Chapter 265: Hungry

Chapter 265: 265: Hungry

Ayra smiled as she stared at him. "What? You’re hungry? Didn’t you eat before coming?"

Nyx awkwardly ran a hand over his stomach as he cleared his throat. "I’m fine... I’m not hungry..."

His stomach grumbled again.

Ayra shook her head. "So proud, I see..."

Ayra hadn’t brought anything with her. The only edible thing she remembered having was the Hyper Baby Milk on her, but she was certain that wasn’t something worth satisfying a grown-ass adult beastman’s hunger with as dinner.

She turned to Commander Lynn and the team around him. "Any food around here? I’m certain you brought some food with you if you planned to stay here all night?"

They hesitated, silently staring at one another.

Ayra raised an eyebrow. "Huh? You don’t have any food here...?"

One of them finally said, "We do..." He turned toward the corner where the fire was burning. "We caught a lot of meat, but..." ℯ𝔴ℯ

He paused as someone else completed his sentence.

"No one could prepare it properly, so it ended up getting burnt and not tasty at all."

Another sighed. "It’s strange because we were previously used to having meat that was tasteless and burnt like this..."

He added, "But after getting used to the female’s method of preparing meat, I don’t think we can go back to this anymore." He shook his head.

A fox beastman smiled as he stared at Ayra. "It’s great that you’re here. Why don’t you help us prepare some of your delicious meat again? We’re craving that!"

"Yes, yes! Please prepare it for us!" they all pleaded, nodding with puppy eyes.

Ayra simply smiled.

Commander Lynn turned toward them. "So spoiled. You’re getting too comfortable here. You’re on a mission, so you shouldn’t care about delicious food at all. You should eat whatever you can find and get back to work."

He added firmly, "Besides, she’s pregnant, so she can’t do that kind of work right now."

The warrior beastmen sighed as they lowered their heads in disappointment.

"I see..."

They were clearly disappointed. Commander Lynn was being firm and duty-minded, after all.

Ayra casually smiled and shook her head. "Don’t say that. They’ve worked hard enough, so they deserve to be rewarded with something delicious."

She turned to Commander Lynn. "So be nicer to them, okay?"

Commander Lynn stared at Ayra, his ears drooping like a puppy that had just been reprimanded.

"So..." Ayra turned toward the fire and the meat around it. "Don’t worry. I’ll prepare it deliciously for everyone to have and enjoy, okay?"

A smile immediately flashed across the faces of the warrior beastmen as they stared at her.

"Really?!"

They were all excited.

"That’s nice!"

"Tell us whatever you want, and we’ll get it done for you!" they all said enthusiastically, nodding at Ayra.

"But you’re pregnant..." Commander Lynn said to Ayra.

Ayra stared at him. "I’m not cooking with my stomach, though, so I’ll be fine." She smiled.

"..."

Commander Lynn nodded without any further objections.

Ayra turned back to them. "Is there any water around here for washing the meat?"

They hesitated before nodding.

"Yeah, there’s a stream close by..."

Ayra smiled. "Help me get the meat there and wash it."

A group of warrior beastmen enthusiastically stepped forward.

"Don’t worry. We’ll get it done as soon as possible."

And so, they picked up the meat according to Ayra’s instructions and quickly set off to get it washed and ready.

Ayra made some observations and figured that the atmosphere wasn’t conducive to gathering all the ingredients she might need. So, she decided to stick with the basics.

Some leaves and seasoning would work at least.

She had the beastmen prepare the place for frying the meat. Once that was done, she volunteered to go and pick the seasoning herself. Commander Lynn and Nyx naturally volunteered to follow her to keep her safe.

---

"How do you plan on getting anything around here? Most of the leaves here are basically poisonous and unsafe," Nyx explained as they made their way through the bushes.

Ayra cautiously observed the leaves around her, trying to determine which ones would be suitable for seasoning the meat.

"I know. And that’s why I volunteered to get them myself," she said with a smile. "I have a knack for this, I suppose."

She continued running her fingers through the leaves, carefully examining them.

Commander Lynn and Nyx stood close by with their arms folded as they watched her work.

With the help of Ayra’s system, she was able to identify the good leaves that could be used for seasoning and other ingredients.

After gathering everything she needed, Ayra smiled. "We’re done here. Let’s get down to work."

She picked up the leaves she had gathered and smiled at them.

"Are you sure that’s safe? What if it gives us poisoning?" Nyx asked, looking around. "The atmosphere already feels unsafe, so anything edible here shouldn’t be trusted."

Ayra smiled. "Don’t worry, I’m certain. Just trust me like always, okay?"

She turned around and led the way back.

Commander Lynn and Nyx stared at each other and shrugged. They had no choice but to follow behind her.

As they were leaving, Nyx suddenly felt something move quickly behind them.

He paused and slowly turned to see what it was. It felt like some kind of energy had rushed past them—an unknown energy that somehow felt familiar to him.

Nyx stood there for a while, observing the surroundings to determine whether he had actually sensed something or was simply being paranoid.

But after looking around for a while, he saw nothing. He couldn’t feel the energy anymore either.

This left him wondering if he had just imagined it.

"Are you okay?" Commander Lynn asked, turning back to meet him with Ayra.

"Oh..." Nyx slowly nodded. "I am."

Ayra smiled. "Let’s go. We don’t have all the time in the world left."

She knew she certainly didn’t have much time left.

Nyx nodded. "Okay."

He followed behind them with both arms folded, but his thoughts remained on the strange energy he had just felt.