"Sure! It was about time for Aromatherapy anyway."
Kanna grew very excited when she heard Rosemary. Aromatherapy sounded very comfortable, and she had never experienced it before.
Holding hands, the three of them soon arrived at the recuperation greenhouse.
Once inside, Kanna waved at Perfumer in the distance. Then they entered a small room beside it. In the center of the room sat a beautiful glass orb, with something resembling a swimming fish inside.
This glass orb was also a gift Kanna had brought back before. After she gave it to Perfumer, Perfumer placed it inside the little room.
When Kanna saw that her gift had been displayed so prominently, she became even happier.
Before long, Perfumer entered carrying a box that was constantly giving off steam.
"This little room is also very suitable for Aromatherapy. Since Rosemary suggested it, let's begin here!" After saying that, Perfumer set the box down nearby and heated it with Arts from beneath. Before long, a gentle fragrance filled the entire room.
The three little ones rested their heads on the table, feeling the calm brought by the scent. The irritation built up from several straight days of studying and exams was completely swept away in that moment.
"What a peaceful sight..."
In the tranquil atmosphere, Perfumer smiled and quietly left the small room, leaving only the three little ones lying on the table with their eyes closed as they drifted into sleep.
By the time they woke up, it was already afternoon. Rubbing their slightly deflated bellies, the three said goodbye to Perfumer and skipped toward the cafeteria.
From afar, many of the veteran chefs in the cafeteria shuddered when they saw the three entering, leaving the newer chefs beside them utterly confused.
But when they saw that the head chef also wore a grave expression as though facing a formidable enemy, everyone else became nervous too.
Kanna poked her head in from outside the kitchen.
"Uncle, we're hungry! Is there anything to eat?"
Upon hearing Kanna, the head chef first trembled all over, then nodded rapidly.
"Kanna, do you want something to eat? No problem, we'll make it right away..."
After Kanna left, the head chef grabbed two newly arrived cooks. "Go next door and bring over all the food they didn't sell at noon."
"But don't we still have plenty here?" one of the newcomers asked in confusion, pointing at a pile of ingredients nearby.
With a gloomy expression, the head chef felt around in his pocket, only to find no cigarettes. He sighed. "A few months ago, I was merely the third chef in this kitchen. Until that day, when a dragon and a dog came to this cafeteria. I happened to be off that day, so I had no idea what happened. But when I came to work the next day, every chef in the kitchen had fallen ill. The head chef and second chef even gave up cooking and took up martial arts after that..."
Under the head chef's melancholy gaze, the few rookies fled outside in a panic.
Hearing their hurried footsteps, Kanna and the others turned curiously toward them. When those rookie cooks saw them turn around, they ran even faster.
"What's wrong with them?" Kanna asked in puzzlement.
"No idea!" Popukar lay on the table, fiddling with the little conch shell Kanna had given her.
Before long, those people came back inside carrying several large boxes of food. Kanna nodded, deciding that the chefs here were truly dependable. They knew she ate a lot and had even specifically gone to bring back ingredients. She would definitely come support them more often in the future.
Of course, if the head chef knew what Kanna was thinking, he would only kneel before her and beg her to support the other kitchens more. After all, those places were all staffed by veterans, while he was still a newcomer...
"Boss, there wasn't much food left next door either. There was only this nutritional meal they said Miss Pheobe made, and they still had lots of it. When they heard we needed food, they gave all of it to us."
The newcomers who returned carrying several large boxes happily reported to the head chef.
The head chef froze for a moment. "They say young dragons don't care about flavor when they eat. Perhaps this food could work."
Under the head chef's instructions, plate after plate of food was delivered to the dining table.
Considering that the other two at the table clearly did not look like they could eat that much, the head chef still had enough conscience to leave the nutritional meals until last. Only after the other two had eaten their fill, and while Kanna was still eating, did he bring the nutritional meals out one by one.
Looking at the increasingly bizarre food before her, Kanna glanced at the sweating head chef in the distance, then efficiently dumped an entire plate into her mouth.
