Upon Alric and his group's return, life at Alric's house continued pleasantly for Belle, Whitney, Aelda, and Vexanna. Belle and Whitney managed the daily household chores, while Aelda and Vexanna ventured into the forest to hunt wild monsters.
Around noon, all four would gather to enjoy a relaxing bath together, cherishing the tranquility of their day. Following their mid-day repose, they would commence dinner preparations at 4 p.m. Aelda and Vexanna would dedicate time to practicing their spell casting before joining in the meal preparations.
After their training, they would refresh themselves with a bath, don fresh attire, and assemble at the dining table.
Their evening meal typically consisted of salad, grilled meats, breads and Rice accompanied by three types of curry, each complementing the bread and meat.
The day before Alric and his group were scheduled to return, at Alric's home Vexanna expressed a desire for something other than spicy flavors. Aelda suggested cakes, noting Belle's ability to bake bread.
Whitney enthusiastically echoed, "Cakes! What is a cake?" Vexanna affirmed, "Hmm, yes, cake!" She then inquired if Belle could prepare one. Belle responded affirmatively, "Yes, I can make cakes, but we are rather low on sugar and cream." Belle then looked at Whitney and added, "We can, however, make creams."
Whitney, a Cowgirl beastkin, looked confused as Belle stared at her. Belle explained, "We need some sugar for the cream preparation for the cakes." Aelda then inquired, "Will honey suffice?" Belle confirmed, "Yes, it will."
Consequently, Vexanna and Aelda ventured into the wild forest. Utilizing her ability to sense the surrounding area, Aelda located a monster beehive. Although small for monster bees, the beehive was large enough to yield a substantial amount of honey for both Aelda and Vexanna to collect.
After successfully collecting honey from the monster beehive, they returned without significant incident, as the monster bees posed little trouble. On their way home, where Belle intended to bake a cake, they encountered a demoness lying on the ground, seemingly hopeless. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing heavily, with a noticeably slow respiratory rate.
As Aelda laid eyes on the demoness, a tense memory snapped into focus. This was the exact same demoness who had fled from a deadly dullahan, leaving the monster to nearly claim her life. Her escape had drawn the beast's attention to Aelda and Alric, forcing them to fight and kill the dullahan themselves.
She leaned in close to the injured demoness and asked softly, "Are you alright? Do you need anything?"
The demoness, too weak to speak, remained silent and recumbent. "Let's take her with us!" Vexanna declared. As a demoness herself, Vexanna showed no hesitation, but Aelda interjected, reminding her that this demoness could pose a threat to others, if not to Vexanna herself.
Vexanna had overlooked the fact that Belle was human, Whitney a Beastkin, and Aelda an Elf; Vexanna was the only demon present and therefore immune to potential harm from the new demon, unlike the others.
Unwilling to abandon the helpless demoness, Vexanna vowed to ensure that the new female demon would not inflict harm upon any of them.
Upon arriving home with the demoness and a substantial amount of honey from the monstrous beehive, Belle and Whitney inquired about the new figure, noting her apparent exhaustion and unconscious state. Aelda and Vexanna explained that they discovered her lying unconscious and decided to bring her with them.
They carefully placed the female demon on a bed, where Vexanna administered treatment. Subsequently, she regained consciousness, and Belle offered her water and food. After consuming these, the female demon's health was fully restored.
The female demon introduced herself as Alma, the daughter of a demon king. She revealed that she was sent to this location to demonstrate her strength, a prerequisite for ruling the nation her father currently governs. Alma recounted her arrival in this forest with her soldiers, all of whom perished fighting a mysterious, previously unknown monster: a Dullahan.
Fortunately, she managed to escape its clutches. While subsequently traversing the forest, she stumbled upon an area where numerous trees absorbed all her mana and lifeforce. Before she could comprehend the situation, it was too late. However, she narrowly escaped by utilizing a teleportation stone, subsequently falling unconscious on the ground.
Vexanna asks, "Don't you know about this forest?" Belle's curiosity rises since she also doesn't know what this forest is called. Whitney only knows that it is a forest. Aelda is also listening to what Vexanna has to say about the forest. As Vexanna, in a suspense-building manner, reveals, this forest is commonly known as the Forbidden Forest. There's no proper name for it, but all the nations around the world don't dare to enter this particular forest because unnatural beings and unnatural things roam inside it.
Vexanna further explains that the creatures in this forest are mythical, never seen before, and even top-rank adventurers will have a hard time traveling through this forest. Living inside this forest is impossible for any high-ranking adventurers.
Upon listening to Vexanna's words, Belle, with a distrusting demeanor, asks, "Is this forest that dangerous? You are not lying, Vexanna, are you?" Whitney and Aelda just understood about the forest, not being stunned.
The female demon Alma, who had faced the Dullahan, burst into tears, saying, "How am I going to get out of this forest!" She cried like a crybaby because she could tell it was a truly dangerous forest; all of her high-ranking Demonic Knights dying was very strong evidence for her. Aelda and Whitney try to calm her down, stopping her from crying any longer. Vexanna gives honey to Belle while Alma keeps crying.
Aelda says stop crying we will help you get out of this forest, we are living inside this forest you see. After listening to Aelda, the female demon Alma stopped crying. Vexanna says let's make the cake then! They continue their work to make some delicious cakes.