After Tenta and Cornelia heard about the information, their reactions were different.

"Wow! One of my ancestors was a clergy of Ruvara. A very important one at that!" Cornelia thought with sparkling eyes. "She must have done a tremendous meritorious deed! I feel so honored... I wish I could be like her..."

Meanwhile, Tenta was having some different thoughts.

"Is this the reason why Cornelia has Innocent Soul?" Tenta bitterly thought. "Thank you for protecting her and her lineage, Ruvara, but you shouldn't have kept that perk. Really. I mean it. You Shouldn't have..."

Innocent Soul could be considered Cornelia's Achilles heel and a ticking timebomb. Take her mother as an example. Tenta didn't know how her mother died, but he bet half the reason was because of this perk. It is the type of perk he would expect from some holy fairy protected by a horde of forest monsters or a holy maiden protected by religious fanatics, not your average commoner or adventurer. This bloodline likely only survived because of literal plot armor.

While they were thinking, Kary commented, "Yeah, now that I look at you, you remind me of Callista."

"Who is Callista?" Cornelia asked.

Tenta was also intrigued.

"It isn't a secret. Callista was part of our heroic party and a cleric of Ruvara." Kary looked at the fireplace, wandering down memory lane. "She was a damn good one, too. She could have become a high priestess if she hadn't sacrificed herself during our battle against the Green King. Luckily, she already had a daughter, so her lineage was safe."

"Oh, wow... so my ancestor was a hero..." Cornelia's eyes sparkled. "I want to hear all about it."

{Eh... Yeah. Before that, I want to confirm one thing.} Tenta interjected. {Did that daughter have this pendant on her? And did she look strikingly similar to her mother and have Innocent Soul?}

"Now that you mention it... she did." Kary nodded. "I Didn't think about it, but yeah. She was also—"

"Kary, can you kindly shut up?" Fary coldly interjected, tearing her eyes from the schematics for the first time. Her eyes carried anger, bitterness, and a hint of hurt.

"Whoops... Fell to a pitfall there." Kary pursed her lips. "Sorry, kids. Storytime is over."

"Aw..." Cornelia made a pitiful face, but Kary didn't budge.

Meanwhile, Tenta sensed not one but two big secrets.

"That pendant likely preceded Callista... Which means Cornelia had an even more incredible ancestor. Perhaps she was on Fary and Kary's level or even above that, likely a chosen of Ruvara." He thought. "And why did Fary react so sharply about Callista's daughter but not Callista? Did something unspeakably horrible happen?"

Unfortunately, Tenta and Cornelia were fated not to know anymore tonight. Since she couldn't get any more information, Cornelia continued eating while wishing she could live up to her ancestor's glory. As for Tenta, he patiently waited.

By the time Cornelia finished eating, Fary stopped reading the schematics.

"Alright, I know what to do," Fary said, looking toward Cornelia. More specifically, she was staring at a particular consentacle staff.

{I need the materials.} She telepathically said.

{I know.} Tenta replied. {But please cooperate with me. I don't want Cornelia to know yet. It would shock her too much.}

{Alright, but hurry. I don't want to waste time.} She replied with a hint of impatience.

Tenta didn't reply but looked toward Kary. {Let's do it like we rehearsed.}

{Ah, finally.} Kary telepathically replied and then spoke. "Tenta, come here and help me a bit."

{Coming.} Tenta replied, intentionally letting Cornelia hear it as he floated over.

However, he didn't forget to target Cornelia as he purchased the bundle...

 

 

"... I have so much to retort on right now..."

Except for the alignment thing, which made sense considering it is Cornelia, the Compatible Concepts were... Weird. Love and Beauty were Ruvara-like, Passion, and Sexuality were Unera-like, and Transformation and Harmony were Vysanke-like. Only Life sounded neutral, but it also related to Ruvara's Fertility. And she also had a weird bloodline in the mix.

And then were the two ingredients. She had that weird bloodline in stock and a mortal-grade golden apple.

"Did Zeztris or another Wiseman get it after killing one?! Was it traded or donated? Or is it from a dungeon? And is that fake golden apple special? It is from a divine tree, so it makes sense to be Empyrean Grade... But why mortal? Is it because there is a transcendent version? Is this apple from a dungeon?" Tenta thought.

{Well, are you ready?} Kary asked, shaking him out of his thoughts.

{Yes. I'll take it out now.} Tenta said as he reached Kary.

And then he commanded in his mind, "Claim it now!"

Suddenly, a magic portal appeared on the ground as an enchanted chest emerged. It held a bluish-silver hue with an intricate and artistic design with magic circles inscribed. Any layman could tell it was not only expensive but also high-tier.

"Wow! What a beautiful chest!" Cornelia exclaimed from the bed, thinking Kary conjured it with magic.

Kary and Fary also looked at it with a studying look, but they hid it well, feigning calmness.

"Tenta, can you retrieve the items from the chest?" Kary requested. Not that she could take the items out herself.

{Of course.} Tenta replied and opened the chest. Inside it were four items: A vial of sparkling dust of all colors, Two Flasks, And a smaller box. All of them had clear labels.

After Tenta took out the items, the chest magically vanished.

"Wow... I wish I could do that someday..." Cornelia muttered.