Chapter 132: Dark-Skinned Beauty
Watching Kanna devour each serving of "Pheobe's Special Nutritional Meal" with astonishing efficiency, the head chef wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Kanna herself did not feel much about it. The taste was a little strange, but it was already far better than eating Originium slugs raw. Besides, after eating it, she felt like she gained a tiny bit more energy than from ordinary food.
Seeing Kanna eat so happily, Popukar curiously reached out and grabbed a strange-looking piece of food. The moment she stuffed it into her mouth, she began to frown. "Wah! Ptooey, it's so bitter! It tastes so weird, I feel like my whole body is becoming awful..."
After just one bite, Popukar's eyes spun in circles and she collapsed in total defeat, becoming the final casualty of the few remaining nutritional meals.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is an internal cleansing weapon secretly researched by Rhodes Island's Medical Department. It is made from seventy-seven times eighty-one different ingredients. Unless one possesses extraordinary willpower, eating it means certain death."
As she licked the sauce off her fingers, Kanna pointed at Popukar, who had fallen beside her.
Rosemary merely widened her eyes and nodded.
"Hey, hey, hey! They said Felines were curious, didn't they? Yet you're even less curious than the rabbit next to you!"
Rosemary merely blinked with an adorably blank expression.
"Forget it. Popukar, have some water. You won't feel weird after drinking water." Kanna poured a cup of juice at the counter nearby and brought it to Popukar's lips.
After drinking the juice, Popukar finally came back to her senses. She looked at the stack of plates beside them, and when she looked at Kanna again, it was like she was looking at a god. Being able to eat something that disgusting without changing expression was practically the definition of a god in a child's heart.
After their meal, Kanna brought everyone onto the deck. The weather was nice, so quite a few people were sunbathing there. When they saw Kanna and the others, they greeted them.
Kanna spotted Melantha as well. Beside her stood a pink muscular rabbit, Ansel, and a Perro whose one eye was filled with athletic enthusiasm.
Melantha was the first to greet her when she saw Kanna. "Kanna, long time no see!"
"Melantha, long time no see to you too. Judging by your complexion, you must be doing pretty well at Rhodes Island!" Compared to the delicate and frail appearance Melantha had when she first arrived at Rhodes Island, she now looked positively spirited.
Seeing Kanna looking at the teammates beside her, Melantha said, "These are Kati, Steward, Andchel, and Ansel. We've currently been assigned to Action Reserve Team A4."
"Hello, I'm Kanna."
As Kanna spoke, Kati curiously walked over, sniffed her, then stared at her in shock.
"You actually smell like Pheobe's nutritional meals! Don't tell me you ate that stuff!"
Kati was so shocked that she failed to control her volume, drawing over Action Reserve Team A1 from nearby.
"What, what? Someone likes my nutritional meals? I knew it! My nutritional meal combinations are so balanced, how could nobody like them... It must be your taste buds that are defective."
Walking at the front was Pheobe, the creator of those nutritional meals. Ifrit, Closure, Meteor, and Fen followed behind her.
After meeting the members of Action Reserve Team A4, both groups exchanged friendly greetings.
"It was me! Those nutritional meals tasted just a tiny bit strange, but they were still much tastier than the head of that madflower thing. They were only a little worse than Curious Eggs."
Kanna stood with her hands on her hips, looking immensely proud.
"Madflower? Curious Eggs?"
Everyone around her was full of question marks after hearing Kanna's words.
"They were things I ate when Kal'tsit and I went to Iberia before!" When Kanna spoke, several operators from Iberia nearby frowned. No matter how hard they thought, they could not remember any Iberian snacks with names as bizarre as "madflower" and "Curious Eggs."
Several Sargonian people among them felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity as they considered those two names.
"Let me tell you, the seafood along Iberia's coast was especially hospitable. The moment they saw you, they took you straight home, then all kinds of seafood came right up before you. Most of it tasted pretty average, but there was just so much of it! And their jellyfish sashimi was especially delicious..."
The more Kanna spoke, the more absurd everyone around her found it. How could there be food that took people to its own home and offered itself to them? It sounded entirely like a fairy tale from a child's imagination. Thus, most people turned their attention elsewhere.
