Chapter 715: A Wonderful Adventure With My Mother-in-Law!

As a chef whose skills could be described as nothing less than masterful, Lolth understood perfectly well that a cook’s emotional state during preparation could indeed influence a dish’s flavor profile.

Yet the principle should lie in how one’s mood affects concentration and technique – whether it introduces minor variances through increased or decreased operational precision. This logical chain held no connection whatsoever to "esoteric mysticism." At the very least, the phenomenon Miss Anno described shouldn’t exist!

The notion that emotions could directly impact culinary quality… even manifest peculiar taste characteristics… seemed utterly implausible to Lolth’s practical mind. Still, she recognized with crystalline clarity – the object of her search ought to defy conventional understanding. What value would there be in seeking divinity’s traces through mundane artifacts?

Lolth turned her gaze toward Anno, contemplation lining her features before she spoke again. "So this dream-derived recipe… it truly contains forces surpassing mere ‘extraordinary’ elements? Some fundamental… conceptual essence at work?"

She phrased it carefully, recalling her own tasting experience. Had there been supernatural components in that pie, her refined palate would have detected them instantly. Yet while memorably exquisite, the pastry remained firmly within mortal culinary achievement.

Anno responded with a paradoxical gesture – first nodding, then shaking her head. "Perhaps ‘special’ isn’t the right word for the recipe itself. Rather… since entering that vision…"

Her voice trailed off as she produced crackling papyrus sheets dense with handwritten annotations. "This records the formula – the parts expressible through language, at least."

Lolth’s eyebrows arched in surprise. "There are indescribable elements?"

"Precisely," Anno confirmed. "Another peculiar aspect I discovered. Though warned against sharing it, the secret guards itself. Potential thieves would find their efforts fruitless."

She traced a finger along the manuscript’s edge. "Certain steps transcend linguistic description – defying both Common Speech and Ryman Empire’s prophetic scriptures."

Accepting the parchment, Lolth cast a swift glance over the contents. Superficially, it appeared ordinary – meticulous baking instructions for pie crust and filling. Yet her heightened perception detected glaring omissions, like sheet music missing crucial measures.

"I sense… gaps in the narrative. This bears the hallmarks of divine craft."

She rubbed her nose absently, the ambient kitchen aromas suddenly intrusive to her concentration.

"Doubt holds no place here," Anno murmured, her voice harmonizing with the chamber’s classical melodies. "When my husband attained demi-god rank, that instant of touching the divine realm…"

Her eyes grew distant. "The ‘rule fluctuations’ and ‘Plane Will’ manifestations he described – those distortions even commoners sensed? They felt… nostalgic to me. Like revisiting childhood scents."

"It was exactly as I saw in my dream…"

Hearing the calm narration, Lolth sighed in response.

"So it’s true… Just as I suspected."

"That banquet-like dream… It truly does seem connected to me."

Here Lolth hesitated briefly.

"But since words can’t properly convey it, you’ve only transmitted the describable parts—the less crucial elements. That can’t be fully effective, can it?"

"To truly pass this ‘recipe’ to me, wouldn’t require some special method?"

As Lolth spoke, Ms. Anno shook her head gently.

"Not at all. I’ve shown this recipe to trusted individuals before, yet none perceived its incompleteness."

"For ordinary people, special means might indeed be necessary."

"But for you—no such measures are required."

Anno chuckled softly, the sound like windchimes.

"The moment you recognized its ‘missing’ parts… The transference had already completed."

Her fingers danced rhythmically across the table’s surface.

"Returning here after so long… How nostalgic."

"Though truthfully, I’ve only visited this place once before."

At these words, Lolth’s head snapped upward.

Her breath caught—

The pie shop had vanished completely.

They now stood before an endless banquet table spanning the world’s heart, its edges dissolving into infinity. The air hummed with savory aromas and lively melodies. Though boundaries eluded sight, distant silhouettes of lush vegetation softened the horizon, their vibrant essence lifting spirits effortlessly.

Upon the infinite table lay every delicacy imaginable—a testament to Lolth’s gastronomic imagination surpassing ordinary limits yet finding complete fulfillment here. Homestyle spicy-sour potato shreds sizzled beside dwarven rock-salt braised meats. French confit duck glistened near the Church of Light’s sanctified fish fillet communion. Most remarkably, dishes nearest mirrored Lolth’s recent favorites precisely—as if the table itself interpreted her desires.

"This… is where you came before?!"

Lolth’s voice trembled with dawning recognition.

"Indeed," Anno confirmed, wonder coloring her tone. "Here I obtained the pie recipe—a literal key to this realm."

"Now understand why this secret must be protected. The Church’s fabled Garden of Eden pales before this place’s allure. Yet that mere legend drives multitudes to lifelong piety…"

As Lolth spoke these words, she found herself forming a new inquiry.

"Wait, then when we arrived here…"

"In the pie shop, we merely fell asleep. This is the ‘dreamscape’,"

Anno responded, perceiving the unspoken question in Lolth’s eyes.

"For Isabella’s perspective, we both ‘collapsed unconscious’ simultaneously… I wonder if the child received quite the fright."

The playful undertone in Anno’s voice didn’t escape Lolth’s notice.

