I Supported My Fiancé for 10 Years After He Said, 'Let's Get Married When I Succeed,' but When He Finally Did, He Dumped Me. By the Way, I'm a Witch and Turning 30 Next Year!! - Episode 36

After shopping, I headed home.

When I returned to the pharmacy, Carbuncle was waiting for me.

“You finally came back!”

“Yes.”

Carbuncle had a bandana tied around its head and held a feather duster in its hand. I had asked it to clean, and it seemed to have found a good broom. Apparently, Merv Maple had lent it to Carbuncle after seeing it struggle to find cleaning tools.

Since Carbuncle could jump high and use floating magic, I had asked it to clean areas that were usually out of reach.

I wondered if it was okay to ask a sacred beast to do such tasks, but it had insisted on doing something useful.

I had received money from Ie for Carbuncle’s care, so it didn’t need to work, but it was determined to help.

“Should I help with customer service next?”

“No, that’s fine.”

If people found out Carbuncle was here, the holy officials would rush over immediately.

For now, I had to keep it in the back of the pharmacy and make sure it stayed quiet.

“What are we doing next?”

“After lunch, I’ll prepare the fruit I bought.”

And so, it was time for lunch. I made soup with boiled chickpeas and bacon, sautéed chicory, and a cheese omelet.

I was nervous about whether Carbuncle would like it, but it ate everything and said it was delicious.

After eating a full meal, Carbuncle became sleepy and lay on its back with its belly facing the ceiling.

Merv Maple gently covered it with a leaf blanket to keep it from catching a cold.

I quietly started preparing the fruit, careful not to wake Carbuncle. Merv Maple was going to help, so I wanted to finish quickly.

The fruit I had bought was quince. It was in season during autumn, but these had been left in storage and were being sold cheaply.

Quince is also called “honey apple” and has a unique sour and astringent taste.

It is not a fruit that can be eaten raw—it must be processed first.

Its sweet fragrance is so pleasant that some nobles order quince just for the scent. That seems like such a waste.

Quince becomes delicious when cooked.

Among various preparations, my favorite is quince jelly.

First, quince has a white fuzz all over its surface, so I scraped it off with a knife.

Merv Maple sharpened its own leaves to use as a knife and helped peel the fruit.

After peeling the quince, I separated the seeds and core, wrapping them in gauze. I sliced the fruit into thin pieces.

I placed the fruit, along with the gauze-wrapped seeds and core, into a pot with plenty of sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

As it simmered, the quince turned red. The yellow fruit changed color with heat.

Once it was thoroughly softened, I let it cool slightly before grinding it into a paste with a mortar and pestle.

Merv Maple handled this task as well.

Once the mixture became a smooth paste, I poured it into a square mold and placed it in a magic stone refrigerator to cool.

After a few hours, the quince jelly was complete.

By tomorrow, it would be ready to eat. Maybe I should serve it during lunch service. I was excited.

At night—I was startled by the sound of something tapping on the window.

I looked out, wondering what it was, and saw a large white owl staring at me with piercing eyes.

I almost screamed but then noticed it had lifted its foot. It was a messenger bird.

Normally, pigeons were used for this kind of thing, but since it was nighttime, maybe they had chosen an owl because of its night vision.

When I opened the window, the owl extended its foot impatiently, as if telling me to take the letter quickly.

“Uh, okay, I’ll take it.”

I gently untied the paper from its leg and quickly pulled my hand back.

“Do you want some chicken as a reward?”

Before I could finish my sentence, the owl took off into the night.

The letter was from Ie. He had already started investigating what had happened fifty years ago.

Regarding the mass capture and execution of dark magic users, the available records only mentioned that a magical rampage nearly caused the World Tree to wither.

He had also searched the restricted book archives, but there were no records of the incident there either. Some areas could only be accessed by the king, so Ie suspected the truth was hidden there.

“Hmmm…”

It all seemed suspicious. It felt like the country was trying to conceal something.

Did Carbuncle know anything about this event?

“Hey, Carbuncle, do you know anything about the incident fifty years ago when the World Tree almost withered?”

“Fifty years ago, the previous sacred beast was guarding the saint. I do not know.”

Just as saints are replaced over time, sacred beasts are also reborn every few years to several hundred years.

Carbuncle had become the saint’s sacred beast about forty-eight years ago.

“Well, usually, a sacred beast is replaced when the previous one dies.”

“I see.”

Ie was working hard to gather information. I wondered if there was anything I could do.

Then, I remembered someone—

Saint Sui.

She once mentioned that in the world she lived in before, there was entertainment very similar to what existed here.

Maybe she knew something.

I needed to meet her.