Chapter 54: Refraction and Red Velvet

Neither Zishan nor Ollie had managed to turn fully toward the woman as a water barrier rose around the three of them.

It came from several directions at once, flowing upward until a thin curved wall enclosed the space beside the supply wagon. Zishan’s first thought was that Elinox had trapped them inside some sort of Water Magic barrier, yet the water became so clear after settling that he could still see the station through it without much distortion.

Then, Light Mana entered the surface.

Zishan blinked.

Soldiers continued walking along the road several meters away without looking toward them. One passed close enough that Zishan could see the mud across his boots and the scratches on his armor, yet the man showed no sign that three people were standing beside the wagon.

’What is going on?’

Zishan leaned slightly toward the barrier.

The Light Mana running through the water was not making the water itself invisible. Elinox was controlling the light reaching its outer surface and redirecting it around the enclosure before allowing it to continue along its original path. Anyone looking toward them would only receive the light coming from the wagon, road, and structures behind them as though nothing stood in between.

The water gave her a continuous surface where the Light Mana could be controlled with absurd precision.

It was not true invisibility. Someone capable of sensing Mana could probably still notice the spell, and Zishan doubted it could fool every detection Skill in existence, but anyone relying on their eyes would simply see the road, wagon, and structures behind them as though nobody was standing there.

The water also softened the sounds coming from outside, while their own voices failed to travel much farther than the enclosure.

Zishan stared at Elinox. ’She can even do something as absurd as this! I guess that’s a prodigy among prodigies for you!’

He had already watched her use Gravity to repair half the fucking station. He had seen the result of her attacking an enemy military station. The Lieutenant had spent enough time explaining her Mana Affinities that Zishan was beginning to suspect this woman had been personally designed to make everyone else feel underqualified.

But there was something he was more baffled about than anything else.

Elinox looked at him with an expression that did not resemble the High General who had just made several senior military officers struggle to remain standing. Although he had not seen what transpired at the command section, with just her entrance alone, he could imagine the shivers in the hearts of those officers.

However, right now, her violet eyes were practically sparkling.

"I could actually bake cupcakes," she said. "It’s something I came up with recently..."

Zishan stopped thinking.

Ollie slowly turned his head toward him.

Elinox continued, already far more interested in the subject than either of them had expected. "I heard you talking about frosting before I came over. You mentioned buttercream, cream cheese frosting, ganache, and whipped cream. I’ve tried different toppings too, though I haven’t decided which one I like most yet."

Zishan’s mouth opened, but for several seconds, nothing came out. She knew buttercream, frosting, ganache, and cupcakes well enough to talk about them without needing any explanation from him. Then something else caught up with him.

"Wait... you call them cupcakes too?"

Elinox looked slightly confused. "Yes?"

Zishan stared at her for another second before he started laughing.

Not the small laugh someone would give after hearing a decent joke. He threw his head back and laughed hard enough that his abdomen punished him for it, forcing him to grab his side while he continued anyway.

"HAHAHAHAHA! FUCK! FINALLY!"

Ollie nearly jumped in fright.

Still clutching his abdomen, Zishan pointed at Elinox with his other hand. "SOMEONE KNOWS WHAT A CUPCAKE IS! I FUCKING KNEW THERE HAD TO BE SOMEONE!"

Elinox stared at him.

Then, a smile slowly appeared on her face.

Zishan had spent days explaining cupcakes to people who either had no idea what he was talking about or thought any small piece of cake qualified. He had endured pastries being compared to cupcakes. He had discovered that Ollie had access to a bakery through his aunt and still somehow knew almost nothing useful about the greatest category of baked goods ever created.

Now, an eighteen-year-old High General had walked over and casually informed him that she could bake them.

At that moment, her status as a High General did not matter anymore in Zishan’s eyes. The fact that she could probably turn him into a smear on the ground using Gravity? He couldn’t care less.

This woman knew cupcakes. This mattered most to him.

Zishan wiped the corner of one eye after laughing so much. "What kind of cupcake do you bake?!"

Elinox’s smile widened.

Ollie looked between the two of them.

A few minutes earlier, he had been worried that Zishan’s habit of speaking without considering rank would eventually get him into trouble. High General Holmes had approached without warning, and Ollie had already imagined several possible ways the conversation could go badly.

None of those possibilities involved the High General discussing baked goods.

"I started with vanilla," Elinox explained. "The first few were terrible because I used too much flour. Then I adjusted the amount and started experimenting with different fillings."

Zishan leaned forward. "Fillings too?"

Elinox nodded, her eyes brightening again. "Chocolate, custard, different kinds of jam... I prefer making the jam myself."

Zishan stared at her and slapped one of his thighs. "You make the jam too? Damn!"

"Yes!" Elinox’s smile widened, and the excitement in her purple eyes made her look even more striking.

Zishan’s abdomen hurt again as he tried to move aggressively. "Fuck—ow."

Elinox laughed.

Ollie’s eyes widened slightly. He had seen the High General once before in the capital, but back then, she had only seemed dignified and impossibly serious about her duties as a military officer. He had never imagined that someone like her could laugh this freely.

Perhaps that was the problem with people like Elinox Holmes. The world had painted so many titles over her that everyone eventually forgot there was still a person beneath the paint.

The High General laughed freely, without any attempt to maintain the dignified image Ollie had always associated with her. She looked genuinely amused while Zishan stood there clutching his side because getting excited over homemade jam had made his injuries hurt again.

"Why are you injured that badly anyway?" Elinox asked. "You seemed beat up."

"Well, I fought someone of a higher level than me. That guy’s name was Larper, a Corporal from the Kingdom of Degenerates. Apparently, he was like 49 levels above me when we fought," he replied. "He kicked me in the abdomen, by the way. And it hurt so fucking much."

"And you survived that. That’s what matters most," Elinox said. "I can heal you, if you want. Consider it my thanks for actually knowing what cupcakes are. You have no idea how rarely I meet someone who recognizes them."