However, a dark-skinned young man nearby stared intently at Kanna in an unusual manner, a deeply grave look appearing in his eyes.
He silently walked near Kanna. "My compatriot, may the deep sea bless the road ahead of you." (Sargonian)
When Kanna showed no reaction whatsoever, he moved closer. "My compatriot, the deep sea shall guide your advance." (Sargonian)
Since he kept getting closer while muttering incomprehensible words, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Kanna noticed his gaze and turned toward him. "Wow! A dark-skinned beauty!"
The people who had begun paying attention again because the young man had approached instantly burst out.
Even if they were looking at him from behind or the side, he was clearly a young man. Yet Kanna had immediately called him a beauty. How could the spectators possibly keep straight faces?
Even the young man who had approached with such vigilance froze. He had imagined many possible outcomes for their meeting, but this was entirely beyond his expectations.
"That is Mr. Thorns." Melantha, also an outstanding swordswoman, introduced him.
Thorns glanced at Melantha, nodded, then continued staring at Kanna. "Answer me, my compatriot. Has the sea brought a new mission?" (Sargonian)
"Give it up. Kanna doesn't understand Sargonian, and she hasn't been contaminated by the 'Sea Creatures.'" Kal'tsit's voice came from nearby.
She was standing beneath the bridge not far away. Above her, Warfarin had been hung up once again and was spitting at her with an unhappy expression.
"But Kanna said she ate those things, Dr. Kal'tsit!" Thorns still looked at Kanna with great seriousness.
"I know. But before we left Iberia, we were always with the Inquisitor. At the end, we even spoke with Saint Carmen himself. If Kanna had been contaminated by creatures from the sea, do you think she could have escaped my eyes and theirs?" Kal'tsit remained entirely unruffled, directly invoking Saint Carmen, the living faith in the hearts of Iberians, to explain.
After hearing Kal'tsit's words, Thorns's gaze toward Kanna softened.
Chapter 133: Eye of Thunder Punishment and Evil
"I trust that gentleman's judgment. My apologies, compatriot." (The latter sentence was in Sargonian.)
When he saw that Kanna still had no reaction, Thorns visibly relaxed.
Kanna turned to Kal'tsit. "What was he babbling about?"
"Nothing much. He was merely confirming a few things. Clearly, you passed his test." Kal'tsit waved her hand, and someone standing atop the bridge began working the rope below. Warfarin, bound up like a caterpillar, started swinging like a pendulum.
"Scout! Don't let me get my chance! I'll show you what real bloo— Aaaah! I'm going to hit it!" Only through Warfarin's screams did everyone notice that the person above was Scout.
Kanna glanced at the huge swing and felt a little eager to try it herself, but remembering why she had come out, she suppressed that urge.
She then recounted what had happened in Rock Bay Town. The listeners cried out repeatedly in surprise, and when they heard that the Sea Creatures had led the Great Beast in a massive assault on Rock Bay Town, even Thorns, who was eavesdropping nearby, involuntarily clenched his fists.
When they heard that Kanna and the others had successfully ruined the enemy's scheme, sent out Rock Bay Town's intelligence, and received word that reinforcements were on the way, they could not help feeling relieved.
Although he completely did not believe Kanna's later story about unleashing her full power, super-fusing her Sharingan into a Mangekyo Sharingan, then using Lightning Release: One-Finger Thrust to charge into the monsters' center before raising one hand to the sky and summoning resplendent divine lightning with Lightning Release: Kirin to frighten away the Great Beast, he still breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Rock Bay Town had ultimately repelled the attack and the townsfolk suffered almost no casualties.
At last, Kanna said, "After this battle, I realized there are still major gaps in my combat strength that need to be filled. So during this time, I thought and thought very hard. Finally, I developed a new move. How should I put it? It doesn't improve my individual combat power by much, but if I fight together with everyone, the more people there are, the stronger this move becomes."
Kal'tsit had originally been preparing to leave the deck and return to the Control Room to continue working. But when she heard Kanna had developed another new move that could provide powerful assistance to her teammates, she stayed out of curiosity.
