Kai looked a bit at a loss; he even subconsciously reached out, as if wanting to catch the girl lunging toward him.
However, Camus grabbed her at the last moment.
"You're not a child anymore!"
The Blood Mage said in annoyance.
He gripped the girl's slender wrist with one hand, his palm as hot as a branding iron.
"If there are any abnormal reactions, I can know early on—"
Then he pulled her over, "From the whole afternoon up until now, I've been enduring this smell without saying a word, and all you need to do is drink it."
"'And all I need to do is drink it'?"
Su Cheng muttered, repeating his words, "That sure sounds like a piece of cake. Besides, aren't you sending me to steal from the Holy Church? What if I drink this stuff and end up vomiting and having diarrhea in the temple?"
"What?" Camus looked like he was going to die of anger. "...Are you really a mage? This is a potion, not tomato soup. There won't be that kind of abnormal reaction!"
"Hahahaha," Sasha was dying of laughter beside them. "Not gonna lie, if it were tomato soup, the one he makes would probably have exactly that effect."
Camus gritted his teeth. "There is no such thing. Last time was just an accident; I mixed up the cooking spices with the magic potion—"
Su Cheng looked at them in horror.
Kai sighed. "I'll be back in a bit."
"Look at that!" Su Cheng snapped back to reality. "Camus! Even the Commander can't stand the smell you've created!"
Camus sneered. "He isn't cursed, nor did he sign a contract with a cursed person to help break it, so he doesn't need to endure this!"
Kai raised a hand to rub his temples, seemingly getting a headache from their bickering.
His cold golden eyes looked toward the disgruntled someone. "I just want to go out to buy some wine, and bring you back some sweets. What do you want to eat?"
Su Cheng was just about to curse, but upon hearing this, her anger instantly vanished. "There's a shop on the south street called Madame Lina's Candy Box. I wonder if you noticed it?"
The Commander nodded in realization. "I know it. Camus really likes their Black Forest cake and has bought it several times, but I think it's a bit—"
The Blood Mage coughed. "The potion is getting cold."
Su Cheng was greatly surprised. "The cherry liqueur they use for their cakes is sickeningly sweet; even my younger cousins think it's too much!"
She paused for a moment. "But I think it's pretty good. I didn't expect the two of us to share the same taste. What a coincidence!"
Camus's gaze became somewhat subtle. "...Just drink the potion first."
Su Cheng: "?"
This guy really wouldn't listen to reason! Or take sugar!
The Commander had left at some point.
The cold and ruthless Blood Mage pressed her against the table, shoving the glass bottle filled with the potion right up to her mouth.
Su Cheng almost fainted on the spot from the fumes, feeling as if her skull was going to split open. Holding her breath, she hugged the bottle and assumed a posture of facing death unflinchingly.
The first gulp almost took her life.
The sour and bitter aura exploded in her mouth, the hot liquid tearing at her throat and burning all the way down to her stomach.
She felt her stomach convulsing, churning and surging upward.
That huge mouthful of potion seemed ready to come right back up.
Su Cheng closed her eyes and forcefully suppressed the sensation.
After swallowing it completely, she originally wanted to say something, but not wanting to savor the aftertaste in her mouth, she simply tilted her head back and continued to drink.
This large bottle was not something that could be finished in a few gulps.
Su Cheng felt as if her senses of taste and smell were about to disappear. Her entire world was filled with an unimaginable sour and bitter taste, along with a stench like a rotting corpse.
...She wanted to throw up even more.
"Bear with it."
Camus covered her mouth with one hand, the webbing of his fingers resting beneath her nose and his thumb pressing against her cheekbone. His scalding palm tightly sealed against her wet lips.
Her eyes grew red as she whimpered and shook her head. A bit of the dark red potion lingered at the corners of her mouth, now trickling down through the gaps in the man's fingers.
The blood-like trickle slid past the girl's snow-white neckline.
The scent of certain ingredients seemed to linger in his palm.
A bitter, damp botanical scent, mixed with the fishy stench of the potion, fermented and churned together in her mouth.
She was so stimulated by the smell that her eyes hurt, as if her eyeballs were being roasted over a fire. Tears rolled down uncontrollably.
Su Cheng: "..."
Actually, she didn't want to cry at all, nor was she feeling sad. It was purely a physiological reaction because the smell was simply too pungent.
