Delicious Steak

There was one SP item in particular that caught my eye.

Its name: "Delicious Steak"… Yes, "Delicious Steak."

I'd assumed all it did was boost a character's Affection.

…But in VR Mode, that changed everything.

"…Tria-chan. Miitei-chan. I'm sorry, but… I want to try eating the 'Delicious Steak'…!!"

"Mm, Tria thinks Spirit-sama should do whatever Spirit-sama wants."

"I'm totally fine with it too! If it means repaying Spirit-sama, I'll earn as much SP as you need!"

Ah, you two…! Thank you, thank you…!

And so.

Now that we could earn SP through SP Quests, I'd finally pulled the trigger. I'd bought the "Delicious Steak"…!

Inside Home, on a table in a room I'd locked down tight so nobody could barge in.

I pulled the item out of my Inventory.

The steak resting on a white plate looked like a jewel.

The deep red meat had been seared to perfection, with crisp char marks scattered across it. Its surface glistened with juices, glazed in sauce and gleaming enticingly.

The mingled aroma of rendered fat and butter filled the room, and my stomach let out a growl.

The thick slab had such a hefty, commanding presence that my appetite was raging before I'd even picked up a knife.

And it wasn't just the meat. Smooth white mashed potatoes and vivid green asparagus had been arranged alongside it, framing the steak in color.

"…So this is the 'Delicious Steak'…!"

"Spirit-sama… just the smell alone is insane…!"

I swallowed hard.

Penpen's steaks were great, but this was on a completely different level. I could tell just by looking. It was the pinnacle. Yes, the pinnacle. This might just be the steak that Penpen could someday produce once her Cooking skill hit MAX.

"Now then, time to dig in…! Itadakimasu!"

I drew the knife across and it sliced clean through.

I coated a piece generously in sauce… and brought it to my mouth.

"Hah!?"

"Fwaaah…"

For a moment, it felt like my consciousness had been blown clean away. Nothing remained on the plate.

I'd wolfed it all down in a trance… No, it wasn't so wasteful that I couldn't remember. I did remember giving Miitei-chan a piece too.

That single bite alone had sent Miitei-chan into a gastronomic rapture, melting into a bubbly puddle of Slime.

"…Too good!! Way, way too good!!"

"Anyaaah…"

True to its name, the "Delicious Steak" was so exquisite it felt like eating with your very soul.

When demons slurp up souls, it must taste something like this…

"Heaaah… I think I'm making a face I can't show Spirit-sama right now…"

Tria-chan had been sharing my senses through the Halo, and her Affection had apparently skyrocketed. A warm, loving feeling flowed into me from the Halo at the back of my head. From Tria-chan.

"Ahh… Yeah, eating this just among ourselves was definitely the right call."

It was so good that if someone had asked me to share, I might've genuinely wanted to kill them.

I wanted to seal this room shut and preserve the aroma forever…

Yeah, what an experience. What an incredible experience.

Every point of SP I'd spent was absolutely worth it. I'd seen people on the Wiki saying the same thing, and no question about it, this was a god-tier item.

After that, I lingered a while longer basking in the afterglow before logging out when it was time to sleep in real life.

"…Haah, the afterglow's still lingering."

It had been too good. Coming back to reality left me hungry, but the flavor had been so incredible that I didn't want to eat anything else.

…One day without food wouldn't kill me.

Just as I was thinking that, the doorbell chimed. Thud. Something was set down in front of my door. A contactless delivery?

…At this hour? It was 1 AM. The delivery industry really was brutal.

With that thought, I went to grab the package.

A single cardboard box. The address was unmistakably mine, my name and apartment.

The sender was… "Kaito a Luise Operations"… I didn't remember ever inputting my address, though?

…

Oh, wait. I'd registered my address for a campaign… maybe… hadn't I?

Huh? I had… right? I… yeah, I had! I definitely had.

Right, nothing strange about this at all.

With that settled, I checked the product name to see what they'd sent. It read: "Food: Delicious Steak."

Huh, Delicious Steak.

"Huh? D-'Delicious Steak'!?"

Opening the box, I found a single-serving frozen meal in a paper tray. The microwave-and-eat kind.

My stomach growled.

Remembering the steak from VR.

"…No no, come on. No way. Surely not."

W-Well, let's just try eating it, shall we? Yeah. I happened to be hungry anyway, right?

I put the tray in the microwave and set it to the specified wattage and time. Naturally, I followed the instructions to the letter, peeling back a corner of the paper lid for a steam vent.

…I fidgeted in front of the microwave for three whole minutes. Realizing I hadn't gotten a drink ready, I filled a pitcher with water, poured a glass, and downed it in one gulp. One more minute…

A waft of butter. Then the rich, heavy aroma of rendered fat, the exact same one I'd smelled in-game, came drifting out of the microwave.

Wait, seriously? For real? That steak, for real?

The remaining seconds felt agonizing. 10, 9, 8… I gripped the door handle while the countdown was still going. 3, 2, 1, now! I yanked it open right at zero, and a concentrated blast of the aroma that had been leaking out flooded the room.

I tore open the paper lid.

There it was. That steak. A thick slab of real, natural meat, exactly as it had been. And in the dividers, smooth white mashed potatoes and vivid green asparagus.

Everything except the plating was a perfect recreation.

"Hah!?"

Once again, my consciousness was blown clean away. Nothing remained in the paper bento box.

The in-game version had been way too accurate…