Gold Again...

The Black Bulls had few rules.

Seeing that the three had reached an agreement, Yami immediately smiled.

"Good, since we've decided on the next stage of training, let's hold a welcome party now! Let's welcome our three new members, Carl, Asta, and Noelle!"

"The Black Bulls don't care about all those tedious formalities. I only have one requirement—be genuine."

"Drink! Drink as much as you want! If you don't drink, you're disrespecting me, Yami!"

Yami was the first to raise a beer mug as big as his head and take a huge gulp before sitting down with a satisfied sigh.

Seeing the empty table, he turned to Finral beside him and said,

"Didn't I tell you to go buy some food earlier? Where is it? What's the fun in drinking without anything to eat?"

Finral said despairingly,

"Captain, did you forget that you drank the most last night? The food was gone ages ago. Our funds have practically been eaten into the negatives."

Yami immediately fell silent.

Then he thought of his empty pockets and glanced at Magna.

Magna instantly sprang to his feet.

"Captain, I really don't have any money left! You know me best!"

Yami clutched his head and waved him back down with a pained expression.

After all, he and Magna had gone gambling and lost every last coin.

If the village chief had not stopped him, he would have nearly sold his Dark Magic Grimoire.

Thinking of that, Yami seemed to give up resisting and could only sit there drinking his beer in silence.

Charmy was quietly nibbling on the little cakes she had hidden away, casting Yami a fearful glance.

Only when she saw that he had no intention of snatching them did she sigh in relief and hurriedly stuff them into her mouth.

However, seeing everyone else watching, Charmy could not bear it in the end.

She stood up, and a special Grimoire appeared before her. It glowed brightly as Charmy shouted,

"Sheep Creation Magic—Silent Sheep Chef!"

As her words fell, several sheep appeared with a series of pops.

They were even walking upright, wearing aprons and chef hats.

No one knew where they pulled out the ingredients from, but they immediately began cooking. In the next moment, they made cake after cake.

The girls present immediately lit up, but everyone else looked far less pleased.

Did alcohol and little cakes really go together?

Watching Vanessa take another huge gulp of alcohol before nearly collapsing onto the table, Carl fell silent.

To be honest, this Black Bulls squad was a little slapdash.

How had they managed to survive until now? Were they not going to starve to death?

If there had been even some peanuts, Vanessa would not have gotten this wasted.

Carl was speechless. He stood up, looked at Charmy, and asked,

"Your Sheep Creation Magic is really quite unusual, Charmy. Can you make some ingredients for me?"

Charmy froze for a moment before nodding.

"My sheep chefs are the best chefs in the world. Whatever ingredients you want, just tell them."

Carl immediately smiled.

It seemed this squad was not completely useless after all. At the very least, it was truly full of strange and remarkable people.

Charmy's ability was practically a mobile ingredient warehouse.

However, from what he had observed earlier, while she could indeed create all kinds of food, those foods were powered by Charmy's magic.

In other words, Charmy, who looked so tiny and thin that she barely came up to someone's legs, was actually a terrifying existence with astonishing magical power.

Carl did not hesitate any longer and directly began giving instructions to the sheep chef beside him.

He heated a wok and oil, first frying a batch of peanuts, then making magic-created braised beef.

Before everyone's dazzled eyes, Carl prepared an entire table of sumptuous dishes in just a short while.

The people beside him were left completely stunned.

Asta's eyes practically froze as well, unable to move away from the dishes.

Drool streamed down from the corner of his mouth, nearly soaking his cloak.

The others stared blankly at Carl as he kept tossing the wok. His handsome appearance was utterly mesmerizing.

When Carl brought out the final dish, its rich fragrance immediately drew everyone's attention.

Egg fried rice.

And it was egg fried rice mixed with all kinds of meat and vegetables.

The fresh aroma and the scent of oil burst forth together. A dense magical aura faintly rose from the fried rice, as though one whiff could restore a person's energy.

Charmy's eyes were practically glazed over.

When she looked at Carl, she was completely in the state of a starstruck fan, her eyes narrowed like flattened coins.

Noelle looked astonished. Making conversation, she asked Carl,

"These dishes... you made all of them?"

Carl looked at Noelle speechlessly.

He kept looking until Noelle grew embarrassed, and she finally stammered,

"N-no, I just didn't expect you to be such a good cook, and for it to smell this good."

Everyone's gazes toward Carl changed.

That little foodie Charmy usually only cooked what she liked to eat and barely cared about anything else. It was almost a waste of her gifted ability.

But Carl was different. He really had the skills.

Seeing the table full of delicious food, Yami's appetite was immediately roused.

"With this much good food, the alcohol can finally go down properly."

Yami immediately gave Carl a thumbs-up and said,

"I really didn't recruit the wrong person. Carl, how about becoming vice-captain? Our squad happens to need a mainstay like you."

Finral immediately stiffened and then said,

"Captain, I advise you to calm down. We already have a vice-captain. He's just out on a mission, he's not actually dead. Be careful, or he'll come back and fight you to the death."

Yami fell silent for a moment before saying awkwardly,

"Then... pretend I never said that."

"But anyway, you get what I mean, right? Does having that position really matter?"

Everyone immediately looked at Yami, then turned to Carl.

Charmy was the first to raise her hand.

"I have no objections! Anyway, Carl is just as great as you are in my heart, Captain!"

[ Ding! Mission 1 activated: Hundred-Win Magic Emperor!

Use my strengths to strike at your weaknesses. Congratulations to the host for defeating Charmy, an opponent with a special magical talent, in any field. You may obtain the Golden Legend magic attribute—Gluttony Magic. (Repeated victories can improve its quality) ]

Gluttony Magic could trigger changes in the user's body size for a short period of time.

The others looked at the table full of food and obediently raised their hands in agreement.

Noelle completely lost it.

What was wrong with these freaks in the Black Bulls? They had collectively betrayed their vice-captain just for a bite to eat.

If that vice-captain found out, would he not cry himself to death?

Yet even as she complained inwardly, her throat could not help bobbing when her eyes landed on the egg fried rice.

After hesitating for a moment, she picked up a spoon and took a bite.

She was still a little worried.

What if Carl only looked like he could cook, but what he made was actually terrible?

After all, there really were chefs in her family who made dishes look exquisitely refined but tasted dreadful.

However, the moment the fried rice entered her mouth, her entire body shuddered.

Her previously pouting lips began chewing rapidly, and she nearly chewed up the spoon in front of her.

Then Noelle could not help letting out an immensely satisfied cry.

"Mm—!"

Everyone around her looked over.

Noelle blushed and said,

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself... but this really is delicious."

Carl immediately smiled.

Because the system notification sounded in his mind once more.

[ Ding! Congratulations to the host for gaining +30 favorability from Noelle. ]

One bite of egg fried rice for thirty points of favorability.

That was an incredible bargain.

Carl immediately revealed a mysterious smile.

Now, it depended on whether everyone present could deliver.