A Strange Guest

"People were right. Wherever you go, you find a new way to make money."

Aiershortz experimented and extracted the flavor compounds from a certain kind of mushroom. After feeding them to a chicken for three days, the meat tasted even more delicious.

The chicken had only been boiled in water with a little salt, yet everyone ate every last bit. They didn't even leave any of the broth.

Bellberk sighed. "Even the King can't get chicken this delicious."

Gretel asked curiously, "Have you eaten with the King?"

Ansel asked too, "Are you a princess?"

Bellberk had spent the days researching cake recipes with them and the evenings running dungeons together. They had grown quite familiar with one another.

She smiled. "I'm no princess. Besides, being a princess isn't all that great. It's like being a chicken in a coop."

While the girls whispered among themselves, Aiershortz and Frederick began to talk.

Aiershortz mused, "This mushroom only grows in this area. I've never seen it anywhere else. If we want to cultivate it on a large scale, we'll probably have to do it here."

Frederick nodded. "That's right. The flavor compounds in mushrooms depend on their growing environment. They might not taste the same elsewhere. It could even depend on the wood they grow on, like how wine has to be made in oak barrels."

As they spoke, a strong gust of wind blew through and flung open the window. Raindrops sprayed into the living room.

"Ansel, you idiot!" Aiershortz snapped. "I told you to close the window properly!"

"I should've boiled you instead of that chicken!"

Ansel sprang out of her chair like a startled rabbit and hurried over to close the window.

"Honestly." Aiershortz shook her head. "You're always so clumsy. Without me, you'd starve to death sooner or