Chapter 246: Trailed

"This is a new food Kaelira found. She asked me to distribute it to everyone, saying that we can stay full even without going out to hunt."

After breakfast, Martin stood in the Plaza and made the announcement to the entire Tribe.

The moment he finished speaking, excitement erupted among the Beastmen gathered around him.

"Food? Has Kaelira made some new kind of food again?"

"I’m already looking forward to it! Everything Kaelira makes is delicious."

"Exactly! Just hearing that it’s food makes me hungry."

"Leader, what new food did Kaelira make? Hurry up and show us!"

The Tribe members could hardly contain their curiosity. After everything Sora had brought to the Tribe, they had developed an almost absolute trust in anything she introduced.

Martin had originally expected that he would need to explain the new food carefully, perhaps even persuade everyone to try it.

Instead, they were already excited before he had even shown them what it was.

It seemed that the Tribe’s trust in Sora had reached an extraordinary level.

Martin smiled and raised one hand, signaling everyone to quiet down.

"It’s not just a snack this time," he explained in a deep voice. "Kaelira said this is a staple food. Once it is boiled in water, it becomes something you can eat directly. More importantly, it can fill your stomach."

As soon as he said that, the excitement grew even stronger.

Food that could fill their stomachs without requiring them to go hunting was extremely valuable in the Beast World.

Martin turned toward Carman.

"Show everyone."

Carman immediately nodded.

She stepped forward, holding a ceramic jar filled with cooked rice in her left hand. In her right hand, she carried a bundle of uncooked Rice Paddy.

She raised both for everyone to see.

"The white things in my right hand are the rice Kaelira gave me," Carman explained. "She told me that after removing the outer husks and boiling the rice in water, it becomes the white cooked rice inside this ceramic jar."

Several Beastmen stared at the cooked rice with curiosity.

Carman continued, "I ate it with Braised Fish yesterday. I only needed five or six mouthfuls before I felt full. It fills the stomach very well, and the texture is wonderful. It’s fragrant, soft, and easy to eat."

Before she could say anything else, someone immediately shouted from the crowd.

"Carman, you don’t need to explain anymore!"

Carman blinked.

The Beastman grinned.

"If Kaelira says it’s good, then it must be good. We trust her. Just teach us how to cook this thing called cooked rice."

"That’s right! We trust Kaelira!"

"Teach us how to cook it!"

Martin looked at the excited faces around him and couldn’t help laughing.

He had truly underestimated how much faith the Tribe had placed in Sora.

He had expected resistance toward a strange new food, especially something that looked like dried grass or seeds.

Instead, the people were practically begging to learn how to cook it.

"Alright, then."

Martin nodded.

"Carman, you can teach everyone how to cook rice later. For now, I’ll distribute the Rice Paddy."

He paused, then remembered something important.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell everyone. Carman hasn’t husked that much rice yet, so what you are receiving today are these bundles of Rice Paddy."

He pointed toward the piles waiting to be distributed.

"There is a Stone Mortar nearby. Everyone can make one like it and take it home. You can husk the rice yourselves before cooking it."

The Tribe members nodded attentively.

"As for how to husk the rice," Martin continued, "Carman’s Beast Husbands, Daniel and Scaver, will teach everyone."

Once everything had been explained, Martin began distributing the Rice Paddy.

The Beastmen immediately lined up.

They accepted each bundle with great care, almost as though Martin were handing them precious treasure rather than dried stalks.

Not far away, however, a group of Black Pig Beastmen watched everything from their hiding place.

Mat and Mambo had brought several others with them to secretly observe the Wolf Tribe.

They had expected to see something related to salt.

Instead, what they saw left them completely confused.

The Wolf Tribe was happily distributing piles of yellow, withered grass.

Mat stared for a long moment before finally asking,

"Didn’t Madam say the Wolf Tribe was preparing to obtain salt? Why are they moving around piles of withered grass?"

Another Black Pig Beastman scratched his head.

"Exactly. Look at them. They’re all holding withered grass and smiling like they’ve found treasure."

He looked at his companions with a strange expression.

"I wonder if there’s something wrong with the brains of these Wolf Tribe people."

Another Beastman nodded seriously.

"No matter how you look at it, wolves are carnivorous Beastmen. How did they end up acting no differently from grass-eating sheep Beastmen?"

Several of them glanced toward Red Frost.

"Red Frost’s job really isn’t easy. I almost feel sorry for her. She has to eat withered grass every day."

Red Frost heard them but didn’t respond.

She looked down at the yellow Rice Paddy in her own hands, her heart filled with complicated emotions.

She couldn’t understand how the people of the Wolf Tribe could believe Sora’s words so completely.

They were treating these dried stalks as though they were precious food.

They even looked genuinely happy.

Even if this thing could somehow be transformed into rice, Red Frost still found it difficult to accept.

As far as she understood, this was nothing more than a seed.

No matter how it was prepared, eating too much of it should eventually make the stomach uncomfortable.

During the plague toxin outbreak, her Tribe had already suffered from eating too many wild fruits.

Some Beastmen had eaten so many that their faces had practically turned green.

This strange white food probably wouldn’t be much better.

Red Frost lowered her gaze.

Her letter had already been sent.

