Chapter 226: Blood! It’s Just Ketchup!
Under Grey Dove’s lead, Evelia arrived at the place where Rachel was resting.
Because of the medicine, Rachel was still in a deep sleep. She lay quietly on a very clean-looking bed. Her breathing was steady, though she looked a bit weak.
"...Haa..."
Evelia let out a sigh of relief, as if confirming that Rachel was still alive.
She took off her cloak, revealing her soft pink hair underneath.
Grey Dove, who hadn’t gotten a proper second look at Red Crow’s face yet, still remembered the short reddish-brown hair from their first brief meeting.
But now, Red Crow looked completely different. Not only had the signature short red-brown hair turned into a delicate shade of pink, but even the body...
…………………
Grey Dove thought back to their fight in the alley. At that time, the person she faced had an incredible figure, and her face was very beautiful too.
Grey Dove looked down at her own flat, bun-sized chest and started to silently reflect.
As expected of the mighty Red Crow!
She couldn’t help but feel a wave of admiration in her heart.
Not only was she powerful, but even after turning into a woman, she still had a body anyone would be proud of. And her strength had only grown stronger!
It seemed that Red Crow had already fully adapted to this female body. Even after living as a man for more than ten years, she had so easily accepted this new identity...
Red Crow really is the strongest!
Even though her idol had changed from male to female, Grey Dove, a diehard fan, still fully accepted it. In fact, she was proud of it and firmly believed in her idol’s power.
Phew...
She’s so beautiful...
This new Red Crow, her appearance was absolutely flawless. Even with a new body and face, she still made people admire her—
Grrr...
"......"
Grey Dove’s stomach suddenly growled loudly at just the wrong time.
Seeing her idol turn to look at her in response to the sound, Grey Dove quickly covered her belly, trying to hide it. But the pressure from her hand only made her stomach make even more noises.
Grrrgle...
Even though Grey Dove was a bit of a lunatic, she still felt embarrassed acting like this in front of her idol.
Awkwardly, she turned her head and looked at Rachel lying on the bed, as if to say, "Why are you looking at me? That noise came from the little one."
But her body language was totally unconvincing. Evelia simply looked at Grey Dove’s slightly red face, then glanced at the hand on her stomach, and calmly asked.
"Is there any food here?"
"Huh?"
That sudden question caught Grey Dove off guard. Was Red Crow disappointed by how plain the place looked? Or was she upset by the stomach growl? Or maybe she was just hungry after the long trip?
Lord Red Crow rarely visits here… I can’t let her be unhappy!
"U-um… yes, there is."
Grey Dove touched the alchemy seal on her side and searched through all the bows and arrows stored inside for something edible.
"This one, this one’s edible."
The usually crazy Grey Dove now looked like a nervous little bunny. She respectfully offered a pack of compressed biscuits to Evelia.
"......"
Evelia silently stared at the plainly wrapped compressed biscuit. Although it looked simple on the outside, it was actually a special product made by their organization, the House of Nightingales. The packaging just used a generic, no-brand design.
For assassins like them, this kind of food was actually pretty good. Nutritious, filling, and easy to carry. If they were out on a long-term mission, this was a must-have.
But the problem was... the taste was really plain.
Just like how Evelia rarely ate meat or drank alcohol, assassins avoided strong-smelling foods to keep their bodies scent-free. Evelia had grown up in the House of Nightingales, so she had never tasted food with rich flavor.
That’s why, when she first had ketchup, with its sweet and sour taste, she was completely hooked. It was a flavor she had never experienced before.
Because of that, even though Evelia could eat those compressed biscuits just fine, she would still prefer to eat something she truly liked if given the choice.
"Do you have ketchup?"
"What?"
"Ketchup." Evelia repeated herself.
"You mean… blood?"
Hearing her cold and emotionless idol say the word “ketchup” was quite surprising to Grey Dove. She instinctively assumed it must be some kind of secret code she didn’t understand, and her mind immediately connected “ketchup” to “blood,” since they looked the same.
"No, I just mean ketchup. It’s sour and sweet… really tasty ketchup."
"…?"
Evelia didn’t seem to realize how much her words were destroying her usual cool image. She noticed a visible question mark pop up in Grey Dove’s expression but didn’t comment on it.
Grey Dove didn’t say anything either, or maybe she just didn’t dare to.
Scratching her head, she searched through the items stored in her alchemical seal again.
"Sorry… Lord Red Crow, I don’t have that kind of sweet and sour ketchup..."
