Chapter 404 - 403: Flame Container

Chapter 404: Chapter 403: Flame Container

If anyone was to blame, it should be her.

But for Seraphina Sinclair, while one side of the scale held what the waiter called a Holy Object, the other held her life. How could she possibly choose anything but the latter?

And so, the woman and the waiter stood quietly before the Dragon Corpse.

After a long while, the waiter finally pulled itself together, raising a hand to wipe the tears from its face. "I need to check the rest of the Great Dragon’s body as quickly as possible to prevent something like this from happening again."

Seraphina Sinclair nodded, watching it enter through the wound on the Great Dragon.

She had thought things would finally quiet down, but just as Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze shifted, she heard the waiter scream again.

Familiarity breeds... well, familiarity. Seraphina Sinclair wasn’t even surprised anymore. The corner of her mouth twitched as she called out, "What amazing thing did we miss out on this time?"

’Let’s hear it. I wonder if this loss will be even more heartbreaking.’

There was no sound from inside the Dragon Corpse for a long while. Then, the waiter’s head poked out from the opening Seraphina Sinclair had cut.

Unexpectedly, its face was filled with joy.

’What’s going on?’

’Has the waiter lost its mind from missing out on too many good things?’

Seraphina Sinclair wondered inwardly but kept her expression neutral. "What is it? Did you find something else?"

"Guest! Guest!" The waiter’s voice trembled with unconcealed excitement. "It was a false alarm! A false alarm!"

It climbed out of the wound, its movements clumsy with excitement, and nearly tripped.

Once it was steady, it gestured wildly. "The heart! The Dragon Heart! You wounded the Great Dragon’s heart but didn’t destroy it completely! That’s why only a small amount of the Dragon Heart Golden Flame escaped."

Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze sharpened. "What do you mean?"

The waiter was so excited it was practically dancing, its elongated arms tracing an exaggerated arc in the air. "What escaped just now was only the outermost layer—the most unstable part of the Golden Flame!

"Because you punctured the heart, Guest, those flames escaped instead of dissipating completely."

Seraphina Sinclair processed its words, blinking. "So... the flame is still there?"

The waiter gave an exaggerated nod, so vigorous that Seraphina Sinclair feared its head might fall off.

"Yes! Of course, it is! Not only is it still there, but its condition is... excellent! It will absolutely be of great help to you, Guest!!"

It calmed its excessive excitement and gave Seraphina Sinclair a conspiratorial look for a moment.

"Guest~ when the time comes, if I need to borrow some of the fire, you mustn’t be stingy! And with this fire, I won’t have to worry about how to hire a craftsman. This is something everyone is desperate to get their hands on! Plus, its destructive power is immense. It’s an absolute treasure!"

Despite its claims of the flame’s great usefulness, it all felt unreal to Seraphina Sinclair.

It was simply because the Description of the Golden Flame was still swirling in her mind.

Perhaps it was her instinct to seek fortune and avoid disaster, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was something dangerous that she should stay away from.

Because of this, not only was Seraphina Sinclair not particularly happy, she asked with a trace of vigilance, "Then this flame... How am I supposed to store it?"

The waiter paused, clearly not expecting its guest to be so pragmatic.

And despite discovering such a Holy Object, her face didn’t show even a hint of joy.

The waiter said tentatively, "Generally, once the flame is removed, it can be swallowed."

Of course, Seraphina Sinclair knew that.

A vein throbbed on her forehead. The Description had made it very clear. If she were audacious enough to swallow the flame now, there would be no other outcome—

She’d be courting death!

Not only would the Golden Flame not be hers to command, but it would burn her to ashes.

She hadn’t tried it, but Seraphina Sinclair was certain of this.

It wasn’t just because of its class, but also because of the Moonlight Jellyfish’s Blessing. That subtle feeling alerted her to the flame’s danger.

Seraphina Sinclair’s expression darkened. She asked bluntly, "At my current strength, what would happen if I swallowed this Dragon Heart Golden Flame directly?"

The waiter’s excited expression froze for a moment. It seemed to have only just realized the true extent of its guest’s strength.

While she had indeed hunted an S-Class Great Dragon, the waiter had seen with its own eyes that it was only because the Great Dragon was already suffering from old wounds and was a spent force.

And even then... its guest had been covered in injuries.

The waiter finally realized that this guest was completely incapable of taming the Dragon Heart Holy Flame. It wrung its elongated arms nervously, its tone becoming hesitant. "Well... given your current... situation, Guest, if you were to come into direct contact with the flame, there’s an extremely high probability... uh, an extremely high probability of death."

It carefully observed Seraphina Sinclair’s expression and added, "But even if you can’t swallow it now, it is still your property. That will absolutely not change."

"As for storage..." The waiter pondered for a moment. "The core flame is currently housed within the Dragon Heart Blood Bag. It’s the best natural container and can keep it stable for now. But this isn’t a long-term solution. Once the Dragon Corpse begins to fully decompose, the blood bag will fail."

"And..." The waiter grew sad. "This Dragon Heart would have been an excellent ingredient, but after producing the Golden Flame, the Dragon Heart is no longer edible."

The moment it said that, the waiter suddenly cheered up again. "But the heart was already damaged by you, Guest, so it’s not such a pity. Plus, the fact that it produced a Golden Flame is an incredibly rare and wonderful thing!"

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

’This thing has said a whole lot, but it still hasn’t explained how to store it.’

The Dragon Corpse definitely had to be dealt with before it decomposed, so leaving the Golden Flame in the Dragon Heart was out of the question.

She stared at the waiter for a long time without speaking, just watching it silently.

The waiter’s excitement finally began to fade. When its gaze met Seraphina Sinclair’s again, it actually remembered her question. It thought for a moment before answering seriously, "Our restaurant has a container that can hold the Holy Flame long-term."

Seraphina Sinclair knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. She raised an eyebrow slightly and asked calmly, "What kind of container? What price must I pay to use it? Or borrow it?"

The waiter looked away, seeming a little embarrassed, but its voice was clear. "Well... it’s one of our restaurant’s greatest treasures. It’s called the Undying Fire Lamp.

"It can contain and nurture all sorts of strange flames long-term, including, of course, holy flames on the level of the Dragon Heart Golden Flame."

It snuck a glance at Seraphina Sinclair’s expression and lowered its voice.

"This item is extremely precious, and using it consumes the restaurant’s reserved energy.

"Generally, only those who have made significant contributions to the restaurant are qualified to use it. As for other containers..."

The waiter’s expression grew troubled. "You could count the number of them in the entire world on one hand."