Due to Wang Xiaole returning earlier, Lucia, who returned a few minutes later, was unable to say the classic line, "Do you want to eat first or have me first?"

But even if she didn't have the chance to say what she wanted to, they still needed to eat. Lucia is in a great state now, full of energy and with a positive attitude. Without waiting for the people in front of her to react, she proactively heads to the kitchen.

"Darling and whoever else, are you hungry? I'll cook for you!"

In Wang Xiaole’s mind, a fixed formula has formed:

The other person cooks = creates poison = personally ingests the poison = an early death

The most urgent situation has arrived. Wang Xiaole jumps out and mutters to himself, "Freya, stay calm, absolutely no impulsive actions..."

At this moment, Freya approaches from behind, wrapped in a thick blanket, adding weight to Wang Xiaole.

As a result, Wang Xiaole becomes less mobile, which is exactly the effect the goddess behind him hoped for. She says, "The small matter of dinner can be set aside for now. That girl is about to visit. Xiaole, you should prepare yourself."

Whether it's due to Lucia's lack of awareness about what she cooked or Freya's ignorance and fearlessness, the point is this:

She still has the courage to continue staying here and hasn't made a wise choice to leave. She swiftly runs out the door.

Investigating the reason behind her reckless behavior isn't about her sudden increase in courage. You should know that just a moment ago, Lucia's abnormal behavior frightened her. But compared to the demon lord who has deviated from his usual self, Freya undoubtedly fears something else even more – losing her job in the celestial realm.

Now, in her eyes, Wang Xiaole is her lifeline!

Only by letting this human teenager (soon to be a teenage girl in a few days) enter a harem and maintain ambiguous relationships with several members of the opposite sex, can she fulfill the mission assigned by her superiors and keep her job.

As a result, she absolutely cannot let her guard down. She must always pay attention to Wang Xiaole's actions and not let him leave her sight.

And so, a conflict arises between the two sides: one is determined to enter the kitchen to prevent a tragedy, while the other is determined to not let the other person leave.

Conflicts lead to clashes, which in turn lead to physical contact, and eventually both parties end up on the ground.

Lucia, who has started cutting vegetables, can clearly see if she just turns her head:

At the entrance to the kitchen, her crush and the goddess wrapped in a blanket are entangled with each other.

There are two possible explanations for this scene:

Enemies fighting for their lives or... intense romantic feelings!

Hopefully, it's not the latter.

The sound of teeth grinding on the chopping board fills the air. For a moment, the chewing noises even mask the sound of the knife slicing through the ingredients...

In horror movies, there's often a plot where the members of a small team facing great danger could have survived if they had worked together, but in the end, they perish due to their individual actions.

The experiences of the two victims that follow seem to recreate this plot, but what sets it apart from a typical horror movie is that the danger and horror they are about to face is most despair-inducing, to the point where even death would gladly surrender under that absolute sadness.

Like a septet that can plunge one's mood to the depths of despair, seven dishes were served one after another, steam rising from the plates, quickly forming a ghostly haze.

Unbeknownst to him, Wang Xiaole began to curse this fully equipped inn;

He complained about why the manager had to be so meddlesome? Why did the regular rooms for guests have to come with kitchens identical to a home?

His cunning eyes restlessly roamed, pondering strategies to face the impending danger;

It was during this time that Freya, with great fearlessness, extended her right hand from under the covers, voluntarily becoming the first sacrificial victim to consume the poison.

Due to their irreconcilable natural conflicts, the gods could never accept the demon race, but food was innocent and absolutely should not be wasted.

Out of a sense of protecting food, with a carefree heart, she picked up a piece of steaming fish and opened her mouth with a joyful expression on her face;

The ingredients were brought in from outside, absolutely fresh, and with a special cooking method, the taste was exceptionally exquisite. After taking a bite...

Thud!

Freya's head hit the table, her raised right hand fell to the ground, turning from vertical to horizontal, and then her head tilted to the side.

From her gaping mouth, a transparent oval-shaped object floated out;

The transparent object looked like a miniature version of Freya, resembling something like a soul the more you looked at it.

The wandering soul gazed around in confusion, its dumbfounded reaction resembling its original self, and the moment it looked down at a plate of food on the table, its expression instantly turned frightened.

Realizing the danger, the soul panicked and spun around in place, seemingly wanting to escape but unable to find a way out.

(Whispering) "We are 'comrades' living under the same roof, it wouldn't be right to not face difficulties together. Come back!"

Smack!

That soul was miserably captured, Wang Xiaole pulled it back in fear, and with a backhand throw, he tossed it back to where it came from.

