap, tap, tap.”
The crisp sound of high heels echoed in the corridor.
Lilia hummed an unknown tune as she pushed open the kitchen door.
She had just finished giving Hera an essential oil massage. That black-hearted boss had recently taken a liking to this service, and every time afterward would nitpick and complain that her technique wasn’t professional enough.
Lilia felt she urgently needed a midnight snack to soothe her wounded spirit.
“Those corn kernels should still be here, right?”
She turned on the magic lamp and walked straight toward the clay jar in the corner.
She had originally planned to dispose of this jar of failed experimental materials tonight—flush them down the drain to avoid accidentally blowing up the kitchen one day.
Lilia casually lifted the lid.
Her hand froze midair.
Her red pupils shrank slightly.
Empty?
Lilia blinked, picked up the jar, and turned it upside down, shaking it.
Not even a crumb remained.
“What the hell…”
Lilia looked utterly confused.
Had a mouse gotten into the Palace of Eternal Night?
But what kind of mouse had teeth that strong? Those were corn kernels compressed with high-density life energy—each one containing energy equivalent to a miniature bomb.
Lilia imagined the scene: a mouse sneaking a bite, about to burp—then “boom,” instantly turning into a brilliant firework, splattering a Pollock-style abstract mural of flesh and blood across the wall.
“Too brutal.”
Lilia shook her head and put down the empty jar.
She sniffed the air.
Although it had been cleaned with some kind of purification spell, a faint trace of magical fluctuation still lingered, along with a… somewhat pleasant caramel scent?
Lilia walked to the stove and used a finger to wipe the inside of the seemingly clean frying pan.
A bit of golden powder stuck to her fingertip.
She put it into her mouth and tasted it.
Sweet.
“……”
Lilia’s expression became extremely complex.
She suddenly recalled that just before entering, she had vaguely seen a sneaky figure dart past the end of the corridor. That running posture looked suspiciously like a certain newly regrown-legged priest.
“No way…”
Lilia’s mouth twitched.
That idiot didn’t actually stir-fry these things as a midnight snack, did she?
More importantly… this stuff could actually be eaten?
Not only eaten, but she had even run away alive afterward?
“That works too?” Lilia stared at the empty jar, falling into deep self-doubt.
“Whatever.”
She shrugged and casually tossed the empty jar into the trash.
Since no one died, then it must be fate.
Those failed products had been meant for destruction anyway. Now that someone had taken care of it for her, it saved her the trouble.
“Hopefully I won’t see a roasted priest tomorrow morning.”
Yawning, Lilia decided not to dwell on it any further.
Compared to worrying about whether that idiot would get diarrhea, she was more interested in cooking herself a bowl of noodles.
After all, working for the Demon Queen was physically demanding.
Meanwhile, back in the stone hut, Lucy—rolling around on the bed clutching her stomach, her whole body burning unbearably—still had no idea just how terrifying the thing she had eaten was.