CHAPTER 164:Cooperation Reached

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"Guru."

The sound of drooling echoed in the quiet room.

Even someone as composed as Captain Finn couldn't hold back against this overwhelming, seductive aroma.

This wasn't ordinary food—absolutely not.

In a single whiff, Finn came to a conclusion. As the head of the Loki Familia and someone who frequently dined on divine delicacies—thanks to their head god's impulsive love for extravagant cuisine—he had developed a discerning palate. But this was something altogether different. Something transcendent. A gourmet impact that challenged even the high standards of Orario's upper echelon.

"Wait—wait!" Finn's brows furrowed as a thought struck him. His expression changed drastically. "Quick, put it away!"

"What?" Shen He tilted his head, caught off guard by the urgency.

At almost the exact moment Finn spoke, the meeting room's door slammed open with zero subtlety.

"It smells amazing! Who's cooking something this divine!?"

A red-haired woman stormed in like a missile. Her squinted eyes lit up as she honed in on the dish. Without pause, she hopped onto the table like a hungry feline, her nose inches from the beef stew.

"Master Loki…" Finn sighed, rubbing his temple and swiftly pulling the god away from the table. "That doesn't belong to you."

Lord God Loki.

Shen He's eyes narrowed as he observed the eccentric deity in person.

Despite the informal ponytail and casual attire, Loki radiated an unconventional charm—bare skin flawless, her mortal guise incapable of hiding her divine essence. Like Jeanne d'Arc, she bore an untouchable aura, untouched by vanity or embellishment.

Loki was never hailed as a goddess of beauty, and Shen He couldn't help but wonder what kind of aesthetic impact the goddess of love, Freya, might have by comparison.

Still, as Shen He marveled inwardly, Loki's behavior was anything but divine.

She squirmed, clawed, and angled her head desperately toward the steaming dish.

"Finn! I need this! Give it to me!"

Gods in this realm—especially the boisterous ones like Loki—didn't often abide by etiquette. For them, descending into the mortal world was about indulgence. To experience pleasure, to drown in novelty. And now, all of Loki's instincts screamed that the stew before her was far more than mortal cuisine.

"Captain Finn," Shen He interjected gracefully, "This Burgundy beef stew is a humble offering. Consider it a gift to the great Lady Loki."

"You hear that, little Finn?" Loki grinned mischievously, swatting his hand away with childlike glee.

Finn sighed and stepped back, shooting Shen He a wry, apologetic smile.

As expected, the moment restraint lifted, Loki pounced. She clutched the plate and took a bite of the sauce-soaked meat.

Immediately, her eyes widened.

The flavor crashed into her like a tidal wave. Tender beef, fragrant red wine, velvety umami—flavors layered with dimension. A bold richness unlike anything the divine palate had known in millennia.

"By the heavens—how is this even possible!? This isn't mortal cuisine!"

Loki was nearly in tears. After eons of stale divine food and half-hearted mortal imitations, this was a revelation.

"Of course it's delicious." Erina stood with arms folded, a proud glint in her golden eyes. "It was prepared by Nakiri Erina, after all."

To Erina, it didn't matter if the diner was a god or a peasant. As long as they tasted her culinary art, they were subject to her pride.

"You made this?" Loki's eyes sparkled with feverish admiration. She lunged forward, clutching Erina's hands with sauce-slicked fingers. "Ahhh! I love you! Join my familia! I'll pamper you with the best ingredients and chefs and even the wine of Dionysus!"

"Ew! Your hands are greasy!" Erina recoiled in horror, pushing the goddess back with a scowl.

Clearly, she hadn't realized Loki's divine identity. Shen He merely smiled at the scene, watching Loki's transformation from chaotic deity to obsessed foodie.

He had guessed correctly. In a realm where gods fought boredom with indulgence, Erina's cuisine was a nuclear bomb of novelty.

"Lady Loki!" Finn finally snapped, slamming the table.

Loki blinked, slinking back into her seat with a sheepish grin.

Despite being the main deity, Loki respected Finn's authority when it came to discipline. Their bond was unique—akin to family rather than servant and god.

Still… that food.

She wasn't ready to let it go.

"I apologize deeply." Finn bowed. "My goddess has always lacked restraint."

"Please don't apologize," Shen He said lightly, waving a hand. "My cook can be just as aggressive. Actually, one of our requests was precisely related to this—we'd like your help gathering rare ingredients for Erina's next wave of culinary experiments."

"Ah, a supply request." Finn nodded, business mode fully activated.

"You need other familias to hunt ingredients for you?" Loki muttered with an arched brow. "That doesn't sound like a very useful team to me."

Still licking sauce from her fingers, she suddenly perked up again, this time serious.

"The girl over there—how about reconsidering? Join the Loki Familia. We're one of the top forces in Orario now."

"Heh." Shen He chuckled softly.

He understood instantly: this was no longer about lust or food. Loki had recognized Erina's worth—as an asset, not just a chef. A divine-level advantage.

To a god, emotions and mortal ties were mere ornaments to a bigger goal: amusement, influence, and curiosity.

Too bad.

"My answer is no." Erina replied curtly.

She didn't owe an explanation. In her own world, where chefs battled as fiercely as knights, loyalty to one's culinary house was sacred. As the heiress of the Nakiri lineage, she wouldn't be bought so easily.

"But I still want her," Loki pouted, eyes watery.

Shen He leaned forward with a mysterious smile. "We don't visit Orario often due to… special reasons. If we did, we wouldn't need to commission your familia."

"…Wait a second," Loki's playful tone dropped. "Does that mean…"

Her pupils dilated in horror. "I won't get to eat this again!?"

For a moment, she considered kidnapping Erina. Seriously. The idea played in her mind like a strategic gambit.

This food wasn't just delicious. It was addictive. Like the divine wine of Bacchus, but with none of the side effects. It hit a primal nerve in a god who had tasted everything.

"It's difficult," Shen He replied honestly. "But the flavors can be… approximated, if the recipe is preserved and interpreted correctly."

"…"

Loki stared long and hard at Shen He.

Every word was deliberate. Shen He wasn't just dangling food—he was proposing a deal.

"Kid…" Loki finally broke into a grin, patting his shoulder. "I like you. Finn—what do you think? Should we work with them?"

Finn straightened, voice resolute. "The opportunity is too valuable to ignore."

After all, the Loki Familia had just repelled two major forces. This culinary alliance could give them a new edge—one not built on war or conquest.

"It seems we're about to become closer allies." Shen He beamed. "Let's begin our discussion."

The negotiations went smoothly.

It was a simple arrangement: Shen He would supply the recipes, and the Loki Familia would handle sourcing, protection, and resource management.

A win-win.

For Shen He, it meant avoiding unnecessary grinding for dog food (not literal), and more efficient use of world fragments for summoning and bonding.

For Loki's side, it opened a door to culinary dominance in Orario.

The formal agreement was reached within an hour of real-time. Just as their presence was starting to strain the magical space-time tether.

"I regret we couldn't meet the Loli Sword Fairy today," Shen He said as he prepared to leave. "Let me leave two recipe scrolls behind. It may be a while before we return."

As soon as the words left his lips, Shen He, Erina, and the others vanished.

Loki's eyes widened.

That taste—already fading on her tongue—felt like a treasure slipping through her fingers.

And now… she was addicted.

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