Chapter 236: Tonight, We’re Having Roasted Venison
“After all this time, I still have to do the dirty work.”
That’s life, a life of endless labor…
Molly lamented that since meeting Lena, she had been at her beck and call, all because of the irresistible taste of Lena’s blood.
“Which area am I supposed to patrol?”
“From the palace to Bitterwood Forest, including the Fran Black Market. This area is crowded and chaotic, the workload will be heavier than other areas, I’m counting on you.”
“The North District, okay, okay.”
Molly waved her hand nonchalantly.
“You’re quite the taskmaster, but then again, who can resist you…?”
“After this is over, you can have as much of my blood as you want.”
“…I feel like you’ve said that more than once.”
“Want a taste now?”
Lena offered her arm, its pale skin dazzling.
“A free sample, after all, fresh blood is always sweeter than refrigerated blood.”
“You’re quite perceptive.” Molly stared at Lena’s skin, swallowing hard, then turned away. “Hmph, I’m not so desperate as to bite a friend, besides, I can’t do it here.”
“A pity, I thought you were quite willing.”
Lena turned her wrist, she had been prepared to be bitten, but Molly had resisted.
“Anyway, be careful, those non-humans are not to be trifled with.”
“Hmph, you don’t trust my strength?”
“Not really…” Lena scratched her face, embarrassed. “If I don’t see you again, I’ll be a little lonely…”
“…”
Molly stared at Lena for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. “What a strange thing to say, Lena, you’re killing me!”
Lena’s words were met with Molly’s merciless laughter.
She laughed so hard she almost cried, her body shaking. “Oh, I can’t, my stomach hurts, hahaha!”
Why would she say such a girly thing?
Molly watched as Lena waved goodbye.
The door closed.
The room fell silent again.
“Hmph, she probably thinks I’m a conquerable target, what a fool…”
But being cared for didn’t feel bad.
Molly pounded her chest.
Her irregular heartbeat was brought back to normal by a powerful blow.
This feeling…
How strange…
…
After dealing with Molly, Lena went to resolve the remaining mess.
Snow hadn’t ratted Angel out, and now, she was wearing a transparent nightgown, sitting before Lena.
“Say that again.”
“Which part?”
Snow tilted her head. “I like you?”
“Say it again.”
“I like you.”
“Who likes?”
“I do.”
“Say it all together.”
“I like you.”
“That’s right~”
Lena beamed.
If she had said that from the beginning, she wouldn’t have had to wait so long.
Now that Snow had confessed, she didn’t have to pretend to be “just friends” anymore…
The fruit was ripe, ready to be plucked.
“Can I?”
Lena touched Snow’s cheek, the lace strap of her nightgown slipping off her shoulder, revealing a glimpse of skin.
“If it’s Lena, you can.”
Snow took Lena’s hand, guiding it to her face.
She closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of Lena’s palm, the beating of her pulse, her lips parting slightly. “Hold me.”
Her voice was soft, like a small animal, touching Lena’s heart.
Their lips met, a playful, lingering kiss…
After a long while, they parted, their eyes meeting, a gentle ripple in their gazes.
“Did Angel teach you this?”
Lena’s arms were around Snow’s waist, her breath catching.
Snow nestled against her, not answering.
“What else did she teach you?”
Lena teased, her fingers tracing Snow’s earlobe.
“She also taught me…”
Snow leaned in, her silver hair cascading down, obscuring Lena’s vision.
She stared at Lena’s lips, and then, at a more… suggestive area.
“What’s wrong? Scared?”
Lena loosened her collar, deliberately provoking Snow.
She knew Snow was an innocent fool, but she wanted to see her flustered, to make her beg.
“If you want to see, just ask.”
The bed, the two of them.
One white, one gray.
Snow’s breath was warm against Lena’s cheek, a cool scent, yet gradually warming.
Her hands were in Lena’s hair, her pale eyes devoid of color.
It must be painful.
To be unable to express one’s feelings, the pain of being unable to communicate.
Lena stroked Snow’s cheek, her thumb gently wiping away a tear.
She was crying.
A single tear rolled down her beautiful, expressionless face, a silent sorrow, a cold grief.
