Friel didn't back down at all, still staring straight at Liya and the others as if she wanted to tear them to pieces immediately.
"Friel! Don't overstep your bounds!"
"Jona Velli, I..."
Before Friel could finish, the sound of footsteps reached them.
Shasha—
Friel's unfinished words were interrupted as everyone looked to the side, where Medusa was approaching with a Minotaur in tow.
The Minotaur walked bashfully, yet Jona Velli could still see unease, nervousness, and anticipation in his behavior.
Jona Velli looked at the fellow; she seemed to have a slight impression of him, but couldn't recall the specifics.
Medusa walked up to Jona Velli and knelt down with the Minotaur.
"Master, he is the head chef who prepared these delicacies. His name is Kelu."
"Kelu... pays his respects to the Great White Crystal King..."
Jona Velli sized up this Dragon Vein Minotaur and felt something was odd.
Logically, after undergoing Friel's bloodline enhancement, most of these Dragon Vein Minotaurs had grown to over four meters tall, with some even reaching five.
But this Kelu was only a bit over two meters tall, and his realm wasn't high either, which was why she found it strange.
"Kelu? Hiss..."
Jona Velli rubbed her fair chin with her small hand, looking thoughtful.
"Why does he feel a bit familiar?"
Hearing Jona Velli's murmur, Kelu showed an expression of excitement.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Kelu slammed his bull head hard against the ground.
"Whoa, what are you doing?! Suddenly kowtowing the moment we meet."
Just as Jona Velli finished speaking, the sound of sobbing followed, leaving her even more bewildered.
"What are you crying for? I'm not going to kill you. On the contrary, your food is so delicious that I ought to reward you."
"Rise quickly and let me see your face."
Kelu obediently raised his head, covered in snot and tears. The thick snot and tears were mixed together, and with that bull head... Duang!
Bang!
Jona Velli's fist smashed Kelu's bull head back into the dirt.
"You'd better just stay kowtowing."
She couldn't help it; it wasn't her fault. Kelu's appearance was just too freaking bizarre; it directly disgusted her.
"Yes... Lord."
A muffled buzzing sound came from him.
"Tell me, why are you crying? Why is there anticipation in your eyes? And why is your body so small and thin?"
Jona Velli condensed a Frost Throne and reclined on it. She grabbed Liya's fluffy fox tail and began idly stroking it.
Liya's face turned beet red, and her legs were tightly pressed together. Every time Jona Velli stroked it, her body would tremble... slightly.
"Ma... Master... th-there..."
Liya's voice was tiny, nothing more than a mumble.
Jona Velli pretended not to hear, and the Minotaur Kelu spoke up while sobbing.
"In reply... to the Lord's... words..."
"Don't stutter when you speak, it's annoying to listen to."
"Yes! Lord!"
Kelu adjusted himself and answered respectfully.
"Lord, I am crying because I am too excited, too happy! To have my culinary skills recognized by the Lord."
"This... this is simply more—"
"than—"
"the dwarves—"
"...for a week! It's even more satisfying!"
"Huh???"
"Wait, bro?"
"Do you even realize what you're saying?"
Jona Velli was dumbfounded, Medusa and the others were dumbfounded—everyone present was completely dumbfounded.
Kelu blinked his large, bell-like bull eyes. Although his head was still pressed against the ground, he covered his bull mouth with both hands.
It's over. He was so happy that he blurted out his inner thoughts without thinking.
"Guys, do you think I'm about to suffer a social death?"
"Ahem, uh... I know you're eager, but don't be so eager yet. Think before you speak."
Jona Velli coughed awkwardly to break the tension.
"Yes! Lord!"
Kelu felt that if he were a dwarf, he could have dug out a three-bedroom apartment with his toes right then and there.
Calming his excited heart and steadying his trembling hands, Kelu gradually settled down.
"Because I have been obsessed with the Lord recognizing my cooking. This has been my persistent goal for nearly a hundred years."
Looking at Kelu, Jona Velli unconsciously felt a slight increase in favor toward this Minotaur.
She hadn't expected him to be such a loyal old bull.
"Kelu, raise your head."
"Kelu doesn't dare. Kelu's appearance will defile the Lord's eyes..."
"You have no right to refuse."
With a thought from Jona Velli, a hand condensed from frost forcefully lifted Kelu's bull head.
"You are quite good. White Crystal City needs loyal fellows like you."
This time, Jona Velli didn't show any more disgust toward Kelu.
Kelu was deeply moved, and tears welled up in his eyes once more.
"Thank you, Lord! You are so kind! You are the best Lord in the whole world!"
"Go, go, go! Get lost, that's disgusting."
Jona Velli broke into a cold sweat.
How does it feel when a burly Minotaur says such mushy things to you with snot and tears running down his face? Jona Velli was experiencing it for real now.
"Keep talking."
Kelu wasn't saddened by Jona Velli's rejection; instead, he continued his story.
"It was precisely because I wanted to gain the Lord's affirmation that I carried such anticipation."
"Therefore, I have been constantly honing my culinary skills for these past hundred years, seeking advice from human merchants and trading for recipes. This led me to neglect my cultivation, and I am currently only at the Golden Five-Ring level."
As Kelu spoke, he didn't dare look at Jona Velli, fearing her reproachful gaze.
After all, neglecting cultivation for the sake of cooking was, in a sense, a bit like being irresponsible and losing one's ambition to trifles.
However, Jona Velli didn't feel that way at all.
On the contrary, she believed that someone who could persist and work hard for a specific goal was worthy of respect.
"Why were you so obsessed with my recognition?"
Jona Velli asked, truly puzzled.
Kelu was stunned for a moment, then it dawned on him. After all, he and Jona Velli had only met once, so it was perfectly normal that she didn't recognize him.
But... that was exactly why. Having Jona Velli recognize his skills despite being strangers made it truly meaningful to him.
"In reply to the Lord, about several decades ago, you once visited my shop."
"Perhaps you have already forgotten that encounter at the Battle-Axe Restaurant, but..."
"WTF! You're that Minotaur who only cooked beef!"
Jona Velli suddenly shouted, standing up from her Frost Throne and pointing at Kelu with an excited expression.
Seeing that Jona Velli recognized him, Kelu was also incredibly excited.
"Lord! You still remember me!"
He never imagined that a nobody like himself would be remembered by a great existence like Jona Velli.
Sniff sniff, this is so moving, right?
Jona Velli's lips twitched.
It wasn't that she wanted to remember; it was just that it was so terrible back then—it tasted worse than dirt.
As for how she knew what dirt tasted like? Well, that was a question for the original owner of this body.
However, she hadn't expected this Minotaur's culinary skills to become so superb now; it was truly beyond her expectations.
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