Angela, who was responsible for feeding Pania every day, stood calmly behind Hayden.
This reaction was quite strange to the goddess Mikt. Hayden, his master, was frightened, yet the maid following behind him remained unmoved. What did this mean? It couldn't be that only the maid was unaware of the Secret Fire, because Angela had been responsible for feeding Pania daily recently. No one would send a lowly servant who knew nothing to do such a task.
“We all know how important and strategically important the Secret Flame is. Every giant corporation tries to synthesize it or create its substitutes. Their annual production is so scarce that even I, Miktikashiva, the director of Smoke Mirror Life Construction Corporation, can't add them to cream puffs to eat. Let alone feed them to cats. Although these Secret Flames are rare, with only a trace in the puffs, in terms of purity, they should be used for more important purposes.”
So the goddess Mikt's emerald green eyes turned to Angela.
"Perhaps, the person who decided to do this wasn't Mr. Hayden at all... but you?"
It's terrible.
Just how perceptive is Miktikashiva?!
However, from Mikt's own perspective, it's quite normal for her to reach this conclusion. Although Mikt Tikashiva wasn't one of the ancient gods who fell from the heavens, she was still a member of the ancient gods on Earth.
"Did the Peacock King or Karen send you to deliver those secret fire foods to the kittens?"
So it's quite normal for the goddess Mikkelsen to ask such a question and make such a guess.
"Does the Peacock King perhaps have something to say to me?"
Just as the Peacock King mistakenly believed that Angela was one of his kind, at this moment, the goddess Mikt also suspected that Angela was an ancient god from beyond the heavens hiding in a doll shell, and even suspected that she was the Peacock King's messenger and subordinate.
Unfortunately, when Angela heard her question, she tilted her head and answered honestly, "That's not the case. I do not obey the peacock, but my master Hayden. It was my master who created me and brought me to this planet."
Now it was the goddess Mikkelsen's turn to be stunned.
What?
Hayden created you, bringing you to this planet!?
Needless to say, Hayden was also terrified. He even started thinking about how to escape or fight to the death, how to get to Karen's side or simply run away completely.
After a long pause, the goddess Mikite turned to look at Hayden, her face filled with disbelief and shock: "No wonder...no wonder the Peacock King entrusted his only daughter to you!—You actually, artificially created an ancient god from beyond the heavens!?"
……ah?
A question flashed through Hayden's mind for a moment. Unfortunately, even the goddess Mikkelsen was confused this time and didn't realize it.
"An artificially created extraterrestrial ancient god... Could it be that it was copied and modified, similar to the previous Terasque clone?"
No one knew what she was imagining, but as the goddess Mikette muttered to herself, she grew increasingly astonished, and her gaze towards Hayden became even stranger.
"I've heard about your skills in many places, but I never imagined you were such a peerless genius!"
When did it become like this?!
Hayden desperately wanted to deny it, but his intuition kept pounding in his head, reminding him not to court disaster.
Whether out of reason or intuition, Hayden instantly realized that the correct way to deal with this situation was:
"Hahahaha! You're quite perceptive, Miktikashiva!"
He tilted his head back, laughed heartily for a moment, then grinned, revealing a confident smile.
“That’s right. Angela was created by my unparalleled genius. It is precisely because I created her that the Peacock King entrusted Karen to me!”
Strictly speaking, this wasn't a lie. At least, Goddess Mikkelsen didn't detect any falsehood. And that's precisely why she was utterly shocked!
Hayden has independently developed the technology to artificially create extraterrestrial gods!
Moreover, he also possesses the technology for mass-producing Secret Flame at low cost!
At this moment, even a non-human ancient god like Miktikashiva couldn't help but feel dizzy from this earth-shattering news.
What astonishing technology! What astonishing genius! Even most capitalists wouldn't dare to consume the Secret Flame as a luxury item. While large corporations have methods to synthesize Secret Flames, the costs are high, and the annual production is very low. Secret Flames are strategic resources highly valued by all giant corporations; they are intended for continued production and capital appreciation, not for the bosses to casually consume.
So what has Hayden done now?
