Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 219: One hundred and sixty-one: Recuperation (2)

Chapter 219: One hundred and sixty-one: Recuperation (2)

A week quickly passed by, and after seven days of vegetarian diet, Malin’s listlessness was visibly apparent, even to others, although no one could figure out the reason, so Malin sought out Shelton Brice.

"How long has it been since you last ate meat?" The giant gentleman had just ridden out of his church, and this was his first question.

"A week." Malin was listless, his gaze drifting, looking for a comfortable place to lie down, as if possessed by the spirit of Ge You.

"Your bloodline has awakened, hasn’t it?" Shelton Brice’s second sentence was straightforward.

Malin nodded: "You mean, it’s because I haven’t eaten meat?"

"That’s right, the most important aspect of a giant’s bloodline is to consume meat, it’s best to have it every day, but even if life is tough, you can’t go a week without it." Shelton said, giving Malin a once-over: "I’ve heard you just rescued your sister from the Dream Rift and you’ve been recovering this week on a vegetarian diet, right?"

"Yes, that’s right." Malin nodded: "I never considered that." He had thought he was so debilitated because he had been gravely injured in the rift, which was why he had become such a wreck over the week.

"The doctor taking care of you is an elf, isn’t she?" Shelton was already laughing.

Malin was full of question marks: "Yes, but, what does that have to do with the doctor being an elf?"

"Elves and giants had a blood feud in ancient times, and although the hatred has dissipated now, starving a little giant for a week is still one of the elves’ favorite pranks. Don’t worry, eat meat for three days and you’ll recover. Then you can go beat her up. As long as you use this reason, the other elves won’t stop you, but just don’t kill anyone. We can go hungry for a week without harm to our bodies." Shelton finished speaking with a laugh, signaling the guards to bring a small horse over, and had Malin mount the horse: "Luckily, I’m free right now. I’ll take you to a newly opened restaurant in the North City District, where the best werewolf chef works. I’m telling you, that meat they roast will capture your gaze."

As he mounted the horse, Malin asked, "The Big Bowl Barbecue Restaurant, right?"

"How did you know? The place has only been open for five days." This time, it was Shelton’s turn to be surprised.

"The owner of the restaurant, the lame wolf, is my sister Jessica’s father," Malin said, taking the reins from the church guardsman, and a flurry of Blessing Spells landed on the small horse.

"Let’s go! For the meat!"

This was his own stomach cheering.

Voiced by the mouth as well.

.........

The Big Bowl Barbecue Restaurant was something Malin had prepared especially for Jessica’s family. The injured, retired old wolf had recently been hanging around Jessica all the time, one day longing to hold his grandchild, the next day lamenting his loneliness, and the day after that complaining about his ungrateful daughter.

According to Jessica, her brother was close to breaking down, and had not returned home for a week, spending every day studying hard and training fervently at the church.

And she herself was about to explode, so Malin and the girl thought it over and decided to give the old wolf something to do—starting a barbecue restaurant for retired werewolves seemed like a good idea. The orcs in Carterburg loved their meat, and the monkeys preferred the fatty cuts. As for ingredients, it was the beginning of early summer, and the churches had already sent out Apprentice squads for hunting expeditions far and wide.

Summer is the time when animals and Spirits multiply explosively, and letting the youngsters see blood was a consistent training method for the churches, even though there were unlucky ones who died each year. To Malin’s surprise, this year’s Apprentices from the Goddess of Harvest’s church proved unusually resilient. While other churches reported fatalities, a group of sixth graders encountered a large den of Ice Wolves, and despite losing more than half their warhorses, all eleven kids managed to escape without a fatality, much to the Ice Wolves’ amusement—ordinarily, these eleven kids would have certainly perished upon encountering such a large family of Ice Wolves numbering over thirty.

Afterward, they all claimed that the Ice Wolves’ Spell Formations and pursuit were a piece of cake. Although they were injured, they said that it took more to kill them. However, they admitted had it been Malin instead of the Ice Wolves, all eleven would’ve been dead on the spot.

