"Ka-chunk..."
Finally, having reached a result in her duel with Lucy, Caesar pushed the door open from the outside, entering with a face full of triumphant smiles and basking in the glory of victory.
In a corner she didn't notice, Billy, who had been scrutinizing the photo he just took, suddenly froze his hand.
Subsequently, as if to better conceal his tracks, a somewhat guilty Billy silently grabbed several throw pillows from the sofa and hugged them all in front of himself. Thereby using this to disappear directly from Caesar's line of sight.
It wasn't that he was afraid. He was simply guilty because he couldn't explain how he had become completely penniless in such a short amount of time.
After all, when he retired from the Sons of Calydon, as a pension, Big Sis Caesar and Big Daddy had given him enough Dennies to live normally for several years, telling him to rest well and enjoy life. Of course, the premise was that no situations requiring maintenance due to combat occurred.
But the result was that in the short two months since retiring and coming to the city, the cold, hard Dennies had been completely set free by Billy, transforming into a warm, full set of limited-edition Starlight Knight transformation devices.
Incidentally, various peripherals of different types and sizes had to be added as well. And as the final straw that broke the camel's back, there were the tickets to Big Sister Monica's meet-and-greet, obtained from scalpers at several times the price a few days ago.
After this final wave, Billy's little treasury was completely pierced through. For the sake of his future livelihood and his beloved limited-edition Starlight Knight transformation device, under a strange combination of circumstances, he agreed to Nicole's invitation and joined the current Cunning Hares.
He had planned to spend a few years in New Eridu before re-establishing contact with the people from the Sons of Calydon. Who knew that not even two days after joining, he would run into Big Sis Caesar?!
Does the boss of the Cunning Hares actually have a connection with Caesar?! It was like spending all your living expenses three days after getting them at the start of the month in college, only to see your mom at the dorm entrance.
Finding it a bit impossible to explain, Billy chose to simply and neatly hide himself.
Fortunately, Caesar, who only swept a cursory glance over the living room and didn't discover Billy's existence from start to finish, also didn't notice the extra pile of pillows in Andrew's living room that could hide a person.
Because she had other things to be busy with right now. And that was precisely Lucy, who was completely drained of strength in her arms.
Lucy, although gritting her teeth, had no choice but to limply collapse into Caesar's embrace. To prevent her feet from dragging on the ground, Ah Cao was at the very front, directly propping Lucy's feet up on its head.
From a distance, with Ah Cao's current height, acting as a footstool for Lucy was truly perfectly suitable.
The moment Caesar entered the door, she locked onto Andrew, who was by the dining table. She waved her hand to greet him: "Lucy is completely out of energy now, she can barely move. Is there anything that can restore stamina?"
Hearing Caesar's greeting, Lucy, who was already unwilling to accept losing due to physical constitution, immediately retorted: "Idiot Caesar, I'm just a little tired and resting, it's not as serious as you say! I'm not unable to move either!!"
Saying this, she wanted to raise her arm to prove she wasn't just being stubborn. But Lucy's arm, which only lifted halfway before forcefully drooping down due to lack of strength, instead further indicated that she was simply putting on a brave front right now.
If not for Caesar constantly supporting her, Lucy probably wouldn't even be able to stand steadily right now.
But even so, Lucy still had no intention of admitting defeat completely. "Caesar, this time it was just my physical constitution being insufficient that let you temporarily gain the advantage! Next time, it won't necessarily be the case!"
As the winner of the duel, Caesar now displayed a demeanor different from the competitive spirit she showed when bickering with Lucy earlier. Instead, it was a kind of utter inclusiveness.
Although she was the victor, Caesar held a great tolerance and acceptance toward Lucy. Regarding Lucy's stubborn defense, she just smiled without any rebuttal.
In the end, she even nodded in agreement and said: "No problem. As the leader of the Sons of Calydon, I welcome you to come and compete with me anytime!"
Hearing these words, the unyielding words Lucy originally wanted to continue saying could no longer be spoken. Her lips opened and closed a few times, muttering, but Lucy's original anger was instantly smoothed flat, leaving her unsure of what to say.
Finally, Lucy, finding it a bit hard to continue, could only say dryly: "Okay! You said it!"