Under everyone's watchful gaze, Kanna stood there, swung her hand, and shouted, "Thought Severance!"
As she swung her hand, a streak of lightning flashed across her fingers. Before everyone's eyes, it formed the shape of an eye in front of Kanna, then exploded with a boom. Its power was fairly respectable, roughly equivalent to a single strike from an Elite Operator, but compared to her other abilities, it was quite ordinary.
However, the instant the eye vanished, everyone discovered a dim purple halo behind each person around them. At the top of the halo was the very "eye" that had just disappeared before Kanna.
After noticing that everyone had gained a purple "eye" above and behind them, everyone was somewhat bewildered. The cleverer ones tilted their heads back to see whether they had one too, and the result was that every single person had this "eye" symbol above their head.
Seeing everyone's baffled expressions, Kanna nodded proudly and said,
"This is my new move—the Eye of Thunder Punishment and Evil. As long as everyone from Rhodes Island is not too far from me, they will gain this effect. The sign of receiving it is the Eye of Thunder Punishment and Evil symbol behind them."
Under Kanna's instructions, Melantha walked up to a target. She swung her sword at it, and at the instant her blade struck, the eye behind her flashed purple. A bolt of lightning, about as powerful as Kanna's previous attack, appeared from nowhere and instantly blew the target apart.
Only then did Kanna explain, "When companions with the Eye of Thunder Punishment and Evil attack, the Eye of Thunder Punishment and Evil behind them will assist in attacking the target. Its power is about the same as my earlier attack, so it should help everyone handle most situations where they lack sufficient firepower in battle."
After hearing Kanna's explanation, everyone's eyes lit up. When two evenly matched people fought, defeating the other could be troublesome. They needed repeated exchanges and probing before finding opportunities to win. But with the Eye of Thunder Punishment and Evil overhead, whenever they attacked, a bolt of thunder would appear from nowhere to supplement their damage—and that supplementary damage was far stronger than their actual attacks.
This meant that everyone accompanying Kanna on missions would need to expend less effort in battle and could devote more attention to defense and evasion.
Even Kal'tsit could not help nodding after seeing this effect. With such an Arts technique, Kanna could be even more useful in assault operations.
"Ahem! Don't get ahead of yourselves! I'm not finished yet!" Seeing everyone begin to find targets to test the power and activation frequency of the Eye of Thunder Punishment and Evil, Kanna shouted loudly, drawing their attention back.
Everyone was somewhat astonished. In their eyes, this was already an exceptionally perfect Arts technique. They had not expected Kanna to say it had other uses.
"Popukar, come here!" Kanna beckoned to Popukar, who was excitedly swinging her huge saw nearby and frightening everyone away from her.
"Okay!" Popukar planted the huge saw on the ground, then ran over to Kanna with thumping steps.
Once Popukar had reached her side, Kanna continued speaking to everyone around her.
"The effect of my Arts isn't that simple. Thunder, come!"
Kanna clenched her little hand, and the Eye of Thunder Punishment and Evil behind Popukar suddenly vanished. In Kanna's hand appeared something like a seed. Sharp-eyed operators noticed that the seed's appearance and the symbol engraved upon it were precisely the Eye of Thunder Punishment and Evil Kanna had mentioned.
Popukar was initially a little disappointed when the strange "eye" above her head disappeared, but Kanna handed her the tiny "eye" in her hand.
Holding the Thunder Seed Kanna had given her, Popukar tilted her head, not understanding what it was for.
After turning in a circle, Kanna pointed at Scout, who was squatting nearby watching the show.
"Popukar, imagine Scout is an enemy, then casually throw the thing in your hand at him, or use Arts to trigger it."
Scout had only come over to watch because he was curious about the Arts technique. He had not expected Kanna to tell Popukar to treat him as the target.
He instinctively sensed that something was wrong, then immediately rose and leapt backward.
Popukar did not think that much about it. Since Kanna told her to throw it, she decisively hurled the Thunder Seed in her hand.
The instant the Thunder Seed struck the ground, it suddenly exploded at the point where it landed.
Before you continue