Why had fate taken away her emotions, given her power, but robbed her of her feelings, even her expressions?
She should have been an ordinary girl, innocent and carefree, laughing in the fields of rapeseed.
She just wanted to pursue her own happiness.
“Don’t cry.”
Lena held Snow close, their bodies warm against each other.
At this moment, Lena shouldn’t let Snow fall silent.
Because she knew what Snow was trying to say, this poor girl was fighting against her fate, breaking free from her shackles.
She had also experienced such pain.
“Lena, tell me, who am I?”
Snow asked, her voice choked with tears.
“You’re not anyone, you don’t belong to anyone, a name is just a label, a title.”
Lena held her tight, whispering in her ear. “Who you are doesn’t matter, what matters is who you want to be. What do you believe in? Believe in what you want to believe, and then fight for it.”
Her words were profound.
But with Snow’s intelligence, it wasn’t hard to understand Lena’s meaning.
“Remember what I told you when we first met?”
“Focus on one goal, achieve it, then find another, and another…”
“Correct.”
Lena’s eyes curved into a smile.
Whatever I can get, I don’t care about.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want a wife and children, but one couldn’t stagnate.
Just like Snow’s profession and mission, if she didn’t like it, she could just quit.
Why did the world have to be saved by you? Save yourself first, if you can’t even save yourself, how can you save the world, how can you have compassion for others?
So, having a goal was important, and destressing was also important.
Everyone felt lost sometimes, Lena was just giving her a little push, so she wouldn’t be a clueless fool…
“Alright! Lena’s counseling session is over! What’s your goal now?”
Lena gently stroked Snow’s head.
Snow pursed her lips. “Anything?”
“Of course, it’s your goal, it determines your future, it doesn’t matter how big or small, just set one.”
Lena coaxed.
“Mm.” Snow thought for a moment, then whispered two words: “Fuck me.”
…
Late at night, some were enjoying themselves, while others were still working.
Molly kicked a crawling merman, her right hand held out, her palm facing down.
A fist-sized blood ball slowly formed.
The ugly mermen, seeing the blood ball, backed away, screeching.
“Noisy race, if your ancestors saw you now, they would jump out of their graves in shame.”
Molly scoffed, throwing the blood ball.
Boom—
A loud explosion.
Smoke and dust filled the air.
The terrifying blood magic instantly devoured the fleeing mermen, their limbs scattered, a rain of blood falling from the sky.
Seeing a one-eyed, spiky merman trying to escape, Molly smiled, her expression sinister.
It was one of the few she had deliberately let go.
As everyone knew—
Mermen were social creatures, their reproductive rate, population density, and prevalence a world-class problem, one of the biggest headaches for new adventurers.
And now, these mermen, who should have been on the beaches and in the rainforests, had appeared in the Imperial City, which meant that in some dark, damp corner, there must be tens of thousands of these man-eating monsters!
If they all attacked at once, could the people of the Imperial City withstand their assault?
“…Well, exterminating monsters isn’t my problem.”
Her bloodkin servants would track them down, record their location, and report to Lena, her job half-done.
“And now…”
Molly tucked a long, golden-red feather into her hair, her red eyes narrowed.
“It’s still early, time for some mischief.”
A rare moment of playfulness.
Molly flapped her wings, flying towards Bitterwood Forest.
This was also within Lena’s designated patrol area, so she wasn’t slacking off.
Molly smiled, flapping her wings harder.
A gust of wind, and she arrived at Bitterwood Forest.
An oil lamp flickered, a fragrant mushroom soup simmering in the cabin, its aroma wafting through the window.
“This stupid deer, she knows how to eat.”
Molly didn’t knock, simply kicking the door down.
Her boorish greeting wasn’t met with condemnation, but with Ka Ka’s excitement. “You’re here! Did you come to play with me?”
“Of course, stupid deer.”
“Yay!”
“Lena sent me.”
“Ah…”
Ka Ka’s expression fell, and she poked the fire with a stick.
Molly smiled, a plan forming in her mind. “What, not interested now that Lena is involved? Do you have a problem with her?”
“No, no, it’s just that Lena’s orders are more important, you can’t play with me.”
