“Is it still not too late for me to head out now?”

After two seconds of silence, Olga picked up the cloak she’d tossed aside and made to leave the hall again. But with a casual point of his finger, Rean froze the entire door solid, cutting off her path.

“That’s pretty rude, you know. I only just took the ingredients out, and you’ve already decided it’s definitely going to taste awful?”

Rean folded his arms and frowned at Olga as she turned back with a helpless look.

He hardly cooked in daily life, sure. But as a traveler, knowing at least a bit about cooking was basic survival stuff.

“It’s not that I think so. By common sense, it definitely will taste awful!”

“You’re seriously talking to me about common sense!?”

Rean didn’t know whether to laugh or get mad. Olga had only truly stepped into this world today. This was her first time eating actual human food. So how was she using “common sense” to conclude his cooking would be bad?

“You were just some pampered rich brat before this. There’s no way you’ve ever cooked for yourself. So don’t ruin my beautiful image of food!”

“...”

Rean felt like his dignity had been deeply insulted. Veins bulged on his forehead.

At that moment, Olga drew the sword at her waist, ready to chop apart the thick ice sealing the door. But then, with a sharp whoosh, a streak of silver shot out from the side. It buried itself deep into the ice right in front of her, grazing past her arm.

Olga turned her head. Rean stood there with a dark expression, still holding the pose of someone who had just thrown a weapon. Beside her, a gleaming silver kitchen knife was sunk halfway into the ice, still trembling slightly.

“Very good... girl, you’ve lit a fire in me.” Rean crooked a finger, and the kitchen knife flew back into his hand as if pulled by an invisible force. Frowning, full of confidence, he declared to Olga, “Today I’m really going to show you what I can do. If you still think it’s bad after eating it, then you can go out later.”

Hearing that, Olga couldn’t hold back either. Just looking at Rean acting all smug and cocky annoyed her. Never mind whether he could actually cook. Even if he did make something, if it tasted bad, it still meant nothing. When that happened, she’d mock him properly and make him understand he was a loser among losers.

“Fine. Then I’ll sit right here and wait. If it doesn’t taste good, you’re paying for a meal outside later!”

Watching Olga say that and sit back down on the sofa, Rean finally smiled in satisfaction. He slapped his palm hard, and the chunk of meat that had already been thawed and warmed sprang into the air.

All Olga saw was Rean’s sharp, focused gaze. The instant the meat dropped in front of him, he raised his hand. The kitchen knife danced into a flowing mass of silver light before him, like a tightly woven net.

In the blink of an eye, the whole slab had been cut into evenly thick slices, neatly stacked in one corner of the iron plate.

Rean took out a can of oil and brushed it over the plate with a small brush. Supporting the bottom of the plate with one hand, he used basic fire magic to heat it. Very soon, the oil on the surface began to sizzle.

He laid the sliced meat down one piece at a time. While doing that, he also took out tableware for two. A moment later, the rich aroma of fat began to drift through the air.

Since this was their first meal after moving into the new house, he might as well make it a little more lavish.

“Alright. Try it with this black pepper sauce. Oh, and don’t you dare give me a dishonest review.”

By the time the meat was nearly cooked on both sides, Rean set the sauce he’d just finished mixing in front of Olga. After giving her a contemptuous little smirk, he went back to handling the other ingredients beside him.

“Tch...”

Seeing that aggro-max smile on Rean’s face, Olga clicked her tongue in irritation. She thought, just wait, I’m going to roast you so hard in a minute you won’t recover from it. She picked up a piece of grilled meat with her fork, dipped it into the sauce in the bowl before her, and finally put it into her mouth, chewing carefully.

“So good...”

A slight spiciness mixed with the richness of the fat. Together with the texture of the meat against her teeth, it was like a passionate dance breaking out inside her mouth. Olga couldn’t help taking another bite.

“Heh.”

The moment she noticed the smug smile at the corner of Rean’s lips, Olga was struck by a wave of humiliation so strong she wanted to disappear on the spot. She’d been so sure his food would taste awful. She was supposed to mock him. So why had it turned out like this?

Damn it... I really don’t want to admit it... but why can’t my hand stop moving!?

“Don’t overthink it. It’s just a meal. As long as you enjoy eating it, that’s enough.”

Having finished preparing all the ingredients, Rean set down the kitchen knife and returned to the sofa. He sat down one seat away from Olga, adding fresh ingredients to the plate while picking up meat for himself. Inwardly, he laughed. Only a country bumpkin like Olga, who’d just come down to the lower world, would get this shaken over a simple grilled meat meal.

As long as someone wasn’t completely hopeless, grilled meat wasn’t hard to make taste good. The only reason he could fool Olga was because she’d never eaten it before.

Still... now that he thought about it, it really had been a long time since he’d cooked for someone else. Hopefully his hands hadn’t gotten rusty...

“Do you have to eat that fast...? No one’s stealing it from you.”

Rean noticed the meat on the iron plate was disappearing at an alarming speed. When he turned to look, he found Olga’s cheeks puffed up like a hamster’s. The moment she noticed him looking at her, she huffily turned her face away.

She’s actually sulking too...

Seeing her like that, Rean couldn’t be bothered to say anything else. He just started eating as well.

