Dravin was used to being around women for at least the past two years of his life on Earth, ever since he became a brand ambassador for a best-selling diet snack bar.
Meeting all kinds of women made him accustomed to every type of beauty.
But this beauty… A long silver ponytail, with sharp, amber, hawk-like eyes.
Yes, those eyes.
He had never met a woman with such cold, sharp eyes that seemed to hold a dangerous challenge the moment their gaze met his.
No woman had ever looked at him like that before.
"Dravin Austin?" Even her deep, firm voice sounded full of challenge.
Dravin cleared his throat. "Yes. How do—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the woman placed her palm on his chest and pushed him.
It was a forceful shove that sent him back a step, allowing her to enter his apartment without an invitation.
"My name is Freya, and I'm your senior co-hunter," she said curtly, her eyes darting around his apartment with a judging look.
Dravin gripped her wrist tightly, pulling it from his chest and letting it hang at the side.
"Does being a senior mean you've lost your manners?"
He could feel the strong muscles in her wrist, a clear sign that she used her hands a lot.
So she's really a hunter? I thought it would be a man. Oh well…
Before Dravin could fully process the information in his head, she suddenly twisted her arm, making him turn, and roughly pushed him against the wall.
The hard impact of his chest against the wall knocked the air out of his lungs, making him cough.
Her small but powerful hand gripped his wrist from behind. He writhed.
"You're weak. You need to build your strength," she said with a firm voice, then slowly released her grip.
Dravin immediately turned to face her, rubbing his slightly sore wrist.
He cursed the weakness of this body.
But even so, how could she have that much power using just one hand? Was she even human?
He tried to keep his intimidated expression from showing.
"I thought they would send a hunter man as my co-worker," Dravin said, trying not to stammer.
Freya just gave him an unbothered, expressionless look and moved away, scanning the room again.
"Do you have a problem if it's a woman?" Freya moved away from Dravin and sat down at the dining table. "Is this for me?" Her eyebrow tilted as she gestured at the beautifully arranged food on the table.
Dravin frowned in irritation and sat down across from her.
"Yeah. I got a task for—"
"For impressing me with food?" She chuckled. "Such a bully system."
Dravin didn't understand the full meaning of Freya's short words, but the faint smile at the corner of her lips softened her cold exterior.
He knew it.
This woman reminded him of the independent women who put on a tough personality as a shield so they wouldn't be seen as weak or looked down upon.
And her physical strength was the result of years of hard training.
Freya immediately grabbed the fork and knife already set beside the plate, but as she was about to cut into the beef Wellington, Dravin suddenly pulled her plate away.
She shot a sharp glance toward him.
"You're right. I need to impress you with my food because of the task, and I'm sure you'll be satisfied with the taste. I'm that confident. But that's not my only goal. I'm an ambitious man."
Freya raised an eyebrow. "So, what's your other goal?"
Just as Dravin suspected, his co-worker knew about this greeting food mission, but the tip would be an optional add-on for them later.
A blunt woman like her hated wasting time, so they would say what was on their mind directly. The tip would solely depend on her generosity.
Dravin smiled. "You."
His short answer took Freya aback and made her flinch, a reaction he had predicted.
"Your trust. The mission gave me rewards, but your trust is something I need to earn," Dravin continued.
Her unbothered face returned, and she smirked. "You want to earn my trust just from a plate of food?"
"No. Here, watch this. And decide whether you'll continue to eat it or not after that. I don't want you to eat it out of obligation."
Dravin placed his phone in front of Freya and pressed play.
Thankfully, she didn't refuse and watched the video intently.
The video played with a background music opening.
It showed fast clips of Dravin shopping for and preparing ingredients.
Even in fast motion, the transitions from one clip to another were so smooth that within five seconds, the viewer could understand his entire shopping trip from beginning to end.
Dravin watched Freya's expression change from confused to more focused and immersed in the video.
Got you, he smirked inwardly.
He was sure his five-second opening had already hooked her attention.
Now, let my charm in the video immerse her more.
Then the video started showing his cooking steps with his scripted voice-over.
"Isn't it hard being a hunter?"
"I don't know you, but I knew a fan of mine who worked just as hard as a hunter."
The clip showed Dravin's knife skills and how he chopped the ingredients.
"He liked meat a lot as a kid. And with his job at a construction site, meat was the main source of protein he needed for energy and to stay motivated."
"But one day, he said he got laid off from his job because he was too old and too slow for the work."
"He was a family man who had a middle-school-aged son who loved meat as much as he did."
"Clearly, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
The clip showed Dravin trying to toss the tenderloin cut into the ground beef like a basketball, but it landed on the cutting board instead.
Dravin could see a faint smirk on her lips. She was getting into it.
Then the audio continued, "One day, I had an endorsement from a reputable steakhouse in town. I had to eat and show off how good and tasty their beef tenderloin was. I did a live stream where anyone who commented would be randomly chosen to receive a beef steak set from the restaurant."
"This man kept commenting relentlessly with a long, touching story about his layoff that finally caught my attention. I chose him as one of the winners."
The clip kept showing Dravin wrapping the tenderloin with ground beef, which made Freya frown as if she was puzzled.
"Not long after that, this man kept showing up in my video's comment section, even in direct messages. At first, I thought he just wanted to say thank you because he had already received the reward."
"But when I opened the message, my jaw dropped, because he asked me to create a cooking hack so one portion of tenderloin steak could become three portions without them looking small."