Chapter 10. Night of the Living Steak (1)
[...And so, the calf is slaughtered before it can even drink its mother’s milk. The mother cow continues crying endlessly after having her precious calf taken away...]
“Sniff... sob...”
Victoria kept crying as she watched the television.
Yukgap, who had been watching her from beside the couch, asked indifferently,
“What are you crying about?”
Victoria pointed at the television.
A documentary about animal welfare was playing.
“Look! They slaughter calves for steak not long after they’re born! Isn’t that horrible?”
“Did you forget what we make a living selling?”
Yukgap answered firmly.
Victoria ignored him.
She was already deeply immersed in the documentary and stared at the baby calf with pity.
“Sniff... poor thing. Why did humans have to evolve to eat meat?”
“Because it’s more efficient.”
Yukgap explained casually.
“Meat is more efficient than vegetables when it comes to protein and essential minerals. To get the same calories as a single bite of meat, you’d have to eat dozens of vegetables. That’s inefficient for survival.”
Humanity had evolved from primitive hunters who struggled just to stay alive.
There was no way moral values had played much of a role during that process.
His explanation made sense, but Victoria only flushed with anger.
“Do you have no blood or tears?!”
“Sorry, but my body was fused with predators too.”
Yukgap deliberately showed her his teeth.
They were sharp like those of a wild beast.
That was one of the results of having multiple kinds of animal DNA mixed into his body.
“Still, it’s sad. I wonder when the meat industry will finally escape this kind of moral problem.”
Victoria nodded slowly while continuing to stare at the calf on television.
Yukgap warned her,
“Just in case you’re thinking about it, don’t suggest turning this place into some vegan restaurant. I can’t survive on vegetables.”
Victoria completely ignored him and muttered through her tears,
“If only alchemy could somehow solve this.”
“Yukgap! Yukgap! Wake up!”
The next morning, Yukgap slowly opened his eyes to Victoria’s excited voice.
He checked the time.
It was eleven in the morning.
He answered with the exhausted face of someone who desperately wanted more sleep.
“Ugh... what is it? We’re still hours away from opening.”
“I found a clue that could completely solve humanity’s food problem!”
Victoria’s voice was full of excitement.
That usually meant she had done something.
Sensing danger, Yukgap immediately sat up and headed outside.
“...What did you break this time?”
“Nothing like that! Just look!”
Victoria hummed happily and presented a large tank.
Inside it floated a single piece of steak connected to countless wires.
“What is this?”
Victoria answered confidently.
“Artificial meat that I developed. More precisely, I found a way to artificially cultivate cells from the steak meat we already have!”
Yukgap immediately recognized the liquid inside the tank.
“This is the Elixir you used last time.”
Just as he said, the tank was filled with reddish-orange Elixir.
He remembered it clearly.
They had once used Elixir to reconstruct a literal ‘mother’s hand’ while trying to recreate the taste of someone’s mother’s cooking.
“That’s right. I’m going to use the Elixir as nourishment and multiply the steak meat infinitely. Then we won’t have to slaughter livestock anymore! We can just eat the meat we grow!”
Victoria excitedly explained while staring at the steak in the tank.
Yukgap, however, only looked at it with suspicion.
“I have a bad feeling about this...”
Victoria hugged the tank and snorted.
“Hmph! A shameless person like you who can’t sympathize with a mother cow’s tears would never understand the greatness of this technology!”
“What kind of restaurant owner calls her own chef shameless?”
Yukgap muttered tiredly.
Victoria ignored him and raised her voice proudly.
“Anyway, just wait. From now on, our restaurant will serve steak without tears or sadness!”
“Hyung! We’re here!”
“You’ve been well, right?”
The moment the restaurant opened, their regular dismantler brothers were the first customers to arrive.
Robert immediately beeped when he saw them.
[The foolish salmon-rice-bowl mortals have arrived once again. Prepare organic matter for them.]
Yukgap recognized the brothers and greeted them warmly.
“Oh, you’re here. Same order as always?”
“Of course!”
They answered at the same time.
The dismantler brothers always ordered the same thing at Restaurant Shelley.
Salmon rice bowls.
Everyone had started calling them the Salmon Rice Bowl Brothers because of it.
“Wait a bit. I’ll get the salmon.”
Yukgap naturally began preparing their usual meal.
Then Victoria suddenly stepped between them.
“Wait!”
The brothers looked at her nervously.
“W-Why, Boss?”
“We just came here to eat.”
They spoke almost as if defending themselves.
Victoria’s eyes suddenly sparkled.
“Instead of salmon, why don’t you try steak today? We have a special new steak prepared by our restaurant!”
The brothers rejected her immediately.