She didn’t know what Serena would do next.

At the same time, Mark had been called away by Martin early that morning, and he was nowhere to be seen now.

Could he have already set out? ℴ𝒗ⅇ𝑙.

Red Frost couldn’t help thinking about Mark.

Usually, Mark seemed somewhat dim-witted when it came to certain things.

But whenever salt was involved, he became surprisingly sharp.

She had spent a long time asking him indirect questions the previous day, trying to learn more about the Salt Well.

Yet she hadn’t managed to get anything useful from him.

His lips had been sealed tightly.

She had even given up her first kiss.

But that boy had only kissed her and refused to reveal a single useful detail.

Fortunately, Henry didn’t know about it.

Otherwise, Red Frost had no idea how she would explain it to him later.

After Sora distributed part of the Rice Paddy to the Wolf Tribe, she handed the remaining bundles over to Drake.

Drake immediately began distributing them among the Dragon Tribe.

The Dragon Beastmen were just as puzzled by the strange plant they had never seen before.

They examined the Rice Paddy curiously, turning the stalks over in their hands.

However, Sora had already prepared cooked rice for them to see.

Once they saw the white cooked grains and heard how filling they were, their doubts quickly disappeared.

After all, their Leader had already saved them from the plague toxin.

If their Leader said this strange food could be eaten, then what was there that she couldn’t do?

The dragons lined up obediently.

"Thank you, Leader!"

"Thank you, Leader!"

"Thank you, Leader!"

One after another, they accepted the Rice Paddy with grateful smiles.

Seeing Sora standing nearby, Drake also bowed his head respectfully.

"Thank you, Leader."

Sora waved her hand.

"You are all people of my Tribe. If I have a bite to eat, naturally, you will have one too."

Her simple words immediately warmed the hearts of the dragons.

Sora then looked at Drake.

"There’s something I’d like you to help me with."

Drake immediately became serious.

"What is it?"

Sora’s expression turned slightly concerned.

"It’s about my Mother. Damien gave me an address at Red Mountain, east of White Bear Mountain. Please make a trip there for me."

Drake nodded without hesitation.

"I understand."

Meanwhile, by noon, the aroma of freshly cooked rice had spread across the Wolf Tribe.

The fragrance drifted through the air, carried by the wind.

Even the Black Pig Beastmen hiding nearby couldn’t ignore it.

One of them sniffed the air.

"That withered grass actually smells delicious."

"Yeah."

Another Beastman swallowed.

"Even I want to eat it. I wasn’t full at all after eating wild fruits for lunch."

He turned toward Mat.

"Boss, how about we go get some too?"

Mambo immediately glared at him.

"Eat what? Business comes first."

The Beastman lowered his head reluctantly.

"If you want to eat this thing so badly, then wait until we return to the Tribe. Have Madam make it for you."

The Black Pig Beastmen had no choice but to endure their hunger.

They continued waiting.

They waited through the afternoon.

Then evening finally arrived.

At last, they saw several Beastmen from the Wolf Tribe preparing to leave.

Mat immediately shook his numb pig legs and raised his head.

"Finally! They’re coming out."

He turned toward the others.

"Let’s go, brothers."

The Black Pig Beastmen quickly followed.

After nightfall, Sora set out toward the Salt Well Cave with several of her Beast Husbands and a few Beastmen from the Wolf Tribe.

As they prepared to leave, Sora suddenly noticed someone among the group.

It was Mark.

She stared at him in surprise.

"Why are you here?"

The moment she saw him, another thought immediately crossed her mind.

Since Mark came, does that mean Red Frost knows too?

Sora had already become suspicious of Red Frost.

However, suspicion alone was not enough.

Without evidence, if she openly accused Red Frost, Mark probably wouldn’t listen to her.

Even Martin might not believe her.

That was why Sora had only warned Martin to remain cautious around Red Frost.

Now, seeing Mark among the group, she couldn’t help wondering whether she had wasted her warning.

Mark immediately frowned at her words.

"What do you mean by that? Why can’t I come?"

His tone carried obvious displeasure.

Sora quickly realized that he had misunderstood what she meant.

She paused before explaining,

"I didn’t mean it that way. I was just surprised because you didn’t come with us last time."

The irritation on Mark’s face eased considerably.

He gave a soft snort.

"Father told me to come."

He looked toward her and continued,

"He said that if you have little cubs later, I should be the one to Purify Salt."

Sora was stunned for a moment.

Then she finally understood.

Once her belly became larger, moving around and purifying salt would certainly become inconvenient.

Martin’s arrangement was actually very appropriate.

She lowered her eyes toward her still-growing belly.

She was already pregnant.

Soon, the little cubs inside her would grow bigger, and her movements would become more difficult.

Having Mark take over the task later would indeed reduce the burden on her.

Sora nodded quietly.

"I understand."

The group continued toward the Salt Well Cave under the cover of night.

Behind them, the darkness concealed more than just the path.

The Black Pig Beastmen were also following.

And Red Frost’s earlier questions about the Salt Well had not been forgotten.

Sora didn’t yet know what would happen next.

But for now, she continued walking forward with her Beast Husbands and Tribe members, carrying the responsibility of the Tribe—and the growing little cubs within her—with every step.