Cecil waved her hand, and a vine sprouted out from the tree branch, cascading down to the ground. She had been wandering aimlessly in the misty forest for ten minutes or so, and in order not to get lost, she had to make her own landmarks. She also knew having a radar was too good to be true, other than the time limit, the range of the radar was ridiculously limited. 

Studying the basics of medicine, Cecil started to assess her current state and she sighed heavily. She was still as exhausted as before, lacking proper rest, as much as she wanted to save the points and use her elemental powers to sense for any flora around the area, she needed to conserve energy. 

Using her powers to grow vines from the trees to make her own landmarks was the only energy she could spare. If she were to collapse, leaving Hana alone to take care of three people was too much. 

Not only that, the adrenaline from earlier had worn down and she could feel her body aching everywhere, particularly her right arm and wrist which Zeau had injured pretty badly. She looked down at her wrist that was starting to swell badly. 

There’s nothing broken, but my wrist is definitely sprained. 

Cecil walked forward a few more steps, leaning against the trunk of the tree as she withdrew a bandage from her storage ring. She started to wrap it gently around her swollen wrist, sighing to herself. 

This was all she could do now, and she had to remember not to put any strain on her wrist. 

She lifted herself off the trunk and she trudged onwards, finally, a notification of a flora nearby popped out in front of her.

[ Beep! There is an alert from the radar!
A flora has been detected nearby. ]

Cecil looked down at the radar in her left hand. It was a circular, metallic object like a modern-day compass with a holographic image of something scanning the area, a green dot blinking more than three metres away from her.

She trudged on, as long as it was a flora that can be used, she couldn’t be bothered what it was. 

***

There was a small clearing in the woods, and Cecil found a group of flowers rooted in the ground. Within the misty forest, seeing these flowers seem out of place yet the flowers seemed to be dancing to the slight breeze that blew by. 

Crouching down, she observed the flowers in front of her with a tiny smile. “You guys really do grow down here, somehow.” 

The flower, Surolet, came as a trio in different colours; blue, green and yellow. Its petals were circular and there was a swirling pattern on the petals. If one looked at it long enough, they could feel their head start to spin. 

Fortunately, for this pretty flower, the lazy author had put in effort to name it, somewhat. 

“Just as I expected, you aren’t fully grown either.” Cecil sighed heavily.

No matter how much I try to conserve my energy, I still have to use it in the end. 

At least, this flower is an ingredient that I need.

For once, Cecil was thankful for the world that the lazy author has created. The herbs and flowers here were effective and the uses of the plants were more applicable. In a way, she understood why healers were important in the mortal world. 

I wonder if healers work in the same way in the heavenly and demon realm. 

Cecil contemplated, she assumed she knew everything there is to know about this world since she read the novel. However, the longer she stayed here, the more she realised that what she knew was just a bare minimum or maybe, even completely wrong. 

Though this world was written in a novel, it was still a world of its own. 

A world...waiting to be explored. 

Cecil stared at the flower, still crouching and smiled slightly to herself. 

Somehow, the thought of exploring what the world has to offer makes Cecil tingle in excitement. Nevertheless, she found it amusing that her thoughts were drifting in such a manner and how she found something so simple, so exciting. 

No...maybe it has been like that for quite a while now, but I hadn’t realised it. 

She had been travelling around with Hana and Xue, to help them and ensure their happy endings. However, along the way, she had discovered more and more things about this world, the people she had met, she had started to enjoy it...for her own sake. 

“Well, this isn’t the time for me to wonder about this now,” Cecil murmured to herself, shaking her head. “I have to--ah!” 

Cecil winced, she had used her right hand unconsciously, feeling a strain in her wrist. She switched to her left hand immediately and hovered it over the flower, eventually, the flower began to bloom right before her eyes, the petals expanding. 

Seeing the swirling pattern in the petals becoming more prominent, Cecil blinked rapidly and a second later, she was done growing the flowers. She stared at them for a moment, before reaching forward to pull them out from the ground. 

This was her first time uprooting a flower, and since Cecil had an affinity with the nature elements, she felt a little sad. 

“Sorry, I need to take you away to help my friends.” 

The Surolet didn’t respond, still continuing to make Cecil’s mind spin with its swirly petals.

She shook her head as she chuckled. “What am I doing, talking to flowers?” 

Nevertheless, Cecil felt better, as if she had apologised for being disrespectful for the ecosystem here. 

***

Hana huffed, dusting her hands as she beamed to herself. It was a lot of hard work setting up the area to become a makeshift kitchen, though it was a bare minimum of what a kitchen would be. A large pot, the campfire that Cecil set up and a makeshift stand for the pot to be placed on, and she had even brought knives. 

Hana hummed to herself, an opened book laying beside her as it showed the recipe for a stew. Alas, she lacked some ingredients for the stew and she could only use the current ingredients she has with her. She busied herself with cooking the stew, preparing and chopping ingredients swiftly, the cooking sessions she had in the academy had improved her cooking significantly. 

Of course, she was far from being a master at cooking but at least, she was on the way there...and at least, she was enjoying the process.