The candlelight around them, which had been casting the room in a soft, ambiguous glow, had completely lost any so-called romantic power in front of these two. It seemed much dimmer now.

The exhaustion from several days of travel, along with the mental fatigue from their daily verbal sparring, left Rean with no desire to do anything pointless. As long as he filled his stomach and then lay down on a comfortable bed to rest, that was all he wanted right now.

Right. Maybe a little alcohol too. It’d help him sleep better later.

Rean pulled out a glass and a black bottle from his storage space. The moment he removed the wooden stopper, the fragrance of wine spread into the air. Rean closed his eyes and took a light sniff, instantly feeling refreshed.

As expected, raiding his family’s treasure vault back then had been the right choice. After saddling him with a huge pain like this, there was no way he was going to leave such good wine for that scumbag father of his.

The ruby-like liquid poured into a clear stemmed glass. Rean set down his fork of grilled meat and leaned back with the wineglass in hand, letting himself sink freely into the sofa.

The smooth, mellow taste turned into a slight tartness and sweetness. The faint fruity aroma swept away the fatigue that had built up over the past few days, replacing it with a comfort so soothing it calmed even his soul.

But... was it really okay for him to be this relaxed right now?

Mammon’s threat still hadn’t been removed. Yethania and Christine still hadn’t found true peace. What came next was exactly when he needed to get busy.

Rean opened his eyes and looked out the window. Moonlight streamed in through the uncovered glass. The area by the window, untouched by candlelight, was different from the orange glow around the table. Silvery-white moonlight spilled across the floor, making it look like a pool of pure, flawless water. A faint breeze outside stirred the trees in the courtyard, and their shadows became like drifting water plants in that shining pool. The whole scene looked dreamlike.

Maybe I should let myself rest a little too. If I’m going to handle serious business, I should do it in the best condition possible.

“Hah... nn...”

At that moment, Rean suddenly heard a very heavy breathing sound right beside him. And somehow... it sounded weirdly sensual.

“What are you doing now... what the fXck...”

At this time, there couldn’t possibly be anyone beside him other than Olga. But when Rean turned to look at her, their eyes met at once.

Olga’s face was red in a way that definitely wasn’t normal. Just looking at her, he could practically feel the heat rising off her. Before Rean could say anything, Olga shoved him down onto the sofa in one move.

Rean’s first thought was, what the hell is this angel trying to pull now? He’d only grilled a little meat for her. It wasn’t enough to make her offer herself up, right? And even if she really did, that was her end goal anyway, so the one losing out would still be him, wouldn’t it?

Then Rean noticed that the wine bottle he’d left on the table had already tipped over.

Not a single drop came out.

It was... empty!?

At that point, Rean understood the situation. In the brief moment he’d been distracted, Olga had already drunk all the wine in front of her and entered a perfect state of drunkenness.

Don’t tell me this crazy woman had never drunk alcohol before...

“Uh, listen, calm down. You’re drunk right now, got it? So let me go first, and I’ll get you some water...”

“No... hic...”

A thick wave of alcohol hit him in the face, making his head spin.

That was why he’d only poured one glass just now. Who would’ve thought Olga would drink all the rest too...?

My wine... Rean wailed inwardly.

“What are you spacing out for... look at me more... I’m the one who’s going to marry you, right?”

Olga cupped Rean’s cheeks in both hands and leaned in close. Her eyes were hazy and unfocused. Her red lips parted slightly, and her warm breath kept brushing against his face, making his whole body heat up too.

This was unbelievable. He’d been tough his whole life, and today he was getting pinned down by a drunk girl.

“What exactly are you plotting...”

“Let’s have a baby... then you’ll have to listen to me...”

The ambiguous candlelight, paired with those equally ambiguous words by his ear, along with that faint, barely-there brush against it, sent a jolt through Rean like an electric shock.

Rean thought, when other people get drunk, they go crazy. When you get drunk, you go into heat? Who was it that said she absolutely wouldn’t develop feelings? Forget dating, she’d skipped straight past marriage and gone right to having kids.

No, no, no! This is not the time to be making snarky comments!

“Have a baby my ass... get off me!”

Rean pushed hard against Olga’s shoulders, trying to escape from under her. He couldn’t lose his precious purity like this!

“Keep dreaming. Today I’m definitely going to make you understand who’s the boss!”

Olga was no longer capable of hearing Rean’s warning at all. Their four hands locked in a dead struggle in midair. Both sides used all their strength. Their interlocked palms kept shifting up and down, neither willing to give even an inch.

What Rean hadn’t expected was that he’d underestimated just how much strength a drunk person could unleash when they went wild. And Olga’s monstrous strength was far beyond even that. After the two of them remained locked in that top-and-bottom stalemate on the sofa for half a minute, he finally decided to use a little Demonform. Compared to his pride, protecting his chastity was more important.

However, what happened next made Rean deeply regret how naive he’d been.

“You better skr-stop right th— mmph!”

Just as a layer of black armor began to cover Rean’s arm, Olga suddenly revealed a confident smile, like her scheme had succeeded. Then she abruptly let go of his hands, lowered her head, and pressed a completely unreserved kiss onto his lips, carrying a heavy scent of wine with it.

Rean vaguely heard something shatter.

If he thought about it carefully, it was probably his heart.