Chapter 23: Is it funny that I got poisoned from drinking mushroom porridge?

A few minutes ago.

The full moon hung in the sky, its bright light pouring down onto the forest below.

In the clearing between the trees, Chloe was sitting by a bonfire, simmering a pot of delicious mushroom porridge.

“Perfect, the taste is great! Little Charlotte, we can enjoy this delicious mushroom porridge in two more minutes!”

Little Charlotte, sitting opposite Chloe, wore a look of disdain.

“Why do we have to stay overnight in such a creepy forest?”

They were less than a hundred kilometers from the next city. If they just pushed a little harder and kept flying, they would reach the city in under two hours and enjoy a wonderful night’s sleep at a cost-effective inn.

‘Wouldn’t that be much better than being bitten by mosquitoes in this eerie forest?’

Although Chloe had set up a magic barrier to ward off large beasts, the barrier was completely ineffective against weak but annoying mosquitoes.

“This atmosphere is perfect for a picnic! Plus, there are so many delicious mushrooms growing nearby. It would be a waste not to use them for porridge.”

Chloe explained.

Little Charlotte’s gaze fell on the pot of mushroom porridge that was almost done simmering. The mushrooms inside were all sorts of vibrant colors, and large bubbles were constantly rising from the pot.

She couldn’t help but wonder if Master Chloe was cooking porridge or brewing a potion.

“Are these mushrooms really safe to eat?”

“Don’t worry, little Charlotte. The mushrooms your Master carefully selected are definitely fine. Just eat it without any fear!”

“It’s because you selected them that I’m even more worried! Why didn’t we just push on and fly to the next city?”

“That’s because no inn would let this big guy wander around and cause trouble.”

Chloe pointed to the straw doll that was lumbering around in the woods behind little Charlotte.

Looking at the straw doll, which had grown to be larger and more muscular than a grown man, little Charlotte couldn’t help but frown.

“So, how did that thing grow so huge? Doesn’t it not need to eat? Why is it growing faster than a pig?”

Just a month ago, it was a palm-sized cutie, and now it had grown into a giant simpleton that would scare the wits out of anyone on the street.

“Well, it’s enduring all the pain from your body. The more pain it accumulates, the more its container swells. It’s only natural for it to get this big!”

“Hey, is it going to explode eventually?”

“We just have to dispose of it before it breaks!” Chloe said, sounding like a heartless capitalist.

“Master, you are truly a sinner!” little Charlotte exclaimed.

At this moment, the delicious mushroom porridge was ready. Chloe immediately scooped a bowl and handed it to little Charlotte.

“Alright, the mushroom porridge is ready! Little Charlotte, hurry and try your Master’s cooking!”

Little Charlotte subconsciously took the bowl of mushroom porridge.

The next second, the straw doll, which had been wandering in the forest behind her, let out a painful cry of “It’s hot… it’s hot…” and started running wildly around a large tree.

Little Charlotte instantly felt that she herself was a sinner, constantly adding to the burden of the straw doll.

Looking at the bowl of mushroom porridge, which looked like a picture from a hell scroll, little Charlotte couldn’t help but frown.

However, seeing her Master pick up a bowl of the porridge and happily drink it, little Charlotte suddenly felt that whether the porridge was poisoned or not was no longer important. Even if it was poisoned, Master Chloe would suffer along with her.

So, she took a shallow sip and was surprisingly delighted to find that the mushroom porridge was genuinely delicious.

“Wow, the mushroom porridge Master made is too good!”

“I told you so, didn’t I? Drinking this porridge is a beautiful thing!”

It seemed little Charlotte was completely numbed by the delicious flavor of the mushroom porridge. She began to rapidly slurp down the entire bowl of porridge and then, still wanting more, handed the empty bowl back to Chloe.

“Master, another bowl!”

“Alright, alright. Little Charlotte, your appetite is excellent today!”

They failed to notice that the straw doll nearby was now kneeling on the ground, constantly muttering complaints like, “My stomach hurts… My stomach hurts… I’m at my limit… I can’t take it anymore…” Its body slowly swelled up as if it were being injected with water, and a terrifying, murderous glare began to appear in its eyes.

Just as Chloe scooped up another bowl of mushroom porridge and was about to hand it to little Charlotte, the straw doll in the forest suddenly let out a howl that echoed throughout the entire forest.

Hearing the scream, both Chloe and little Charlotte were startled. They looked in the direction of the noise with expressions that screamed, “Holy shit, what the hell was that sound?”

Upon seeing the scarecrow that stood up and resembled a Gundam, little Charlotte immediately showed a look of terror.

“My goodness! How did this scarecrow suddenly grow so big?”

“Star Wrath has gone berserk!” Chloe immediately stood up, pulled out her magic wand, and shielded little Charlotte behind her. “I didn’t expect it to reach its limit so quickly. I thought it would last a few more days.”

“Eh? What do we do now?”

“We have no choice but to forcefully destroy it.”

Chloe raised her wand, aiming at the head of the super-sized straw doll.

“Holy Magic—Holy Light Bullet!”

In an instant, a ball of light flashed from the tip of her wand and shot quickly toward the straw doll’s head.

However, the straw doll didn’t even attempt to dodge, and the light ball completely missed, grazing its ear.

“Huh?”

Realizing she had missed, Chloe immediately cast a consecutive volley of Holy Light Bullets. Several blasts shot toward the straw doll.

But she missed every single time; all of them grazed past its body.

“Master, where are you even shooting? Why can’t you hit it once?”

“That’s strange. I was clearly aiming for its head!” Chloe began to doubt her own marksmanship.

“The head? Wait a minute,” as if realizing something, little Charlotte quickly ran to the front of Chloe and held up one finger for her to see. “Master, what number is this?”

“Three! Why?”

Hearing this answer, little Charlotte’s face turned ashen.

Undoubtedly, Master Chloe was completely intoxicated and couldn’t see anything clearly. Everything she looked at was doubled.

And the reason she had become like this must be related to the mushroom porridge she had cooked.

But the strange thing was that little Charlotte had also drunk it, yet she was perfectly fine.

“Master, do you know you’ve been poisoned?”

“Poisoned? How is that possible? I feel perfectly lucid right now! It’s just that this thing has mastered the Shadow Clone Technique. My long-range magic is useless against it. But it’s fine; my close combat skills aren’t bad either!”

Master Chloe was still being stubborn. She waved her wand, and the wand immediately transformed into a long ice blade. Holding the ice blade, she charged toward the straw doll.

Then, little Charlotte watched with wide eyes as Master Chloe was casually swatted away by the straw doll and sent flying into a nearby bush, where she lay motionless.

“Master!”