The chuckle from Dravin's voice-over made Freya chuckle along.
"Can you imagine how that could be? He said he got a new job as a porter at the port now, and with his salary, he could maybe only buy one portion of a tenderloin steak cut once every two months for his son."
"But his son didn't want to eat alone and would rather choose not to eat, saying that his father could stop buying the tenderloin cut and wait for him to grow up and earn money so he could buy it later."
The video showed Dravin wrapping the meat roll inside the puff pastry.
"Then I came up with this Tenderloin Roulade, so people like him who have limited funds could still taste the juicy moisture of tenderloin but wouldn't feel like it's just a small cut of it."
Freya's expression softened as she was mesmerized by the dexterity of Dravin's fingers, scoring the pastry with a razor.
He had deliberately edited it with a cinematic slow-motion effect so it would feel like Dravin was carving a work of art.
"He could use any kind of ground meat. He would eat the savory, greasy, coarse part of the ground meat that would crumble in his mouth, then the core juicy, tender part would be the last thing he tasted."
"It would remind him that the harness, the toughness of the life he's going through, would still make him smile in the end when he saw the tenderness of his son."
Freya's lips parted slightly, and her eyes lit up with amusement when the video showed Dravin using the pot as an oven and opening it to reveal the steam and a perfectly golden-brown pastry.
Dravin smirked. He was quite satisfied just by looking at Freya's expression right now.
The video was still playing in fast-clip transitions, showing Dravin plating the beef Wellington and garnishing it with beautiful precision.
"So, my co-hunter mate, after your long, hard day, would you try this mini beef Wellington and see if it makes sense to you?"
The video ended with a scene of Dravin cutting the beef Wellington and showing the glistening, juicy part flowing as the dish was sliced in half.
Freya crossed her arms. She averted her gaze to his. Dravin could feel that her gaze on him had changed. He was sure his persuasion had worked.
"You sure talk too much," she said.
"That's part of my job," he smirked.
"And annoyingly loud as hell."
"That's a gift. Thanks for the compliment."
She fell silent. The moment Freya reached out to take her beef Wellington, Dravin knew she had already lowered her guard, and that sent a satisfying smirk to his lips.
Ding!
Dravin blinked in disbelief. This was the highest Charisma he had gotten so far, and the reason was quite simple.
"Why? Is there a problem?" Freya asked.
"You don't see it? There's this translucent screen in front of me right now."
"Your system? Of course, only you can see it."
Freya's explanation made Dravin blink again in disbelief.
"Aren't you guys on the same team?"
"Your system has nothing to do with me. I'm just your co-worker, and my job is to help you finish your missions. You can share what your system has with me if you want."
The fact that Freya didn't directly answer his question made Dravin feel a bit strange. He rethought her response, then suddenly let out a small chuckle.
"In other words, I'm your commander on this mission? And you have to follow what I say?"
"I'm your advisor." Freya avoided his gaze, spinning her plate of beef Wellington as if trying to find a weakness in the beautiful food. Her voice wasn't as stern as before.
Dravin ended his interrogation and folded his arms on the table, leaning forward. "Let's eat first. Before your drool burns a hole in it," he commanded.
Dravin now knew why Freya had acted so coldly and shown her strength as her introduction.
He was sure it was because her pride was bruised by the fact that she had to obey someone else.
This woman was used to being independent and arrogant with her power, making her feel like she didn't need anyone.
While slicing his knife into his own beef Wellington, Dravin smiled and thought to himself, This is gonna be fun.
Across the table, Freya was still observing the cylindrical, fish-scaled-looking food.
Since coming to Vitaronia, she had never seen food with such a strange shape.
When her human body needed to eat, she would just have packaged food. She never bothered to cook or buy from a proper restaurant.
She picked up the knife and fork after watching how Dravin used them, then mimicked his movements, cutting into the beef Wellington.
Thick juice seeped from the cut piece.
She frowned because the melted cheese had a hint of pink. That was from the tenderloin beef inside.
She picked up a small piece and, with hesitation, put it in her mouth. The moment her jaw moved to chew, she froze.
Her eyes widened in wonder.
She felt like she was chewing on a clump of clouds with a coarse crumble of pastry.
The soft, savory texture had a tangy hint that made Freya's tongue addicted and craving more.
Quickly, she cut another piece and speared the meat.
Every chew of the coarse ground beef that spread in her mouth made Freya want to chew faster.
Then, her teeth finally found the tenderloin cut, and when she bit into it, a burst of juice exploded in her mouth, making her expression completely lose its composure.
She no longer cared what her face looked like. She just wanted to cut, stab, and put every piece in her mouth.
Chewing slowly, savoring every bit of pleasure that relaxed her facial nerves.
From the beginning, when Freya was assigned as Dravin's co-hunter, she was skeptical of Dravin's abilities, which were so highly praised by the Higher-Ups.
But now, she felt like she couldn't eat instant food again after this.
Freya took another bite, and another.
She could see Dravin staring at her with his jaw dropped, but she felt that if she didn't finish soon, someone might steal this food—her food.
The more the pieces on her plate disappeared, the more her stomach demanded. Her gaze fell on Dravin's plate.
"Why are you eating so slowly? Are you full? Can I have that?" Freya asked shamelessly without looking at Dravin at all.