Chapter28-Ah, Your Radiance is Too Blinding

Owen stared blankly at the wine glass in front of him.

There was no way he would drink it.

Everyone knew.

You should never eat food from strangers.

Who knows what kind of drugs might be in it?

If he drank it, he'd definitely get captured and locked up, and this beautiful older woman in front of him would do all sorts of unspeakable things to him every day, making him live a life of shameless misery.

But he didn't dare refuse directly, since the other party had a numerical advantage.

"No, you've misunderstood again," Owen said. "I can see you're eager to make progress, but true happiness is not bestowed by others. It comes from within."

"Following me won't be of any use."

"What you need to focus on is your own heart."

Emil, who had just been promoted to Priestess, stared blankly at Owen, feeling as if she vaguely understood something once again.

"I... I think... I'm about to level up again."

As soon as the words fell, a brilliant radiance burst forth from Emil's body. The scent of wine around her grew even stronger, and not only that, a faint golden hue started to appear around the edges of the wine glass in her hand.

"Oh my god!"

"This is impossible! Lady Emil seems to have ascended to the rank of Grand Archpriest!"

"Yes, it's true. The wine glass is glowing with the golden hue that signifies the Wine Goddess's blessing."

Emil looked at Owen with excited eyes.

She truly felt what it meant to wield the power of the Envoy of the Wine Goddess!

Just a few words had shattered the confusion she had been trapped in, showing her the path forward.

"I understand now, my lord Envoy. I will heed your teachings and work even harder to spread the teachings of the great Wine Goddess."

"You're right. We can't rely on you too much. We must also discover our own inner strength."

Owen was utterly stunned.

Putting everything else aside.

This beautiful lady was truly a master at self-enlightenment.

He had just casually spouted a few lines, and she managed to level up twice. She must be a devout believer of that Wine Goddess or something.

Waving his hands repeatedly, Owen said, "It's nothing. Just take your time thinking it over. I'll be on my way if there's nothing else."

He hurried off, afraid of being stopped again.

But this time, all the Wine Goddess followers respectfully saw Owen off without trying to hinder him.

After he left, Grand Archpriest Emil gave orders: "Alright, everyone has seen the great Envoy of the Wine Goddess."

"He appears to be so kind and gentle."

"But I can feel that Lord Envoy doesn't want to be disturbed by too many people."

"Now, in my capacity as the Grand Archpriest, inform all the followers who come seeking the Envoy of the Wine Goddess to spread his words but also refrain from disturbing him."

"Yes!" The others immediately scattered to carry out her orders.

Very soon, Owen's words about happiness were passed on to the ears of other priests.

Some people leveled up on the spot, while others gained significant insights, enhancing their strength considerably.

Meanwhile.

Owen hurried down the mountain path.

Halfway down, he bumped into Cinderella, who had been looking for him.

"Mentor, are you alright?" Cinderella was so anxious that she was sweating.

"Haha, I'm fine. I just got held up by a few salespeople," Owen said. "Don't worry, I'm really fine."

Despite saying that, Owen's heart still felt warm seeing someone care so much about him.

"Mentor, two people came to visit you earlier."

"They said they're from Ravenfeather Academy and left you a lot of gifts."

From Cinderella's description, Owen knew it was probably Silly Jane and that chatty old man he'd met when he saved someone the other day.

"The old man gave me a crystal." Cinderella handed the crystal to Owen.

Owen glanced at it casually. "You keep it. It's probably the kind of thing little girls like."

"Hehe, it's really pretty."

Cinderella jumped up and down happily.

She held onto the crystal, unable to let go of it, continuously absorbing the mana within it into her body.

If Ravenfeather Academy's Dean Black saw this, he would definitely call her a genius!

This crystal was supposed to awaken mana and was meant for low-tier mages to use, but using it even once a month was considered the limit.

For an ordinary person like Cinderella to keep drawing mana from the crystal without exploding—this could only be described as a miracle.

Returning to the cozy, warm house.

Owen felt he didn't want to leave the house for a while.

Having just taken in a student, he decided to focus on properly teaching Cinderella.

"As a bartender, the first thing you need to learn is to recognize the ingredients and tools."

"This is a shaker, a strainer, a measuring cup, a stirring spoon, and different types of glasses for different drinks."

"For instance, for wine—red wine should be served in a large-capacity goblet to help release the aroma, while white wine should be served in a small, narrow glass to maintain temperature and taste."

As a first-time mentor, Owen was a bit excited, rattling off a long string of information before realizing something was off.

This amount of knowledge was probably overwhelming for Cinderella, who had never been exposed to bartending.

"Never mind, today just memorize the basic bartending tools."

"But Mentor, I remembered everything you just said," Cinderella blinked her big eyes.

She repeated everything Owen had just explained, perfectly and without a single mistake.

Oh my god!

Owen was shocked.

Could Cinderella have a photographic memory?

"Mentor, could you teach me how to cook first?" Cinderella asked shyly. "You work so hard cooking every day. I want to help."

"And I've always wanted to make delicious food."

"Alright, that works too." Owen suddenly had an idea and took her to the yard.

Over the past few days, Owen had discovered that the fruits and vegetables commonly found on Earth were completely unfamiliar to the people in this other world.

He began teaching Cinderella the names of each vegetable and fruit, as well as the uses of kitchen seasonings, cooking steps, and more.

After explaining, Cinderella volunteered to try cooking a dish.

"Just make the simplest fries," Owen said, going over the steps once. "Be careful not to get splashed by the oil."

As soon as the words fell, Owen widened his eyes.

Cinderella deftly sliced the potato into uniform sticks with a few quick motions, as if she had practiced for years as a master chef.

She started the fire, heated the oil, and began frying the fries.

Moments later, a fragrant plate of fries was placed in front of Owen. He took a bite and immediately gave a thumbs-up.

"Well done! Cinderella, you're really smart."

"No matter what you learn, you pick it up quickly."

"In the future, I'll teach you more delicious recipes."

Owen was overjoyed.

He had really found a treasure.

Not only cooking and bartending, but he also planned to teach Cinderella skills like singing and farming.

The mentor and disciple happily enjoyed the fries together, washing them down with a glass of cold fruit juice. It was pure bliss.

But down at the foot of the mountain, things were getting lively.

Grand Archpriest Emil felt that while Lord Envoy didn't want to be disturbed, the followers didn't want to stray too far either.

So why not build a new Temple of the Wine Goddess at the foot of the mountain? Wouldn't that be a perfect solution?

Thus, all the followers eagerly began constructing the Temple of the Wine Goddess.

Residents from the nearby town came to watch.

All the Wine Goddess's followers were attractive, spoke kindly, could sing and dance, and exuded a faint scent of wine.

The townsfolk loved chatting with them.

Thus, news that the Temple of the Wine Goddess was being built near the former Forbidden Area spread quickly.

When the news reached Gleam Town, the do-gooder Lewis father and son perked up.

"Father, wasn't what we saw that day the emblem of the Wine Goddess?" said young Lord Lewis. "Now that the Temple of the Wine Goddess is being built, let's go check it out."

"We won't just go; we'll offer our full support!"

Viscount Lewis said, "Lately, by doing good deeds, not only have I found peace of mind, but my strength has also increased considerably."

"The Wine Goddess's sect is not an empty organization but an extension of true divine will."

"We've done too many wrong things before. I feel this is our last chance at redemption."

The father and son immediately took a large amount of wealth to the foot of the Forbidden Area mountain and joined the construction efforts.

They offered manpower and resources, spending their gold coins generously.

This greatly sped up the temple's construction.

The priests thus had a good impression of the father and son, often chatting with them.