Thinking this through, Goddess Mikt carefully examined Hayden again, and then suddenly realized—look closely at Hayden's body! Just how much Secret Fire has he consumed?!
This is truly a monumental achievement—creating life and conquering death! If she were to acquire Hayden's wisdom and technology, and with the help of such a talented individual, Miktikashiva might even be able to defeat and devour the chairman of the Smoke Mirror Company, Tezkatripokka! She could potentially become a new financial tycoon!
At this moment, the goddess Mikkelsen no longer looked at Hayden as an "interesting man," but as a golden apple tree that could greatly change her life!
On the other hand, the goddess Mikkuri wasn't stupid. She wasn't so insane as to make such an important judgment immediately from just a few words. Even with a hypothesis, she still needed to find a way to verify it first, right?
"Mr. Hayden, I would like to ask you for a favor today."
After calming down, the goddess Mikter spoke to Hayden,
"Could you please make me a dish different from what I've had before, right here, right here?"
153: The Suffering of Unfulfilled Desires
Cooking for the goddess Mikkuri?
Actually, Hayden had vaguely guessed that things might develop this way when he heard the goddess Mikt say those strange things. So he wasn't particularly surprised at this moment, just a little speechless.
You capitalist god, you're trying to freeload off me now? Oh, I see. So this is what a real capitalist is like?
...That's not actually the case.
The reason why Goddess Mikt asked Hayden if he could cook a dish for her to try right now was actually to ask Hayden how far his Secret Fire Synthesis technique had developed, how he could use Secret Fire energy on the spot, and what level of skill he had in using it.
These are the things that Miktikahiva actually wants to know.
She asked Hayden to cook because she wanted him to put on a show.
As for Hayden, he... actually didn't mind putting on a show.
Anyway, he just couldn't let the capitalists discover Angela's fundamental secret.
However, Hayden needed to react quickly. The goddess Mikkelsen was startled by what had just happened, and her sensitivity to emotions was now diminished. But this shock wouldn't last. Hayden had to deliver another shock quickly, and it had to be a wrong answer that aligned with her train of thought…
"Okay."
So Hayden immediately said,
"But this isn't free—you know what I mean, Miktikashiva?"
Goddess Mikt nodded with a smile.
That's fine. Hayden doesn't plan to discuss specific terms with her right now. It's actually easier to leave things unsaid for now. They can deal with it later.
"what do you want to eat?"
So Hayden asked.
"Any dish that is different from the previous ones is acceptable."
The goddess Mikkelsen answered with a smile.
"Also, please do it here now."
what?
As soon as she finished speaking, a lesser vampire waitress pushed a movable preparation table the size of a small cart, along with a large box of various fresh ingredients, into the dining hall.
"Please do it."
The goddess Mikkuri sat down in her seat, looking expectant and happy.
Oh my god
Hayden immediately realized that the situation was a bit troublesome.
Angela usually cooks at his home. She selects all kinds of good ingredients and incorporates a wisp of her life force (what the gods call the secret fire) into the cooking process. In addition, she uses strange techniques and tools that even Hayden cannot understand, which is why ordinary food becomes a holy meal that even the gods of capital cannot eat.
Don't forget—Angela always uses very strange tools to cook!
Many people may have forgotten this incident, but in fact, on the very first night after Angela came to Hayden's side last year, she secretly used Hayden's credit card to buy a bunch of metal materials and then transformed Hayden's synthetic food machine into a strange cooking device about the size of a refrigerator. That thing was composed of a large number of drive screws, conveyor belts, pulleys, gears, springs, and other clockwork parts, and its structure was extremely complex. Just looking at it made Hayden's eyes hurt.
Angela usually cooks at home using that strange device. She cooks using bizarre technology that Hayden could barely understand.
Needless to say, if Hayden were to let Angela cook in the same way right under the nose of the goddess Mikt, it would be quite difficult for her to remain completely undetected.
"Are you that hungry? Do you want to watch the chef cook right there?"
While trying to maintain a calm and detached state of mind, Hayden attempted to vent his frustrations in this way.
When the goddess Mikkuri heard this, she laughed even harder: "Isn't that obvious? I'm always hungry! Everyone is like that."
What?
