"Ah~ so it's Patchouli. No wonder it smelled so familiar. When she helped me with the imprinting earlier, she was so close I caught a whiff of an enchanting, unique scent. Like... the aroma of good wine." Rin said this with a pointed tone, and the hands on his shoulders suddenly tensed.
Yuugi's pupils flickered, and her little heart was pounding wildly at eighty miles per hour. Has the boss found out about her secretly drinking the "Wasted Dreams"?!
Cold sweat slowly trickled down her forehead, but after a moment of internal struggle, she forced herself to cautiously explain:
"That's actually medicinal wine I made for Patchouli.Because Patchouli's health isn't great, I have a family recipe for medicinal wine, so I gave her some to try."
"If you're interested, boss, I can make a batch for you too."
"Really? Well then, I won't refuse." Rin responded cheerfully, showing no suspicion, even grabbing some chicken feet from Yakumo Yukari's plate to snack on.
Meanwhile, Suika gave a suspicious glance. A family recipe for medicinal wine? Since when?
We've been drinking buddies for so long, and you kept this secret from me?!
Just as Suika was about to question her, Yuugi hurriedly explained:
"Don't look at me like that. This medicinal wine is mainly for health and recovery. It smells nice, but tastes worse than our usual drinks, so I never really mentioned it."
"If you want to try it, I can ask the boss to share a cup with you, so you won't need a separate bottle." Suika finally calmed down, though she still felt something was off.
Her instincts told her Yuugi was hiding quite a few secrets today!
At that moment, Hong Meiling and Remilia appeared, carrying several freshly caught big fish.
"Boss, here's the fish you asked for. Caught from Misty Lake just now. Is this enough?"
"Enough, enough, that was fast!"
"Pretty easy, just throw in the line, and a fish bites almost immediately." Rin twitched at the corner of his mouth, glancing at the fish with a somewhat unfriendly look.
Damn it, why didn't any fish bite when I was fishing?!
"Which one do we cook tonight? The rest can stay in the tank to keep alive for now."
"Cook them all."
"???"
"I can't stand to let them live one more second." Rin said with a dark expression, wanting to prepare various dishes to help Chen recover.
Meiling and Remilia exchanged a slightly awkward glance, sensing his strong resentment, but didn't say anything and headed to the kitchen with the fish.
"All right, I'm going to get the dinner ready. You three, take it easy and don't get drunk before the banquet starts." Rin gave a meaningful glance at Yuugi before heading towards the grocery shop.
Yuugi felt a chill on her scalp from that stare and grew even more nervous. What does that look mean? Did the boss discover the deal between me and Patchouli?
Just as she started worrying that today's mission might fail, Rin pulled out some small gadgets from the shelf and handed them to Remilia, who had just returned from Inukari Kaki's place.
"What's this about?"
"Bribing me?" Remilia was puzzled, her little brain struggling to catch up.
"I'm giving these to you. Tomorrow when you go back to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, you can set them off at Misty Lake for fun."
"These torpedo-style firecrackers are also included — consider it a product performance test."
"Forget it, I packed a small bag for you with these and a few others — pretty powerful stuff."
"...You didn't catch any fish, did you?" Remilia asked, looking at the big "arsenal" Rin gave her.
Seeing Rin silent, she became even more certain — this guy has his weak points too. Well, at least there's a nice gift, so she didn't refuse.
"All right, I'll try it out. If it works well, I'll order more later." With Remilia's assurance, Rin felt relieved and went back to the kitchen.
At the warehouse, Yuugi's anxiety only increased. She couldn't sit still.
She quickly found an excuse to escape and rushed straight to Patchouli's room.
Bang!
"Patchouli!!!"
Patchouli, who had just changed the bedsheets, was startled, but relaxed after seeing it was Yuugi, though she gave her a glare.
"Why the sudden commotion?"
"Patchouli, after the boss came by, did he mention anything about the liquor?" Yuugi nervously asked, knowing that if the secret leaked, the consequences would be severe.
Not only would harsh punishment follow, but her chance to become a permanent watchkeeper would vanish, leaving her to watch Suika enjoy it alone with envy!
"No, he only mentioned the imprinting ritual. He even fell asleep halfway through." Patchouli shook her head, omitting some less important details.
Yuugi's heart finally settled, but she reminded: "If the boss asks, don't reveal any information. My fate depends entirely on you."
"Don't worry. If I reveal it, we're both finished. I'm not that kind of person."
"That's good!" With Patchouli's assurance, Yuugi turned and left.
Patchouli frowned slightly as she watched Yuugi leave, feeling a faint premonition of trouble.
Did the boss sense something wrong? If Rin asks again, they'd have to stall more with the imprinting ritual. After all, he was a little groggy before and focused on restoring his mana; the ritual wasn't completed yet.
Just as Yuugi passed the living room, Rin's voice suddenly came from the kitchen:
"Yuugi, come help me chop the ribs. My hands are full."
"Coming."
Although nervous, Yuugi tried to calm down and obediently walked over.
Watching Rin busy at work, Yuugi swallowed hard and tried to lower her presence as much as possible.
Even though he didn't say much, the silence was like the calm before a storm— suffocating and oppressive.
The sharp sound of the cleaver chopping ribs echoed sharply, each chop feeling like it struck Yuugi's heart, making her extremely tense.
"It's just chopping ribs, Yuugi, why are you so nervous?"
"Cough, I'm worried I won't chop well enough. What if it ruins the taste, and you deduct points when judging the dishes?"
"Don't worry. I won't mind such a small thing. Just like when you wrapped the Wasted Dreams in ten layers and hid it under the floor, I didn't say anything."
"..." Yuugi's heartbeat suddenly stopped...