Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 208 - 195 Leisurely Joy

The silver knife followed the beautiful grain, fusing entirely into the thickness. The small incision cut open like a spring exposed on the ground, spraying its flavor and warmth into the chilly air. The dark brown meat juices obscured the cross-section, and Lyle no longer had the mood to admire it. He forked a small piece onto his own plate, placed it in his mouth, savoring the taste of juice mixed with saliva, feeling the temperature as hot oil adhered to his skin.

Lyle’s eyes naturally closed and reopened after he swallowed. His mouth now felt empty, and the lingering taste on his lips turned him ravenous. He looked excitedly at Alianna, and they exchanged joyful smiles.

"Delicious!" His tongue almost seemed forced to utter that word, and Lyle felt that the ability to stop himself from eating such delightful food, to express his admiration, was a testament to his self-control.

Alianna set down her knife and fork, smiling, ready to respond to Lyle.

"It’s sour." Beatrice put down her knife and fork, voicing her opinion with a clear tone.

"Sour?" Lyle, looking askance at Beatrice’s plate of steak similar to his own, was puzzled.

Beatrice, seeing his gaze, hummed disgruntledly, "Do you have an objection?"

"Can vampires eat meat?"

"Certainly, blood is a necessity for survival, but I can treat eating as a form of entertainment. Besides, my tongue has not degenerated; I can distinctly tell there’s a faint sourness to the steak."

Is that so? Lyle cut another small piece, put it in his mouth, and once again was lost in its deliciousness. He did not detect any significant sourness.

Lyle looked at Beatrice skeptically.

He turned his gaze to Alianna.

"Anna, what do you think? Is it sour for you too?"

Alianna hadn’t started on her first piece yet, and both Beatrice’s and Lyle’s eyes were fixed on her.

She smiled.

"Then let me have a good taste, for the first time in so many years. The first time to enjoy food."

Alianna put the small piece of food into her mouth.

Her lips chewed a couple of times.

Then the corners of her mouth turned down; it was not to her taste, and before Lyle could speak, something horrifying happened to Alianna.

Starting from her lips, her skin began to melt away like dripping wax, sagging downwards. Her beautiful features melted and deformed; the flesh fell off like sludge onto the ground, by her feet.

Alianna turned into a skeleton, still maintaining the action of eating, two souls flames flickered in her eye sockets, unblocked by flesh, blinking twice at Lyle.

My girlfriend melted.

This scene could become a psychological shadow for Lyle, but the sludge of blood and flesh was not his concern at the moment.

"Anna!" Nia’s tendrils unfolded on Lyle, as he with conviction grasped Alianna’s bony arm, looking into those two flames still flickering with brightness, "Are you alright?"

"I am fine." Alianna, now reverted to her Lich form, revealed her icy voice. A Specter Servant took out a white cloak and draped it over her.

"I am fine, Lyle."

The mush on the floor transformed back to a blackish-red hue, resembling Nia’s former shape, but without tentacles, like a mound of mochi.

"My disguise fell off."

Lyle refocused his attention on Nia’s clone. "What’s going on, Nia?"

Nia extended her lattice tendrils, connecting with the mass of flesh.

"It is eating. To eat, it must revert to its original form."

Lyle observed the squirming mass of flesh.

"Eating requires its original form? It can’t rely on a digestive system when disguised?"

"What is that? Nia does not understand."

He understood. Alianna’s corroded disguise was a clone created by Nia, who had not given it human physiological mechanisms during creation; it was merely a façade. On receiving the command to eat, it reverted to its original state for consumption.

The disguise was only that—a disguise.

Like binary computers unable to comprehend the meaning of the number ten.

The corroded disguise needed system upgrades. As for how to eat, how to construct a human digestive system, that was a project for the future.

After sharing his analysis with everyone, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"So it is, Anna cannot yet eat."

Alianna extended a bony finger, a bit stiffly caressing Lyle’s palm.

"Even a limited miracle is a blessing for me."

Lyle smiled, looking at the skull beneath the sheer veil.

"Alianna, I will let you taste the delight of food once again."

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"Naslan’s meat has a sour taste. It’s unavoidable, after all, our livestock husbandry methods are quite special."

"What methods?"

Rumble rumble rumble!

Noises of commotion came from outside the window.

Lyle looked towards the source of the sound, and saw a herd of animals sprinting across the grassland like the great wildebeest migration of the African savannah, but upon closer inspection, it was actually livestock like cows and sheep running desperately.

"Naslan has its own livestock, we use a grazing model because my father had changed the quality of Naslan’s soil and water before he passed away, making this land of Naslan one of the most fertile in the world."

Lyle listened to Lady Helena’s introduction but still found it unbelievable.

After all, even the most experienced herders wouldn’t let their livestock run to this extent, as if they were fighting for their lives.

If the animals were slaughtered in fear, their bodies would use up glycogen and secrete more adrenaline rather than the lactic acid that makes meat tender and delicious, reminiscent of the Specter population of Naslan.

So, were they using ghosts to herd the livestock here? Because of fear, the cows and sheep would run for their lives...

Lyle looked towards the back of the herd, trying to spot those specters herding the animals.

He didn’t see them, but Lyle was certain of their approximate location.

Behind the herd of livestock, there was an obvious clearing, where the cows and sheep would rather crowd together than stay.

Lyle was mistaken about one thing.

It wasn’t a shepherd.

On that clearing, the grass was slightly swaying, and a blurry shadow began to rise slowly from the ground.

It was the size of a house, covered in sleek ghostly fur, with eyes sinister like two blazing fires, claws sharp as blades, and a mouth that could swallow a cow whole. It fixed its eyes on the prey, roaring with the rage of a predatory beast!

"Woof!"

Lyle looked at that familiar shape, watching Helena’s statue with a face full of surprise.

"That is..."

"Dragon Mr. and I are colleagues, so when Dragon Mr. wished to secure a dwelling for his pet dog, I gladly agreed."

"Chaichai!"

Hearing its name called, Chaichai’s ears and tail both perked up. It dropped its toys, staring towards the castle, and quickly recognized the figure frantically waving its hands.

"Woof!"

Chaichai’s tail began to wag, its mouth opened wide, its tongue sticking out and panting in the air. Excited, it extended its forepaws to knock on the ground, creating two more pits.

"Woof!"

With a leap, Chaichai floated up, mouth wide and drooling, barking joyfully as it charged towards the window where Lyle was.

Chaichai was about to embrace Lyle, who had his arms wide open, when there was a bang, and it hit an invisible wall outside the castle.

"Chaichai can’t be brought into the castle, Lyle. It once turned the kitchen into its doghouse. If you want to play with Chaichai, please do so outside."

--------------------

Lyle lay on the lawn, recalling the moment he had just reunited with Chaichai.

It wasn’t touching, the damn dog grabbed his trouser leg for a jubilant hundred-meter dash, nearly making his lunch come up.

Now he could only lie powerlessly on the lawn. Nia and Chaichai, on the other hand, were having a great time. Chaichai sniffed Nia’s scent and happily let her climb onto its back and started chasing the poor livestock frantically. He heard that two sheep had already died of fright, and they had to serve as tonight’s main course. Hopefully, the Specter chefs of Naslan were skilled enough to conceal the wounded soul.

After playing fetch with Chaichai, he accidentally threw the stick into the lake.

Nia and Chaichai had been in the water for a while now.

"La la la! La la la!"

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

The two of them made noises like they were returning from a completed mission.

Lyle looked at what was in Chaichai’s mouth and immediately jumped up.

"Let go, you silly dog! That’s the mercury serpent Varim!"