novelraw Chapter 223: Devouring and Rules
Chapter 223: Devouring and Rules
Rasmodius saw Leon’s expression and couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile. “So, how do you plan to make it up to me? After all, the tea you drank was meant for my guest.”
“How about I brew you another cup?” Leon asked tentatively.
“Do you have any tea leaves?” Rasmodius countered.
“No, but you do,” Leon replied with a grin.
“None left. I’ve run out,” Rasmodius shook his head. “So you’ll have to find your own solution.”
“Other than green tea, does your guest like anything else?” Leon asked.
“Starfruit Tea,” Rasmodius answered.
Hearing that name, Leon froze. He had heard of Starfruit Tea before—Gus had mentioned it—but he had only ever heard of it. He didn’t even know what it actually looked like.
“Don’t make things difficult for the boy, Rasmodius.”
While Leon was still dazed, a very familiar voice rang in his ears. Following the sound, he saw a familiar figure.“Welwick?!”
A blue hood and wizard’s robe embroidered with wavy patterns. Thin hands held a crystal orb. Though the face looked young, it somehow carried a kind, benevolent air.
It was the fortune teller Welwick, the very same Leon had seen on channel 7777.
“Looks like you remember me quite well—recognized me at a glance,” Welwick said with a smile when she heard Leon call her by name.
“But you’re not here to ask about your fortune today, are you? Is it because you already know the elves haven’t been too fond of you lately?”
“Oh, my luck’s been bad lately?” Leon asked instinctively.
“Seems you didn’t know. I thought you might have a knack for divination. What a pity,” Welwick sighed, then sat down in a new chair Rasmodius had somehow prepared for her without Leon noticing.
“Uh, it seems I’ve come at a bad time. Should I come back later?” Leon asked, glancing between the two.
“I’m just here to catch up with Rasmodius. You’re a guest too, no need to avoid us,” Welwick said, beckoning Leon over.
“Sit down. You must have something to ask me. Are you willing to leave empty-handed?” Rasmodius added.
“All right.” Since neither host nor guest minded, Leon sat down and nodded politely to Welwick.
“You go first,” Rasmodius prompted.
“Okay.” Seeing Welwick’s curious expression, Leon didn’t stall. He recounted his recent sea voyage.
He focused on the part about Old Hans swallowing the Starfruit and turning into a Giant Python, and even produced his sailing log as proof.
“A fellow who ate a Starfruit and became a Child of the Wilds, huh? Interesting. Welwick, what do you think?”
Stroking the beard on his chin, Rasmodius passed the question to Welwick.
“What do you expect me to think? He must have eaten a cursed Starfruit. Leon mentioned a witch was involved—don’t you already know the pattern with witches?” Welwick retorted.
Leon wanted to ask how Welwick knew his name, but with the two of them talking, he quietly stayed put, playing the role of a silent spectator.
“Let’s set that aside for now,” Rasmodius said, coughing lightly to change the subject. “According to Leon, the witch was eaten. Do you believe that?”
“A man-made Child of the Wilds eating a witch? That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard all week,” Welwick said to Rasmodius. “Since when did you get so long-winded? If you have something to say, just say it.”
“I was hoping you’d do the honors,” Rasmodius said helplessly, then turned to Leon.
“This kind of thing isn’t rare in the magical world. Every year, some poor fool gets tricked by a witch into becoming her test subject. Don’t worry about it—someone will be sent to hunt down that law-breaking witch.”
“That’s not my concern. What I want to know is whether what’s written in the sailing log—that someone can grow stronger by devouring a person who’s eaten a Starfruit—is true,” Leon said quickly.
“Oh, that. Yes, it’s true,” Rasmodius nodded. “Such cases do exist.”
“Then doesn’t that mean I’m in danger?” Leon frowned. “Aside from monsters, I’ll have to watch out for shady people too.”
“You don’t need to worry. One Starfruit isn’t enough to make you worth targeting. You’d have to eat at least three before anyone would consider you worth the trouble. There are too many single-Starfruit eaters out there—it’s nothing special,” Rasmodius said dryly.
“Then who figured this method out?” Leon asked.
“Monsters. They can’t eat Starfruit themselves, but they want its power, so they experimented. This was one of the methods they discovered. It only works the first time and can be used by both monsters and humans,” Rasmodius explained.
“What’s interesting,” Welwick added, “is that monsters are the ones who mostly use it. Humans can just eat Starfruit directly, so they have no reason to go to such extremes.”
“But if you say humans can use it, that means some have tried before, right?” Leon asked.
“Yes. Someone did it once—and succeeded. That’s why I say it works for humans too,” Rasmodius said.
“There must have been a cost,” Leon pressed.
“The cost was that he went mad. Yoba stripped him of his human identity and made him a monster,” Welwick said.
“Yoba personally stripped him?” Leon froze.
“It’s a rule Yoba set. You don’t need to understand it right now. Just know that no human will bite you for your Starfruit power,” Rasmodius reassured him.
If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider supporting my work on (www./RomayStories) so I can keep bringing you faster and higher-quality translations. Every bit of support helps keep the story going!