Richard was full of confidence and didn’t even glance at his opponent, because he was focused on “serving” Aurina.
He took the knife and directly inserted it into the joint where the roast lamb’s hind leg connected to the body.
The outer skin was roasted to a perfect golden crisp.
The rendered fat coated it in a layer, sticking the cumin powder and other spices to the surface.
The complex aroma from the Maillard reaction was like a gentle hand teasingly hooking under her chin.
Each whiff of the scent was different, and Aurina loved it.
Aurina was already impatient and wanted to stick out her tongue to lick this delicious layer.
Her two hands gripped the edge of the table, her tail swishing back and forth behind her.
The shiny knife pierced the golden, crispy outer skin.
The friction sound between the skin and the blade already made her unable to resist sticking out her tongue—just from the sound, she could tell the roasting was perfect.
The knife slid in smoothly and cut off the hind leg along with a large piece of meat.
The lamb inside was moist, and a drop of juice followed the meat fibers and dripped down, falling into the charcoal fire.
Richard handed it to Aurina.
Aurina grabbed it with both hands.
She first stuck out her pink little tongue and licked it.
The cumin on the golden outer skin made the taste buds on her tongue bloom like flowers one after another.
Then she licked the lamb, and the juice diluted the flavor on her tongue.
Aurina immediately took a bite.
With a crunch, she even bit off a piece of the lamb bone, her cheeks bulging.
The lamb flavor was a bit mild, so she had to chew hard to blend the outer skin’s taste with the meat.
The hardness of the bone fragments amid the tender lamb made her enjoy it immensely.
Aurina said, “Delicious! Pack animal, ah no, Richard, you’re getting better and better~”
A smile appeared on Richard’s face.
Not far away, the gnome chef stood on a high stool—held steady by a white-haired gnome hellknight—and removed the dish cover.
Light, golden light flashed in all directions.
Aurina, who was just about to open her mouth to eat the entire leg, immediately turned her head, spinning 180 degrees in place, and exclaimed, “Gold!”
There, a golden calf knelt on the dining table, surrounded by a circle of green olive vegetables dotted with ripe fruits as decoration.
Aurina pounced right over, forgetting she still had an entire lamb leg in her hand.
As she got close, she smelled a fragrance—that was an edible golden calf.
She bit into it, piercing the soft gold foil, and it was still crispy outer skin underneath, with juicy beef inside.
The beef was handled well.
It wasn’t like tough leather that greatly tested the diner’s teeth.
Even rarer, this beef was flavorful—not too heavy or light, without overpowering but also not absent.
First bite, second bite, third bite…
The entire calf disappeared from the table.
After eating, Aurina rubbed her belly and said, “Really delicious!”
The gnome chef said, “You’re too kind, too kind.”
Only then did Aurina notice Richard looking at her, with that expression…
Aurina tilted her head and understood right away.
It was just like her previous unicorn lover, who, upon knowing she was leaving, blinked with hurt eyes.
She then noticed that the lamb leg with a bite taken out was nowhere to be seen.
Aurina looked left and right, only to find it on her tail.
In front of Richard, she opened her mouth wide and took a bite, leaving only the bone.
Then she stuffed the entire roast lamb into her mouth.
She didn’t know if it was because that roast calf had filled her up, but Aurina felt this roast lamb… wasn’t that tasty.
“Gold attracts the eye and is delicious too,” Richard said with a relieved sigh.
“Taking pride in achievements in swordsmanship and naturally thinking that if swordsmanship works, cooking does too—that’s completely arrogant and not taking the masters who have delved deeply into it seriously.”
Frostsilver ate her dish while faintly asking, “Can our little judge give her decision?”
Richard looked at Aurina. “Speak up.”
The gnome chef straightened up, a rare pride on his face.
In front of the strong, he always shrank his gaze and hid.
But now, he was like a strong one standing proudly on the battlefield.
“You,” Aurina said without thinking.
Richard was stunned. “Why?”
“Because you’re the strongest little bug in the world,” Aurina said. “So it’s you.”
Richard said, “But we’re competing in cooking, not violence.”
“Is that important?” Aurina said.
“Only a dummy like you would think it’s important.”
Aurina climbed up Richard’s body.
He wasn’t wearing his helmet this time, so Aurina sat on her throne.
“Alright, pack animal.”
Unconsciously, Aurina applied her experience with countless lovers to Richard.
She reached out her little hand and rubbed his golden short hair on the crown of his head, saying, “You’re the best. Let’s go back.”
“Then like this,” Frostsilver asked. “The champion is our great champion of justice, Richard?”
Richard’s face turned red and hot, not knowing which shame it was.
He said, “I feel unworthy of the championship.”
“What guilt is there?”
Aurina said. “Whether it’s tasty or not is up to this king to decide. Your roast lamb has love in it, and that’s enough. This king thinks it’s delicious, so what? The championship is yours.”
Frostsilver propped her chin with one hand, feeling like these words sounded familiar.
