"Um… Erina."
Leo looked at the swaying figure walking ahead of him—the gently rocking hips, the long, snow-white legs—and swallowed hard.
"If it's okay, I'll just make my own food from now on. The stuff you make is too good. It makes me feel… strange."
"Strange?"
Nakiri Erina tilted her head in confusion and looked back at Leo.
"How strange?"
Leo thought for a moment. Looking at the genuinely puzzled expression on her face, he hesitated, then decided to be honest.
"Well… how should I put it? Eating your food feels like eating something laced with aphrodisiacs…"
The moment he said that, the confusion on Erina's face deepened even further.
"Aphrodisiacs?"
"Yeah. It's probably a difference between worlds. In my world, no matter how good food is, there's always a limit. But in your world, the food you make doesn't seem to have one."
Leo swallowed again. Even the dishes he'd made earlier with cheap luncheon meat and canned beans had left him burning with desire for hours. If Erina ever got serious—if she really unleashed her talent—Leo honestly didn't dare imagine how terrifying that would be.
He definitely wouldn't be able to control himself.
So this had to be stopped.
"Huh?"
Erina tilted her head again. She truly didn't understand what Leo was talking about.
Although her family had a special trait—clothes exploding when food was delicious enough—it had never happened to her because of her God Tongue.
And more importantly… food acting like aphrodisiacs?
That was completely unheard of.
Sure, some foods could make people feel energized or passionate, but that feeling would fade quickly. At most, it lasted a short while. Nothing like what Leo was describing—something still affecting him even now.
That was just ridiculous.
"Don't say weird things like that. And what, you don't trust my cooking? Besides, who would ever be interested in an uncle who gets out of breath just from moving a little?"
Erina snorted at Leo, though she still chose to believe him.
After all, he'd spoken up seriously.
"Still, since you asked, you can grill your own meat this time. But let me warn you—this meat feels really strange. It's like countless kinds of meat mixed together. Even I'm not confident I can make it delicious. If you make yours taste bad, you still have to eat it. No wasting food."
She wagged her finger seriously and divided the meat into ten portions, handing Leo his share.
"Okay!"
Leo let out a sigh of relief. At least now he didn't have to worry.
They returned to their base. Since they'd fetched water from the lake earlier, water was no longer scarce.
They started cooking separately. Leo wasn't very good at grilling meat, but under Erina's guidance, he managed decently—at least he didn't burn it.
On Erina's side, however, she grew serious.
"Whew… I've never seen an ingredient like this before."
Erina stared at the strange meat, took a deep breath, and reached out to touch it.
The texture, the grain, the distribution of fat—it was flawless. Perfect meat.
Yet that was exactly what made it unsettling. Something so perfect, something that shouldn't exist in reality, yet carried the flavors of countless animals.
"Let's see what kind of dish you can become."
Despite the harsh conditions, Erina couldn't suppress her chef's instincts. She carefully washed her knives with boiling water, then began cutting the meat with swift, precise movements, seasoning it with every spice she could find.
Her movements were sharp and confident, like a valkyrie on the battlefield.
Leo found himself captivated by the sight. Compared to her intensity, his side was much easier. Once his meat was done, he climbed onto the wall to keep watch in case wolves or other animals were drawn by the smell.
Fortunately, nothing appeared. But as Erina cooked, the aroma of meat grew stronger and stronger, assaulting Leo's senses.
He couldn't describe it. The only word that came to mind was "meat."
Pure, irresistible meat.
Even after eating three large pieces of grilled meat, he still felt an overwhelming hunger.
"No wonder this is a gourmet world. This cooking is completely unfair."
Leo swallowed as he watched Erina stir-fry meat with wild vegetables and simmer a pot of soup—carefully setting aside his portion as well.
He felt deeply moved.
But—
"Why does just smelling it cause problems…?"
Leo felt the agitation inside him and screamed internally.
Earlier, eating his own grilled meat caused no issues at all. But merely smelling Erina's cooking made his entire body heat up, as if immersed in a hallucination made entirely of meat.
Just the scent made him yearn uncontrollably for anything soft, warm, and full of curves.
The girl's round thighs. Her elastic chest.
Everything pulled at his gaze, making him desperately want to touch, squeeze, and knead.
"This isn't even on the same level as before!"
Leo struggled to suppress his desire, but the aroma left him dizzy.
Erina wasn't doing much better.
She stared at the pot, swallowing hard—something incredibly rare for her.
The environment was too crude to let her fully showcase her skills. She could only bring out a fraction of the meat's potential. Even so, she could feel how extraordinary it was.
