Jonavili felt it was a miracle that this minotaur, who had opened a restaurant without being prepared for anything, hadn't gone bankrupt yet.
Using magic to condense ice element knives and forks, Jonavili cut a small piece of steak and elegantly brought it to her mouth.
She chewed, swallowed, paused, turned her head, and stared intently.
Kru's scalp tingled under her gaze, but he still cautiously tested the waters.
"W... what's wrong?"
Jonavili sneered in her heart.
'Hehehe, what's wrong? No wonder no one complained; you probably sent them all to the afterlife, didn't you?'
On the surface, Jonavili stood up and spoke coldly.
"Open your mouth."
Kru didn't dare to disobey and honestly complied.
"Ah—mmph!"
His bell-like bull eyes widened as Jonavili picked up a piece of beef and shoved it directly into his mouth.
"Come, come, taste for yourself what kind of thing you've roasted. I think you're trying to poison me."
Jonavili's powerful strength forced the large chunk of steak into his mouth, making Kru's cheeks bulge out.
Seeing this hilarious scene, Liya couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Pfft—"
Though the laughter wasn't loud, it still caught Jonavili's attention.
Medusa and Galina also turned their heads; Liya, frightened by Jonavili, felt her heart race and leaned toward Galina.
"Lord White Dragon... I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh."
The corners of Jonavili's mouth curled up slightly; truth be told, this little thing looked even more pleasing when she smiled.
"It's fine. You laughed well. Just keep laughing at him; laugh as much as you want."
Meanwhile, Kru had already swallowed that large piece of steak; the charcoal taste made him stick out his long tongue, constantly pawing at it.
His pale pink tongue was dyed pitch black by the steak; after recovering, Kru fell into self-doubt.
"That's not right; no one has ever said it wasn't delicious."
Jonavili's mouth twitched, and she strode over to a table of guests in the distance; seeing Jonavili floating over, those monsters hurriedly bowed.
"Greetings, Lord White Dragon."
Jonavili ignored them; after seeing what was on their plates, her mouth twitched again.
There lay bloody beef; although not much was left, every single piece was raw.
She reached out to pick up a half-eaten piece of raw meat, flew back to Kru, and slapped it onto his horn.
The raw steak hung there, and the powerful force also knocked Kru's head to the side.
"How the hell can anyone tell if raw meat is good or bad?!"
"You'd better practice more. Go find those kobolds; they're good at roasting meat."
With that, Jonavili spat.
"How unlucky."
After cursing, she left the place, leaving Kru standing dazed in the shop.
"So, it really was that bad..."
After a moment of silence, Kru clenched his fists and looked in the direction Jonavili and the others had left, making up his mind.
"I must make a wonderful delicacy that Lord White Dragon will praise!"
Jonavili kept putting ice cubes into her mouth, wanting to freeze her tongue until it lost sensation to forget that terrifying taste.
"Lord Jonavili, are you alright?"
Medusa showed concern, continuously condensing small ice cubes in front of Jonavili.
Slowly recovering, Jonavili waved her hand.
"From now on, anyone whose culinary skills aren't up to standard is forbidden from opening a restaurant. As for what counts as 'up to standard', they must at least make food that even those kobolds won't shake their heads at."
"I understand, Master. I will inform Lord Fanni later."
The group wandered for a while longer, and they had explored almost the entire city; this trip gave Jonavili the feeling that it was too monotonous, too unlike a proper city-state.
It was called a city-state in name, but in reality, it was just a large-scale tribe.
There was no entertainment, no decent local specialties, and nothing that could be traded with the outside world except for fruit and hunted meat.
"It seems we still need to develop properly; the road ahead is long."
Jonavili stretched and began to calculate in her mind, recalling some knowledge from her previous life.
"Start with alcohol first, then later we can try making ice popsicles. But that will have to wait until Furiel can perform long-distance spatial teleportation; otherwise, the supply might not keep up."
"But before that, let's set up some entertainment; otherwise, it's just too boring."
"Medusa, go get me fifty-five wooden plaques."
"Yes, great Master."
Medusa swayed her snake-like waist and stepped aside.
...
A few days later, Gris woke up in the dragon's nest, and the first thing he saw were two massive figures.
The envy in his pitch-black draconic pupils was not hidden at all.
He was a black dragon, a black wyrmling known as the 'skeleton among dragons'; this bloodline meant that if he didn't awaken a physical reinforcement talent, his body would never compare to other dragons.
After dazing for a moment, Gris sighed.
"Forget it, forget it. It's not easy for anyone. Anyway, the talent I awakened is decent; in time, I should be able to become stronger than some conventional dragons."
Sighing, Gris prepared to go outside for some fun.
Just as he reached the entrance of the cave, he saw the monsters and vassals working around the dragon's nest.
Ignoring their fearful gazes, Gris spread his dragon wings and flew toward White Crystal City nearby.
Whoosh—
As soon as he landed, Gris transformed into a young human boy and walked toward the city barefoot.
Although he was small, the White Crystal knights passing by all bowed to him; this naturally included his draconic vassals.
Gris strode toward the inner city, preparing to reward his hungry stomach.
As if sensing Gris's awakening, his vassal, the forest troll Kailuo, was already on his way.
As soon as he entered the city, several black-scaled forest trolls with robust physiques knelt on one knee and bowed to Gris.
"Greetings, great Lord Gris."
Seeing his vassals' respectful appearance, Gris couldn't help but grin.
Yes, this is how it should be; this is the daily life of a dragon, not living forever under someone else's shadow.
"Kailuo, I am hungry. Go and prepare."
"Yes, great Master."
Kailuo led a group of forest trolls away in a hurry, and Gris walked toward the city with an arrogant stride.
Before long, his sharp senses heard a term he had never heard before.
"Joyful Fight the Noble? What on earth is that?"
Gris stopped a few frost kobolds passing by and asked.
Seeing it was Gris, the kobolds hurriedly bowed and answered him.
"In response to the great Lord Gris, this is something Master Jonavili invented. According to the master, it is a game for entertainment to relax one's mind during leisure time."
"Oh? My sister's work? Take me to see it."
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