I became a vampire princess and then a dragon girl?

"My body is just a projection. People here can't touch me."

"Ah, I forgot, but what does it feel like to control a projection like this? Is there any special feeling when passing through other things?"

“I don’t think so.”

After thinking for a moment, the weapon elf replied.

"Aside from being able to pass through other objects, it's no different from my own body. I just can't touch anything. And I'm not standing on the ground now. It's just that the projection happens to be on the ground. Should I actually be considered floating?"

As he spoke, the weapon elf reached his hand into the ground without any hindrance.

"Is this so..."

Just when Istina was about to say something else, the figure of the weapon elf suddenly began to fluctuate and distort.

"Ah, looks like it's time to say goodbye."

This situation happening to her means that the overlap of the two dimensions is about to end, and this projection is about to disappear.

"Yes..."

After feeling his own condition, the weapon elf stood up and looked at the people in front of him.

"Thank you all for your hospitality this time. See you again in the future."

As she spoke, her figure gradually turned into a tiny point of light and disappeared. Only Eve and her group were left in the dark forest.

“Ah, it disappeared…”

Watching the weapon elf disappear in front of everyone, Melchis looked up and down again, wanting to see if the other party had left anything behind.

"Okay, stop looking. He's just a projection, he won't leave anything behind. But it's not impossible to see him again in the future."

"Eh? Can we meet again?"

Istina asked in surprise after hearing Eve say this.

"Of course, what we just encountered was an adventure, wasn't it?"

Eve then continued to explain.

"Remember some people who didn't get a weapon spirit during the first awakening ceremony, but got one later? If a weapon spirit's projection took a fancy to them, like just now, they might come looking for them. However, there's no record of a projection of a top-tier weapon spirit before."

"Uh... can it still be like this?"

"Of course, otherwise how can it be called an adventure?"

Eve clapped her hands as she spoke.

"Okay, it's time for us to go back. This time it's really over."

After hearing Eve's reminder, Istina realized that she was now in the place where the ghost rumor happened, and she quickly held Eve's hand tightly again.

"Yeah, that's right, let's go!"

Eve was a little confused looking at her like this. Tina hadn't been afraid of the surrounding environment since she woke up, so why did she become afraid when she was reminded of it?

But never mind, let’s go back.

This time the return journey was also extremely smooth, without any unexpected incidents, and the group quickly returned to the town.

"Hoo~"

Looking at the lights coming from the tree houses on both sides of the street, Istina finally let go of her worries and breathed a sigh of relief.

But then a new problem was put in front of her - maybe because she had been unconscious for a while, she was very alert when she returned to the room and could not fall asleep at all.

Fortunately, Melchis also said that it was getting late and she wanted to have a midnight snack, so everyone came to the original source of all evil again, the restaurant on the first floor of the hotel.

"Huh, please don't spread any more rumors this time..."

While waiting for the food to be served, Istina lay weakly on the table, mumbling to herself.

It seems that the recent exploration of the ghost rumor has left a big shadow on her.

However, things did not go as planned. From a table not far away from them came the sound that Istina least wanted to hear.

"Hey, have you heard the latest rumors?"

"what?"

"It's said that someone heard cries in the forest, but when they looked for them, they couldn't find anyone."

Melchis's eyes lit up when she heard their conversation, while Istina shuddered all over. No way! They're coming again!!!

"Tina, we..."

Before Melchis could finish her words, Istina rejected her outright.

"Absolutely! Not! Go!!!"

After saying that, in order to prevent Melchis from trying to act cute and beg for mercy, he closed his eyes, covered his ears, and lay down on the table, refusing to move no matter what.

“…Eve?”

Seeing that there was no hope with Istina, Melchis looked at Eve again.

Snapped

But what greeted her was a violent slap from Eve.

"Alright, let Tina go. If you keep doing this, she might stop paying attention to Shizu."

"Oh fine."

After hearing what Eve said, Sis gave up the idea of ​​exploring the mystery. After all, compared to an interesting rumor, Istina was more important.

Just like that, after a night of commotion, this ghost incident came to an end as everyone fell asleep one after another.

By the way, the next day Eve also sent an anonymous letter to the town administrators explaining the whole story to save them from further investigation.

The group started their journey again, heading towards the next town.

§ 75 The Birth of a New Cuisine (I)

This time the story takes place in a small village. Eve and others were enjoying lunch in a small shop. There were not many customers in the shop, only a few tables.

"Um, may I ask if the guests are travelers from outside?"

Suddenly, the restaurant owner came up to them and started talking.

"Yes, is there something wrong?"

Eve put down the cutlery in her hand and asked.

"Ah, there are some things, but let me introduce myself first. I'm Lillian, the owner of this shop."

Lillian nodded to a few people and continued.

"I've been wanting to develop some new dishes lately, but I'm not sure where to start. I was wondering if you travelers might have any good suggestions. After all, you all have more experience."

"Hmm... I don't think I have any good suggestions on how to proceed..."

Eve seemed a little troubled when she heard Lillian say that. After all, she basically only knew two cooking methods: grilling and stewing, and she had no idea about any advanced techniques.

