Third Meal - Steak (2)

Since he didn't know anyone here, the man had nothing to do while he waited.

He poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher that had been brought to him and he took a sip.

When that water entered his mouth, he was surprised to find that it had a different taste than the water that he normally drank. It was much more refreshing than the normal spring water that he drank with a hint of sourness to it.

He couldn't help looking at the pitcher to see what was in it that gave this water this kind of taste.

There were these slices of a strange yellow fruit that were floating inside of this water that he didn't recognize, but he could tell that it was this thing that gave it this hint of sourness.

As he waited, he also looked around at the different people sitting at different tables around him.

He could sense traces of magic coming from quite a few of them, but there were also people where he couldn't sense a single trace of magic.

As he looked around, he couldn't help wondering how these people were able to sit together and eat like it was nothing. After all, in his world, people without magic were treated as second class citizens…no, it was better to say that they were treated as slaves.

Those without magic could only work the lowest of jobs and could only scrape by a living.

Without magic, it was impossible to change their lives, to change their social standing.

But it seemed like that didn't matter here as people with magic and people without magic ate together without a care.

Why was this?

Was it because of the food?

As he looked around, naturally he noticed all the different dishes that the people around him were eating.

There were many different strange dishes that he didn't recognize at all, but the smell that came from them was more than enough to make his mouth water even though he was a bloodkin. Normally, he wouldn't even eat solid foods like this and would only drink blood from other creatures, but he couldn't help drooling over these delicious smells.

If only whatever Annabelle brought him would have the same fragrance as these dishes, that would be enough for him. He didn't even need the food she brought to taste good…

But he knew that it was impossible based on the tone of her voice when she left.

It was clear that he would have to face the punishment for what he had said.

If only he had learned to keep his big mouth shut…

It was just too late for regret now.

However, when Anna came back, he was surprised by the dish that she brought with her.

That was because compared to the meals that the other customers were eating, the fragrance coming from this dish was something that ignited his appetite even more. It even had a bit of a familiar smell that he could have sworn that he had smelled before.

After Anna set the dish down along with the cutlery to eat with, she said, "Here's your rare steak, please enjoy."

The man couldn't help revealing a confused look as he asked, "Steak? What is that?"

Anna calmly replied, "It's seared beef meat with a mushroom and onion sauce."

When he heard the word "beef", the man couldn't help revealing a disappointed look as he repeated, "Beef? You said beef, right?"

He had his hopes brought up when he had smelled the fragrance coming from this dish, but after hearing that it was beef, those hopes hit rock bottom. That was because in his world, beef was completely inedible.

Cows were valuable creatures that could be used for a variety of jobs and provided milk, so the only cows that were slaughtered for meat were the ones that were in their old age. After all, no one was foolish enough to slaughter a precious cow, that was like putting the carriage before the horse.

So all the beef that the humans ate in his world were as hard as shoe soles, or at least that was what he had heard.

So when he heard that this was beef, it was impossible for him not to be disappointed.

The smell was good, but it was clear that this was a trap.

As long as he tried eating this "steak", his teeth would be cracked.

Anna just revealed a smile and didn't explain anything as she said, "Well, you'll know once you have a taste."

Without even giving the man a chance to answer, she walked away to help another customer.

The man looked down at the "steak" in front of him.

He couldn't help giving a gulp because of the smell of the steak, but he really didn't want to eat it knowing that it was beef. But since it was something that Annabelle had brought him, he had no other choice but to eat it or he would suffer a fate worse than death…

So he hesitantly lifted the knife and fork that had been provided for him and brought them towards the steak. Then he pierced the fork into the steak, but to his surprise, he found that the fork easily went into the steak.

It didn't have the resistance that he was expecting, it was almost as if he was piercing into jelly with how soft this steak was.

With this doubt, he brought the knife down as well and he found that it cut through it like a hot knife through butter. There was almost no resistance at all as the knife easily made its way through the steak.

As soon as he cut through it, the smell that was familiar became even stronger.

He looked down at the cut that he made to find something red dripping out of the steak.

He knew that it was familiar and now he knew what it was.

It was blood.

This beef seemed like it was cooked on the surface with how it was browned, but he found that under the surface, the beef wasn't actually cooked that much. It had only been a light searing of the meat and the rest of it hadn't been touched by the heat at all.

As he saw this blood dripping out, he couldn't help giving a gulp.

So he cut a piece of the meat off from the rest of it and slowly brought it to his mouth, feeling both hesitant and excited to try it.

When he took that first bite of this meat, he found that this beef wasn't like any of the rumours that he had heard. This beef was so soft and tender that it almost melted in his mouth.

At the same time, the first bite of the beef released a strong taste of blood into his mouth which made his taste buds dance.

This was different from the usual blood that he drank straight out of animals, this was a lighter taste and was much juicier compared to just drinking blood.

With each chew of the meat, he could feel the juices of the meat squirting into his mouth and dancing on his tongue. It was as if each chew would release more and more flavour into his mouth.

But eventually, he had to swallow as he had chewed until there was nothing left.

Without hesitation, the man immediately cut off another piece and put it into his mouth, but he found that this time, the taste was different.

It wasn't that the taste was worse, but rather it became even better.

He couldn't help wondering why this was and immediately looked down.

He found that the piece that he had cut before was from a part that wasn't touching the sauce that Anna had told him about before. The piece that he had just put into his mouth was one that had been soaked in that sauce.

He found that this sauce didn't take away from the taste of the steak, rather it added even more depth.

It gave it a richness that just the steak alone didn't have. As it mixed with the juices of the meat, it was like getting punched in the taste buds with how heavy the delicious taste was.

After swallowing that mouthful, he cut off another piece of the steak. This time, after dipping it in the sauce, he also put one of the brown vegetables that had been soaking in the sauce onto the piece of meat.

When he put this bite into his mouth, there was once again another new taste that filled his mouth.

This brown vegetable had an earthy taste on its own, but when it was wrapped up in this sauce, it created a very strong umami taste that could even rival the taste from the steak. Then when it was paired with the steak, the strong taste came together in perfect harmony that once again punched him in the taste buds.

There was also a strange white vegetable that was like white strips that was in the sauce as well.

When he ate these white strips along with the meat and sauce, it was another strong flavour. It wasn't the same strong umami taste, but rather there was a hint of sweetness to it this time that helped mellow it out a bit, while also still making it delicious.

This difference in taste with just a few ingredients made the man completely fall in love with the taste of the steak.

Not to mention how tender it was.

It didn't have the toughness of a shoe sole like the rumours said, instead it was like biting into tender jelly with just the right amount of resistance for his teeth.

It didn't take long before the man finished off the entire steak, but even then, he still didn't feel full. So after hesitating a bit, he waved his hand at one of the waiters to get their attention.

However, that waiter didn't come over to take his order, but rather called Anna over for him…

The man had been trying to avoid Anna since he was terrified of her, but since she had already been called over, he had no choice but to face her.

Anna came over with a ghost of a smile on her face as she asked, "How was it?"

The man revealed an awkward look before honestly saying, "It was delicious."

This time, Anna revealed a normal full smile since this was the answer that she wanted.

She didn't really want to torture this man since he was technically part of her family. She was just angry that he had insulted the food of the store that saved her, so she wanted to show him just how delicious the food was.

As long as he understood, she didn't really care about making him suffer.

After another moment of hesitation, the man asked, "Can I order another portion?"

Anna said with the same smile, "I already expected this and ordered it when you were halfway done. I'll get it for you now."

The man revealed a surprised look before that surprised look changed to a look of expectation.

He had been completely conquered by the taste of the steak, so he naturally couldn't wait to eat more.

In the end, the man was only satisfied after he had polished off four steaks.

The customers around couldn't help being impressed by how many he had eaten in the end. After all, the man had a thin frame, so they were curious where he was packing it all in that body.

When it came to paying the bill, the man took out a few pieces of silver to pay with which Anna took over to the register before bringing back a receipt.

Before leaving though, he hesitated for a while before asking, "Miss Anna, are you not coming back?"

Anna looked at him with an understanding gaze before asking a question instead of answering his question, "How is your dad doing?"

The man thought about it before saying, "He gathered up a lot of us bloodkin and created a city just for us. It's taken over a few of the empires and we control half the continent right now."

Anna gave a nod before saying, "I have a reason for staying here." As she said this, she looked at Yami who was serving another customer.

The man couldn't help sneaking a peek at Yami as well.

His time interacting with her was short, so he didn't really pay much attention to her. However, when he looked at her closely, he couldn't help feeling a strange feeling coming from her.

It was almost as if he recognized her from somewhere.

After thinking for a bit, he suddenly thought of something and said, "The Moon Goddess!"

He knew that he had seen her somewhere and he had finally remembered. This was the Moon Goddess whose statue that he worshiped!

It was no wonder miss Annabelle wasn't willing to leave this place!

This place was the sanctuary of the Moon Goddess and she was serving the Moon Goddess herself!

This place was the sacred place of their entire bloodkin race!

Anna couldn't help revealing a strange look when he said this, but before she could say anything, the man had already stood up and prepared to rush out of the store.

As he ran off, Anna didn't forget to remind him, "The door opens once a day, don't forget that."

The man waved his hand to show that he heard her before running through the door.

Seeing this, Anna shook her head before getting back to work.

When the man came out of the door and appeared in front of his family, he immediately told them about everything that happened before they all rushed off.

They had to spread the news that the Moon Goddess was real and that they had found her sanctuary.

He had to bring as many of his brethren to this place and let them eat the sacred food known as "steak".

Just like this, Dracula, son of Vlad, the vampire king became the new pope of the Moon Goddess religion that became the main religion of the vampires.

…

Anna would never know that the statue of Yami that she had carved after the first few times she went to the store would be taken as the statue of a goddess.

If she knew that this was what had inspired a new religion in her previous world, she really would have wanted to dig herself into a hole and hide forever…