Chapter 408: Divine Milk

Riley squinted. "Is that...milk?"

"It’s milk." Another centaur confirmed, her tone deflating slightly. "Just milk."

"Oh, no, no, no." Luca waved a finger. "This isn’t just any milk."

He lifted the bottle, letting the light shine through the creamy liquid and explained with magesty,

"This is a special type of milk that comes from a special breed of cow in my world!"

"A cow that yields milk that is ten times thicker!"

"Ten times richer!"

"Ten times creamier, and sweeter than anything you have ever tasted in your lives!"

Interest flickered across every face. Even Sigrid found herself leaning forward slightly, studying the bottle with curiosity.

"Even in my world, this milk is extremely rare." Luca continued. "The breed that produces it is uncommon among farms, and they’re particularly special because they only have two udders."

"Because of that, they can only produce a limited supply, making each batch incredibly precious like treasure."

"A treasure?!" The fillies eyes transformed into bright, sparkling stars!

"I want to taste it! I want to taste the treasure milk!"

"I don’t even like plain milk, but now I want to drink the whole jar!"

But Luca immediately shook his head, his expression becoming apologetic.

"I’m sorry, little ones, but I can’t let you drink this."

The children’s faces fell.

"What? Why not?"

"That’s not fair!"

Luca’s expression was genuinely regretful as he explained,

"This particular type of milk is quite addictive. Once you drink it, you can’t stop craving more. It’s especially potent for children, far too strong for developing palates. Only adults should consume it."

"No, Evil Hero! That’s completely unfair!" The children erupted in protest.

"You can’t hype something up like that and then refuse to share!"

"Please! Just one tiny sip!"

But Luca stood firm, shaking his head. He then turned back toward Riley and her companions, who were now looking at the bottle with an intensity that bordered on religious fervor.

"But for you the offer stands. If you’d like to try it, I’d be happy to share."

Riley’s mouth opened. For a moment, her pride made one last desperate stand.

’You were supposed to defeat this man, not accept gifts from him!’

But then the bottle caught the light again, and the creamy liquid seemed to glow.

She could also smell it now, a faint vanilla sweetness drifting through the air, and she realized with sudden clarity that pride was overrated.

"W-We do." She said, her voice slightly hoarse. "We would like that very much. If you’re willing to share, Hero."

"Excellent!" Luca exclaimed before looking at all the ponies who were pouting and saying, "But first let me treat the littles ones with something else or else it won’t be fair."

He produced, with a small flourish, a collection of small, brightly colored rectangular boxes.

They were charming little things, decorated with pictures of apples and tiny drinking straws attached to their sides.

The ponies mutiny stalled mid-breath.

"What...What are those?"

"These are apple juice cartons!" Luca announced. "Portable. Personal. Each one is all yours—no sharing required."

The effect was instantaneous.

The wall of tiny fury crumbled as the ponies surged forward, all previous grievances abandoned like toys at dinnertime.

"Little boxes! They come in little BOXES!"

"Look at the straw! It’s so tiny and clever!"

"Mine has a picture of a dancing apple on it!"

Nella accepted her carton with the solemnity of a knight receiving a sacred relic. She turned it over in her hands, examining it from every angle

She quickly located the straw, peeled away its paper wrapper, and pierced it through the designated hole.

She took a sip.

Her eyes went impossibly wide.

"It’s...It’s COLD." She breathed. "The apple juice is COLD! How is it cold!?

The other ponies were having similar revelations.

"Mine is cold too!"

"The box keeps it cold! The BOX is MAGIC!"

"I want to marry this box! It’s so cute!"

Nella, recovering her smugness with impressive speed, sauntered over to where Riley stood waiting for her milk.

She made a deliberate show of sipping her apple juice loudly, with excessive lip-smacking directly in her aunt’s line of sight.

"Mmmm! Delicious!" She declared. "Cold, refreshing apple juice in my very own personal box. Sure is nice being appreciated by the Evil Hero."

Riley’s eye twitched, but she refused to take the bait. Instead, her gaze was fixed on the glass bottle in Luca’s hands.

"Anyway. Cold milk is fine..." Luca said, settling himself down on the grass. "But warm milk hits different, so let’s get this warmed up!"

From his portal came a small stove, gleaming with the kind of pristine craftsmanship that spoke of another world’s technology.

He set it on the grass, placed a clean pot atop it, and began pouring the milk. The liquid moved slowly, reluctantly, clinging to the sides of the bottle with an almost honey-like viscosity.

"This milk really is different." One of the centaurs murmured. "Look how thick it is."

"Like pouring cream."

"Thicker than cream. Like...Like liquid silk!"

As the milk began to warm, something remarkable happened. A fragrance started to rise from the pot.

Impossibly sweet, with undertones of vanilla and something else, something indefinable that seemed to bypass the nose entirely and settle directly into the soul.

It spread across the courtyard like morning mist, curling around the centaurs, seeping into their senses.

Someone moaned quietly. It might have been Riley.

