“Bl…… Bl…… Blood!” Babla was suddenly struck by a sense of dizziness, and her body swayed as she fell to the side.

  “What’s going on with you?” Mag hurriedly supported her by laying a hand on her shoulder. He then looked at the pink section at the center of the steak, and a peculiar look appeared on his face as he asked, “You’re not scared of blood, are you?”


  Babla turned her gaze away from the steak. After taking two deep breaths, she managed to recompose herself as she shook her head stubbornly. “I’m not scared of blood! I was just suddenly feeling a little ill.”


  “Your steak was cooked to medium, so the center looks a little pink, but it’s definitely not raw and it won’t taste like blood, either. It’ll be really good for your body considering you’re anemic. If you’re really scared of blood, then we can swap steaks,” Mag offered as he withdrew his hand. It appeared that she was quite frail, after all.

  “There’s no need for that; I’m not scared of blood!” Babla shook her head with a firm expression as she looked down at the steak on her plate. She lifted her fork again, stabbed it into the small piece of beef she had cut off earlier, and then placed it in her mouth with her eyes closed.

  The dreaded gush of metallic blood never came. Her teeth easily bit through the tender beef, and the rich flavor of wine fused with the juices of the meat spilled into her mouth. Coupled with that special sauce that instantly ignited her taste buds, Babla felt as if there was a tiny fairy dancing on the tip of her tongue, smoothing out her tightly knitted brows.

  She chewed the steak carefully, only to find that the beef was incredibly tender and supple. Having been soaked in red wine prior to being cooked, none of the rank odor that was normally present in beef could be detected, yet the original flavor of the beef had been perfectly preserved.

  Only then did the faintly sweet tang of blood spill out from the beef, but it wasn’t a gut-wrenching metallic tang. Instead, it was a subtle sweetness that lent even further complexity to the flavor of the steak.

  Babla felt as if she were sitting in a large bathtub with her entire body submerged in red liquid. The rich aroma of red wine wafted around her, tinged with hints of blood-filled sweetness. It struck her with the urge to moan with pleasure.

  Wisps of warmth slid down her throat and into her stomach before coursing through her limbs, giving her the same sense of comfort that she derived from actually taking a warm bath.

  Furthermore, some of this warmth gathered in her chest. She found the fuzzy feeling indescribable, yet it was very comfortable.

  Babla could clearly sense her feeble body quickly recovering its energy. If that sugar water from earlier had merely been an appetizer soup, then this steak was well and truly the main course.

  This steak really is just as delicious as the roast beef kebab! Even though the flavor is completely different, it’s not inferior to the roast beef kebab at all! After swallowing the mouthful of beef, Babla opened her eyes and stared at the steak before her with amazement in her eyes.

  The bloodstained fibers that had evoked in her a sense of nausea suddenly didn’t appear so repulsive any more after she had tasted the delicious steak. Instead, they were looking quite alluring.

  Babla immediately had another piece of steak without any hesitation. The incredible flavor spread in her mouth with reckless abandon, filling her empty body and completely ridding her of that feeble sensation.

  What an amazing feeling! Eating this dish has the same effect as eating roast beef! Perhaps it’s due to those bloody fibers, but I feel like even my blood flow has quickened and been replenished. Also…… there’s a strange feeling in my chest. Babla sensed the changes taking place within her body, and was completely immersed in bliss as her large steak rapidly shrank in size.

  Mag shook his head with a smile upon seeing this. Babla’s body was always more honest than her mouth. He placed the plate of sliced-up medium-well steak in front of Amy before picking up his silverware as he dug into his own steak.

  The medium-well steak had been cooked to perfection; the ridges of the grill pan had imprinted straight lines on the beef, giving it a sense of artistry. His knife glided through the steak, and he could clearly feel the sensation of juices spilling out of the supple beef as the rich aroma of red wine wafted toward him.

  Just for the fact that 100 milliliters of that red wine had been used to marinate this beef, this is most likely the most expensive black pepper steak in this world. Mag looked at the beef on his fork as he heaved an internal sigh. Even he had never used Domaine de la Romanée-Conti wine to cook steak before.

  As the steak entered his mouth, the first flavor he detected was the black pepper, and his taste buds danced with elation in response. The other condiments in the sauce had made the flavor of the black pepper much more mellow, leaving only a pleasantly numb sensation in his mouth. It was like the perfect catalyst facilitating a better fusion between the beef and the red wine.

  The texture of the beef was very tender, and as the juices of the meat itself spilled out with the red wine, the flavor was simply indescribably exquisite.

  What an amazing flavor! This is truly top-of-the-range steak!

  Mag’s eyes had completely lit up. He had tasted many outstanding cuts of steak in his past life, but none of those could compare with this portion of steak.

  1,500 copper coins is not too high a price for this, is it? Mag thought to himself. The ingredient cost per portion of steak amounted to 300 copper coins, but Mag felt that it was still too cheap even if he were to set the price at 5,000 copper coins. There was no way that anyone could source such exceptional red wine from anywhere, and the flavor of the steak was also completely peerless.

  Even though the flavor of red wine was quite strong in the dish, Mag had already confirmed with the system that the majority of the alcohol content had already evaporated. Furthermore, condiments like black pepper didn’t have any special effect on children, though it did have a certain effect on women and developing young girls.

  As for any effects that it could have on men, the system’s response was slightly ambiguous, yet it guaranteed that there would be no negative implications involved.

  The restaurant was very quiet, with only the occasional clink of silverware on a plate, and the words of praise that the three of them expressed toward their steaks.

  “Meow~” Ugly Duckling finished running its 10 laps and sat down at Amy’s feet, looking up at her with an expectant gaze.

  “Alright, seeing as you finished the 10 laps, I’ll give you a small piece of beef.” Amy looked down before picking up a piece of beef and passing it to Ugly Duckling.

  Ugly Duckling’s eyes lit up as it laid its two front paws on Amy’s foot and accepted the piece of beef with glee. It chewed on the beef with a blissful expression, clearly thoroughly enjoying the treat.

  “Meow, meow, meow, meow~”


  However, right after Ugly Duckling swallowed the beef, its body began to sway as it rapidly ran circles around the table. Its body had almost transformed into a blur with the speed of its movement, and it was as if it had suddenly gone insane.

  “Father, what’s wrong with Ugly Duckling?” Amy stared at Ugly Duckling with a look of bewilderment on her face.

  “It’s probably…… sick?” Mag raised an eyebrow in response. He was also quite surprised by this peculiar development.

  “Thud!”


  Ugly Duckling crashed headfirst into a table leg before lying spread-eagled on its back, having already fallen asleep.

  “System, didn’t you say there’s barely any alcohol content left? Why is the kitten drunk?” Mag looked at the sleeping Ugly Duckling with a confused expression on his face.