The moment she finished cooking, she felt a powerful urge to devour everything.
Thankfully, she held back.
Seeing Erina finish cooking, Leo didn't dare stay there any longer. He jumped down and headed for the RV.
He didn't want to lose control.
"I—I'll go inside for a bit."
"Mm."
Erina's attention was completely locked on the two servings of meat. Leo sighed helplessly, abandoning the idea of resting inside. He climbed back onto the wall to keep watch for the clearly absent-minded Erina.
Even so, he covered his nose and mouth.
"What kind of taste… could it be?"
Erina's red lips parted slightly as she stared at the glossy meat. Her hand trembled as she lifted her chopsticks and picked up a piece.
"This is… this is…"
Her heart raced. The instant the meat touched her tongue, her eyes flew open.
Her mind filled with animal cries, primal flavors, memories of raw vitality that dragged her deeper and deeper.
The scent of spring. The scent of meat.
Her heart pounded violently. Combined with her deliberate emphasis on meat flavor, her body grew unbearably hot.
But she couldn't stop.
Her starved body. Her starved spirit. And the curse-like God Tongue.
None of it allowed her to stop eating.
Even as the meat burned her like flames, she kept going.
"Meat… no—so hot!!"
Just as Leo heard the frantic sounds of Erina devouring food, a power she'd always suppressed suddenly erupted.
"Ahhh!!"
She cried out, dropping her chopsticks and clutching her chest, her voice breathtakingly vivid.
"What happened?!"
Leo instinctively turned his head.
The next moment, he froze.
Erina's school uniform exploded apart in an instant. Fabric tore into countless fluttering fragments, revealing her snow-white, full body beneath.
He saw it clearly—her fitted uniform, stockings, ankle boots, and even the garments hiding her deepest secrets were shredded into scraps by the burst of energy.
In his daze, a white piece of cloth flew toward his face. He reflexively caught it.
It was Erina's underwear.
What should have been secured against her soft, enticing hips had been torn apart, barely holding its shape.
Erina stood there drenched in sweat, face and neck flushed red.
Beads of sweat rolled down her delicate neck, slipping into the valley of her chest, gathering before trailing down her toned, smooth abdomen.
"Th-this…"
Leo's mind nearly shut down. His brain desperately tried to process the sight before him.
"Power-up?"
Wasn't this something that only happened in battle shounen? Why was it happening in a gourmet world?!
"Leo… I'm so hot…"
Completely naked, Erina breathed heavily, clutching her chest and looking at him.
"I—I have water!"
Leo jumped down and handed her a cup, then rushed to grab a blanket.
But Erina grabbed his arm.
"No… that's not what I want…"
She felt wrong. Everything that restrained her seemed gone. She could do anything she wanted now.
And she felt incredibly strong.
She was.
With shocking force, she pulled Leo toward her and threw herself into his arms, rubbing her golden hair against his chin. Her soft chest pressed against his shirt, driving him insane.
"This isn't normal, Erina! Calm down!"
Leo poured water over her head, but the heat didn't fade.
She licked the water from her lips, stared at him blankly, then wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I'm scared… sob…"
Tears streamed down her face as she bit his shoulder. Leo tried to push her away in panic—but his hands grabbed her full, soft curves.
Even that touch made Erina tremble violently.
His roughened hands, made coarse by recent days, crushed against the place she most wanted to be treated roughly.
Instinctively, she looked at his face.
"Leo…"
Her mouth still carried the taste of meat juice. Her God Tongue instantly picked up the flavor of the meat Leo had eaten, mixed with his saliva.
The bitterness made her cry harder.
Yet the pain, the sense of safety, felt addictive.
Leo, too, was at his limit. Tasting the sweetness of her tongue and the unbelievably delicious meat flavor shattered his remaining reason.
Even people born in this world reacted as if drugged by food.
Leo was just a normal Earth man.
"Are you willing?"
After the kiss ended, Leo held her face and asked.
"Are you willing?"
Her eyes were unfocused. She didn't like the bitterness—but she couldn't leave it.
She didn't understand. She just followed her heart.
She nodded.
"Then I won't hold back."
Leo lifted her and threw her onto the bed.
After stripping himself, he realized she didn't need any foreplay.
She was already ready.
He entered her without hesitation.
At the same time, his vision warped. Something unlocked.
A power formed in his mind, reshaping itself into something he could understand.
'Affection… unlocked… power…'
It became a system—one independent of this world.
But why a system—
Because Leo didn't have time to care.
The burning heat, the tight, winding passage claimed all his attention.