"I wasn’t even hungry before." One of Riley’s companions murmured. "Now I’m starving!"

"I can’t believe I’m this excited about milk."

"I don’t even like milk!" A third centaur confessed, her voice cracking with something approaching religious awe. "My mother had to chase me around the house with a spoon to get me to drink it when I was little."

"I hated everything about it! The taste, the texture, the way it left that weird film in your mouth."

She swallowed hard, her eyes never leaving the pot.

"But this milk. I don’t know why. I just...I need it!"

The little ponies, despite their apple juice, were casting longing glances toward the pot.

"It’s not fair." Nella muttered, stamping her tiny hoof. "Why do they get the special milk? I’m special too!"

"Someone get me a growth serum." Another pony demanded. "I need to be older. Right now."

"Maybe if we stand on each other’s shoulders—"

"That won’t work! We’re centaurs! We don’t have shoulders in the right places!"

Luca stirred the milk with slow circles. The surface began to shimmer as the temperature rose, tiny bubbles forming at the edges.

A thin layer of foam spread across the top. The fragrance intensified. Several centaurs swayed on their hooves.

"Almost ready." Luca murmured.

Sigrid found herself equally captivated.

She had always been a warrior first and foremost, but even she couldn’t deny that the aroma wafting from that pot was making her stomach flutter with anticipation.

Finally, the milk reached the perfect temperature, and Luca produced a tray of paper cups.

He poured the steaming liquid carefully, measuring each portion while the centaurs watched with intense focus.

"Careful, Hero!" One warned. "Don’t spill a single drop."

"Make sure the measurements are equal! Don’t give her more than me!"

"I want that one! It looks like it has the most!"

Luca finished pouring and stood with the tray, his expression bright.

"So...Who wants some freshly squeezed milk?"

The centaurs surged forward.

"Me first! Me first!"

"Don’t push! I was here before you!"

"Get back! That cup is mine!"

Hands grabbed at the tray, snatching cups with desperate eagerness. Within moments, the tray was empty, save for a single cup that Luca had reserved for Sigrid.

She accepted it with a blend of embarrassment and anticipation, her fingers wrapping around the warm paper. The steam rose from the surface, carrying that incredible scent directly to her nose.

She felt a shiver run through her body.

It was as though she had been transported back to her earliest memories—to a time when she was just a small foal, drinking her mother’s milk.

The feeling was so unexpectedly nostalgic, that she felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes.

She wasn’t alone. The other centaurs wore similar expressions of dazed wonder, their earlier conflicts completely forgotten.

"Sigrid." Luca said, his voice gentle. "You should try it before it cools."

She nodded slowly. But then she noticed something.

"Sir Luca...you don’t have a cup."

Luca shook his head with a smile. "Don’t worry about me. This particular ’cow’...I have unlimited access to its milk. You enjoy every drop."

The way he said it was slightly odd, as though he were thinking of something amusing.

But Sigrid was too focused on the milk in her hands to question it.

"Alright, enough sniffing. Give it a taste and tell me what you think. I hope it doesn’t disappoint."

Riley needed no further encouragement.

She brought the cup to her lips and tilted it gently, allowing the first drops to touch her tongue.

The world stopped.

Her eyes rolled back, and a small whimper escaped her lips before she could stop it.

"Mmmmm—!"

The milk was unlike anything she had ever experienced!

Creamy and rich beyond description, sweet without being cloying, smooth as silk and warm as a summer afternoon.

It made every other milk she had ever tasted seem like watery nothingness. It was as though she were drinking nectar from the heavens themselves!

The other centaurs were having similar reactions.

"Oh my goodness..." Someone whispered. "This is incredible!"

"I’ve never tasted milk this good!"

"It’s so rich and creamy! I think my taste buds just fainted!"

"Why is this so delicious? What kind of magic did you put in this?"

"I don’t know what they did differently, but I want the entire pitcher!"

They were all in ecstasy now, rubbing their cheeks and making small sounds of pleasure as they drank.

The courtyard had become a scene of pure, unadulterated bliss.

Nella watched with obvious jealousy.

"You’re lying! You’re all lying! It can’t be that good! You’re just trying to make me jealous!"

But Riley couldn’t even be bothered to respond.

"This is ridiculous." She murmured, half to herself. "This is absolutely ridiculous. The Hero is still a bad person. Obviously. Definitely. He humiliated our commander!"

Sip.

"He made her carry him on her back."

Sip.

"He defeated forty of us without breaking a sweat."

Longer sip.

"But his world’s products...his world’s products are on a completely different level!"

"Did he add sugar?" Someone asked. "He must have added sugar. Or honey. Or some kind of sweet magic crystals."

"No." Another replied, her voice hushed with awe. "He just heated it. That’s all he did. I watched him."

"Then how is it this sweet?! My teeth are going to ache! I don’t even care! Let them ache! LET THEM ALL FALL OUT!"

Several of them sank down onto the grass, their bodies going limp with contentment.

The milk that’s supposedly came from a ’cow’ was working its magic, and every single one of them was utterly, completely conquered.