"Then you’ll have to wait, because it’s not ready." Austin uttered sternly, and Tatiana huffed before crossing her arms.

Though she really wanted more, but since her friend had asked her not to, she decided to wait and see if there would be any difference between the ones Austin deemed ready to eat.

And so, with nothing else to do right now, Tatiana turned her attention back to the lake.

She watched intently as gentle ripples spread across the surface while a light breeze drifted over the water.

Meanwhile, Luna stirred slightly in Nora’s arms, letting out a small sleepy whimper before settling again into the warmth of her mother.

Seeing this, Nora smiled down at her, as she gently rocked her once more with a soothing lullaby.

Of course, Austin was watching this from where he knelt by the fire, and he couldn’t help but feel a warmth settle in his chest as he watched his beloved wife and daughter.

To be honest, a part of him still felt awed by the fact that he and his beautiful wife had created that little bundle of joy in Nora’s arms.

The realisation of it was simply too amazing, coupled with the fact that he was right now enjoying this peaceful moment surrounded by stunning, extremely gorgeous ladies.

Moving on, time passed, and the sun had climbed higher into the sky, casting dappled light through the branches above them.

Luckily for everyone, the hotpot was finally ready.

And so, Austin ladled the steaming broth into smaller bowls, picking out pieces of meat and vegetables for each of them before settling back onto the blanket with his own meal in hand.

"Ah, yes, finally. I’m starving." Tatiana said hurriedly, reaching for her bowl the moment Austin set it down.

"Oh wait, careful, it’s really...." Austin tried to warn her that the meal was hot, but he paused mid-sentence the moment he watched Tatiana take a bite anyway.

Since Tatiana naturally had a high affinity for fire, taking something this hot was nothing to the stunning dragon, and Austin could only smile as she ate to her heart’s content.

"This is so good....*yum yum*." Tatiana muttered with food still in her mouth, and she immediately decided it had been well worth the wait for Austin to make the food this perfect.

"Really?" Austin asked, and she nodded while eating more.

Nora chuckled softly from beside him before shifting Luna in her arms so she could reach for her own bowl with her free hand.

"Oh wait, dear. Allow me." Austin offered to feed his wife.

Nora’s cheeks instantly turned red with embarrassment, because they weren’t the only ones present, and she could sense the others stealing glances at them. But since she was already used to how affectionate her darling husband was, Nora didn’t protest, and instead closed her eyes before opening her mouth softly to take a bite.

Seeing this, Austin grinned before blowing on the piece of meat he had picked up, then gently offered it to her.

"Mm~ this is delicious." Nora’s eyes widened in surprise.

"I agree. I have never tasted anything as delicious as this before. How did you make it?" Rowena asked, still finding it difficult to believe that Austin was not only skilled in combat and potion making, but also remarkably good at cooking.

In fact, his culinary skills far outweighed those of her own chefs, and she simply had to know how he had made it.

"I’m sorry, my friend, but that’s a family secret."

"Hey, partner. You can teach me how to make this, right? Our bond is stronger than just friendship, right?" Tatiana asked, her face looking like a cute little puppy’s.

But Austin wouldn’t be fooled by those adoring eyes of hers. "Sorry, partner. But only my wife gets to learn this secret of mine."

"But it’s just food. I promise I won’t tell anyone." Tatiana scooted closer with pleading eyes, but Austin remained firm.

"Nope, my mind is made up. So unless my beautiful wife wants me to teach anyone else, I won’t even entertain the idea, even if it’s a partner of mine."

Hearing this, Tatiana instantly turned her gaze toward Nora, clapping her hands together in a pleading gesture.

Despite having all the power in the world to destroy anything and anyone within her grasp, this stunning dragon lady chose not to do that, but instead to do exactly as her contract partner had suggested.

If it were anyone else, they probably would have been roasted to a crisp before any offer could even be made, but since Austin was her primary source of the meaty goodness she had just eaten, Tatiana was determined to do whatever it took to stay in his good graces.

And right now, the best way to do that would be by warming up to his wife.

Seeing how desperate the dragon lady was, Nora couldn’t help but smile before turning to her hubby with a pleading look of her own.

Yes, Tatiana’s puppy dog eyes were cute in their own way, but Nora’s pleading eyes were in a league of their own.

Her eyes glistened as she pleaded without saying a single word, and Austin couldn’t help but feel struck in the chest by how adorable she looked right now.

At this rate, wasn’t his beautiful wife turning him into a simp?

But that didn’t matter right now, because as long as he got to make her happy, that was more than enough to make him happy too.

And so, since his wife wanted him to teach Tatiana the cooking secret, Austin decided he would at least consider it.

"Alright, partner. I’ll consider teaching it to you one day, if I feel like it."

"Hey, that’s not fair. You said you’d teach me if your wife agreed to it."

"Nope, I said I wouldn’t even entertain the idea of teaching anyone unless my wife asked me to, and since she’s asking me to right now, that means I’ll entertain the idea by putting it into consideration."

"That’s really not fair."

"Life’s not fair, my dear partner. A good example is your perfectly long lifespan."

Hearing the word "perfect" used by Austin, Tatiana couldn’t help but grin at the praise, pleased to be seen as something special.

This dragon lady was simply weak to praise, it seemed.

Austin rolled his eyes with a grin as he focused on feeding his wife before turning his attention to his own meal.

But as he began to eat, a small flicker of light suddenly darted down from the branches above, hovering just above Austin’s bowl before settling behind it.

The cute little fairy slowly peeked over the edge of the bowl curiously before snatching a small piece of meat between her tiny hands and zipping away with it triumphantly.

"Oi, get back here." Austin uttered in shock as he tried to grab the little thief, but Sylvie giggled happily before landing on Rowena’s shoulder.

Then she began happily nibbling on her stolen prize, completely unbothered by Austin’s protest.

Seeing this, Rowena couldn’t help but grin softly. "It’s fine, Austin. She does this with my food too."

"Of course, I’m not mad. I just hoped she would have asked for it first, rather than stealing it outright."

Hearing this, Sylvie instantly poked her tongue out cutely at Austin before nibbling on her food.

Rowena chuckled softly again and added. "I guess she just prefers it this way."

"Well, at least she has good taste in food. I’ll give her that." Austin muttered as he watched the little fairy practically glowing with delight over her stolen bite.

Now, Nora and Tatiana finally noticed the little fairy on Rowena’s shoulder, and just as Austin had reacted upon first seeing Sylvie, both ladies reacted the same way.

They moved closer and instantly praised how cute the little fairy was, which made Sylvie very happy as she hovered over both of them, getting acquainted with them as well.

And so, this was how everyone spent their day. Once everyone had finished their meals and their bowls had been cleared away, Austin stood, stretched, and glanced toward the lake before an idea popped into his mind.

"Alright, ladies. Who wants to play a game?"

"Now, you’ve got my undivided attention, partner. What is this game you’d like us to play?" Tatiana instantly offered to play along, despite not knowing what the game would even involve.

Seeing this, Austin smiled and gestured for her to follow him, and Tatiana did.

She watched as Austin retrieved a small bundle of flat stones he had collected near the water.

Then he walked toward the riverbank, with everyone following behind.

Seeing him picking up stones, Tatiana wondered if she should do the same.

Or maybe the game itself was the stone picking.

Or was that not it?

Tatiana pondered this, but since she didn’t know exactly what the game was going to be, she decided to ask Austin directly.

"You still haven’t answered my question. What game do you want us to play?"