Chapter 8: The Taste has a Strange Flavor

Chapter 8: The Taste has a Strange Flavor

It had been nearly half a month since they returned from the volcanic region in the west. The Ultimate Life Forms, led by Gilbaris, suddenly vanished as if they never existed. This left Aierjisi and the others feeling puzzled and a tad scared.

“Those guys have been MIA for half a month, and they’re still not making a move. Something feels off.”

“I feel the same; they must be plotting something big.”

When the enemy stays inactive for so long, it usually means they’re gathering strength to unleash something massive. The smart choice here would be to take the initiative and disrupt their plans. But the problem is, they had no way to enter. The device they created merely maintained the Teleportation Gate; without the Adrian People opening it, they couldn’t get through.

“Stop looking so gloomy. If you’re all frowns, good fortune simply won’t come your way. Besides, they might be powering up, but so are we!”

Ailin tapped both of their heads. During this time, Gaia had been continuously building up defense forces to prepare for a possible attack from the Adrian People. Thanks to Gaia’s efforts, the defense of Panimir had now increased sixfold, making it a bastion of the north. Even the Ultimate Life Forms would have a tough time breaking through.

“I wish things would just go smoothly like that.”

Weirafiya was also worried that unforeseen events might crop up. After all, their understanding of the enemy was still too limited, and they were unclear on the full extent of their power.

“Even so, we can’t just sit idle, right? Boosting our defenses can’t hurt.”

“True enough.”

Blindly ramping up defenses, even without knowing how strong the enemy truly is, doesn’t sound like a bad idea. The only thing they didn’t know is when the enemy would strike.

“Why think so much? Eat, drink, and have fun! What can we really do? We can’t do anything about it. If they dare attack, we’ll just hit back out!”

“That’s fair. I get your point, but I just can’t help but worry about it.”

Aierjisi knew fretting about it was pointless, but she just couldn’t control herself.

“Then let’s go out and have some fun! Get some fresh air. If you keep moping about this stuff, you’ll only make yourself more anxious.”

“Yeah. I’ll think about your advice.”

Aierjisi had indeed tried going outside to clear her mind, but it didn’t work at all. No matter how much she strolled around, as soon as she returned to the Royal Palace, those worries would hit her again. It was truly tormenting her.

“If there’s nothing else going on, I’m heading back now. Let’s go, Yaser, we’re leaving.”

Weirafiya finished her food, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and left the dining hall with her servant, leaving the two behind.

“How envious! I wish I could have her mindset.”

Watching Weirafiya’s retreating figure, Aierjisi genuinely envied her. She had thought Weirafiya was way too lazy before, but now she found herself yearning for that carefree attitude.

“Well, why not go for a full-body massage together? That might just lift your spirits.”

“A full-body massage? Do we even have that here?”

“Of course! Plenty of people go for massages. Like Ouxs, he goes for a full-body massage almost every day. According to him, if he skips a day, he feels all stiff and crampy.”

“Is it really that miraculous? Ah well, I have nothing better to do, so let’s go for one together. Yake, you want to join us for a full-body massage?”

“Huh? A full-body massage? Absolutely! I’ve never experienced one before! I can’t miss out on this opportunity!”

For a commoner like Yake, a full-body massage was an extravagant expense he could hardly afford. But now that there was a chance to experience it for free, he definitely wanted to go!

“Okay then, let’s make it a plan to get massages together.”

“Sounds good! But first, you really should finish all the veggies in your bowl. Being picky isn’t good behavior!”

Ailin looked at the carrots and broccoli leftover in Aierjisi’s bowl. That was all that was left, clearly left purposely because Aierjisi didn’t like these two veggies.

“Can’t I skip them? They taste weird, and I just don’t like them.”

These veggies, though looking similar to Earth varieties, tasted utterly different here. If they were from Earth, she could manage to eat them, but in this world, she just couldn’t bring herself to swallow these two.

“Really weird? That’s just because you’re not used to them yet. I also found it hard to eat the local food when I first arrived. But gradually, I got used to it. You should give it a try; we might be here long-term.”

Thinking back to when she first came to this world, the food was truly hard to get down. But with no choice, she just had to eat, and over time, she found some of it quite tasty.

“I guess you’re right…”

Aierjisi had no choice but to grimace and force herself to eat the last of the vegetables.

Honestly, the taste was quite strange, and the aftertaste lingered uncomfortably in her throat.

After finishing dinner, they left the clearing of their dishes to the nearby servants, and the three of them headed to the massage place.

“Is this really the one? This is my first time in this room. I’ve passed by it multiple times and couldn’t imagine this was where full-body massages are done.”

Looking at the plain room, Aierjisi couldn’t fathom this was the massage place. One would expect it to have a fancy door or at least a sign hanging outside. If she had known this was the place for massages, she would have come much sooner.

“Alright, I didn’t know at first either! But now you know, let’s hurry inside! The massages here are super relaxing; you’ll feel so good all over!”

Ailin cheerfully pinched Aierjisi’s shoulder and dragged her inside.

“Whoa! Now that’s surprising; this feels really nice.”

Aierjisi lay on the side bed while the masseuse worked on her. With each firm press, Aierjisi felt her body loosen, as if she had turned as light as a feather.

“Right?”