Chapter 92: Yukina, who suffered repeated defeats.

The twilight, red like blood, hung over the old factory district.

The black smoke billowing from the smokestacks was like watercolor, sketching rough, coarse lines across the naturally red canvas.

Leaning on the window sill, propping her cheek on her elbow, Charlotte looked utterly bored, gazing at the splendid sunset in the distant sky.

In the kitchen, the clanking of a spoon against a wok and the sizzling of hot oil mixed together.

Yukina was busy preparing their dinner.

Although they could order takeout to satisfy the emptiness caused by hunger, Yukina didn’t want to be led by the nose by takeout, which, while convenient and fast, was completely devoid of emotion.

Moreover, she didn’t want to completely give up on cooking after just one failure.

So, at her insistence, she resumed her cooking efforts.

Rolling up her sleeves, she entered the kitchen, adding ingredients to the wok step by step according to the recipe.

However, a plan is never as fast as change.

Yukina, who was still unfamiliar with cooking and was at a beginner level, quickly became flustered by unexpected developments not written in the recipe.

“It’s so hot, so hot! My god, why is the oil splashing out?”

“The next step, what was the next step?”

“Am I supposed to add a spoonful of salt next? Wait, which of these two is the salt?”

Watching Yukina panicking in the kitchen, nearly choking on the cooking fumes, Charlotte couldn’t help but frown slightly.

‘Was all this effort truly necessary for a simple dinner?’

It felt as if Yukina wasn’t cooking a meal but wrestling with the ingredients.

Charlotte couldn’t help but feel nostalgic for her maid, Lillian.

Lillian’s cooking skills were top-tier, masterful. If she were here, the cooking wouldn’t be such a chaotic, heated affair, and she would be eating the world’s most delicious dinner.

Unfortunately, her cross-world magic had failed for some unknown reason. Unable to return to the other world, she was stuck living in the real world.

She wondered how Lillian was doing.

If she couldn’t go back, would Lillian be lonely forever?

Through Yukina’s relentless effort, a plate of garlic-stem-and-beef stir-fry, with a slightly disastrous presentation, was finally placed in front of Charlotte.

It looked like a battle-weary knight, surrounded by a horde of goblins, her clothes tattered but stubbornly holding on with gritted teeth.

That was Charlotte’s impression, as if the dish itself was emitting a sorrowful cry of humiliation.

Yukina, who had made the dish, stood proudly with her chest puffed out over her apron, looking confident as she stared down at the skeptical Charlotte.

“Alright, brother, try your little sister’s cooking!”

“Uh…”

Charlotte’s face showed difficulty.

The dish Yukina made exuded a very ominous aura, very similar to Master Chloe’s mushroom porridge.

“I need to use the restroom first!”

She tried to make an excuse to escape, but Yukina firmly held her down on the chair.

“No, brother, you’re not allowed to retreat! You have to properly try my dish! Otherwise…”

Under the pressure of Yukina’s strong will, Charlotte could only act like a docile little kitten, obediently picking up her chopsticks and stuffing a few garlic stems into her mouth.

“So soft…” Charlotte frowned, offering her impression.

“Isn’t soft good?”

“No, this kind of thing tastes best when it’s crunchy. Now it’s as soft as cotton candy and completely devoid of any bite. You cooked it for too long; you overcooked it, and some parts are even burnt.”

Yukina couldn’t help but look disgruntled.

“Even so, there’s still the beef! I put a lot of effort into the beef!”

Charlotte picked up a piece of beef and chewed it. Her face immediately showed a look of distress.

“The beef, conversely, is tough… How did you manage to make the thing that should be soft hard and the thing that should be hard soft?”

Charlotte glared at Yukina with disdain.

“Also, this sour taste… did you mistake balsamic vinegar for soy sauce?”

“Is my cooking really that bad?”

“Didn’t you taste it before serving it?” Charlotte was confused why Yukina had no self-awareness about this.

Yukina refused to believe it.