"We should only be able to offer some suggestions on ingredient pairings. Is that okay?"

"It doesn't matter. As long as you can give me some inspiration, that will be great. Thank you very much."

Lillian bowed to them again as she spoke.

Melchis, who had been listening to the conversation between the two for a while, asked with great interest.

"Eve, are we going to help with the cooking?"

"Not helping with the cooking, just giving some suggestions, maybe with tasting and reviewing?"

"That's right. I'll take care of the actual operation, and you guests will just need to offer some suggestions."

As she spoke, Lillian took out a small notebook from her bosom and handed it to Eve, in which she recorded the types of ingredients in the store and some of her ideas for new dishes.

"Hmm... I feel like there's not much room for maneuver."

After taking turns looking around, they looked at each other, and finally Eve spoke.

After all, this is just a small village, and naturally there are not as many ingredients to choose from as in big cities, so we can only create on a very limited basis.

It's not a big deal for travelers like Eve, but if they live here for a long time, they will probably get tired of the food here in no time. No wonder there are not many people in the restaurant now. If no reforms are made, it will probably be like this in the future.

"Yes, because there's no one in the village who can teleport, there's a long gap between purchases, so we can only use local ingredients, which doesn't mean there's a lot to choose from."

After hearing what Eve said, Lillian agreed somewhat helplessly.

"Hmm...is there nothing edible in the nearby forest?"

"Most edible fruits have already been recorded, and I will harvest them when the season comes. However, they are seasonal ingredients. For example, the timing of your visit this time was unfortunate, so you won't be able to enjoy them. I want to develop some dishes that can be eaten at any time."

To be precise, this small shop basically relies on seasonal special dishes to survive on weekdays, giving people the feeling that they can eat for a year after opening even if they are closed for a year.

"Hmm...how about trying mushrooms?"

After looking through the small notebook in her hand a few more times, Eve suddenly suggested.

"Mushroom? What is that?"

"It's one of those things with a canopy and a vertical pole."

As Eve spoke, she made a rough sketch on the notebook.

"Oh, that's it, but doesn't it depend on luck to harvest this? And sometimes I feel sick after eating it. I won't collect these ingredients anymore."

Maybe it was because of the different names, when Lillian heard Eve mention mushrooms, she didn't react to what she was talking about, but when she saw Eve's painting, she immediately understood.

"You feel sick after eating them because some mushrooms are poisonous."

Eve continued after shaking her finger.

"There's a saying that goes, 'Red umbrellas, white poles, after eating, they lie down together.' Lillian, it's because you're an elf with a strong constitution. Otherwise, this wouldn't just be a temporary discomfort. I'd probably need someone to cast detoxification spells or use antidotes."

"Is this so scary?"

Lillian broke out in a cold sweat when she heard Eve say that. Fortunately, she would try out new dishes herself before developing them, and would only promote them based on the situation, otherwise there would be a big problem.

Even Estina and Melchis were a little surprised. Could it be that the mushrooms Eve sometimes picked up to cook together were such dangerous things?!

"Yes, and it's hard to tell whether this thing is poisonous or not. Although most poisonous mushrooms are very brightly colored, there are also some that are the opposite. Some appear to be poisonous but are actually non-toxic. If you don't know enough, you must not try it casually."

"Well, if this thing is so dangerous, miss, do you still want to use it as food? And it depends on luck to find it, right?"

After hearing about the horror of mushrooms and thinking about what Eve had just said about using this thing as food, Lillian's expression couldn't help but stiffen.

"Of course, non-toxic mushrooms are a delicacy. They're delicious whether they're made into soup, stir-fried, or grilled. And you're wrong about that last part."

Eve smiled mysteriously and kept the question a secret.

"As long as the conditions are right, mushrooms can be harvested at any time. They can definitely meet your needs. Besides taking up some space, they have very low environmental requirements. Basically, they just need to be kept out of the sun and maintain a constant temperature and humidity. You can even cut a bunch of mushrooms and new ones will grow from the broken ones. A few sawdust are all they need for nutrition."

"Hey, is it so easy to train?"

After listening to Eve's description, Lillian was obviously moved. From this perspective, mushrooms were indeed particularly suitable for her shop, but after some consideration, she finally shook her head.

"Sorry, I know I can't tell poisonous mushrooms apart, so forget it."

"Don't worry, it's just like growing vegetables. As long as the fungus used as the seed is fine, the mushrooms that grow later will all be the same species if they're not contaminated. So don't worry about toxicity. As for the fungus, leave it to me. Lillian just needs to prepare the site."

"Ah, isn't that too much trouble for you? I clearly just want you to review it..."

"It's ok."

Eve said casually, waving her hand.

"We're just traveling aimlessly anyway, so it's okay to help out. Lillian, please prepare the new dishes first. Let's go out and pick some mushrooms to use as spawn."

"Okay, then I look forward to seeing you all again tonight."

Eve stood up as she spoke.

"Okay, let's go too."

But at this moment, Istina suddenly remembered something and asked curiously.

"By the way, Mr. Brave, how do you tell if a mushroom is poisonous?"