Chapter 424 - 423: Little Mushroom

Chapter 424: Chapter 423: Little Mushroom

Seraphina Sinclair nodded.

She had already waited a week. What were a few more days?

Her only worry was that Luna Jacobs lacked the skill. Disappointment was one thing, but wasting a Puppet Paperman was another matter entirely.

Seraphina Sinclair patted her on the shoulder and told her to work on the other side of the stone table.

This side of the stone table was her dining area.

Having not yet eaten lunch, Seraphina Sinclair elegantly tore open an Advanced Meal Voucher and waited for the food to appear.

Today brought another proper Chinese lunch: braised pork belly, stir-fried greens, a bowl of white rice, and a small tureen of chicken soup.

Seraphina Sinclair picked up her chopsticks and placed a piece of the braised pork belly in her mouth. The meat was stewed to tender perfection, melting the moment it entered her mouth as a savory, soy-based flavor spread across her tongue.

She chewed slowly, her face expressionless, but her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

’Delicious.’

’This world may be garbage, but the food from the Advanced Meal Vouchers is truly flawless.’

On the other side of the stone table, Luna Jacobs was crouching on the floor organizing materials. She occasionally glanced up at Seraphina Sinclair before lowering her head again.

Puppets didn’t need to eat or sleep, and they had no biological needs.

She was now a perfect tool.

Despite this realization, Luna Jacobs felt not a shred of sadness. She suddenly understood that this was the true horror of the Puppet Paperman.

She had accepted her new identity on her own.

The Gloom Hatchling crawled out from her arms, sniffing the fragrant air, and shuffled step by step toward the stone table. It had just stretched out a claw when Luna Jacobs snatched it back by the scruff of its neck.

’Can’t disturb the boss while she’s eating.’

’Both I and my little companion here should follow that rule.’

Seraphina Sinclair glanced at them, then continued her meal as if she had seen nothing.

She had enough of her own meal vouchers to get by, but now, with the "friendly donations" from Cloudmute and Luna Jacobs, she was in no short supply.

After finishing her meal, Seraphina Sinclair stood up and stretched her body. Just as she thought the tableware would automatically disappear as before, the waiter suddenly appeared.

It made its entrance in the same way as always: a head squeezed out of the Lightgate, followed by its body.

It was dressed in the same formal waiter’s uniform today. After entering the small cabin, its gaze never left Seraphina Sinclair. "My Lady, I’ve brought the craftsman. Do you have a moment to see it?"

Ever since the incident last night, the waiter had started addressing her as "My Lady."

Luna Jacobs had been focused on her task, but upon hearing the word "craftsman," her ears twitched, though her hands never stopped moving.

She had learned of craftsmen from the legacy of the Stone Tablet, but as for what they actually did, or what one looked like, she had no idea.

And this waiter who had suddenly appeared—if she wasn’t mistaken, it was clearly the one who delivered the meals.

’Why is it calling Seraphina Sinclair ’My Lady’?’

These questions flashed through Luna Jacobs’s mind, but then she went back to focusing on the task Seraphina Sinclair had given her, as if she had thought nothing at all.

Seraphina Sinclair glanced at Luna Jacobs. A puppet should have no stray thoughts, but the connection had only just been established, and she had only just been transformed. It would take time to develop.

This was the "gradual" process mentioned in the Puppet Paperman’s Description.

Seraphina Sinclair looked at the waiter and, without any ceremony, said directly, "I have time."

The waiter nodded, turned, and called out toward the Lightgate.

A moment later, a short figure squeezed out of the Lightgate.

’Is that a... mushroom?’

Seraphina Sinclair stared at the little thing before her—it didn’t even reach her knees, had a plump, round cap on its head, and was covered in moss—and fell into a brief silence.

’A mushroom? The craftsman is a mushroom?’

Once the little creature had squeezed all the way out of the Lightgate, it shook the dirt from its body and tilted its head up to look at Seraphina Sinclair.

Its face was hidden beneath its cap, revealing only a pair of perfectly round eyes and a tiny mouth.

’It’s actually kind of cute.’

The thought had barely crossed Seraphina Sinclair’s mind when the mushroom spoke.

"My Lady." Its voice was delicate, like the wind rustling through grass. "I am a good friend of Chef 881. You can call me craftsman 113. As long as you have enough materials, there’s nothing I can’t make."

Seraphina Sinclair looked down at this Little Mushroom calling itself craftsman 113, then glanced at the waiter standing nearby.

"Craftsman 113?" she repeated the designation.

The Little Mushroom nodded, its face showing a strange expression.

It looked like a mix of pride and shyness.

Seraphina Sinclair felt like she must have eaten a poisonous mushroom to be seeing such a complex expression on another mushroom’s face.

"You can make anything?" Seraphina Sinclair asked again.

The Little Mushroom nodded vigorously, the gills under its cap wobbling with the movement, making it look like a dancing matsutake mushroom.

"Anything!" its voice was delicate, but its tone brimmed with absolute confidence. "Weapons, armor, tools, accessories—as long as you have the materials and a recipe, I can make it!"

Seraphina Sinclair looked at it and was silent for two seconds. "I do have recipes, but they aren’t detailed. Can you still make them?"

She only knew which materials combined to create an item. As for the actual process, she was completely clueless.

The Little Mushroom froze for a moment.

"N-no detailed recipe?" It scratched its cap.

The gesture was utterly comical—a mushroom scratching its own mushroom head.

"Without a detailed recipe..." Its voice trailed off, then suddenly grew loud again. "I can probably research the detailed recipe myself!"

Seeing the mushroom’s confidence suddenly return, Seraphina Sinclair’s lips twitched slightly. "Research?"

"Yes!" The Little Mushroom nodded emphatically. "I am a craftsman, and what craftsmen do best is turn incomplete recipes into detailed ones! As long as I have a list of materials, I can try to reverse-engineer it! I’m not afraid of failure—in fact, I love to experiment! Please, My Lady, give me this opportunity!"

It was as eager as an over-caffeinated job applicant.

Seraphina Sinclair could guess why it and the waiter were so enthusiastic. After all, the moment she had revealed that thing, even Squidward’s expression had changed.

It was only natural that they would try to curry favor with her.

Although Seraphina Sinclair didn’t yet understand what that thing truly signified, she knew these creatures were fawning over her for one reason: she possessed immense potential.

Perhaps that thing was a mark of approval from some great being.

After all, the Description for the Door Key read, "Collect them all, and you may glimpse the secrets behind the door. But it is more likely that the being behind the door is already watching you."

Seraphina Sinclair suppressed her scattered thoughts and looked at the Little Mushroom seriously. "I’ll give you this opportunity."

The Little Mushroom’s eyes lit up in an instant, and its cap trembled with excitement.

"Really? Thank you, My Lady! Thank you, My Lady!"

Seraphina Sinclair nodded. She wasn’t quite sure why the Little Mushroom was thanking her when it was the one who would be doing the work, but that didn’t stop her from pulling out the recipes for it to study.