The fragrance of the stew eventually drifted out from the cave, and if there were any fauna in the area, they would have surely popped out by now. 

***

[ Beep!
Time remaining left for radar: 9 hours ]

Cecil gasped quietly, she hadn’t realised she had been out for such a long time gathering herbs and flowers. She had taken breaks in between the process of searching, but she did not keep track of the time. She searched through her storage ring, nodding to herself at the herbs and flowers she had gathered. 

To her surprise, the area here despite the lack of sun and animals, the flora managed to thrive down her by some miracle. Albeit, it wasn’t much, it was still enough for Cecil to collect and make a herbal mixture. The herbal mixture would at least help her two “patients” in their recovery, and that was all she needed. 

She turned, picking up her pace and making her way back by following the vines she had summoned herself. 

***

Hana herself was immersed in her own cooking and she snapped out of her daze when she realised a long time had passed, and Cecil still wasn’t back. She pouted to herself, staring out at the cave entrance, not seeing the shadow of a raven-haired woman. 

She turned to the two men still unconscious on the ground and the stew that was finally ready in her pot, and she had even prepared four individual bowls that Cecil had brought out from her storage ring earlier. She turned back to the entrance, furrowing her eyebrows and she headed to the entrance. 

She brought her head up and down, peeking left and right. Just then, a raven-haired woman appeared from the trees, and Hana brightened up, bouncing towards Cecil.

“Cecil, you are finally back!” 

“Sorry, Hana, I was too caught up in finding the herbs that I need.” 

“As long as you are okay--oh my god, your wrist!”

Cecil lifted her wrist up, smiling. “It’s fine, it’s just a sprain and I have to not put any strain on my wrist.” 

“How did you hurt your wrist?” Hana questioned sadly. 

“Let’s go in first, Hana.” Cecil suggested.

“Okay…”

The two ladies walked into the cave.

***

Cecil started explaining to Hana about how her wrist was injured from the fight earlier, but she only noticed it after the adrenaline died down, the fire crackling in the background. Cecil started to take out the herbs and flowers she collected from her storage ring, along with a small pot, somehow thankful that Hana really threw everything into the storage ring. 

“Do you have any water, Hana?” 

“Here you go!” 

“Thanks.” 

She threw the herbs and flowers into the pot, one-third of it filled with water, placing the pot over the fire to let the herbs simmer. 

After which, the two of them finally started to dig in into their meals. It was then Cecil sighed heavily, realising that her sprained wrist was her dominant hand and she held the spoon awkwardly in her left hand. 

“I wished I had sprained my left wrist instead.” 

Hana stopped eating, bringing her head up as she witnessed the pitiful scene of Cecil trying to eat awkwardly. “Oh no…” 

“I guess I can just swallow it down.” Cecil shrugged.

Hana paused for a moment, before beaming brightly. 

“Wait, Cecil!” Hana hurriedly gobbled her food, her speech slightly muffled. “Let me feed you instead!” 

Cecil paused, putting her bowl down and she smiled slightly. “Feed me?” 

“If Xue was awake, he should be the one feeding you! But since he can’t,” Hana huffed, patting her chest, and it was an adorable sight. “I’ll do it!” 

Cecil laughed softly. “What?” 

Hana finished her meal quickly, scuttling closer to Cecil and she picked up the bowl. She scooped a mouthful of stew that she made, bringing it close to Cecil’s mouth. 

“Ah!” Hana beamed brightly, gesturing for Cecil to open her mouth.

Cecil laughed again. “It’s okay, Hana, I will just drink it down like soup, you don’t need to feed me.” 

Hana shook her head, making a noise of disapproval. “You are going to spill all over, you...you will waste the stew I made! And dirty yourself even more!” 

“Alright, alright!” Cecil laughed again, opening her mouth and eating the stew that Hana fed her. 

She tasted the stew in her mouth, it was flavourful and for the little amount of ingredients Hana had, Cecil was surprised she managed to make it taste like beef stew. Cecil swallowed the stew, feeling the smooth and thick texture of the stew. 

“Hana, this is delicious!” Cecil complemented with a smile, her eyes wide in astonishment. “How did you make it so delicious with so little ingredients? I remember you cooked something like that back at the academy, and it wasn’t this good!” 

“Hehe!” Hana giggled proudly. “It’s the spices and the broth that I brought over, you see…” 

Hana started to explain how she cooked the stew, her face lighting up in glee as she fed Cecil. Meanwhile, Cecil ate the stew that Hana fed her, listening to Hana as she nodded along, adding in some comments and questions along the way. 

Despite their grim circumstances of the two men laying beside them unconscious, one of them heavily injured while the other in an unknown condition, the two ladies were still smiling as they chatted and ate with one another. 

Cecil laughed heartily at something Hana said, and Hana giggled in embarrassment. 

“You did that, really?” 

“I...I didn’t know! It was only when I tasted my cooking again that I realised it…” 

The two ladies continued their animated conversation, not noticing that a certain copper brown-haired man had awoken. Although, his movements were quiet, thus the two of them were not to blame for not noticing K’xug waking up. 

