When Charlotte returned home, he saw that Floleen had actually managed to set up an entire table full of dishes.
The warm, yellow glow illuminated a spread of truly “hardcore” food—every dish glistened with oil, the aroma a heady blend of roasted meat, the richness of thick soup, and even a hint of the deep sea’s unique freshness, all wafting together.
The whole menu seemed rather… fortifying?
That was one way to put it.
He raised an eyebrow and stepped forward, his gaze sweeping across the table as the corner of his mouth began to twitch uncontrollably: Roasted Fire Salamander Ribs with golden-red crispy edges, drizzled with an amber sauce and dotted with a few bright red berries; Thunder Stag Antler Soup in a silver pot, steam curling upward, the soup a creamy white with a few emerald-green aromatic leaves floating on top; Deepsea Electric Eel Roll wrapped in translucent fish gelatin, spiraled into delicate coils.
All of these were famous dishes from the Men’s Energy Station.
But what stood out the most was the Crystal Oyster lying in the center of the table on a bed of crushed ice—its shell was larger than a hand and shimmered with a translucent pale blue light.
It was a rare delicacy only found in deep-sea magic regions.
Underneath the crushed ice was a layer of verdant Iceleaf Grass, and even the plating carried the sophistication of a Noble Restaurant, as if it had been transported straight from one of the Empire Capital’s top hotels.
“You really made all this?” The roasted chicken almost slipped from Charlotte’s hand, disbelief thick in his tone.
“Eh? What, you think I couldn’t pull it off?”
Floleen stood with her hands on her hips, chin slightly raised, but there was a faint, barely noticeable embarrassment in her eyes—she hadn’t expected the delivery food to look so extravagant.
She just wanted to put on a show, but now she was a little out of control.
Charlotte’s mouth twitched even harder, and he nearly dropped the chicken.
He circled the table, fingertips lightly touching the handle of the silver pot—it was the perfect temperature, neither too hot nor too cold, obviously maintained with a warming spell.
Then he looked at the plating of the Crystal Oyster, the crushed ice topped with that fresh green grass, the decoration exuding Noble Restaurant-level refinement.
Who would believe Floleen had made this herself?
He stared at the overly exquisite presentation. This had to be takeout from the Empire Capital’s Noble Hotel, right?
Only one thought was left in his mind: Even a ghost wouldn’t believe Floleen made this!
This girl usually couldn’t even boil an egg without burning it, let alone whip up dishes so perfect in appearance, aroma, and taste—with decorations to boot.
“Let’s be honest,” Charlotte put down the roasted chicken and turned to look at her, his eyes straightforward. “Did you order all these dishes from the Noble Hotel?”
“No, I did not!” Floleen instantly raised her voice, hurriedly shifting the topic as she pointed at the chicken in Charlotte’s arms.
“And what about you! Didn’t you think I couldn’t cook something good, so you secretly went out and bought food?”
“I just didn’t want us to go hungry tonight.” Charlotte laughed, taking her wrist and gently rubbing her soft little hand with his fingertips.
“If you really want to learn to cook, I’ll teach you when I have time. I guarantee it’ll taste even better than this flashy stuff.”
Floleen’s cheeks quietly flushed a light red, the tips of her ears heating up as her voice softened, “I just… I was happy today and wanted to treat you to something nice.”
She paused, then regained a bit of her usual pride, raising her chin again. “I prepared this whole table for you, so you have to finish it all!”
Charlotte let out a bitter laugh and spread his hands. “There’s so much, I doubt I can eat it all.”
Honestly, he didn’t need anything from the “Men’s Energy Station” at all—his body was special. As long as he got close to Floleen, he could recover his strength and magic.
Forget fatigue, after each time they snuggled, he actually felt more energetic. These dishes were entirely unnecessary for him.
Inside him, that Ancient Tree really did possess some miraculous power.
“Don’t you usually run out of steam?” Charlotte teased, “Is tonight’s feast supposed to knock you out so you can play dead?”
“Hmph, I was just letting you win before, my dear Hero~” Suddenly, she unfurled her Blood Bat Wings, sending a cool breeze through the room as she floated lightly into the air.
From above, she looked down at Charlotte, her crimson eyes shining like they’d been tempered by fire.
“Last night’s outcome doesn’t count. Tonight, we’ll settle it again. There’s no way you can defeat me at my peak, Hero.”
She tapped her finger in the air, poking Charlotte’s forehead from a distance, her tone playful.
“Consider this table your ‘farewell banquet.’ Go polish your Moonblade and come challenge me again, you foolish Hero~”
A smile flickered in Charlotte’s eyes. He played along instantly, his voice dropping. “Demon King, aren’t you underestimating me a bit too much?”
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night…
But… after finishing the meal, nothing happened to Charlotte at all.
Floleen was confused—even with his usual composure, after eating so much fortifying food, he shouldn’t be as calm as still water, with all desires banished, right?
Yet Charlotte was still at the table reading a Magic Book, as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, Floleen was lying in bed, only her head peeking out as she watched Charlotte.
She’d even put on a beautiful, semi-sheer black evening dress, but Charlotte hadn’t spared her a single glance.
“Charlotte! It’s already so late—shouldn’t we go to bed?”
“Floleen, you go ahead. I’ll read for a while longer; these Magic Books are really interesting.”
Floleen was extremely dissatisfied. She rolled around on the bed, wrapping herself tightly in the quilt like a caterpillar, inching along in protest.
She kept muttering to herself, rolling coquettishly a few more times, making some noise to get Charlotte’s attention.
But Charlotte didn’t take the bait at all.
He continued reading the Magic Book calmly.
Floleen turned her head away, finally losing her temper!
Just as Charlotte was flipping through the book, a sudden swoosh sounded from the bed.
He looked back to see that Floleen had vanished, leaving the sheets in disarray.
Floleen was now standing on the desk, her smooth little foot pressing down on Charlotte’s book, preventing him from turning the page.
Charlotte looked up and saw Floleen’s blushing face and a flash of exposed skin.
“What are you doing…” Charlotte nudged Floleen’s toes, still trying to move her foot so he could turn the page.
“Charlotte!” She unfurled her bat wings entirely, puffed up like an angry cat.
“I know it’s hard! But this is an order! Lights out—bedtime!”
This exact scene had played out in the morning when Floleen woke up, and now Charlotte found it quite amusing, wanting to tease her a bit more.
“Come on, let me read a little longer. I’m just preparing to break through to Fourth-Tier Mage, after all.”
“It’s too late! No more reading, staring at books at night is bad for your eyes!”
“Hehehe, I have the Blessing of the Elves. My eyes will be fine.”
Floleen was utterly exasperated. Charlotte always used this excuse to brush her off.
She couldn’t take it anymore—this was not the usual cold and indifferent Charlotte; it was time for a decisive move!
She closed the book with her foot, straddled Charlotte, pinned his hands between her legs, and flew back to the bed.
Now Charlotte felt like it was Floleen who had eaten all that food, not him.
“Floleen, how about a bedtime story, reminiscing about the past?”
Charlotte finally gave in, getting under the covers with Floleen.
“……….”
Of all times, Charlotte wanted to reminisce now? Was this man just trying to go against her?
Fine, then—Floleen was ready to go all out.
“Tonight, anything you want is fine. You don’t have to worry about me!”
“Really?”
“Really!”
That finally piqued Charlotte’s interest. He was eager to see how much his affinity with the dark element could improve tonight…