— — — — — —
Fujiwara Chika had devoured at least a hundred pounds of beast meat in one go before she finally had to stop— her body just couldn't absorb that much all at once.
That's what you call 'turning envy into appetite'!
---
In less than an hour...
Two giant beasts, each about four or five meters tall, had been completely cleaned out.
"Phew~ That hit the spot!"
Selina stretched her limbs like a languid cat, savoring the warmth flooding her body—the meat's strengthening effects left her buzzing with energy.
With a contented sigh, she turned to Hancock and said, "Hancock, darling—let's put it on the shelf."
"Huh?"
Hancock blinked in confusion. "What do you mean, 'put it on the shelf'?"
"I mean, once we're back, let's list some of this beast meat from your world in the group store," Selina explained. "It's a win-win. We get a nice physical boost from just eating — zero effort — and you can rack up some points for lottery draws or grab good stuff when it pops up in the shop."
"No need, no need," Hancock shook her head quickly. "If you guys ever need any, just let me know. Over the past year, most of the beasts I've killed — aside from what I ate myself — ended up feeding the island's other wildlife or the sea kings offshore…"
"That's not how it works, y'know."
Chika held up a finger and wagged it playfully. "Maybe to you, giving the meat to us or tossing it out feels the same. But you saw how it went just now — apart from Merlin, all of us really need that meat. That's a fact.
"There's this little story I read once— a guy used to give a few coins to a beggar every day. One day, he was in a rush and forgot. The beggar stopped him and asked, 'Why didn't you leave my money today?'
"Same idea here."
"If you're just feeling generous and decide to give us gifts out of the blue, we're happy to accept. But if we have a consistent need, and we keep taking from you for free… even if it's no big deal to you, over time it starts to feel off."
"Plus, if your beast meat is always free, what happens when someone else has something valuable from their world? Should they give it away for free too? Or charge?"
"It's better to draw a line now — separate 'friendship' from 'business' — before any awkwardness creeps in later."
"Ah… yeah, you're right. I didn't think it through," Hancock admitted after a moment of thought.
"How about this — any beasts I hunt, I'll list in the group store. You can buy what you need. At the same time, I won't cancel the current quest that lets you cross over— if you hunt it yourself, you can take whatever you get."
"Still a slight risk of bugging the system, but it should be fine for now," Merlin added, approving the plan.
"Then it's settled," Hancock smiled, trusting Merlin's judgment — after all, she seemed to be the group's wise big sister based on everything Hancock had seen this past year.
And just like that, the big issue was resolved.
Any awkwardness from meeting up in person for the first time had pretty much vanished during the feast.
Now, around the beach, everyone slipped into full vacation mode — some sunbathed, some enjoyed the sea breeze, others played around or whispered secrets.
Everyone was chill and relaxed.
Well… except for Veyron, who'd only just joined a few days ago and wasn't close enough yet to totally forget about things like gender dynamics and just dive into the group vibe.
Honestly, it kinda felt like he was the third wheel— with "sunshine" and "beach" already checked off the list, the rest of them probably would've had more fun without his buzzkill presence.
Veyron clicked his tongue.
"You're not joining them?"
A light, teasing voice suddenly popped up next to his ear. "I think Chika-chan invited you for a reason— she probably wanted to use this meet-up as a chance to help you feel more at ease with us. Not just have you stand around watching from afar."
"..."
Startled, Veyron looked toward the beach where Merlin was splashing around with Chika and Gwen— then turned to the other Merlin now standing right beside him.
"An illusion. Pretty cool, huh~?" Merlin gave him a playful poke in the arm — solid enough to prove she was really there.
Veyron: "…"
Makes sense. This is the same girl who can make the whole team invincible for a turn in the game.
"You didn't fake the entire beach scene with illusions, did you? Are they actually all circling me like predators while I stand here clueless?" he joked, gesturing at the playing group.
"Oooh~ I like that. I'll try that next time," Merlin said with a sudden glint in her eyes.
"Please don't!"
Not sure if she was kidding or dead serious, Veyron immediately shut that idea down.
"Of course I'm joking~" Merlin laughed, giving him a cheeky wink. "But hey, you still haven't answered my first question."
"…Considering I've exchanged maybe less than a hundred words total with all of them in the group chat… even if I did go over there, they wouldn't outright reject me, but it'd just end up awkward for everyone, right?" Veyron muttered.
"Fair enough," Merlin nodded. "So what's your plan then? Gonna just keep standing here and watching?"
"Honestly? I kinda wanna explore inland," he pointed to the dense forest stretching out endlessly to the side — according to Hancock, the deeper you go, the more dangerous the beasts. "Wanna come with?"
"Wait… is this a date invitation?!" Merlin acted shy.
"No, I just don't wanna die. I'm hoping to freeload a personal bodyguard who can actually protect me."
"Ehh~~~ you're really that blunt?!"
Merlin widened her eyes in mock shock.
"You're not even gonna toss me a tiny flirty line to smooth it over? Really?"
.
.
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