It was just like the way her brother sweet-talked those swarms of admirers—heh, she really had inherited her brother’s flirtatious nature.
“Since the judge said so,” Frostsilver waved her hand. “Bring the golden spatula.”
The maid handed the golden spatula to Richard.
After Richard accepted it, he also held the plate with both hands and came before the gnome chef, saying, “Your book inspired me greatly. I’m glad to meet you. I want to give this golden spatula to you.”
“No need,” the gnome chef said, his earlier pride gone, his small face full of a middle-aged man’s weariness.
“A loss is a loss, and I already have one—though it doesn’t belong to me, I can use it.”
The gnome hellknight beside him said, “It’s public property issued by the earl, with exclusive usage rights for the gnome chef.”
Richard nodded and said no more.
He carried Aurina—who had eaten an entire lamb and an entire calf but was only a bit heavier—back to the room.
Frostsilver interlaced her ten fingers to support her chin and asked, “Aurina, will you come eat again later?”
Aurina immediately turned her head. “When?!”
“Three meals a day—at eight, twelve, and six—you can come over. Order what you want a day in advance,” Frostsilver said. “Of course, you can bring your pack animal too.”
“Great!”
Aurina raised both hands high, as if that could increase her persuasiveness, and said, “You’re really, really beautiful—white like a pearl.”
The corner of Frostsilver’s mouth hooked up slightly.
Sure enough, just like her brother—eating what’s in the bowl while eyeing what’s in the pot.
She could say touching words to the female beside her while flirting with the one she had her eye on.
In the following days.
“Richard, no need to make my food today.”
“I want to try the golden spatula. It really is a useful magic item.”
“Then tomorrow.”
The day after.
“Mm, really delicious. You made it so well. Sophia, what do you think?”
“I can’t wait to see the guests’ reactions at the wedding after eating.”
After some time.
“No need for dinner—we’ll eat at the little pearl-white restaurant.”
“What? You don’t want to go?”
“Today too… no need to make my dish.”
“The chocolate cake is really delicious. Want to try? Learn a bit.”
Until Haisha City gradually appeared on the coast.
Aurina had been eating in the east and sleeping in the west all along.
Richard looked at Aurina sprawled on the gold pile, snoring away, and sighed slightly— a bit disappointed, but it was nothing.
His skills were inferior, that’s all.
Even though Richard had been called a genius by others since childhood, a constant winner, there were areas where he fell short of masters.
Seagulls circled and flew over the port.
Though it was already autumn, this place was still warm.
Richard nudged Aurina awake and said, “We’ve arrived.”
“Gah, got it.”
Aurina yawned, and the orange dragon slipped from her arms and fell to the ground.
Together with the orange dragon, she put her “front paws” on the ground, butt stretching back hard, straightening her waist.
“Ah, slept so comfortably. Gold is soft and warm.”
With that, Aurina, with the orange dragon on her head, climbed onto Richard’s shoulder and sat down.
Richard was used to it.
His fiancée Sophia was also used to it.
They had long since packed their luggage and went to the ship’s railing, gazing at the approaching Haisha City.
“Thanks to the Lord’s blessing,” Sophia said with a devout and grateful face.
“Nothing unexpected happened. From now on, I’ll marry and live the rest of my life in the place where I was born, and never travel far again, nor see too much bloodshed.”
As soon as the words fell, a large dark cloud drifted from somewhere in the sky, directly covering the clear blue.
Deep blue lightning twisted its body and struck down, and a rumbling roar came from afar.
Thumb-sized raindrops smashed toward them, one wave after another.
The water drops hit the ship and burst into splashes.
Even the originally gentle waves began to rage, pushing the ship swaying back and forth.
“No way,” Sophia said in great shock.
“Don’t tell me Haisha City is actually on some lich’s tomb, or there’s a monster lurking under the sea, and today it’s going to land on Haisha City?”
Richard patted her shoulder and said, “Don’t worry too much. This is just Haisha City’s fickle weather.”
A raindrop hit Aurina’s little face.
“Annoying rain,” Aurina shouted. “Stop right now! Or this king will gah you—gah~!!!!”
Aurina’s two little hands clenched into claws, trying to intimidate the heavens.
Richard said, “This is the natural law of weather.”
At that moment, the raindrops hit a transparent barrier, splashing in front of them—it was magic.
Aurina and Richard turned their heads to look at the caster—Frostsilver.
“Gah—this dragon voice is good.”
“Dragon voice?”
“Every dragon is born with an innate voice,” Frostsilver said, stepping forward—looking slow but actually fast, arriving before them in an instant. “From the dragon voice, one can glimpse a bit of their talent.”
She stopped and looked at Aurina.
“For example, gah—this dragon voice can be used as a verb, meaning slaughter or accomplishing something, and thus her power of deliberation will be strong.”
Sophia: “Ah?”
Richard: “Sounds like a fairy tale.”
“To the ignorant, it is,” Frostsilver said. “So, Aurina’s talent can only be truly awakened under my care.”
Aurina suddenly asked, “Then is your dragon voice yah?”