Neither showed concern about potentially startling Isabella… Particularly Lolth, who understood that becoming abruptly insensate might now be routine for the girl…

This realization shifted Lolth’s focus to another matter.

"So… Lady Anno, you’ve actually possessed free access to this place all along, haven’t you?"

At this question, Anno pressed her lips briefly before inclining her head in acquiescence.

"Indeed – this remained unspoken before—"

"After observing the alterations in both the ‘formula’ and myself, I discovered this faint yet persistent connection to this realm."

"It appears to be a form of compensation… While using provisions obtained here to grant blissful experiences to Heidegger and other cherished ones, there exists… a reciprocal balance."

"Much like A Qiu’s relationship with her ‘blade’, I find myself drawn ever nearer to these ‘culinary marvels’… Though fundamentally different from her assimilation process – where she became consumed, I experience more of… a gravitational pull."

Anno paused meaningfully before continuing.

"Speaking of which, gratitude is due… I presume you successfully resolved A Qiu’s predicament? As her companion, I rejoice that she escaped that tribulation… and avoided the fatalistic conclusion she’d envisioned."

Lolth dismissed the thanks with an airy gesture.

"Think nothing of it. Let us rather focus on your circumstances, Aunt Anno… Are these developments truly benign?"

"Nothing immediately perilous. My dabbling in arcane arts allows sufficient understanding… Severe consequences like hers won’t manifest, particularly since culinary arts and pastry-making remain dear to me."

Though Anno’s tone suggested nonchalance, Lolth detected hidden nuances.

"’Nothing immediately perilous’ implies lingering effects, does it not?"

"Precisely what I term ‘seduction’. Recall my earlier mention about how ‘anticipations’ and ’emotional states’ influence pie flavors?"

Anno gestured toward the lavish banquet table.

"Subsequent observations revealed that as I baked more frequently for Heidegger and Isabella – my most cherished – an intensified… yearning for this place grew within."

"Not merely the consumers, but the creator too derives joy from these confections…"

"Yet understanding this bliss’s origin fuels my compulsive desire to return here – seemingly innocuous, yet… profoundly dangerous."

"Eventually even Heidegger perceived my… peculiarities. I concluded temporary separation became necessary – to shield my loved ones from this allurement’s consumption, and prevent collateral harm."

"Shortly after my departure, that individual you mentioned appeared, offering fragmented explanations about these circumstances…"

Lolth suddenly winced as cerebral pressure pulsed through her temples.

"It’s… ‘Euphrosyne’!"

"This ‘seduction’ you experience, Lady Anno, stems from gastronomic-induced ‘rapture’ – a refined manifestation of the Plane Will shaped through ‘desire’ by this domain’s sovereign!"

"This is the Divine Kingdom of the Feast and Revelry Goddess… Bereft of its mistress, the Plane Will ‘Euphrosyne’ – once benign and pleasure-bestowing – now festers into corruption!"

"All who come into contact with it develop an irresistible yearning—or rather, a corruptive inclination!"

"And you, as the sole person to have entered this place in nearly a millennium… Your formula essentially serves as both key and catalyst. It represents not just access to this realm, but the potential to spawn cults and lure others into depravity! For this is the inherent nature of ‘desire’—once unleashed, such consequences inevitably manifest!"

Lolth’s words poured out in rapid succession, prompting Anno’s expression to shift to one of surprise.

"She grasped the general concept… but lacked your precise understanding."

"Precisely! Her knowledge is vast yet incomplete on this matter," Lolth exhaled deeply. "Thus, the only safeguard against personal corruption and global contamination lies in… awaiting the prophesied resolver of this crisis."

"She vowed such an individual would emerge within a decade or more… Correct?"

Anno inclined her head slightly.

"Indeed. Upon meeting you, I sensed you might be the chosen one she foretold…"

"Were this merely about resolving my predicament, I wouldn’t press further. But given your connection to Isabella, I address you now as her mother."

"Lord Lolth… What truly transpires here?"

The addressed noblewoman massaged her temples, her migraine having substantially subsided.

"Are you familiar with the current musical arrangement?"

At this unexpected query, Anno hesitated before shaking her head.

"Uncertain… A classical composition, pleasant to the ear. While versed in the genre, this particular piece eludes my recognition."

"The instrumentation, stylistic nuances, and technical execution all seem remarkably innovative. Entirely foreign to my experience."

Lolth released a protracted sigh at Anno’s assessment.

"Innovative scarcely suffices… This melody exists uniquely in creation, its name known solely to me."

"Serenade for Strings, Op.48: II. Waltz, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky…"

The foreign syllables rolled from Lolth’s tongue with practiced nostalgia.

Music from another realm—her ancestral homeland.

Tchaikovsky’s string serenade, its second movement’s waltz.

The banquet table laden with delicacies, the sudden influx of memories…

That haunting sense of déjà vu.

All coalesced into crystalline certainty.

"Madam Anno… I may bear responsibility for your prolonged separation from Isabella…"

"The truth appears inescapable—I am sovereign of this domain, ruler of the Banquet and Revelry Divine Kingdom…"

"The Goddess of Festivity and Ecstasy."

Her contrite declaration met stunned silence before Anno responded with measured headshakes.

"Assume no penitent air… These events clearly surpassed your governance."

"Should remorse truly move you, let it manifest through kindness toward Isabella henceforth."