Ignoring her, Tenta cooly picked up the items and handed them to Fary. {Here. The labels are on them.}

"Thank you. I will finish the mixture in two minutes." Fary nodded and turned to Cornelia. "Cornelia! Go sit over there." She pointed to the floor in the middle of the room.

"Yes, Master!" Cornelia reflexively replied and went to the spot.

Meanwhile, Fary was eyeing the ingredients brought to her. Her purple eyes with web markings widened in envy.

"Empyrean Grade Prism Crystal dust and Chaos Water, the blood of a progenitor hybrid divine race, and even a golden apple from the fabled Myriaphialta! Even if I want to price them, No one could evaluate their worth!"

Although these goods were not Transcendent, their rarity was enough to make them priceless.

For example, the Divine Tree, Myriaphialta, was created by the joined forces of Ruvara, Unera, and Vysanke as a sign of friendship, combining parts of their divine concepts. The tree is rooted between their three divine realms, Eoseolion, guarded by armies of their transcendent servants, Cupids, Lilitus, And Succubari. Chief among them is the Arconians, taking all the advantages of the three races and combining them into the embodiment of all three goddesses. And Grovekeeper Arconians are the caretakers of Myriaphialta, having the highest rank.

Eoseolion is a unique realm, embodying the laws of all three goddesses. Violence is not allowed inside, with all non-sexual damage being nullified. Those who wish to take one of the fruits of Myriaphialta must face armies of cock-hungry divine beings using only sexual means, which would inevitably drain any man or woman into husks. Because of that, there are two ways to get a fruit: Stealth or challenging. If you choose stealth, they will likely sense you and drain you to death. On the other hand, challenging them is a more lenient approach. If you beat the challenge, you get a one-time reward, but if you fail, you get energy-drained so hard you drop back to lvl 1 before getting kicked out to the mortal realm.

The only other way is to beat a dungeon themed after the three goddesses, but that is even more fatal!

Because of this, few ever dared and managed to get one of the fabled fruits by themselves, and the goddesses usually traded them for highly meritorious services rendered. And even those fruits were not the real deal, but the mortal variants.

Of course, even the mortal variants were priceless treasures! A single apple could extend the eater's lifespan by hundreds of years and make them eternally youthful, imperceptibly improving attractiveness, restoring fertility, and enhancing sexual prowess. It was also a powerful alchemical ingredient and ritual material.

"As expected of Zeztris... She is so generous to her Apostles..." Fary enviously thought.

Of course, she could only think that for a moment before making the circle mixture using the vial of prism crystal dust and two flasks of liquid, one containing water with changing colors and another with pink viscous liquid with golden specks.

It might sound simple on paper, but she had to ensure an even blend while preventing energy and material loss. However, with her experienced hands, she finished it in under a minute.

By the time she turned around, Cornelia sat cross-legged on the ground.

"Cornelia, enter meditation and don't move. I will handle the rest." Fary instructed.

"Yes, Master!" Cornelia replied and entered meditation.

Unlike before, when her mind got distracted by stray thoughts, her mind was incomparably clearer. At least she didn't have stray thoughts.

Without wasting time and letting the mixture dry, Fary waved her hand as the blend floated like a ball of liquid right above Cornelia. Then, hundreds of tiny liquid tendrils shot out from the ball, rapidly drawing a magic circle around Cornelia.

Within less than ten seconds, the circle was complete, and Fary opened the smaller box, a golden apple floating out, gently landing on a particular node in front of Cornelia.

As soon as the apple landed, Fary started chanting in an ethereal voice.

"Fuh'nante. Lumi'jab'oa. Hirensoy'ya..."

Tenta didn't even understand a single word. Those words were beyond ancient. However, he didn't ask anything, only staring as the magic circle around Cornelia began to react.

Glowing with a dim light, tendrils of ancient words snaked toward Cornelia, coiling around her and snaking into her clothes and on her skin. The golden apple began to shine as visible particles slowly floated toward her, absorbed little by little into her body. As the ceremony progressed, Cornelia slowly changed.

Her hair color changed from grey-white to pinkish-white hair. Her face was slowly adjusted, gradually becoming more and more beautiful, charming, angelic yet demonic and erotic. Her body grew taller, her moderate breasts visibly expanded under her dress, and her hips turned rounder and fuller. Several pink tattoos slowly etched themselves on the left side of her face, somehow complimenting her beauty and sensuality. And yet, with all of these changes, she somehow brought an air of serene calm and energy. 

"... What have I done?" Tenta looked in 'horror' at what his master was becoming. "I corrupted her!"

Soon, the apple and circle were gone, absorbed by Cornelia, her body silently adjusting. Her loose magic robes looked skintight now.

"It is done." Fary sighed. "She now just needs some time to adjust."

{Thank you, Fary.} Tenta sincerely said.

"Don't mention it. It is part of my duty as her master." Fary waved her hand. And then she sent a telepathic message. {And I should thank you for letting me perform this ritual. It isn't every day I get to work with such high-caliber ingredients and ceremonies.}

{I couldn't perform it without you, so let's call it even then.} Tenta said.

{Cheeky.} Fary smirked. {Fine, have it your way. We're even.}

At this time, Kary, who remained silent while watching Cornelia, interjected.

"Tenta, I think you will have a job soon." She said.

{What job?} Tenta asked, confused.

"You will see..." She mysteriously said with a smirk.

Several minutes later, Cornelia slowly opened her eyes, changing from lavender to pinkish-gold, as she received messages...