Following the open mouth, the soul descended down the throat and ultimately returned to its rightful place;

Not long after, Freya's long legs wrapped in the blanket twitched violently;

She woke up from the nightmare, propping herself up with a sweaty neck and looking around in a state of fright.

"Where is this? Am... Am I dead?"

The hand patting her shoulder, the wicked grin in view, and the plate on the table all heartlessly shattered her pitiful delusions.

When she learned that she was still alive, there was no smile on Freya's face; on the contrary, it turned into autumn leaves, withering at a visible speed.

In that moment, the worries of life surpassed the fear of death.

"You know a bit about gourmet food, let me ask you: do you think the food I made is delicious?"

Lucia lacked self-awareness when it came to culinary skills.

"I think... those dishes, when consumed, could be harmful to the body and may not be suitable for consumption. By the way, are you sure what you made with your own hands is food?"

When it came to food, Freya's attitude was extremely honest.

His piercing gaze swept past, filled with a coldness that brought back Wang Xiaole's familiarity with Lucia.

But quickly, a forced laughter resounded once again:

"Hehehe, you are right, my cooking skills are indeed not good; please, from the perspective of a professional, teach me well."

The eerie feeling became stronger! It was different from that creepy feeling; now Lucia's aura, like the slanting sunlight at noon, shone upon the surface of the body, warming it almost to the point of burning the skin.

Too much, the excessive friendliness, compared to directly getting angry, made Wang Xiaole and Freya feel even more astonished. Especially the latter, as soon as her mouth touched the upper and lower lips, she immediately changed her words:

"No, I was just talking nonsense. There's nothing wrong with the food, it's actually delicious! I was wrong, really wrong..."

Facing the inability to take a second bite of food, as well as apologizing to the demon lord with whom they had a conflicting relationship, all these indicated a change in Freya's attitude; it also incidentally indicated that at this moment Lucia was even more intimidating than she was yesterday.

Although the other person was not afraid, the current level of tension was equally overwhelming. As if to relieve the atmosphere at that time, a gentle knocking sound, "bang bang bang," came from outside the door of the inn's room.

"Someone's here, I'll go open the door!"

Just like a timely rain, the sound of knocking made Wang Xiaole reflexively jump up and hurriedly walk towards the source of the noise. Whoever was knocking on the door, they had to thank that person; at this moment, the person who seemed to have come to knock on the door was the true goddess.

The door opened, revealing a girl dressed in black clothes, who politely walked in.

"Sorry for the intrusion so late, I am..."

"A thief?"

Wang Xiaole waved his hand and then felt his two empty pockets, while also trying his best to act poor and protect the money hidden in his bosom:

"From the sound, you are a girl, right? Unfortunately, miss, you came to the wrong place. The people living in this room are relatively poor and don't have anything valuable."

Misunderstandings were inevitable, and the black fabric draped over the girl's body easily led onlookers to associate it with the "night clothes" worn by thieves. Combined with the fact that the girl arrived at night, it was indeed a bit difficult to explain.

"A thief? No, I'm not. I didn't mean to rob you, I just came to find someone."

The sound of her words made Freya feel a bit familiar, so she continued her "mummy jump" and stumbled towards the girl.

"Have I spoken to you somewhere?"

"Of course, Lady Freya, it's me!"

The rear-flipped hood was pulled down, revealing the previously tightly covered head, and in the instant the hat dropped, that strand of hair became neat.

Standing in front of everyone's sight was a very innocent and pretty face, like a young girl running out of a village, exuding a natural rural girl temperament.

When the goddess and the demon lord saw this face, they recognized the person at the same time, and their faces bloomed with different degrees of astonishment.

"So it's you!"

"It's actually you!"

That girl was the Holy Maiden, and because of her sensitive identity, it was difficult for her to go out alone at night. For safety reasons, the church usually had a few "little tails" following her. Not long ago, the Holy Maiden, who was pressed for time to keep an appointment, ran out of the church by jumping through a window; in order to prevent the nuns in the church from discovering and to be able to travel alone, she deliberately put on extremely dark clothing to hide her tracks through the night.

The hotel owner also had a good mentality, and he didn't say much when he saw the guests entering the hotel with this appearance. After a simple inquiry, he let them in.

Although there was a misunderstanding in the middle, Holy Maiden finally recognized her goddess.

Freya met the person she had been waiting for a long time, Lucia met someone she thought would never appear, and Wang Xiaole looked at them with almost relative eyes.

"Are you acquaintances?"

Lucia claimed to have met the other person once and was not willing to dwell too much on this topic.