The large hand pressing against her face stiffened for a moment.
Tears slid over those slender fingers, falling onto the back of his hand and wrist, diluting the faint traces of the remaining potion.
Camus looked down at her, seeming to want to say something, but then frowned and lightly wiped his wrist with his other hand.
Then he brought his potion-stained fingertip to his lips.
He only took one lick, and his expression immediately changed.
Camus: "..."
He lowered his eyes to meet the girl's gaze, which was filled with accusation and anger. "Sorry. I really didn't expect it to taste this awful."
Su Cheng was about to die of anger, but unable to speak, she could only try to kill him with her eyes.
The Blood Mage sighed and, perhaps to express his apology, raised a hand to pat her back.
The man's broad palm pressed against her spine, stroking slowly and firmly. "But no matter what, you can't throw up again, or it will all be for nothing."
Su Cheng glared at him in silence.
"...I take back my words. You are very tough," he said with difficulty. "Perhaps last time you really were in a lot of pain."
"Wow," Sasha leaned over in surprise. "Just how bad does this potion taste?"
He seemed very surprised that Camus would say such a thing, and simply snatched the glass bottle from Su Cheng's hand.
The liquid inside had all been drunk, but some dregs remained at the bottom. The vampire directly turned the bottle upside down, letting the residue fall into his palm.
He took a piece and popped it into his mouth.
Sasha: "?"
Sasha: "Blergh—"
His eyes looked as if they had grown even redder. "What the hell? I thought you actually liked her!"
A vampire's sense of taste is quite different from a human's. Many magical beast bloods that are overly fishy to humans are like fine wine to them.
It could be said that they are far better at tolerating awful tastes than humans.
Even so, he looked thoroughly repulsed.
Su Cheng finally recovered and pressed down on Camus's wrist, signaling that he could let go. "...Right? I can't believe he never even tasted it!"
The blond man closed his eyes. "It's not cooking. Why would I need to taste it?"
Su Cheng shook her head and simply collapsed backward onto the table.
"...Before this, almost none of the potions I made had any taste."
Camus wiped his hands beside her. "I thought this time would be just like water, only the smell would be harder to endure. I apologize. But how do you feel?"
Su Cheng heard the sound of an hourglass flipping nearby.
She didn't have time to think about anything else, merely staring blankly at the ceiling. "I feel like I'm alive, yet also like I've been gone for a long time. I guess this is what it means to be dead but still lingering."
The Blood Mage glanced at her. "The captain is back with the cake."
Su Cheng instantly resurrected on the spot.
She sat straight up, "Where? Is it dessert time yet?"
"Oh, not at all," Camus said faintly, "I was just so dizzy from these smells that I started hallucinating."
Su Cheng stared at him for a few seconds before silently lying back down. "Then I can also answer you: I'm feeling terrible."
"That's not what I was asking," Camus looked at her. "Your magic, your curse—is there any difference?"
Su Cheng slowly shook her head. "No, or maybe I'm just too desperate and angry to feel anything else."
Camus rubbed his aching head. "Then try harder to feel it."
Su Cheng was trying to do just that. "...Aside from dizziness and nausea, there doesn't seem to be anything else. Yeah, it's definitely all caused by that smell."
The Blood Mage sighed beside her, finally deciding to let her off the hook for now.
"I have to say, I think your ability to make a potion turn out like that is a talent in itself—"
A certain vampire's voice drifted over from the side. "Your teacher would probably cry. This pot of crap-soup is enough to ruin his reputation in the potion-making world."
"...This isn't a finished recipe, I mixed it myself."
"Yeah, which is why it's your talent," Sasha sighed with emotion. "I only tasted a tiny bit, and even I felt the urge to kill you."
"No, you just want to kill someone all the time," Camus said coldly. "How are things at the temple? Is he still there?"
"He hasn't left yet," the vampire said in a light tone. "I could feel it from far away... Ah, that disgusting aura is almost on par with your ultimate potion."
The two of them then began discussing the layout of the Golden Amber City Temple, the guards' patrol shifts, the location of the warehouse where the medicinal herbs were stored, as well as infiltration routes and escape directions.
They also listed various potential scenarios.
"How about I lure him out?" Sasha concluded. "Otherwise, him being inside will be very troublesome."
