Volume 2 – Chapter 30: Should We All Just Become Cream Puffs??

At the edge of Ruglian, a dry, barren desert stretched to the horizon. From that empty expanse rose several tent canopies like drawn curtains, with white smoke drifting lazily upward.

This wasn’t their first time here. Compared to their clueless first outing, the team now had much more experience. This time, they came prepared to camp overnight in Ruglian.

“Felicia-sis, is the bread heated yet?”

“Mhm, almost—just needs a bit more time.”

“Alright then.” Wenfu continued tending to the soup without going over to check.

Felicia was usually reliable—and something of a jack-of-all-trades—so when she offered to help with setting up camp and cooking, Wenfu didn’t refuse.

But before long, Wenfu caught a whiff of something burnt. Her pale pink cat ears shot upright.

“Felicia-sis, what’s taking the bread so long?” Seeing smoke billow from the pot, Wenfu had a bad feeling and rushed over.

“Just a little more time,” Felicia said, calmly watching the roaring fire as if in deep thought.

“This is way more than ‘a little’! The bottom’s about to turn into charcoal!” Wenfu quickly extinguished the fire and lifted the lid with a damp towel. Inside, the once-soft white bread was now a mess of black gunk. It was hard to tell where the burned crust ended and the carbonized pan residue began.

“My beautiful fresh bread from the food hall this morning at 6:30...” Wenfu’s spirit collapsed as she looked at the sludge in the pot. Just this morning, the rolls were soft and plump and moist—and now they were a charred disaster.

“Was the heat... too high?” Felicia asked, confused.

“This isn’t ‘too high’—you didn’t add any water! Why wouldn’t you add water when heating bread?!”

“Dry-heating anything is going to burn!” Wenfu practically shrieked.

“I see… So you’re supposed to add water.” Felicia looked mildly regretful.

“Felicia-sis, do you even know how to cook?”

“I think I sort of do?” Felicia reflected on the times she’d watched the palace chefs at work. She figured if she wasn’t at their level, she should still be close.

That was the flaw in Felicia’s learning style—because she succeeded at everything else so easily, she assumed she could pick up cooking just by watching. This first-time mishap completely derailed that confidence—and sacrificed some very precious bread.

“So cooking food requires water at the bottom. Got it. Let’s try again—”

“No no no!” Wenfu hugged the remaining rolls protectively, trembling. If Felicia could burn ready-made food, who knew what else she might incinerate?

From now on, cooking should be left solely to Wenfu. She couldn’t trust anyone else—not with food.

“Then... what should I do?”

“Felicia-sis, go gather some firewood. The water ruined this batch, and the damp wood we have now won’t work.”

“Alright.” Sensing she’d been gently dismissed, Felicia obediently went off to find dry kindling.

Around noon, lunch prep was underway. Astrid, dressed lightly, stood watch on a nearby rock outcropping. Teresa sat outside the tent, flipping through books and comparing them with the map she’d drawn last time.

When she visited Ruglian in Dylin’s form, she had done map surveys and sketches along the way. Still, her understanding of Ruglian’s outskirts remained limited.

So this time, she brought along books like Detailed Guide to the Ancient Empire’s Regions and Comprehensive Atlas of the Empire’s Historical Borders.

Those books offered records of imperial-era geography. Comparing them against her own sketches, Teresa confirmed that Ruglian and the edges of Coleman Forest were once part of the Empire’s territory—specifically, the central region.

In the four hundred years since, no one really knew how Ruglian had changed so drastically. Geography may stay constant, but the ecosystem had clearly undergone a huge shift.

Where once there were forest paths and small towns, now not a single tree remained. The land had become a wasteland.

For four centuries, Ruglian had been a scar and a taboo for the so-called light races. Few who ventured into it ever returned, so it was impossible to map in full.

And the Empire feared that deploying troops would provoke the demons and trigger another war.

The continent hadn’t recovered from the previous demon invasion. None of the light factions could afford another full-scale conflict. So no one dared test those waters.

As a result, the state of the demon race remained a mystery.

But from Teresa’s observations, the demons weren’t a unified force either. If they had been truly united and coordinated, they could’ve easily wiped out the fractured, distrustful light races.

Moreover, the term “light race” didn’t even exist in the old continent. According to records, humans and elves never called themselves that. The term was coined after the demon invasion—as a propaganda tool to rally the humans, elves, and demihumans under one banner against the demons.

It was a convenient, fabricated label to unify the continent’s non-demon inhabitants.

Though the term originated from humans, the elves and demihumans accepted it. Clearly, they feared the demons more than they disliked each other.

No—feared was the right word.

Historical accounts of the demon invasion were vague. But one thing was clear—the demons appeared out of nowhere and completely steamrolled the Empire at its peak. They even disabled the elves’ external magical systems and trampled the demihuman clans.

Anyone would fear something that powerful and sudden.

Another thing Teresa noticed: after the Emperor was defeated and fled to the southern frontiers, the Empire became increasingly obsessed with correcting its "religious orthodoxy." This led to harsh persecution of heretics and theological rifts, eventually causing the Church to fracture and the Whiteglass Kingdom to declare independence.

Speaking of Whiteglass...

Teresa glanced at Felicia, who was returning with firewood.

As the Crown Princess of the Whiteglass Kingdom, she might know something about that history. Teresa made a mental note to ask her later.

But the real mystery was: why did the demons stop invading Kaleburn? With their power, finishing off the remnants of the light races should’ve been easy. Why did they pull back at the last moment—and why had they shown no aggression since?

There were too many blanks in history. The truth of many events never made it into the official records.

Teresa’s thoughts drifted to the original Teresa—the Elf War Goddess who died fighting the demons four hundred years ago. If she were still alive, would she know something?

Teresa regretted not asking Bilodis about these matters in the secret realm. Then again, that riddle woman probably wouldn’t have given a straight answer anyway.

Without Felicia "helping," lunch went a lot smoother.

Given the diverse tastes of the group, Wenfu prepared food that would suit everyone—soft white bread, creamy corn soup, and some smoked bacon for meat-lover Felicia.

“Before we set out, Dylin handed me his notes from our last trip,” Teresa said, gesturing to the map and notebook on the portable table. “Based on those, I’ll be taking over as the acting Divine Child for this expedition.”

Felicia blinked in surprise. She hadn’t expected Teresa to be so meticulous on their last journey—mapping the terrain and keeping notes.

She can draw maps, too?

Then again, that wasn’t strange. Cartography was one of the Divine Child’s official roles, though that subject wasn’t taught until next semester.

Had she already mastered it ahead of time?

Felicia couldn’t read maps, but seeing the color-coded symbols and scribbled notes in Teresa’s journal gave her a sense of awe.

Wenfu munched on her bread and sipped her soup, feeling a sense of calm from Teresa’s presence.

Teresa might have a twisted sense of humor sometimes, but in serious moments, she was incredibly reliable.

To be honest (though maybe a bit rude), Teresa felt more dependable than Dylin. At least Teresa could protect others—Dylin always needed protecting.

As for Astrid, she quietly ate as well. With limited sunlight in the desert, her natural energy absorption as an elf was hampered, so she needed food to supplement.

She was already used to Dylin’s note-taking. He was always meticulous, very much like Teresa. At least in this role, they both did it well.

“Orcs and goblins—these lesser demons can’t use Divine Authority, which means they don’t have demon hearts. That’s why I suggest we go deeper into central Ruglian.”

“Deeper…?” Wenfu shrank back, clutching her tail.

“We didn’t even get far last time before running into that terrifying orc. If we go deeper, isn’t that more dangerous?”

Felicia nodded in agreement. She didn’t want to endanger the team just because of her condition.

“What we encountered last time was a red-skinned orc,” Teresa explained. “Unlike the green-skinned ones, red orcs are loners. They’re aggressive and love to fight strong opponents—but they’re wanderers without permanent homes.”

“Running into one like that—especially a powerful one—was just bad luck.”

“Still, even red orcs lack demon hearts. Slaying them is pointless. This region is filled with goblins and orcs—but something about that feels off.”

“Off how?” Wenfu asked.

“You mean this environment doesn’t suit them?” Astrid guessed.

“Exactly. This desert is poor in magical beasts—unlike jungles or mountains. Food is scarce. Sandstorms are frequent. If I were a goblin or an orc, I wouldn’t choose to live here.”

“I suspect they were pushed out—driven into the wasteland by more powerful demons that can use Divine Authority and have claimed the fertile lands.”

That theory left the team silent.

Felicia understood what it meant: if demons had internal hierarchies and divisions, then their intelligence rivaled the light races.

Scholars had speculated this before—but without proof, it was just theory.

“Look here,” Teresa pointed at the map. “This area used to be imperial territory—full of forests and towns. Now it's a wasteland.”

“Deeper in lies what used to be a major imperial trade hub. The demons living there are ones even the orcs fear.”

“But if the orcs fear them… doesn’t that mean we should be even more afraid?” Wenfu curled her toes in dread.

She didn’t think anyone in their group could take on an entire army—especially not her. In combat, she often felt like dead weight.

If beings stronger than those terrifying orcs lived there, wasn’t it a guaranteed BAD END?

She didn’t want to unlock her defeat CG just yet!

Everyone in their team—except Grandpa Dylin—was a delicate, beautiful maiden. Considering how vulgar and depraved the orcs and winged goblins were… and how their tastes aligned a bit too well with the light races…

If they were defeated, and captured…

Would they all end up staying in Ruglian as… cream puffs?!

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