For some reason, after hearing Caesar's acknowledging words just now, she finally truly felt a sense that she had completely lost...
She suddenly understood a little why so many people in Blazewood and the Sons of Calydon liked her. Although she looked goofy a lot of the time, people liked being around her and were willing to do all sorts of things for her.
Lucy, not knowing what to say for a moment, slumped into the chair with some self-abandonment, as if giving up completely. She gave up struggling directly, no longer continuing to put on a brave front.
As if wanting to escape, she turned her head away unhappily, adopting an attitude of 'out of sight, out of mind.'
However, just as she turned her head, Lucy discovered that it seemed that ever since she entered the door, Andrew, her idol and master, had been watching her from start to finish.
Instantly, Lucy realized that her embarrassing state just now had been completely exposed in front of Andrew without her realizing it.
Unable to bear it any longer, Lucy instantly blushed. Aside from shame and indignation, it was mostly 'overheating'. A kind of overheating from losing all face in front of one's idol.
Knowing that nothing she said now could cover up the established facts, Lucy immediately threw the thought of admitting defeat to the back of her mind, turned her head, and once again poured her anger onto Caesar.
She said angrily: "Caesar, just you wait! I definitely will kick you off the position of leader of the Sons of Calydon!!!"
Completely unaware of the young girl's petty thoughts, the goofy Caesar nodded directly and said uprightly: "Alright, then I'll wait for your challenge!"
Seeing signs that Lucy in front of him was about to go crazy again, Andrew took a step forward directly, blocking the space between the two. He comforted them, saying: "Alright, alright, talk about challenges later. Drink some healing potion to recover first."
Saying this, Andrew took out two bottles of potion and handed them to the two. However, unlike Caesar who took it directly and drank it in one gulp, Lucy, whose arms were powerless, could only stare blankly.
Her powerless arms began to tremble incessantly just holding the potion bottle, let alone lifting it to the corner of her mouth. Seeing this, after hesitating slightly, Andrew took the potion directly from Lucy's hand.
Subsequently, he fed it directly to her lips. At the same time, he comforted her verbally: "Don't be disdainful, drink some first to replenish yourself. We'll eat soon, that's the thing that can replenish stamina substantially."
Speaking of this, Caesar, who had already finished drinking the potion, suddenly became excited. As someone who had eaten Andrew's food several times, she said with full confidence: "I'm telling you, Lucy, the food Andrew cooks is super delicious! Didn't you always feel the flavors were mediocre in Blazewood before? The things Andrew makes will definitely not be a problem satisfying your taste, Lucy!"
Although she was equally very curious about how the dishes Andrew made actually tasted, because it was Caesar saying it, Lucy subconsciously retorted: "Is that so? This Young Miss's taste is very picky. It won't be that easy to get my approval, you know! Mmph mmph..."
Seeing the situation about to turn wrong again, Andrew was quick-eyed and deft-handed. He stuffed the bottle mouth of the healing potion directly into Lucy's mouth, physically making it impossible for Lucy to speak. He cut off the possibility of the two, who had just recovered a bit, running out to fight another round.
Regarding Andrew's sudden forced feeding, Lucy's cheeks, which were already rosy, instantly became even redder. However, this time it wasn't the 'overheating' from before. It was a rosiness from shyness in the true sense.
But even though her cheeks were bright red, she didn't choose to refuse. Compared to her aggressive manner toward Caesar, she was instead very obedient and cooperative, holding the bottle mouth and silently drinking in small sips.
Although the instant the potion went down into her stomach, Lucy already felt the soreness transmitting from various parts of her body disappear without a trace, she still silently waited until she clearly felt her stamina had recovered before taking the potion from Andrew's hand with a blushing face.
This series of actions left Caesar on the side stunned. She looked back and forth at the empty bottle in her hand that had long been drained in one gulp, and at Lucy's rosy lips moistened by the potion that slightly overflowed from being fed. And the potion in her hand that was only half drunk even after the feeding ended.
Realizing with hindsight that there was such an operation, Caesar instantly felt a bit of regret. She turned her head to look at Andrew. Trying hard to mimic Lucy's previous weak tone, she said: "Andrew... I... I feel that one bottle of potion isn't quite enough for the injuries I suffered. Do you want to give me another bottle? And my arms don't have strength anymore either..."