In Ka Ka’s mind, Lena and Angel were her top priorities, playing could wait, after all, there would be plenty of time after the mission was complete.
“Hmph, you’re quite sensible, much smarter than that hero,” Molly said.
“Ka Ka is always smart!”
The little deer girl puffed out her chest. “Here’s a spoon, the mushroom soup is ready, I added lots of milk.”
“Cream of mushroom soup?”
Molly’s eye twitched.
“Mm-hmm.” Ka Ka took a sip from the bowl.
The hot soup burned her tongue, but she didn’t stop, determined to eat it while it was hot.
“Stupid deer! Can’t you eat more gracefully?!”
“Mmm, mmm…”
Ka Ka slurped noisily, vine leaves falling from her mouth.
“Mmm?”
“Ah…” Molly rubbed her temples, exasperated by Ka Ka’s behavior. “Let’s talk business, the atmosphere has been strange lately, if you have nothing to do, it’s best not to go into the city.”
“Will I be captured?”
“They’ll skin you alive! And make a coat out of you!” Molly suddenly threatened.
“Wow.”
The little deer girl shrank back, trembling.
“Just kidding, silly.”
Molly crossed her arms, her gaze disdainful. “Just stay out of the city, it’s not safe, stay here, and don’t do anything rash.”
Ka Ka blinked. “So you came all this way to check on me?”
“W-what are you talking about! Stupid deer! Who cares about you!”
Molly, flustered, began to scold Ka Ka, grabbing her tail and pulling it. “If you say another word, I’ll rip your intestines out!”
“Hee hee, you’re so nice.”
Ka Ka licked Molly’s cheek, leaving a wet, sticky trail.
“Huh?”
Molly touched her face in disbelief.
Besides the saliva, there was also the green juice from the vines Ka Ka had eaten.
All-natural, 100% deer-chewed.
But Molly didn’t have such… peculiar tastes. “Don’t touch me with your food-filled mouth!”
“What about when I’m not eating?”
“No! No!”
“Okay, fine.”
Gurgle, gurgle.
White steam rose from the cauldron under the tripod.
The mushrooms, cooked in the high heat, had become soft and tender, the soup gradually thickening, its fragrant, milky aroma filling the air, intoxicating.
Molly rested her head in her hands, her gaze fixed on the bubbling soup.
“Hey, has anyone been to Bitterwood Forest lately?”
“People?”
“Anyone.”
“If you mean people, then no…” Ka Ka yawned, full and sleepy.
She lay down in her hay nest, her head on her legs, yawning repeatedly.
“So, besides people, have there been any other visitors?”
“Yes, a pig-headed man in sunglasses came to see me, his attitude was terrible…”
“And then?”
Molly frowned.
Lena had shown her a list of people to watch out for, and a boar-man fit the description.
And since Ka Ka was also a non-human, their allegiance was clear, the boar-man’s intentions were obvious.
“I beat him up and chased him away!”
Ka Ka kicked her front hooves, as if reenacting the scene.
“The pig-headed man was strong, but not as strong as me. He could use magic, and he had a lot of pig-headed minions on two-wheeled contraptions, hmm…”
Ka Ka tried to remember, her small deer ears twitching.
“Ah! He said he was the leader of the… [Steel Bristle Gang], sounded pretty lame!”
“What’s that?”
Molly was confused.
The Steel Bristle Gang, a pig-headed man in sunglasses, and his minions.
Uh…
“Did they say anything before they left, like ‘you’ll regret this,’ or ‘you won’t be so lucky next time’?”
“They did!”
Ka Ka’s eyes lit up.
“What did they say?”
Molly’s ears perked up.
“Hmm… the pig-headed man said he would come back for me in a few days, but he didn’t specify when, probably soon…”
As soon as she finished speaking, the roar of a magic engine echoed through the forest, breaking the silence of the winter night.
Accompanied by the screeching of brakes and the sound of tires on the ground, the small metal cabin was surrounded by a group of fully armed, biker-gang-like boar-men.
The leader, wearing sunglasses, held a megaphone, taking a deep breath.
“Piglets! Tonight, we’re having roasted venison!!!”
