Maybe she would get some inspiration for a new culinary creation out of it.
Elizabeth understood the situation. This man has eaten the finest dishes in the world, and now he wants something simple. For that one reason, she agreed to sit down for the break.
Galia produced her special elf potion as if it were a priceless treasure. Elizabeth did not need it. But Hawthorne commanded, and Galia passed it over. Elizabeth bounced that potion straight to Liping.
Liping drank it the way a hungry man attacks a buffet. The grassy taste was so strong that he was going to gag. He offered some to Annie. She refused, because she had not used much magic. Galia's face turned red with anger, and then Elizabeth dumped out the rest.
Galia became even more furious.
Liping found a simple solution to this mess. Bananas. His treasured countryside delicacies, handed out one by one, and an apple for Annie. That simple gesture filled her eyes with tears. Not because of the apple, but because it made her remember the children back at her orphanage, who had gone a long time without eating fresh fruit. Liping promised that he would send fruit for them too.
But Galia angrily threw hers away, and Glee squashed the second one. Hawthorne told everyone to eat, and promised some extravagant finds once the treasure was located. Lo and Gasha ate the fruit.
And then there was something utterly bizarre.
At that very moment, all three of them were in a forest, wearing costumes. All around them insect-like creatures were singing in courts, and all three of them started dancing too. As if the world were holding the weirdest music competition and they were giving their audition.
Galia and Glee were in shock. And when the three came back, their magical levels had shot up. They felt powerful.
Liping clapped as if he had seen the best performance of his life. Elizabeth knew that if this continued there would be trouble, and that Liping had already raised their levels in advance. The others were stunned.
Annie added two and two, and worked out that all of this had happened because of Liping's bananas. Galia denied it. There cannot be anything magical in bananas. But Gasha, who was now a two-star demon spirit, was saying inside that it had happened because of the bananas. Lo said the hidden hand behind it must belong to someone at a higher level, and pinned it on the magician. Hawthorne, all at once, had jumped three stages and become a three-star demon spirit, and he was in disbelief.
They asked Liping about the origin of these magical bananas. Liping was completely caught off guard. To him, they were just bananas. Hybrid crops, grown naturally. No magic at all.
Galia and Glee decided to eat bananas as well. But before they could eat them, the bananas turned rotten. Annie recognized it immediately. The bananas only work when at least three people eat together.
But Glee pointed out that Elizabeth had eaten one too. Annie's head started scratching, because the effect only works if the user's own power is not greater than the treasure's. Galia thought that perhaps it was the effect of her elf potion.
Hawthorne asked for more bananas. Liping had them. But before he could give any away, Elizabeth took his entire backpack and declared that the bananas and all the other fruits were hers now.
Then she pushed Liping forward and signalled to move on. In her eyes, the journey was almost over. Liping apologized to Hawthorne and promised he would share them quickly. He offered to walk with him, but Elizabeth had already moved ahead, and Liping's gaze was on the backpack.
Hawthorne told his people to stay. He understood that these were not ordinary people. And Elizabeth was not a simple princess of an unknown tribe.
He had a big plan in his mind. The Aristotle Kingdom was offering huge rewards for key information about a missing princess. He was absolutely sure that Elizabeth was the one. And not only that, he wanted Elizabeth for himself, to gain more power in the kingdom.
As soon as he focused his charm magic, the wives felt a shift in the atmosphere.
The three continued to move forward through the maze. Liping felt the passage was endless, and he feared that perhaps the exit would never be found. Elizabeth was quite sure they were about to reach it.
Then something moved behind them. Annie noticed it first, but before she could alert the others, clouds of dust covered Liping and he started coughing.
Then came Hawthorne, carrying his wives, who seemed bewitched. He apologized to Elizabeth for the delay and offered her a seat on his back. Elizabeth instantly refused. He was not qualified to be her ride. Hawthorne felt a little offended. Galia got more irritated.
And then suddenly Galia's head fell. The body collapsed on the ground. Blood all around. Everything froze.
For a moment no one knew whether to scream or run. Then there was movement on the ceiling, and the dragonflies came out. Disgusting creatures. One jumped towards Elizabeth. She blasted it as though she were killing a fly.
Annie had accepted that she was going to die in this maze, and she was waiting for her turn.
Liping clung to Elizabeth as if she were the world's last lifeline. Elizabeth decided that selfish people should die first. She was fighting the flies. Glee also worked with Hawthorne and cast a defensive shield around Gasha.
Then Hawthorne showed his true colours and left the three of them to their fate. He was busy figuring out Elizabeth's identity.
The dragonflies continued to grow in number. Glee's magical shield broke and her head fell too, joining Galia's company. Lo and Gasha were next in line. Hawthorne also got involved in defending himself. He was cutting the flies down with a sword. Gasha was mixing hand-to-hand fighting with magic. Lo used her assassination skills and cut through the swarm with precision.
But the flies were not going away. Everyone started getting tired. Lo got lost in her thoughts for a second, and at that very moment a dragonfly saw its opportunity. But Hawthorne kicked it and saved Lo.
Elizabeth was still waiting to see what Liping would do next. She had been surprised after seeing his true colours, and she wondered whether he would finally stop pretending.
Liping was really regretting all of it now. He felt strongly that he wished he were back farming in the village, where the only thing trying to kill him would be some stubborn weed.
Elizabeth decided that enough had been done. These people had travelled far enough on their own to prove their worth. She told Liping to stop sulking and get ready for what came next.
Elizabeth moved forward, leaving Hawthorne and his two surviving wives to deal with the flies. One of the flies followed them, but Annie, with the grace of a puppet master, finished it off by kicking it away with a stick.
As she went, Elizabeth cast a spell, and a huge gate appeared in front of them. She opened it, and all three went inside.
Hawthorne observed this too, and with Gasha and Lo on his back he ran towards the gate. Just before the gates closed, he barely got in.
And what was inside? A mountain of gold coins, jewels and glittering treasures. Liping's eyes lit up. It was like a scene from a fairy tale.
But Hawthorne is so very much Hawthorne. He pushed Liping aside. Gasha made sure that Annie was brought in along with them.