Although she was trying her best to pretend to be frail, the frailty of Caesar, who hadn't even been sick with a cold a few times since childhood... could only be described as full of vigor.
It could only be said that temperament is something that cannot be faked. Lucy on the side heard this and couldn't help but roll her eyes at Caesar, exposing her without hesitation: "Nonsense, how could I not know how heavy a hand I dealt during the duel? How could you have suffered such heavy injuries!"
"Ugh..." Caesar, who was originally just a bit unwilling, had to give up the method of replicating Lucy's operation. At the same time, she secretly noted this method in her heart, preparing to find an opportunity later to infer other things from it.
And just then, Meow-Da also brought the final, and most important main courses—Pan-seared Diablos Heart and Roasted Dragon Leg Meat—to the dining table, placing them in the exact center of the circle formed by the other dishes.
Instantly, Andrew immediately guided the two's attention to the dining table. "Alright, alright, eat something to replenish stamina first. After high-intensity exercise, it's precisely the good time for the Felyne Meal to enhance physical constitution!"
At this moment, the meat fragrance brought by the high-temperature roasting hooked out one of the most primal and irresistible desires of human beings—appetite.
After the high-intensity exercise from the duel with Caesar just hours ago, what followed closely was naturally the body's hunger for nutrients.
Especially since the fragrance emitted by this roast meat was something Lucy had never smelled before. Could it be a creative dish?
The moment she thought of this term, Lucy couldn't help but mutter a little in her heart. One had to know that previously in New Eridu, as a Young Miss, Lucy could be said to have visited all the high-end restaurants in New Eridu.
And she had gone to those so-called creative restaurants even more. But almost every time she went to that kind of restaurant, at least eighty percent of the so-called extremely delicious creative dishes she witnessed were very hard to comment on for Lucy.
She found it hard to understand. Those restaurants clearly using the best ingredients, yet the things they made were like they were beating up her tongue. Each had its own fishiness. How exactly was such food researched out? And there were even so many people praising it.
But this time, Lucy's subconscious was constantly telling her—this time was different. Lucy's stomach immediately began to growl with desire because of the food's fragrance.
Although she was very urgent, due to her long-standing upbringing, Lucy's movements did not become too unseemly because of it. Instead, she still maintained a decency brought by aristocratic upbringing.
Andrew, who noticed this, didn't say much. Instead, he simply and silently took a set of clean tableware, carved out a portion specifically for Lucy, and placed it in front of her. "Here, taste mine and Meow-Da's craftsmanship. It won't let you down."
At the same time, in order not to make Lucy stand out, Andrew subsequently began to directly divide the whole portion of roast meat into small single-person portions. And Lucy noticed all of this as well.
This silent concern made her a little at a loss, but facing Andrew's smile, she still nodded. She picked up the knife and fork and gently cut off a small piece.
The next moment, the food in front of her made Lucy subconsciously ignore everything around her. In her somewhat surprised gaze, cutting into the roast steak on the plate in front of her was like a hot knife cutting through butter. Without receiving any resistance, it was silky smooth as it was divided by the knife point.
In the moment the knife point broke through the outermost caramelized layer of the steak, an incomparably rich fragrance lunged at her face like a tsunami. A fragrance she had never smelled before, but carrying an incomparably unique scent mixed with the aroma of fat, circled around the tip of Lucy's nose.
The unique fragrance turned into a seductive thread, firmly locking her vision and making it impossible to look away. Without a doubt, the color and fragrance of this steak had both reached an impeccable peak.
At least, even judging by Lucy's experience of having seen countless delicacies, she couldn't pick out any faults. Since the color and fragrance were already so seductive, what about the taste?
Somewhat impatiently, she used the fork to send the cut-off roast meat into her mouth. The next moment, amidst the charred fragrance of the meat, it was mixed with the umami of some unknown mushroom.
This umami was incomparably unique; while not covering the meat fragrance in the slightest, it allowed one to taste its own unique fungal flavor. It even carried a trace of meatiness?
Exactly what kind of mushroom could have such a flavor, yet she had never tasted it before?
____
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