Touched by this, Malin decided that once he was done with his business here, he would return to the church to continue the education of love—even the High Priest had expressed as much, so how could Malin not go back?

This time, he would be a bit easier on them, letting them experience a true hell.

The Big Bowl Barbecue Restaurant was located in the North City District. Although the horse Malin rode wasn’t fully grown, it was full of blessings. Malin had even applied a spell to enhance its intelligence, so the young horse trotted elegantly through the crowd. By the time he reached the entrance of the restaurant, Shelton was nowhere to be seen.

It took another ten minutes for the guy and his horse to appear on the distant street.

By then, Malin had already entered the restaurant and reserved a spot. Though the old wolf gave his daughter a thorough talking-to about securing a place for her firstborn every day, he was genuinely very kind to Malin.

At this point, old Xingyan could learn a thing or two. He still hasn’t forgotten his plans to introduce his daughter to Malin, although it’s under the guise of teaching him blacksmithing. But really, Malin is at his wit’s end — the girl’s arms are nearly as thick as Malin’s waist, and her strength has developed tremendously. Plus, with the volatile temper of the Dwarves, it’s a toss-up as to who would hammer who during domestic violence. That’s a serious problem.

Walking into the private room with Shelton, to outsiders it must have looked like a small child and a giant eating together, a very strange pair. But only Shelton knew that he truly couldn’t out-eat Malin. When that kid tucked into meat, his mouth seemed like a black hole, inhaling a whole plate of roast in the blink of an eye. Then Malin would belch and say, "I’m only a third full, bring another plate."

...Damn, the last time I mentioned treating Malin to a meal to Assistant Priest Colin from the Church of the Goddess of Harvest, he sized me up with a weird look. Back then, I thought Mr. Assistant Priest was being oddly sarcastic, but now it seems he wondered if my wallet was thick enough.

By the War God, do I even have enough money with me today? Shelton felt like life was hitting a crisis.

But the next second, he stood up. The old wolf had come in and gave him a smile, "Isn’t this Shelton from the House of Brice? Here with our Malin today?"

"You two know each other, uncle?" Malin asked, taking the plate of roast from the old wolf’s hands.

"This finger," the old wolf held up his left hand that was missing half a pinkie, "is what I lost for him."

"It’s all thanks to you, uncle." Shelton’s face was flushed with shy gratitude. "I was young and foolish then, if it weren’t for you, I would’ve died a long time ago."

"It’s a good thing for young people to be energetic. When the sky falls, we’ll be counting on you tall guys." The old wolf laughed and patted his arm, "My goodness, never thought I’d be saying ’you sure are tall’ one day."

Shelton chuckled awkwardly.

Malin laughed as he watched the two, "Right, put it on my tab this time."

"No way," Shelton shook his head, "put it on my tab."

"I’m the boss."

"He’s the boss."

The old wolf and Malin’s back and forth left Shelton momentarily stunned, and he looked at Malin, "For real?"

"Would I lie to you about something like this? It’s not like I’m an elf," Malin rolled his eyes at him and then opened his mouth to start eating again. "Uncle, another plate, this guy’s got a huge appetite too."

"No problem, you two just wait," old wolf said, raising his eyebrows.

After seeing off the old wolf, Shelton flopped down. He looked at Malin, "Did you really hit it off with Jessica?"

"Yep," Malin replied, eyeing the hefty fellow.

"My life was saved by the uncle, and Jessica is like my sister. Kid, you did well, from now on I’m your brother," declared the giant with a solemn expression.

Is that how it works? Malin initially wanted to suggest they settle who’s the brother at the training field, but then thought better of it and decided not to speak carelessly.

"I’ll risk my life to keep you safe," said Shelton with a serious look.

Malin fell silent for a moment, then laughed, "Cut it out, you can’t beat me."

Shelton too burst into laughter, reaching out and patting Malin’s head.

Malin was taken aback for a second, then smiled, "Thanks."

"You’re welcome."

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