After eating and drinking their fill, they returned to the room.
Aurina fell straight down from Richard’s head, and Richard caught her at once, feeling that Aurina had become much heavier—at least several times heavier than usual. This was no small matter.
Usually, after Aurina ate a roasted sheep, her body was still very light. It made one wonder where all the food she ate went.
“Aurina,” Richard exclaimed, “was it poisonous?”
“This female is very strong,” Aurina slowly opened her eyes, “this king fought until exhausted.”
“You ate too much,” Richard said. “There was no need to force yourself to show off like that.”
Aurina got down from Richard’s arms and satisfiedly patted her mount’s thigh. She was very pleased with this “mount” that possessed subjective initiative.
She said, “This king wasn’t showing off, but they were just too delicious.”
“Delicious?”
“Very delicious, and so many varieties.”
Richard said, “They are delicious, but I think I’m not far behind.”
“Ugh.” Aurina vomited.
Golden coins, mixed with shiny gems, clattered down, covering Aurina’s small ankles. She flopped onto the pile of coins, her hands feeling her bosom, but coming up empty. Then she let out a meow.
“Meow!”
A cat’s meow responded, and the orange dragon rolled in like a fluffy meatball, tumbling into Aurina’s arms.
Aurina held the orange dragon, lying sideways on the pile of coins, her body curled into a circle. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Richard turned off the alchemical lamp ball inside, closed the door, and after some thought, found Frostsilver’s servant. He inquired about the inventory’s ingredients, picked a few, and decided to make his specialty dish himself.
Aurina slept for more than a full day before waking up, her pregnant-like little belly gone.
“I’ve always believed that cooking is just like learning swordsmanship, learning how to fight,” Richard sat upright, his face serious. “As long as I apply the methods I used before to master swordsmanship to cooking, I believe I can achieve at least one-tenth of my accomplishments in combat. One person battling an entire chef team.”
Richard also shared his plan. “I’ve secured a few days to practice. I hope Frostsilver doesn’t pull any tricks, but I think she’s not the type to play petty games.”
Sophia’s only reaction was to clasp her hands, bow her head, and pray to her god. “Lord, please bless us. Let us return home safely to marry, one way or another.”
Then Sophia muttered, “No accidents, no accidents.”
Aurina watched her. This female bug could cross the threshold of “being fortunate to conceive a dragon seed.”
But now, she suddenly had a thought—she really wanted to snatch Sophia’s things and see her astonished face.
Just like before, when she spent delightful nights with those female bugs, not knowing what their husbands, lovers, crushes, or whatever messy things were. They jumped around like fleas, their expressions utterly marvelous.
This impulse surged in her heart, and Aurina looked at the utterly serious Richard. The impulse still lingered.
_Should I fuck him?_
As the saying goes, after being full and warm, one thinks of lust. Aurina now really wanted some lust.
She thought about it. Given that she had no precedent of fucking a male…. Wait, why would this king have such a thought?
Besides, for now—just temporarily, in the insignificant scale of her dragon life—this king still couldn’t beat him.
So she let it go.
It was unclear if Sophia’s prayer had worked, but in any case, she escaped it all—for the time being.
So Aurina just went over to rub against Sophia, but she increasingly felt that Sophia—theoretically someone who could be the mother of her dragon seed—held little sexual interest for her. She was even too lazy to stroke her own dragon tail. She sat on the railing, gazing at the gradually sinking sunset in the distance, and sighed.
The ship sailed along the coastline. The sea was calm and peaceful, and time seemed to follow suit, passing slowly and leisurely, as if it could flow on like that for a lifetime.
Just as Aurina was thinking this, the day of the decisive battle between Richard and Frostsilver’s chef team arrived.
“I don’t think Frostsilver can raise Aurina well,” Richard said. “Even with the strictest contract binding Frostsilver from having any crooked ideas about Aurina. I admit, she might be the richest woman in the world. But no matter how many material conditions there are, they can’t compare to genuine, heartfelt love. She doesn’t understand Aurina at all.”
Sophia didn’t show much enthusiasm. She said, “Then your love for Aurina is a bit too much, isn’t it?”
“She’s very cute, and she’s our comrade,” Richard said. “Although her essence is an evil dragon, who doesn’t like her?”
Then Richard said, “After this exchange, my cooking skills will reach a new level. After I win the golden shovel prize, I’ll definitely prepare food for our wedding that all the guests will remember for a lifetime.”
Sophia’s eyes lit up. “What is the golden shovel?”
“A prize Frostsilver added to the competition,” Richard said. “I’ve heard of it. It always ensures the food’s heat is just right. As long as you use it, no matter what pot or stove, the heat can change according to the chef’s will.”
“Richard, do your best,” Aurina was also looking forward to it, increasingly feeling that Richard was truly great. In her dragon life, she rarely encountered such a multifunctional, initiative-filled bipedal slave.
He could fight, he could be ridden, he could hunt for gold—and that wasn’t all. He could make delicious things and was very ambitious.
_Worth of this king. Even the enemy who killed me, with astonishing wisdom, I’ve tamed and trained him into the finest mount._
Aurina thought this and patted Richard’s thigh. “After you two get married, have lots of children.”
That way, there would be many little mounts to serve this king.
Sophia smiled sweetly. “Thank you for your blessing. Although I only want to have one—the child’s birthday is the mother’s day of suffering.”
With that, Sophia happily patted Aurina’s head.
Everyone chatted for a while, and the first round of the cooking god competition, centered around the battle for Aurina’s custody, began.
There was only one judge: Aurina. She sat in the center of the venue, knife in one hand and fork in the other, a white napkin draped over her chest. She sat there with her mouth half-open, grinning as she waited for the food to arrive.
The venue wasn’t in the hall but on the ship’s deck.
Those utensils and the napkin served more as “costume” props, telling others that Aurina was a diner who wanted to eat.
“First round,” the gnome hellknight captain, acting as referee, seriously raised a wooden sign marked with a one—so that everyone could see it. Standing on the table made him look a bit less serious.
“Richard goes first!”
Richard pushed the food cart into the hall. The cart had been modified—rather than a food cart, it was more like a mobile grill. On top was a roasted sheep dripping with oil, a very “traditional,” upright, and simple roasted lamb, sprinkled with cumin.
“Ga!” Aurina pounced straight at it.
“Wait,” Richard raised his hand to block her. “Wait until I bring out the barbecue dipping sauce.”
He said this with victory assured.
Frostsilver merely yawned. “Such a boring dish. Now it’s my servant’s turn to follow.”