Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

Early morning in Sweet, the City of Miracles.

A rich fragrance swirled in the air, surrounding the houses, windowsills, roads, and plazas, all of which were packed with onlookers.

In the center, on a high platform made of solidified rock candy, stood several Sages, golden badges on their chests and clad in clean, efficient attire.

Various cooking utensils, stoves, and other equipment were all prepared.

Everyone waited in silence.

Lake and Polo walked into the crowd.

“Ha, you really came!”

Soon after entering, a familiar figure waved at them—the plump townsperson who used to be a baker.

“You’ve come to see me participate in the Sage Selection Festival, right?”

The plump townsperson was in high spirits, already dressed in a white chef's uniform, holding ingredients and carefully prepared pastry tools.

“You guys probably didn’t pass the Sages' screening these past few days, right? It’s okay, watch me this time—I’ve been preparing for a long time!

If I succeed, I’ll talk to the Angel and maybe she’ll meet you!”

As he spoke, the plump townsperson carefully took out a meticulously wrapped piece of hard candy from his pocket and stepped forward.

Every chef who passes the Sages' screening and can truly participate in the “Sage Selection Festival” receives a token—

This piece of hard candy.

It is said that it was made by a Sage skilled in candy making, and under the influence of Angel magic, even if the candy is eaten, it can reappear from the wrapper.

“Hehe, don’t be discouraged. I didn’t pass the initial screening the first time I came here—

By the way, little girl, would you like to try this candy first?

The taste of the candy is different at each festival.”

The plump townsperson's chubby face squeezed his eyes into curved slits, making it clear he was in a good mood.

“Thank you, sir, but no need, I have one too!”

“Hey, this is different, mine is from a Sage—”

But the next moment, he stopped speaking, his smile froze, his eyes widened, turning to surprise…

Because he saw Lake take out the same piece of candy!

“Ah? You have one too!?”

His small eyes carefully identified it, finally confirming that the candy in Lake's hand was also a Sage-specific token.

Then, the smug look in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a hint of resentment:

“Okay, passing the initial screening… probably isn’t that hard.”

He put away his candy. “Really, you said you hadn’t eaten pastries or anything, I thought you really couldn’t cook!

It seems you must be good at other dishes, right?”

As he spoke, the plump townsperson walked towards the queue of people on the other side. “Okay, I admit, I misjudged you. I thought… if you really couldn’t cook, you wouldn’t have the confidence to seek out the Angel, right?”

Finally, the plump townsperson turned back to look at them, his expression becoming much more serious. “But since you now have the strength…

Be more meticulous later. At each festival, less than ten out of a hundred people become new Sages.

Although today, both the number of participants and the number of new Sage slots exceed that number.

But if your level isn’t up to par, you still won’t have much of a chance.”

With that, the plump townsperson turned away and began to organize his cooking utensils.

Lake nodded, feeling a little embarrassed. Although they hadn’t lied, just two days ago, they really didn’t know anything about magic.

But now… she certainly had a lot of confidence.

This confidence didn’t come from “cooking skills,” but from a… unique recipe that Polo had told her about.

“Polo and I will go first.”

Lake waved to the old soldier on the side.

Chefs often don't work alone; they are allowed to have some assistants.

Originally, Polo wanted the old soldier to go, after all, human hands are always more flexible, but unfortunately, although the old soldier knew swordsmanship and shooting, he really didn't know anything about cooking.

When he tried with Lake, he dropped two plates.

If he really went on stage, he would probably… be more of a hindrance than a help.

And the Sages obviously wouldn’t allow someone who didn’t do anything to participate in the Sage Selection Festival.

So, this time, the one accompanying Lake was Polo, who had transformed into a human form.

As for the appearance, they used the image of Hansel and Gretel's father.

As for the source of the clothes…

Hansel's clothes were actually worn by his father.

This wasn’t uncommon in poor families.

All the chefs participating in the Sage Selection Festival were already prepared in the seats at the back.

Coincidentally, Lake and Polo were sitting next to that plump townsperson.

“What a coincidence, it seems we might be on stage together.”

The plump townsperson shrugged, glanced at Lake's package of cooking utensils, and showed a hint of surprise at the strangely shaped tools inside.

“Are your cooking utensils… homemade? I haven’t seen them before. Is it a specialty dish from some kingdom?”

