Let's put aside the matter of the sect for now; what Hilia needs to do right now is engrave runes on all of the Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish bones.
The cartilage on the bones can't be used by the magic puppet, so it's already been completely removed and will just be used as one of the materials for copying and engraving runes.
It's quite a lot of work. While Rose guided Hilia in the process of rune engraving, he also controlled the magic puppet to help with the engraving.
There's no need for Hilia to do all the repetitive tasks alone; as long as she gets familiar with it, working together is much more efficient.
They were busy all the way until evening before all the fish bones were finally engraved.
"The magic puppet's spine connects the Arcane Furnace and Heart of the Magic Puppet, transmitting magic power throughout the body. You have to be meticulous. Among tier one magical beasts, the Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish's bones are considered pretty good material—enough for use up to tier two."
The spine is roughly like a motherboard, connecting the various components. Letting Rose use the Water God Divine Fragment as the CPU means he can bring out its full power—limited only by the other components' capability—but it's still a major boost to the magic puppet's combat power.
If we're going to investigate the heretics tomorrow, strengthening the magic puppet gives us a shot at sniping them; otherwise, we could only stand aside and watch.
Hilia put a lot of effort into her work, finishing everything with meticulous attention to detail. Under Rose's supervision and inspections, there were basically no problems.
By night, the replacement of the whole magic puppet's spine was finally completed.
"Phew, finally done. I'm starving."
The girl rubbed her flat little stomach, which promptly responded with a loud growl.
Her cheeks, glistening with sweat, turned just a bit red.
She glanced at the time and suddenly panicked. "Oh no, the school cafeteria is already finished with dinner. It's closed now!"
"Let's eat fish tonight—Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish."
Rose picked up the rune-engraving knife, grabbed the Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish meat that had been tossed aside, sliced off a piece, and then sliced it into thin fish fillets.
Hilia wanted to say something but stopped herself.
Using a rune-engraving knife to slice fish—how extravagant is that!
But since there were no other tools in the room, they'd just have to make do.
"But, even though I can cook, there aren't any kitchen utensils here…"
Before coming to the academy, Hilia would help the High Priest cook. But once she got to school, all her meals were free, so to save money, she didn't buy any cookware and ate all her meals at school.
"Do you know Mage's Hand?" Rose asked.
Hilia shook her head. "The only magic I know are Holy Word Persuasion, Basic Fireball Skill, and Ice Spike. Ms. Ailina said not to learn too many spells since it's a waste of time and bad for leveling up your tier; instead, you should find the magics that suit you best to focus on. The rest? Just store them in a magic puppet."
"Mage's Hand is an attribute-less spell. The principle is to condense spiritual power into a hand to manipulate physical objects. Besides meditation, it's also a good way to train spiritual power. There's no harm in learning it—I'll teach you."
With that, Rose directly transmitted the information about "Mage's Hand" to Hilia, along with beginner's tips and insights. While it wouldn't make her master it instantly, it could help her form a Mage's Hand and quickly get started.
The injection of information hurt a bit; Hilia's brows knitted tightly as she endured the pain.
After a short while, her tightly furrowed brow relaxed little by little.
"I think I can do it." The girl recalled the magic Rose had just poured into her, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to extend her spiritual power outwards; in the air before her, the outline of a hand gradually formed.
Mage's Hand was invisible, but Hilia could sense its existence.
Rose tossed a slice of fish onto her Mage's Hand.
Seeing the fish slice hover in midair, Hilia's expression turned intrigued. "This spell doesn't have any magic waves, no shape or color. It's amazing."
"That's 'cause it's made of pure spiritual power." Rose rubbed his hands, and a little flame appeared on his (magic puppet's) hand.
With a snap of his fingers, the flame flew beneath the Mage's Hand.
Hilia could feel the warmth from the flame, but it didn't burn.
The flame's heat penetrated the Mage's Hand, transferring to the fish fillet.
"Rotate the Mage's Hand like you would with a spatula—ahem, flip the fish over, before it burns."
"Oh, okay!"
Hilia hastily manipulated Mage's Hand to flip it, but the fish fillet fell off with the movement and was caught by Rose.
"Ah, (＞人＜;) I'm sorry!"
"It's fine. That's normal for a beginner—try again."
Rose flipped the fish fillet and tossed it back onto the Mage's Hand.
Filled with confidence, Hilia flipped the fish over successfully this time.
"It's actually pretty easy!"
Rose kept quiet, but he tossed all the other slices onto her Mage's Hand, filling it to the brim.
"Keep going."
The girl fell silent.
She tried to flip the Mage's Hand again.
Soon, the girl was sweating buckets.
...
Half an hour later.
"Is… is that enough?"
Hilia was shaking all over from trying to maintain the Mage's Hand, her face pale as a sheet.
"That's good." Rose put the last fish slice onto a plate—one he'd cut out of scrap magic puppet materials.
He handed the plate over: "Here you go, Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish fillets. They'll restore your spiritual power and even give you a boost."
The strength of Hilia's spiritual power determined how much spiritual power he could present outside.
In other words, the strength of spiritual power he could use right now was basically the same as what Hilia possessed.
He simply made 100% use of it, while Hilia managed… maybe 10% at best.
"The strength of spiritual power depends not just on the amount but on proficiency, too. From now on, you can use Mage's Hand every day to grill fish. Afterward, you'll replenish your spiritual power right away."
Hilia picked up a fillet and took a bite, discovering that the simple salted Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish had a peculiar aroma and a unique, mild fishiness. It was delicious.
As soon as she swallowed, a warm surge rose from her stomach, flowing straight to her spiritual space and clearing away her exhaustion.
"This is the best fish I've ever eaten," Hilia said blissfully.
She passed the plate to Rose. "Mr. Rose, you should have some too."
Rose pointed at himself (the magic puppet), "Have you equipped this puppet with an eating function?"
Hilia looked embarrassed and lowered her head. "Um… I don't think I have."
"There you go, then. You eat it."
"I'll add an eating function to the puppet! And taste, touch, hearing…"
Rose couldn't help but laugh. "Are you planning for me to stay in the magic puppet forever or what?"
"Huh? That's not what I meant—I just, I just…"
Faced with Rose, the usually articulate Hilia was suddenly tongue-tied, stammering for ages.
Rose chuckled, and seeing the flustered, red-faced girl, he couldn't help but reach out and pat her on the head.
"I'm just kidding. Eat while the fish is still hot, or it'll get cold."