Chapter 446: Call Me Mommy, and Mommy Will Protect You!
Tohru's flying speed was very fast. In just a few minutes, they arrived above the forest Kobayashi had mentioned.
Looking down from high above, boundless greenery spread out between heaven and earth. The varying shades of green were like flowing emeralds, gently cut and surrounded by several azure rivers.
Sunlight penetrated the clouds, casting mottled light and shadows on the dense canopy. A gentle breeze blew by, and the entire forest seemed to gently rise and fall with its breathing.
"It's here."
Holding the Dragon Orb in her hand, Kanna looked down at the lush forest with her large azure eyes and let out a cute exclamation.
"Let's go down."
Ryohei instructed Tohru: "It's best to be near a water source, somewhere the terrain is flatter and more open."
"Alright!" Tohru responded. Her large orange eyes swept the area, her body turned, and she brought everyone down from the sky.
Meeting Ryohei's request, they landed beside a river.
A few animals drinking water were startled by Tohru descending from the sky. Their fur stood on end, and they shrieked as they fled into the woods.
But in the next second, they were tightly bound by several emerald-green vines that broke out of the ground.
"I caught some prey."
Pekola leaped lightly down from Tohru's back and turned her head to look at everyone. Even though she was clearly claiming credit, her tone was completely unperturbed.
"Beautifully done!"
With a thud, Ryohei landed beside her, gave her a thumbs-up, and walked towards the few pieces of prey.
"Is this a pheasant? It's really huge!"
He sized up an avian beast that was almost as tall as he was, covered in fluffy dark brown feathers, with great interest.
Atop its slender yellow neck sat a fierce head. Its eyes were wide round, its open mouth revealed a circle of sharp teeth, and it was emitting intimidating "cluck-cluck" sounds, looking extremely aggressive.
"Quite fierce!" Ryohei was already pondering how to eat it—stew a part for soup, roast a part, and for the rest, build an earthen stove and make a pot-stewed chicken?
"This hamster actually has a pair of cherries growing on its head!"
Yurine's surprised voice came from the side. Ryohei turned to look—
Only to see that seven or eight meters away, on top of the head of a rodent resembling a hamster that was over two meters long, grew a bamboo-shoot-like green plant stem, with two plump, bright red cherries adorning the end of the stem.
"What a magical species!"
Kobayashi leaned over, pushed up the glasses on the bridge of her nose, and clicked her tongue in wonder.
"These cherries are very delicious, but the hamster is not delicious." Kanna also leaned over, lifted her face, and said, obviously having eaten it before.
"Then we'll keep the cherries and let the hamster go?"
Minos reached out and plucked the cherries, turning her head to look at Ryohei to ask for his opinion.
"Mn." Ryohei nodded, then walked towards the third bound prey.
This was a creature draped in black and yellow scale armor, shaped like a lizard, close to three meters long. It flicked a slender, forked tongue, possessing stout limbs and sharp claws.
Seeing Ryohei approach, it immediately let out an intimidating "hissing" sound.
"Feels not bad, but there are trace amounts of toxins... However, high temperatures can solve that." Ryohei lowered his head slightly, looked at the "lizard" before him, and pinched his chin with his fingers.
Ever since he was blessed with the [Luminous Cuisine (Gold)] entry, he had a near-instinctive sensitivity towards ingredients.
Ryohei decided to keep this "lizard."
Meanwhile—
Lucoa took out some tables, chairs, and benches from an alternate space and arranged them on the lawn.
There was no need to ask—when Ryohei previously asked Tohru to find a flat, open place near a water source, she already understood that they were going to have a picnic here.
"..." Ryohei looked back, clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention, and said: "Let's have our picnic here."
"Kanna, you need to make the Dragon Orb, so stay behind."
He first looked at Kanna, who was holding the Dragon Orb. After she replied with an "Okay" in her adorkable tone, he turned his gaze to Tohru, pointed at the two bound pieces of prey, and said:
"Tohru, simple-prep these two. I'll stroll around and gather some wild vegetables and mushrooms. The rest of you can move about freely."
"OK, leave it to me!"
Tohru clenched her right fist, placed her left hand on her right shoulder, and enthusiastically made a muscle-flexing gesture.
"Then I'll stay behind too."
Kobayashi walked over to the tables and chairs, pulled out a moon chair, and sat down lazily.
She had suffered quite a bit in this forest earlier, so she had no interest in continuing to stroll around.
"Mn."
"Ryohei-kun, give me the holy sword."
Yurine walked towards Ryohei, extending her fair small hand.
A "Fantasy Grand Adventure" in an otherworldly forest—she naturally couldn't miss it.
"I'll go stroll around with you guys."
Minos wagged her silver-white cow tail, rubbing her hands together, and walked over with great interest.
"Okay."
Ryohei handed the holy sword to Yurine and responded to Minos.
Before entering the forest, he looked at Pekola again:
"Pekola, go gather some fruit and bring it back."
"Mn."
Pekola, who was just preparing to follow them into the forest, paused her steps, nodded, and instantly disappeared from her spot.
Ryohei entered the forest together with Yurine, Minos, and Lucoa.
"..."
Stepping into the woods—
One could feel the primal and vigorous vitality of this forest even more deeply.
Towering ancient trees rose from the ground, their thick trunks covered in moss, and gnarled branches stretched in all directions, supporting a dense, light-blocking dome.
Sunlight could only struggle through the gaps in the leaves, casting fragmented golden light on the damp ground.
"The trees and plants in this forest are so tall and massive!"
Yurine stepped on the thick humus layer, looking at the surrounding trees and plants in awe.
Suddenly, a man-eating plant over two meters tall by the roadside opened its bloody maw and lunged to bite her.
Unhurried and unpanicked, Yurine swung the holy sword in her hand.
Accompanied by a flash of dazzling sword light, the man-eating plant snapped into two halves at the sound.
"It's quite dangerous too; be careful, don't get hurt," Ryohei voiced a reminder.
"Mn."
"I can protect you guys."
Minos cheerfully waved her fist, glanced at Yurine, and said: "Though it seems like it's not needed..."
"I need Ryohei-kun's protection... Ryohei-kun, what do you say?"
Lucoa clasped her hands behind her back, the corners of her lips curling up slightly, and asked with a smile.
Ryohei looked over with a face full of surprise: "You're joking; it's more like you protecting me."
"Call me Mommy, and Mommy will protect you."
She puffed out her chest, and those astonishing curves instantly jiggled boing-boing twice, appearing extremely bouncy and soft.
Ryohei: "..."
Seriously, what exactly have you experienced during this past week?
Yurine and Minos: "..."
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