"Help me with something very simple."
The lake surface that had frozen over when Shade returned from the Snow Mountain was slowly thawing. The rippling water pushed floating ice and a small pink bottle to the edge of the firelight on shore. The bottle resembled the sort of exquisitely expensive perfume bottle found only on the dressing tables of noble Ladies.
The bottle was roughly heart-shaped, while its stopper was made of the same frosted material and looked like glass.
It was the size of a high-end perfume bottle, small enough to be fully grasped in one hand. It was empty now, without a drop of liquid inside.
"That Lake Heart Island will soon become the stage for people whose desires can never be satisfied. What is about to unfold will be a grand drama woven from countless desires."
The beautiful head did not urge Shade to pick up the small pink bottle. Instead, she explained with a smile:
"Take this bottle to the island. Witness people's mad and greedy desires, and catalyze those desires until they reach their climax. This little bottle can turn desire into premium essential oil. Take it onto the island so that I may have a taste of those rare, intertwined desires. Essential oil brewed from desire can not only enhance one's charm, but even restore spirit after being consumed."
Shade frowned slightly. At least in the present era, there were almost no means of restoring spirit through external forces. After all, so-called "spirit," "mana," and "aether" were not merely energy. They were information, energy, elements—the sum of everything in the world that Ring Arcanists could comprehend, and one manifestation of the mind interfering with matter. Even holy water, aside from No. 1 and No. 2, did not have a particularly obvious effect on restoring