Seeing Lake nod, the plump townsperson revealed an “I see” expression and smiled. “But no matter where you’re from, your basic skills are still very important.

After all, even palace chefs from any kingdom need to have a good command of heat control and knife skills!”

As the plump townsperson spoke, several Sages on the stage stood up and bowed slightly in the direction of the castle, like some kind of special sacrificial gesture.

“What are they doing?”

Lake asked, puzzled.

“Hehe, this is Sweet, one of the reasons it’s called the City of Miracles. You should have heard of it outside, right?

Although the Angel hasn’t shown her face to the people for a long time, her miracles are always hovering over Sweet!”

The plump townsperson said with a smile, looking up at the sky with the other residents.

The pink clouds that had been circling in the sky had piled up very thickly.

At a certain moment, a five-colored rainbow light soared from the candy castle in the distance, piercing straight into the sky!

The colored lights of the rainbow transformed into colorful feathers, like the wings of a real angel, streaking across the sky.

Immediately afterward, everyone watched in fascination as smooth objects, wrapped in glowing halos, swirled and floated down.

Lake and Polo watched in surprise—

They were bubbles shimmering with magical light.

And inside the nearest bubble was a golden, glistening roast chicken!

Like raindrops, more bubbles slowly fell, and the delicacies they contained were all different. Bright yellow pudding trembled in dishes, and steaming sausages rolled inside the bubbles…

The delicacies floated to the ground, the bubbles burst, and the residents held them in their hands.

They laughed and praised the Angel's virtue.

Putting the delicacies in their mouths, Lake and Polo also caught some of them, tasting their flavors.

Sweet and moist, soaking their throats.

And the delicacies that weren’t caught by the residents didn’t dirty the ground. They waited on the ground, and after a while, they disappeared on their own, turning into fragments of rainbow foam…

After the “rain of delicacies” stopped, the Sage Selection Festival began.

One chef after another walked onto the stage, using their cooking utensils to make their food.

“Hmm, those people are here too.”

The plump townsperson looked at the people who were going on stage at this time, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

They were several people wearing robes, their hair and appearance appearing meticulous. They wore a cross pendant around their necks and walked onto the stage with solemn expressions.

“Do you know those people?”

Lake asked.

“Many people know them.”

The plump townsperson said, shrugging. “Remember what I told you before about the pilgrims coming to the Fertile Plains? Those are them.”

“Pilgrims?”

Lake and Polo looked at the three people on the stage. Their clothing did resemble that of ascetic monks.

On the other side, in the crowd watching below the platform, there were also a dozen monks wearing hooded robes, hiding their heads under their hoods and clasping cross pendants tightly in front of their chests.

As if praying for something.

“I remember when these ascetic monks first came, they knelt outside the castle for three days and nights without sleep or rest in order to see the Angel, without even eating a bite of the delicacies next to them—”

The plump townsperson shook his head and laughed. “Now it seems they’ve finally changed their ways.”

“So they came as cooks?”

“Hmph, they finally understand that cooking is much more noble than their useless asceticism.”

The plump townsperson said, squinting his eyes and looking at the three ascetic monks on the stage. The ascetic monks also took out their own ingredients and cooking utensils from bags on the side.

Judging from their seamless cooperation, these movements had obviously been repeated to perfection.

Every movement was very standard.

Heat swirled around them. They were making a kind of… standard grilled meat with various seasonings.

According to Lake and Polo’s understanding in the past few days, meat dishes were also the most likely type of dish to be selected as Sage, second only to desserts.

The faces of those ascetic monks were blown by the heat of the grilled meat, but their expressions didn’t change at all.

They solemnly put in the precisely matched seasonings and completed the dish. Although they didn’t show any enthusiasm on their faces, the finished dish was undoubtedly excellent in every way.

“Hmm, not bad, the sauce, heat, and knife skills are all extremely standard, without any mistakes.”

Several Sages who were acting as “selectors” made this evaluation after swallowing the grilled meat. “You are qualified to join us, as… Sages of Sweet.”

Hearing this, the three ascetic monks on the stage, including the other dozen ascetic monks below the stage, all burst into tears of joy at the same time.

They clasped the crosses on their chests tightly with both hands, while constantly reciting hymns of praise.

“They’re indeed skilled.”

The plump townsperson saw this, and his palms were visibly sweating. “Perhaps I’m… not working hard enough?”

After that, one person after another went onto the stage.

