Chapter 313: Born to Fish

“I went fishing,” Ren blurted out, projecting an aura of unwavering innocence.

Syris’s brow furrowed even deeper. “Fishing?”

“Yep!” Ren chirped brightly. To completely solidify her alibi, she had the three big, slimy, swamp-bass materialize from her inventory, dropping onto the pistine stone floor with three heavy, wet THUDS.

Syris took a startled step back, looking down at the dead, ugly fish, and then back up at his tiny mate.

“You went fishing?” Syris repeated, his tone laced with disbelief. “Alone?”

“Just me, the dark swamp, and the giant bloodsucking bugs!” Ren declared proudly, resting her hands on her hips.

She immediately launched into the most elaborate, highly exaggerated, completely fabricated fishing tale in Beast World history.

“I was just taking a peaceful, innocent stroll by the water’s edge,” Ren dramatically narrated, wildly gesturing with her hands, “when suddenly, this giant, incredibly disrespectful fish breached the surface. It looked right at me, Syris! It mocked me with its little fishy eyes!”

Syris stared at her, completely spellbound by her wild energy.

“So, I obviously couldn’t let that slide,” Ren continued, miming a fighting stance. “I summoned my cast-iron skillet. The fish leaped at me like an aquatic assassin! But I moved like the wind! I ducked, did a flawless ninja roll across the damp rocks, and WHAM! I bashed it right out of the sky!”

“You fought a bass?” Syris asked, a bit horrified, but mostly stunned.

“Oh, it gets worse,” Ren gasped, putting a hand over her heart. “The splash attracted a massive, terrifying swarm of giant, spiked swamp-leeches! They tried to swarm me! But I was relentless! I bashed them left and right, snatched two more fish right out of the water with my bare hands, and emerged victorious!”

Syris did not look impressed by her heroic victory. He looked absolutely livid.

“Ren!” Syris scolded loudly, his hands gripping her shoulders. “You should not have gone out there by yourself! The swamp is infested with nocturnal predators! What if you had slipped? What if the leeches had dragged you under?! It is too dangerous for you to be wandering the edge of the water alone at night!”

“I’m sorry,” Ren pouted, deploying her ultimate weapon: the devastating puppy-dog eyes. She looked up at him through her lashes, her lower lip trembling just a fraction. “I just really wanted to surprise you. I promise I will tell you next time, and I won’t go alone ever again.”

Syris let out a heavy, defeated sigh. His murderous aura completely melted under her gaze. “Just… please be careful, my mate. You are too fragile for hunting alone.”

“I will,” Ren smiled sweetly. She sent the three dead fish right back into her magical storage. “I’m going to make a delicious, nutrient-dense fish soup with them tomorrow.”

“I’ll go wash the fish smell off,” Ren told him. She went into Syris’ bath area after telling him she won’t be long.

She stripped off her emerald silk dress and waded directly into the steaming, fragrant obsidian pool. She let out a massive, echoing groan of pure relief as the hot water enveloped her aching, exhausted muscles. She pulled her bar of soap from her inventory and began aggressively scrubbing her skin, thoroughly washing away the lingering scents of swamp water, fish, and Fox.

She had actually gotten away with it.

Just as she was rinsing the soap from her fiery red hair, a brilliant, flashing blue screen erupted in her vision, accompanied by a loud, victorious chime.

Ding!

[System: Congratulations, Host! You have successfully completed the side quest!] [Side Quest Completed: The Eagle’s Nest] [Objective: Manage to successfully have Altair stay in the swamp with you.] [Reward: One (1) crucial hint to aid with ANY of your three Main Quests!]

Ren froze, the bar of soap slipping from her fingers into the water. “Oh, hell yes,” she whispered, a grin spreading across her face. She almost forgot about her reward! A crucial hint! This could be a total gamechanger!

She leaned back against the smooth obsidian wall, humming thoughtfully to herself. Which quest did she desperately need a hint for the most?

[System: As a reminder, your current Main Quests are as follows:] [Main Quest 1: The Heir – Objective: Conceive a child with one of your beast husbands.] [Main Quest 2: Sins of the Mother – Objective: Save Vara’s unborn cub from the feral madness.] [Main Quest 3: The Silent Prince – Objective: Get Altair to verbally reveal the absolute truth about who he is.]

Ren tapped her chin, the hot water swirling around her collarbones as she carefully analyzed her options.

Main Quest 3 was tempting. Altair was a vault of secrets. He had just revealed that his father was a King, but getting him to spill the rest of the tea was likely going to be like pulling teeth. But on the other hand, he was slowly starting to open up. If she just gave him a little more time and a few more trauma-bonding sessions, she could probably crack him naturally.

Main Quest 2 was the most urgent. Vara was lying unconscious in the cave right now, pregnant with a feral cub. A hint here could possibly be life-saving. But Ren was already planning to use her culinary knowledge to heal the tiger’s severe nutritional deficiencies. She felt somewhat confident she could handle it.

That left Main Quest 1.

Ren frowned. She was having an abundance of unprotected sex with four ridiculously virile beastmen. Yet, her womb remained completely empty. Was there some bizarre Beast World trick to conception that she was missing? Did she need to eat a specific glowing flower?

“System,” Ren asked aloud. “Is the hint random, or can I ask a specific question?”

[System: The hint is entirely random, based on the quest you select.]

Ren frowned deeper, splashing the water. Random meant she could select the feral cub quest and get a completely useless hint like, ’Vara needs iron,’ which she already knew!

“Alright,” Ren decided, crossing her arms over her wet chest. “I want the hint for Main Quest 1. The Heir.”

[System: Excellent choice, Host. Generating crucial hint…]

Ren held her breath.

Ding!

[System: The crucial hint for Main Quest 1 is as follows: Host, you are completely infertile.]

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