He was, of course, referring to His Eminence the Archbishop.
Camus shook his head slightly. "If he doesn't want to—"
The meeting room door was pushed open.
A strong, sweet scent of alcohol dispersed the foul stench in the room.
"...What happened here?"
Kai looked at the new member lying on the table.
Su Cheng spread her arms. "Here sleeps a poor soul murdered by a third-rate apothecary. Before she could even enjoy her happy life, she met a tragic end—"
Kai: "I bought you cherry wine and cake."
"—And now she is going to enjoy her happy life!"
Su Cheng leaped up abruptly, tilted her head to glance at the hourglass to make sure it had completely run out, and then lunged forward like a starving dog.
She quickly tore off the packaging, stuffed a few candied cherries into her mouth, and then tried to twist off the wine bottle cap.
It wouldn't budge.
Expressionless, she conjured a wind blade, sliced off the neck of the bottle entirely, and then tilted her head back to chug. She downed half the bottle before stopping, and without bothering with a knife or fork, she grabbed a spoon and started eating the cake.
Kai silently withdrew his outstretched hand. "Just how bad was it?"
He asked with some curiosity, and under the silent gaze of the other two members, he walked over to the extinguished cauldron, picked up the spoon with residual potion on it.
Then he also lowered his head to take a taste.
Kai: "......"
He coughed, quickly twisted open another bottle of cherry wine, tossed aside the crushed cap, and started chugging without hesitation.
After emptying the entire bottle, Kai couldn't help but look at Camus: "Did you do that on purpose?"
The blond man closed his eyes. "No, and I don't want to answer any more questions related to this."
"Camus?"
A call suddenly came from behind.
He turned around, just in time to see the young girl by the table holding up her spoon, her face still smeared with cream and chocolate shavings.
"Do you want a piece? I can't finish it all by myself anyway. Uh, I haven't touched this half, so there's definitely no spit on it, but if you mind—"
Su Cheng pointed to the other side of the cake with her spoon.
The captain had bought a ten-plus-six double-layer cake; she really couldn't finish it alone.
Camus looked a bit surprised. "...I don't mind."
He walked over and sat down, picked up another set of knife and fork, and neatly cut a small piece of cake. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have been willing to be a mercenary."
Su Cheng nodded and continued eating.
This bakery's cake was smooth and silky with just the right amount of fruity freshness. Its rich, dense texture gradually overpowered that sour, bitter stench.
A hint of happiness finally appeared on her face.
Turning her head, she realized the Blood Mage was staring at her.
Su Cheng: "...I know how I look. I'll wipe my mouth when I'm done."
Camus had already finished his piece of cake, his lips still perfectly clean. Hearing this, he set down his knife and fork and stood straight up.
He looked at the vampire beside him, who was wearing a face full of amusement. "Let's go."
With that, he walked straight out.
Sasha shrugged and walked briskly toward the door. As he passed by Su Cheng and saw her confused expression, he suddenly couldn't help but laugh.
"Take your time eating, darling—"
The silver-haired young man leaned in close, reaching out to wipe away a bit of frosting on her face. "The next batch shouldn't taste so awful."
Su Cheng: "?"
He chuckled with schadenfreude, brought his finger to his lips, and licked the tip with his tongue. "...Tsk, this is way too sweet."
Su Cheng was still pondering the next batch of potion and was caught off guard by his sneak attack. Speechless for a moment, she said, "Wait—"
Sasha had already swiftly slipped out.
She jumped up. "What is up with them? Weren't they going to the temple to steal something?"
"...Yeah."
The captain leaned against the opposite side of the table, holding the newly opened bottle of wine in one hand and resting the other on his greatsword. He sat with his legs crossed in a bold and open posture, looking quite dashing.
On his bare shoulders and arms, strong, knotted muscles bulged clearly, pulling out beautiful curves with his drinking motions.
Those sharp golden eyes showed a hint of tipsy warmth from the alcohol, and his pitch-black vertical pupils contracted slightly, seeming to become a bit rounder.
"They just left for the temple." Kai looked at her. "Originally, Camus wanted you and Sasha to go. Now it seems he's decided to take your place himself."
Su Cheng was stunned. "Why?"
"...Perhaps as a way to express his apology?"
