Mission in another world with my transformed best friend

Just as Wang Kai and Masha were having a pleasant conversation, their topic gradually veered off course, the door next to them creaked open. The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw Zhang Lan standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips, looking displeased.

"I suggest you two turn right and go to the Adventurers' Guild. It's a place where you can't loudly discuss the rules of the adventurer profession..."

In the somewhat awkward atmosphere, Martha forced an unnatural smile, waved her hand, and said...

"Sister Lan, I'm sorry to bother you. I just went to wake up Brother Kyle..."

“Really? Martha, even though you’re only a member of the ‘Raffles Girls’ in name only, you still have to demonstrate for the others with me. Today’s instructional session has been going on for almost an hour…”

"Really? It feels like only a few minutes have passed."

"Hmm~!?"

Seeing Zhang Lan's expression, Masha could only chuckle awkwardly, scratch the back of her head, nod, stick out her tongue, and go inside, leaving Wang Kai standing there dumbfounded, unsure of what expression to make next.

Zhang Lan merely glanced at Wang Kai indifferently, then turned and said something before entering the room.

"Come in if you want, or go away and close the door behind you. Everything inside is confidential under the 'contract' until it's made public..."

After saying that, Zhang Lan turned around and walked back. Wang Kai gritted his teeth. He had just been arrogantly saying that he was not afraid of a young woman. Since the relationship was already extremely awkward, he was not afraid of it getting even more awkward. So he steeled himself and followed her in, closing the door behind him.

Inside was a classroom-sized space that looked like an activity room. Dozens of "Lafite Girls" stood in neat rows, with a large wooden basin filled with purplish-red grapes in front of each girl.

The aroma of grapes in the air, mixed with the faint lingering scent of wine, creates a mysterious atmosphere, also carrying a rich fragrance of a young girl's sweat.

Martha, who had just come in, also ran to the side of the line and stood there, sticking out her little tongue every now and then.

"Papa~"

Zhang Lan clapped his hands twice and raised his voice as he spoke.

"Everyone, as I mentioned before, the 'foot-stomping method' varies from person to person. The three most crucial points are: the grapes must be crushed, the seeds should not be crushed, and the skins should not be stomped for too long. An imbalance in any of these three elements can affect the subsequent fermentation process..."

Cora and Bella, you both did a great job on these points last time. Your 'Lafite II' tasting drink ranked first in terms of taste. Keep up the good work!

"The rest of you shouldn't be discouraged. Just remember the training you've done over the past month. Even if others imitate you in the future, it won't affect your unique 'second-generation Lafite.' Do you understand?"

"Holy Maiden, we heard you clearly..."

Dozens of girls answered in unison.

"Just remember, there's no such thing as 'second-generation Lafite' that tastes exactly the same. Different people and different winemaking methods will result in different aromas in the final product. Everyone, let's begin the next round of 'experiments,' within half an hour. Begin..."

As soon as she finished speaking, dozens of girls walked to a small bucket filled with clean water next to the wooden basin, then took out clean white towels to wipe their feet, jumped into the large wooden basin, and began to rhythmically step up and down with their feet in various postures.

As each grape was crushed, the aroma of grapes in the air became even more intense.

Watching dozens of girls dressed as "idol girls," barefoot with feet three inches above their knees, stomping on grapes in their own unique ways, Wang Kai felt a momentary return to his childhood.

It's like on a rainy day, watching some female classmates walking home together, taking off their shoes and walking barefoot, lightly stepping over one small puddle after another on the ground.

That pure beauty, and the first strange feeling one has for the opposite sex, is something to cherish immensely.

No wonder that bear brother had such an exaggerated feeling of returning to his youth after tasting it yesterday, even seeing the figure of his first love in the hallucination. This is how the so-called "second generation of Lafite" came about.

It's no wonder, good works often reflect the author's own personality.

Most of these wines were made by the feet of "demi-human" girls, carefully stomping on the ground. For the beastmen, whose senses of smell and taste were relatively sensitive, they could experience and understand the scenes before them in terms of taste, smell, and other senses. It was understandable that they were deeply fascinated by them...

"Huh? Where did that slight resistance to the 'sweating feet' go after I learned that the 'Lafite series' was made by stepping on the ground? From today onwards, I, Wang Kai, will bury that 'blasphemous heart' deep underground and never let it rise again."

"And I can't help but ask myself, what's so disgusting about this? It's clearly a kind of enjoyment, isn't it? So many young girls are barefoot..."

No, it was so many girls with serious expressions, raising their hands and breathing rhythmically with their mouths open in time with the movements. Tiny beads of sweat began to appear on each of their foreheads, and with each serious and repeated stomping motion, those beads of sweat eventually turned into drops of crystal-like gems and fell into the wooden basin.

The rotten grape pulp seemed to have been purified, becoming vibrant and colorful, like a divine gift…

"Coffee or black tea? They have both over there, go get some yourself... Don't stand there like an idiot and interfere with their 'experiment'!"

Zhang Lan, who had quietly walked past from behind, spoke without turning her head, her tone as cold and emotionless as if greeting a stranger, pulling Wang Kai back from his reverie.

When Wang Kai came to his senses, Zhang Lan had already walked to the sofa in the rest area next to the room, picked up a cup of black tea and began to sip it. With her elegant movements, she no longer resembled the nearly thirty-year-old man she used to be.

Having come in with a heavy heart, I can't just slink out without saying a word.

Wang Kai gritted his teeth and walked over to sit on another sofa. He poured himself a cup of coffee and had only taken a sip when he almost vomited it up.

"Wow, what kind of coffee is this? It's so bitter."

"Sorry, no sugar cubes or milk, just plain coffee..."

"Oh, you should have said so earlier!"

Wang Kai put his coffee aside, not daring to linger on Zhang Lan for even a second, and looked at the group of girls again, casually starting a conversation.

"I remember before, I naively thought that the girls you bought and redeemed from the slave trading guild were for making some kind of vlog. Turns out they're for making wine, using the traditional 'foot-stomping' method. Hearing your detailed explanation of how to stomp the grapes just now, it seems you've improved the previous winemaking techniques quite a bit."

Wang Kai chose a good topic, avoiding the awkwardness of last night and also openly admitting to his "nonsensical guesses" from the previous night. This caused Zhang Lan to pause slightly while sipping her black tea; her slightly arched eyebrows and swaying body indicated that she was trying hard to suppress her laughter, otherwise she would have already spat out a mouthful of tea.

Soon, Zhang Lan put down his teacup, coughed twice, turned his head to look at the group of girls, and said calmly.

"It's true that I asked them to help me brew wine, after all, I can't produce this much wine by myself because of the 'Contract'."

From the moment we went to the slave trader's guild to buy them, we saw them all trembling, locked in rusty iron cages, like lambs to the slaughter, their faces filled with naivety, fear, and confusion...

Most importantly, it's about the uncertainty about the future and the surrender to fate. Sigh, I admit that along with sympathy, there was also a bit of impulsiveness…