Then, for most of the people after that, the evaluation from the Sages was just spitting out the food, plus comments such as “knife skills are not good enough,” “ingredients are wrong,” and “excessive heat.”

The plump townsperson placed his carefully made blue-purple pastry in front of the Sages.

He looked at the Sages with anticipation, watching them eat the pastry.

But there was no miracle.

“Not good enough, your control of the flavor is not good enough, the taste of the fruit is masked by the sugar.”

After the Sage returned the pastry to the plump townsperson, only a piece of raw material remained.

“Thank you, sir.”

The plump townsperson sighed and walked off the stage, brushing past Lake and Polo, who were about to go on stage, and gave a wry smile:

“You two, you’d better not have any hope, this time is a bit difficult, maybe… the chefs who came this year, or the people who came to participate, have become much more powerful…”

“It’s okay, sir, if we don’t get selected, we’ll think of other ways.”

Lake smiled, but she and Polo weren’t here to be rejected!

Walking onto the stage, she took out her tools, which were no different from those of other chefs: a rolling pin, a kitchen knife, some ingredients, and flour.

“Are those girls and that male chef going to make bread? Or some kind of pastry?”

“Did you see those meat and vegetables? Are they going to make pizza?”

While the people below the stage and the Sages were thinking and guessing, Lake and Polo's actions had already begun.

Just like the crash course they had taken yesterday.

Polo’s 【Spiral Beacon: Sage】 gave him extremely strong memory, allowing him to remember many recipes from his previous life, but here, due to the limited materials, it was difficult to make many things.

The first type was an ordinary pasta that didn’t require too much technical skill—

Dumplings.

Polo whispered the steps while classifying and arranging the various ingredients.

As the “chef,” the girl needed to do some more “technical” work. She poured in warm water, added yeast, and began to knead the dough. Her strong physical fitness, coupled with precise control of her strength, made the speed twice as effective.

Before long, the dough became strong and elastic.

“Are they going to make bread? That speed is indeed very skilled.”

One Sage said, but shook his head.

“But I feel… the skill is still some distance away from the threshold of a Sage, it’s a pity.”

Another Sage added.

But then, they frowned, and the Sages were surprised as they watched Lake's next actions.

Lake set the dough aside to ferment, and while it was fermenting, she picked up a kitchen knife and placed a piece of fresh meat on the cutting board. The next moment, the kitchen knife in her hand instantly turned into a blur!

Dense and even chopping sounds rang out on the cutting board.

At this moment, several audience members below the stage, as well as several Sages, widened their eyes!

“Such knife skills and speed…”

“So fast? I misjudged her. To master such knife skills at her age, she's no ordinary cook!”

“But, isn't she making bread?”

In less than a few seconds, the minced meat was ready. Lake used her knife to push it aside and placed some locally sourced vegetables, like onions, specially selected by Polo on top…

She minced them finely as well, added seasoning powder and filling, and soon the ingredients were ready.

After that, Lake took out the fermented dough, kneaded it into long strips, cut it into small pieces, and rolled them into circular dough wrappers. Then, she and Polo picked up the wrappers together and began to wrap the filling.

Polo, through the [Spiral Beacon: Sage], could also recall memories from his previous life.

However, due to the limitations of his body, his speed was far inferior to Lake, who relied on the movement learning talent granted by the [Spiral Beacon: Hunter] and had been practicing for a day.

But the results of their one day of practice were completely amazing to the Sages beside them.

“What are they… doing? Is that some kind of pastry?”

“Is it original? I don't think I've seen it before?”

“It shouldn't be original, but rather a traditional delicacy from a distant land. Their techniques, fillings, and style all carry the characteristics of a well-developed culinary system.”

Soon, plump dumplings filled the cutting board.

“Plop—plop—”

The dumplings were thrown into boiling water, adding water until they were cooked through…

The aroma filled the air, and they were placed on a plate.

Each Sage took one, put it in their mouth.

They slowly savored it, looked at each other, nodded, and looked at Lake and Polo:

“Good exotic cuisine. The knife skills and techniques are both perfect and skilled—it's already enough.”

As they spoke, the Sage at the front took out a golden emblem and handed it to them.

Just like the badges worn on the chests of these Sages, the golden surface depicted a pair of wings.

When they took it, Lake and Polo were stunned for a moment.

The weight was wrong. It was two gold-foil-wrapped chocolates.