She picked up her chopsticks and took a small bite. The sour taste immediately made her cough twice.

“No way!”

“Well, it has many flaws, but this dish isn’t inedible. Compared to before, it’s an improvement.”

Charlotte gave Yukina a fair compliment, making Yukina abandon the idea of throwing away the undercooked dish.

“Is… is that so?” Hearing Charlotte’s praise, Yukina subconsciously looked away, a hint of shyness on her face. “Well, since you said so, brother, we’ll settle for this dish for now! But I won’t make it like this next time! I will definitely cook the perfect meal to amaze you!”

“Alright, alright, keep up the good work!” Charlotte replied perfunctorily.

Following that, the two began their not-so-delicious dinner.

Although Yukina’s garlic-stem-and-beef stir-fry was questionable, not all the ingredients were cooked disastrously.

Some were just right.

Charlotte used her chopsticks to pick up a few of the perfectly cooked garlic stems.

Seeing their green luster, she was reminded of the young man she had encountered at noon today.

That man was the culprit who led to Xiaoxi’s corruption.

Although Xiaoxi had recovered thanks to Charlotte’s intervention, the culprit was still at large.

The fact that the man could use magic meant he was originally from the other world.

But for some reason, he was terrified of her and fled the moment he saw her, talking about taking revenge for a twenty-year-old grudge, as if she were his persistent nightmare.

But whether in the real world or the other world, she hadn’t been born twenty years ago. How could she be the reason for his desire for revenge?

Perhaps the guy was mentally unstable and mixed up the timeline.

After all, no matter how capable she was, she couldn’t go back twenty years to beat that guy up.

If that were the case, had she done something in the past to give a guy like that a terrifying psychological shadow?

Seeing Charlotte staring blankly at the garlic stems she held, Yukina, who was sitting across from her, couldn’t help but ask.

“What’s wrong, brother? Why are you staring off into space? Is my food that bad?”

Hearing Yukina’s question, Charlotte, who was trying to recall the past, snapped back to reality and quickly stuffed the food she held into her mouth.

“No, I was just thinking about something. I was thinking about the mastermind who corrupted Xiaoxi. That strange man! I’m trying to figure out how to arrest him and make him pay the price he deserves!”

“Oh? Is there anything strange about that guy?”

Yukina was confused.

Charlotte had chased after him with a serious expression that said, “I found you!” but came back empty-handed shortly after.

How strong must that guy be to escape the strongest Star Witch in the other world? Was he The Flash?

“He said he would definitely get his revenge for the grudge from twenty years ago, and that he’d let me be smug for a few days.”

“Twenty years ago?” Yukina looked astonished. “You hadn’t even been born twenty years ago, and our parents weren’t even married yet. What revenge is he talking about? Are you sure you didn’t mishear? Did he really say twenty years ago?”

“Hmph, I’ll let you be smug for a few days! I’ll get my revenge sooner or later!”

Charlotte held up the phone with the memory playback still on the screen, showing the man’s triumphant face as he vanished into the void rift. Charlotte shrugged slightly.

“Even if I misheard, Memory Magic doesn’t lie.”

“Is that so? Then he must be a complete lunatic.”

“Seeking revenge on you? Anyone with eyes can see you’re an underage child. You didn’t even exist twenty years ago. What revenge is he talking about?”

“Right, right, you think so too, Yukina!”

“Speaking of which, the way that guy suddenly disappeared, was that magic too?”

“Yes, that was the cross-world magic I used to return from the other world…”

Charlotte paused slightly, then added, “…Probably.”

“Why the uncertainty?”

“Well, I just learned that spell. I don’t know if the spell he used has the same function as mine. Maybe it was just a low-level Space Magic, using a void rift to achieve spatial movement.”

“I can’t believe there’s magic that even my brother doesn’t know. Are you really the strongest witch in the other world, brother?”

“Of course, I am! I defeated the formerly strongest witch to get the title of Star Witch.”

“It’s not an exaggeration to call me the strongest witch now!”