"No matter how much food you eat, you can never be completely full; no matter how much wealth you acquire, you can never be completely satisfied. Even gods have worries and anxieties. I'm afraid that even if you become a bodhisattva who holds the most power and wealth, you will still have things that make you uneasy and things that you cannot obtain."
Miktikashiva's eyes flickered, and he sighed softly, revealing a hint of desolation.
"Valleys are easily filled, but human desires are hard to satisfy. Who can feel that they are completely satisfied? Dissatisfaction leads to desire. When desires are not fulfilled, suffering ensues. Is this not hunger?"
You bunch of capitalist gods have quite the appetite, huh?
However, Hayden didn't actually voice his inner thoughts, only saying, "Does the god of Smoke Mirror Company also study the philosophy of the Mithra Group?"
"Of course. The development of philosophical theories and the advancement of worldviews are all reasons why the Mithra Group is superior. Otherwise, how could they have risen to power and overthrown the old gods? But let's not talk about such unpleasant things now."
At this point, the goddess Mikt returned to the topic.
"I'm already hungry."
Ok.
"Any dish that's different from the ones we've had before will do? Okay, let me see what we can use here."
Hayden walked to the preparation table and ingredient boxes that the waitress had pushed over, and looked down as if he was pondering the dishes, but in reality he was quickly thinking of a solution to the problem.
He can't let Angela cook this time.
So, can Hayden cook for himself?
Actually, it's quite possible. A single man who's lived so many years should at least have some life skills. Besides, Hayden is a potions expert. Someone who can brew potions well, why would he be afraid to cook?
But to say whether this ordinary meal could be as incredible and unbelievable as Angela's usual cooking—Hyden had absolutely no confidence.
Although Hayden also carried several bottles of Secret Flame, it probably wouldn't be enough.
Angela's signature dishes cannot be replicated simply by adding her secret fire to ordinary dishes like a seasoning.
...However, it's not entirely impossible for Hayden to replicate this.
He always has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, especially the impromptu emergency tricks.
(Ultimately, all she wanted was the technology to synthesize Secret Flames at low cost and high yield. She wanted to verify this, along with my methods of using these Secret Flames.)
So Hayden quickly began to think.
What he actually needed to hide wasn't the secret fire.
The real problem isn't that Angela can produce Secret Fire—the real problem is that Angela can actually produce Secret Fire infinitely without any cost!
Unlimited! No cost!
As long as this matter doesn't leak out, everything else is relatively minor. After all, Goddess Mikkuri now believes Hayden is the son-in-law of the Peacock King. She wouldn't really do anything to Hayden over such a trivial matter.
After this round of logical thinking, Hayden felt much more confident.
There are ways.
He picked out some carrots, onions, green vegetables, pork, and eggs from the box and arranged them on the counter.
...Then Hayden took a piece of chalk out of his pocket and began to draw magic circles on the floor of the hall.
Now, not only was Pania, who had been captured, stunned, but even the goddess Mikt was somewhat dumbfounded.
"What is this going to do?"
The goddess couldn't help but ask.
Hayden calmly replied, "Cooking, in a broad sense, is also a kind of alchemy."
Strictly speaking, this shouldn't be considered a lie...
At least the goddess Mikt didn't detect the lie; instead, she was stunned.
Meanwhile, Hayden had already drawn the alchemical circle. He took out a ceremonial silver dagger and a flower seed from his robe, placed the ingredients and seed in different positions in the center of the circle, and then swung the dagger, spitting a drop of his blood onto the flower seed.
The magic took effect immediately. Within seconds, the seed sprouted, grew, and blossomed, condensing into a blood-red, pearl-sized bead that emitted a golden arc of light and connected with the other ingredients.
Ten seconds later, Hayden picked up a large porcelain bowl, filled it with the alchemical product, and added a little chili oil.
For a moment, everyone stared blankly at the bowl. The deep, large porcelain bowl was filled with milky white broth, and pork, green vegetables, carrots, and onions were scattered among the snow-white wide noodles. The warm aroma of the broth with a touch of chili oil filled the air.
No matter how you look at it, it's just a bowl of noodle soup. A very ordinary shredded pork noodle soup.
However, it was Hayden who made it using alchemy.