K’xug sat up, staring at the two women talking happily with one another as if they were long-time friends. He recalled a memory of him guarding Hana within the shadows, since Xue told him to keep her company. Sadly, Xue had been skipping out on many meetings with Hana due to the duties of being a descendant of a Supreme God. 

Hana was staring at a couple of female angels chattering and tittering, having a good time amongst themselves. He could see it in her eyes that she was envious of their friendship, and that she desired something like that. 

Camaraderie.

K’xug wore a tiny smile. 

...to think it was someone like this that she could connect with. 

Someone neither a demon or an angel.

Good for you, Hana. 

K’xug pushed himself up and he silently approached the two ladies who were still immersed in their conversation, bending down and grabbing a bowl for himself. He reached forward for the spoon in the pot, stirring the stew. 

“Woah!” 

“Oh my god!” 

The two ladies let out a startled yelp, and Hana almost spilled the bowl that she was still feeding to Cecil. 

***

《 start 》

What are you doing? 

Wah! 

Hana let out a small shriek, recoiling back and almost falling from her seat. 

K’xug reached out to stabilise her, blinking curiously at Hana. 

Hana pouted, her hand flying to her chest. 

K’xug! You...you always scare me like that! Appearing out of nowhere! 

K’xug shrugged at Hana.

Why are you just staring at them? You are not going to talk to them?

K’xug glanced at the group of angels huddled together as they chatted and tittered away happily. They were up in the heavenly realm in the garden of the palace, the revitalizing scent of the flowers and trees surrounded the humongous garden. The vibrant flowers and willowy trees added on to the bright atmosphere.

Mhmm...not going to talk to them.

Why? You clearly want to.

A trace of sadness flitted past Hana’s blue eyes. 

The female angels around the heavenly realm seem to not like me much. 

Why?

Hana shook her head, lacking the usual lively tone in her voice. 

I...I do not know, it’s always hard to talk to them. 

Have you tried talking to these angels then? 

No…

K’xug raised his eyebrows, gesturing at Hana to go ahead and try. 

Hana huffed, nodding to herself. 

Okay, I’ll try again this time. I’ll go! 

K’xug watched as Hana jumped down from the porcelain chair and jogged her way to the female angels. 

The moment she reached there, she announced her presence with an ecstatic smile and a huge wave, naturally joining in their group. However, the amicable atmosphere only lasted a few moments before a few of the female angels made faces at Hana, giving her the cold glares. 

Soon, the angels left, leaving Hana behind alone. Though some threw her pitiful glances, they didn’t make a move to leave the group. 

Hana sighed to herself, as if accustomed to such a cold treatment and she trudged back over to K’xug’s side. 

I knew it, they do not like me either.

K’xug was silent the entire time, not knowing what to say. 

I wonder why they all do not like me, did I do something wrong? 

The atmosphere took a turn, and K’xug could sense how upset Hana was. 

All of a sudden, Hana inhaled deeply and slapped her cheeks harshly. 

Okay, no more! It isn’t that bad anyway, nothing to be sad about! It’s okay, it’s okay! 

K’xug was shocked by Hana’s actions.

The red-haired angel turned to him, back to her lively self with a smile back on her face. 

Xue is not coming today either?

...yes.

So you are here again to keep me company?

K’xug nodded. 

Then, let’s go to the heavenly forest! I want to see some animal spirits there!

K’xug stiffened, but his face did not show any emotion. 

...how about another place? 

Eh, why? You don’t like animals?

I am neutral to them. 

Then what is it? Something bad in the forest? 

Nothing bad there.

Then what? Nothing bad, and you are okay with animals...ah! Are you scared of them? 

...no. 

Is it rabbits?

No.

Is it foxes?

No.

Is it dogs? 

No.

Is it birds?

No.

Then what is it? What is it?! 

Hana started to hop around K’xug like a bunny, firing her questions away as he answered all her questions with nonchalance. 

Is it cats? Is it tigers? Is it monkeys? 

No.

Come on, tell me, tell me! 

K’xug glanced at Hana with a solemn look. 

Hana only blinked innocently at him. 

…

...sorry, Hana.

Ah?

For telling you to talk to them. I never expected...even among their own kind, they would still discriminate. 

Hana shook her head as she made a noise, flashing a wide smile at K’xug. 

It’s okay, K’xug, it’s not your fault.

For a moment, K’xug looked at Hana in a different light. He assumed that the angel that his friend had taken an interest in was simply too naive and too kind for her own good, and too ignorant. 

If his friend were to take his angel as his partner, it would do neither of them any good. 

...but now, K’xug realised Hana could have chosen to be naive to protect herself from getting hurt by people and her own thoughts.

Ah, a pretty butterfly! 

Hana skipped off, chasing after the butterfly in the garden. 

…...

K’xug almost wanted to smack himself in the forehead for thinking that Hana was an intelligent person for a moment. 

So, K’xug, which animal are you scared of? Which is it, which is it?!

Hana turned, hollering her question at K’xug as she continued chasing the butterfly. 

K’xug sighed in resignation. 

None of them.

Hana looked back at K’xug as she giggled. 

Okay, fine, I believe you! Then...let's go to the marketplace! Are you okay with that?

-- Path to the Supreme God

《 stop 》