Chapter 43: Chapter 43: The Last Dinner part 2
--------
Ariel chatted away with Reji again, this time including Shermen in the conversation even more.
Regardless of whether Shermen paid her no attention, Ariel didn\'t care at all, as if she was completely captivated and subdued by Shermen\'s beauty.
Including the old butler, a group of five people gradually made their way deeper into the estate.
The young guard left behind finally snapped back to reality.
Looking at Reji and especially Shermen, the young, stunningly exotic little girl, the guard ultimately sighed and showed a look of regret.
"Mr. Reji, try this, it\'s Ariel\'s favorite cold mixed Sayagrass!"
The maid pushed the dining cart, setting up a series of exquisite silverware for Reji and Shermen. As the silver covers were lifted, the table was filled with a variety of rich, delicious dishes, including the one Ariel strongly recommended to Reji, resembling a vegetable salad cold dish.
"Mr. Reji, did you know? This Sayagrass all comes from a region in the eastern part of the kingdom called Ober. Originally, it was very barren, and the villagers often went hungry.
It was after the big brothers and sisters of the Five Flowers Alliance arrived, they taught the local villagers various knowledge, helping them develop new crops.
Sayagrass is one of them, and since then, the region has developed more and more, and the local villagers have been able to live a life of warmth and fullness!"
Ariel introduced the Five Flowers Alliance to Reji with a face full of longing and happiness, mentioning her parents. The maids and butler Lawrence present in the restaurant remained silent, showing little expression, as if they had heard these stories many times before.
And Reji...
He seemed very willing to try, taking some Sayagrass salad onto his plate.
Although it was turned into a dish and smeared with salad dressing.
At first glance, it looked no different from ordinary vegetables.
But Reji was well aware, pretending to fiddle with it, a quick glance at the leaves revealed a distinctive thin layer of fat underneath the Sayagrass, and beneath the fat, a layer of fine spore powder hidden at the edges of the leaves.
Sayagrass, a millennium ago, was one of the materials Reji was familiar with.
The primary material for making [Hallucinogens].
As a "Perfect achievement" player with "Master-Level Expertise in Materials" Reji didn\'t need the system to recall information related to "Sayagrass" from his own memory.
In short, using organs as soil, watered with fresh blood.
It often grows in battlefields, bone-burial grounds, and chaotic grave mounds, where only three flowers can be harvested at a time, making it rare.
Of course, a thousand years have passed, and it\'s possible that such plants have been improved and mutated.
As the safest and most proof-positive method,
Reji lightly ran his finger across the dish, and at that moment, the Crown Ring that Eileen had prepared for him, which he had always worn, flickered imperceptibly.
The Crown Ring can resist all negative effects, and similarly, it would react and provide a prompt to anything that produces negative effects.
"Eh?"
"Mr. Reji, do you not like salad? Hmm. Ah!
I got it! This, this, Mr. Reji, you\'ll definitely like this!"
Under Ariel\'s direction, the maid immediately came forward, bringing another dish towards Reji.
Upon lifting the lid, it was a dish resembling a pomegranate.
However, unlike regular pomegranates, from the cut surface, one could see that the pulp inside each was crystal clear, like beautiful red crystals, seemingly juicy and tempting enough to make one want to take a bite.
"Brother Reji, and beautiful big sister, this is Crystal Red Pomegranate, sweet and refreshing! It also has a strong skin-care and beautifying effect, it\'s my mom\'s favorite. She eats one every morning and evening. sister, you should try it, it\'s delicious!
Especially for someone as beautiful as you, you must take good care of yourself!"
Similar to the previous scene.
Ariel enthusiastically introduced the dishes to Reji and Shermen.
Whether it was the Crystal Red Pomegranate or the Sayagrass, both were extremely rare and unusual, so Ariel was very confident, not to mention outsiders, even the most seasoned adventurers might not recognize these.
And introducing these foods to unknowing foreign adventurers was an essential part of her "dinner", her "pleasure".
But Ariel couldn\'t have imagined.
The person sitting across from her was indeed a "foreign" adventurer, only this "foreign" doesn\'t come from a distance but from a "thousand years ago" span of time, an old timer.
Crystal Red Pomegranate.
Reji doesn\'t recall a material called this from a thousand years ago.
But there was something with a similar characteristic.
Called Bloody Pomegranate.
By having pregnant women consume its seeds, the Blood Pomegranate would grow alongside the fetus inside the mother\'s body.
After several months of pregnancy, upon the mother giving birth, the mature Bloody Pomegranate, along with the child that had been nourished and drained of vitality, would be born together.
"Miss Ariel, is the ingredient for this dish also from some rural area supported by the Five Flowers Alliance?"
Reji asked the beautiful miss seated at the head of the dining table.
And Ariel, blinking her cute eyes, seemed pleased that Reji initiated conversation with her.
The hospitable miss immediately replied: "Um, not this one, this was specially brought from the countryside by a pregnant woman whom mom had helped before, as a local specialty thank you gift to my mom!"
"Oh? Does Miss Ariel\'s family also help pregnant women?"
"Of course Brother Reji, you should know, in the countryside and remote areas, conditions are very poor, and there are seldom any doctors. Things like difficult childbirths, miscarriages happen often.
Especially since the introduction of the Grand Princess\'s constitution, it has become even harder for villagers to seek medical treatment in cities, leaving them unable to receive proper medical care, having to watch helplessly as they miscarry their babies."
Ariel\'s voice trailed off as she spoke, her head bowed.
Her face was full of dejection, full of sympathy and pity for the suffering people.
Even just thinking of that scene, pearls seemed about to drop from the miss\'s eyes.
However, Ariel\'s expression quickly changed, happily saying:
"Fortunately, the Five Flowers Alliance helped them!"
"We regularly conduct check-ups for pregnant women in every village, provide medical care, ensuring that even those far from cities, in remote countryside, can have healthy, safe childbirths!"
"This was the initial intention of mom and the other aunties establishing the Five Flowers Alliance. As nobles, with more capabilities, we should bear more responsibility!"
"But, that Grand Princess..." Ariel\'s voice faltered here, her gaze slightly dropping, hiding the flash of disgust in her eyes.
But quickly, the beautiful noble miss lifted her head again, with her cute and lively voice, clenched her little fists, waved them in the air, very inspiringly saying:
"Ariel will also learn from mom, from everyone in the Five Flowers Alliance in the future! Ariel wants to make every person in the kingdom of Ilinor live happier!"
"Mr. Reji... will help me with this right~?"