Because the alchemical seal was linked to the nervous system, every time someone used it, they would feel a sharp pain, like their skin was being ripped open. It felt less like an item being stored inside the seal and more like it was literally stitched into their body.
This was a flaw built into the design by Rachel from the very beginning. Even though the pain had been reduced compared to earlier versions, it could never be fully eliminated.
In a way, it was Rachel’s way of making sure no one could overuse the seal without consequence. She wanted only the truly brave, those who could endure pain, to use it.
But for assassins like Grey Dove, this kind of pain didn’t matter. They had powerful healing medicine and weren’t afraid of anything short of a fatal wound.
Grey Dove, being an archer who constantly pulled out bows and arrows from her seal, was already used to the pain.
"Found it."
Evelia, too, remained calm as she opened the seal on her thigh. From it, she pulled out a packet of ketchup.
"This is what Lord Red Crow meant by..."
"Ketchup." Evelia nodded, giving one packet to herself and handing the other to Grey Dove.
"Try it."
"...!"
Seeing her idol personally hand her food, Grey Dove was so excited she started breathing quickly. She rubbed her hands all over her clothes, trying to make them as clean as possible before holding them out to Evelia.
"Th-Thank you, Lord Red Crow—!"
She respectfully accepted the ketchup with both hands. The thought of eating the same food as her idol made her heart race with joy.
This… this is a treasure given to me by the gods! I should treasure it properly!
I should find a special room! And then get the most beautiful display case, maybe I can even ask the Second Prince for one! I’ll put the ketchup that Lord Red Crow gave me right on top!
Plop.
While Grey Dove was sweating with excitement over the ketchup packet, Evelia had already twisted the cap off and was drinking it straight from the pouch.
Grey Dove watched Evelia calmly drink the ketchup, and then looked at the packet in her own hand. As she heard the ketchup sloshing inside, she swallowed nervously.
Even though Evelia didn’t show any expression while drinking, Grey Dove could clearly feel that her mood had improved. Just a moment ago, Evelia had been frowning with worry about Rachel, but now it looked like she had completely forgotten about the sleeping girl. All her attention was on enjoying the ketchup.
…Is it really that good?
Seeing Red Crow’s eyes light up as she drank made Grey Dove curious. After all, she was also an assassin who had rarely tasted any flavorful food. She had been raised in the House of Nightingales since she was a child, just like Evelia.
Though Grey Dove had a rather intense personality, she still followed the rules set by the Second Prince. Because of her extreme behavior, the prince didn’t like dealing with her, so she was often left alone or sent out on missions, basically kept out of sight.
But this holy item... this is something from the gods! If I just drink it carelessly, wouldn’t that be a waste? Once I open it, I can’t keep it as a collector’s item anymore!
“You don’t like it?”
Evelia tilted her head, holding the now-empty ketchup pouch, looking very satisfied.
“Huh? No—of course I like it! This is—hehe—this is something you gave me, Lord Red Crow! How could I not like it? It’s like a sacred item! Of course I like it! Hehe—haha—”
Whenever she was in front of Red Crow, Grey Dove would always start making strange giggling noises. But Evelia didn’t mind at all, it wasn’t something worth reacting to.
“Then why aren’t you drinking it?”
“Ah—uh, right! I’ll drink it all!”
The moment Evelia misunderstood her hesitation as dislike, Grey Dove panicked and quickly twisted open the ketchup cap. Click. As the lid opened, her heart cracked a little. This was no longer something she could display.
Even though she was the one who opened it, and her idol had told her to drink it, she still preferred things to be flawless. Even her admiration for Red Crow was about that perfection, she worshipped a flawless version of Red Crow.
“Gulp…!”
The moment she thought of how Evelia didn’t react at all, Grey Dove took a big gulp of the ketchup. And the moment that sweet-and-sour taste hit her nose and mouth, her face instantly twisted in shock.
“Doesn’t taste good?”
Seeing Grey Dove’s distorted expression, Evelia instinctively furrowed her brows. She had been enjoying the ketchup herself, but her frown carried a lot of pressure, enough to make Grey Dove freeze.
Grey Dove didn’t even dare to breathe.
“It’s good! It’s good! It’s really good!”
She quickly forced out those words through the intense flavor, shouting "good" three times. Only then did Evelia relax her eyebrows and pull out a few more ketchup packets, stuffing them into Grey Dove’s hands.
“If it’s good, then drink all of these too.”
“......”
Grey Dove stared at the pile of ketchup in her hands, and cold sweat started dripping down her cheeks.
But since it’s Lord Red Crow’s gift, and her command… this must be a trial! This is a test she has given me!
I must… I must drink all of them… every last drop!