Chapter 240: A Curious Kitty

Ren gripped the smooth handle of the wooden ladle, her small hand trembling slightly as she poured a heavy scoop of thick elk stew into the bowl.

Kaelen was standing directly in front of her. And he was staring.

Kaelen was staring at her with a deeply analytical, piercing intensity that made the fine hairs on the back of Ren’s neck stand straight up.

“Why is your hair red?” Kaelen asked abruptly, his golden eyes flicking from her messy bun down to her face.

Ren paused, handing him the steaming wooden bowl. “I was born like that,” she answered simply, wiping a rogue spot of savory broth from her thumb.

Kaelen took the bowl, but he didn’t even glance down at the delicious food. “I have traveled to many places. The northern mountains, the eastern plains, the deep deserts. I have met countless beastmen. I have never met a tribe that possessed fiery red hair and bright green eyes.”

He stepped closer, effortlessly invading her personal space. The terrifying resemblance to his older brother was even more jarring up close. His expression remained completely neutral, his tone casual, exactly as if he were asking her for the time of day.

“Is the hair on your vagina also red?” Kaelen asked.

Ren choked on oxygen.

Her face instantly flushed, a violent, burning heat rushing to her cheeks until her skin perfectly rivaled the brilliant crimson color of her hair. Her green eyes widened to the size of actual dinner plates as she looked around frantically to see if anyone in the clearing had heard him.

“You can’t ask things like that!” Ren whisper-screamed, clutching the dripping wooden ladle to her chest like a protective shield against his bluntness.

Kaelen only shrugged his broad, muscular shoulders, completely unaffected by her absolute panic. “I am just curious.”

“Why in the world would you be curious about that?!” Ren hissed, her face burning hotter than the fifty-gallon cast-iron cauldron.

Kaelen shrugged again, his piercing golden eyes dropping to the hemline of her grey fur dress for a fraction of a second. “Because I think it would look really pretty.”

Ren blinked. Her brain entirely short-circuited. The sheer, unadulterated audacity of the men in this world was going to send her to an early grave.

“Please walk away,” Ren managed to squeak out, pointing a trembling finger toward a patch of empty grass.

As Kaelen dutifully walked off to eat his stew, completely unbothered, Ren took a massive, shaky breath. She desperately tried to shove that entire wildly inappropriate conversation to the darkest, most secure vault in the back of her mind.

She quickly turned her attention back to the cooking station, rapidly serving the rest of the rich, velvety stew to the deeply grateful rogue strays and the remaining members of the White Tiger Clan who had decided to stay behind.

Ding!

[System: Quest Alert! The ’Matriarch’ quest is exactly half-way complete! Splendid work, Host. All you need to do now is establish the base, and the indestructible silk dress will be yours!]

Ren let out a long sigh of relief. The sun had fully risen now, bathing the forest clearing in bright, beautiful golden light. The day was still young, and Ren was incredibly happy she had forced herself to get an early start to the morning. Viper would be coming for her at dusk to escort her to the swamp, which gave her the perfect window to start working on establishing the base today.

She absolutely needed that indestructible silk dress before heading into Syris’ territory. The swamp was notoriously freezing and damp. She would definitely die from hypothermia wearing the dresses she had stolen from Vex’s pile.

Ren scooped a large serving into a bowl, and handed it to Kael.

He took it with a grateful nod, already digging in, but Ren’s brows were furrowed in deep thought. She looked up past the roaring fire, her eyes scanning the dizzying heights of the giant oak tree.

“Is Altair still asleep?” Ren asked Kael.

It was well into the morning now.

Kael swallowed a large, tender chunk of elk meat and shook his head. “The bird was gone when I woke up.”

Ren frowned, her grip tightening on the wooden ladle.

’Why does he keep leaving like that?’ Ren wondered, a sharp pang of worry settling heavily in her chest.

She turned her head, scanning the large crowd of stray beastmen currently slurping down her stew. Any single one of those scrawny, desperate men could secretly be a bounty hunter looking for a massive payout.

It was probably best for Altair to keep his distance from crowds to protect his own life. Still, she wished he talked to her more instead of just vanishing into the morning wind without a single word.

“Do you want me to go look for him?” Kael asked, his protective instincts flaring as he noticed the distress marring her features.

Ren shook her head. She held out the large wooden ladle, pressing the handle directly into Kael’s hand. “No. I’ll go look for him. He shouldn’t be far.”

Kael looked down at the ladle, his thick brow raising in profound confusion.

“You are in charge of the cauldron,” Ren instructed firmly, giving him her best authoritative chef nod. “If anyone wants more, they can get more.”

The absolute second those words left Ren’s mouth, a chaotic, thundering stampede of energized strays immediately rushed forward. They scrambled over each other, lining up with their empty wooden bowls extended eagerly toward Kael.

Kael looked at the mob of drooling, desperate beastmen, and then down at the wooden spoon. He let out a long, heavy, incredibly long-suffering sigh, and reluctantly started sharing the seconds.

Satisfied that her kitchen was in highly capable, if slightly grumpy, hands, Ren turned and began walking away from the clearing. Her eyes scanned the dense tree line for any sign of stray golden feathers, completely oblivious to the eyes focused on her back.

Amidst the chaotic shoving and pushing of the beastmen rushing for more of the tasty stew, the scrawny goat beastman from earlier slowly stood up.

He didn’t join the frantic line for food. His rectangular, dilated pupils locked directly onto Ren’s retreating figure. His eyes traced the sway of her hips with a dark, heavy, undeniable lust that made his breathing shallow.

Making sure Kael was entirely distracted by the hungry, demanding crowd, the goat beastman quietly, seamlessly slipped away into the deep shadows of the brush. He moved without making a sound, his eyes fixed on his prey.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep