His name was Aji. Nina's first impression of him was quite good.
"Yes. Thank you for bringing me the food."
Seeing how polite and courteous Nina was, Aji looked a little surprised. Most females in the beast world were spoiled and domineering; it was rare to meet one so well-mannered. That immediately made him feel she was gentle and kind, and he developed a favorable impression of her.
"Hello, my name is Aji. Nice to meet you. I'll be the one bringing you food from now on. If you need anything, you can tell me, and I'll help you apply to the chieftain. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me too," Aji said with an honest grin.
"Hello, my name is Nina. I'll be relying on you from now on," Nina replied with a smile.
"Why are you the only female here? Where are your beast husbands?" Aji asked, puzzled that she was alone.
"They despised me and all ran off," Nina said casually.
Given her pregnancy, it wouldn't sound right to say she had none at all. Besides, her former fiancés really had run away—so she wasn't lying.
"Ran off?" Aji bristled with indignation. "How could they be so irresponsible? Total scumbag males! If you need any help in the future, just come find me."
"Mm, thank you," Nina said with a smile and a nod.
"You're welcome. Where would you like me to put these things?"
"Just set them here."
Nina pointed to a clean, flat stone slab near the entrance.
"Alright. It's still pretty warm, so the meat can't be left out too long. You'd better eat it all today," Aji said as he neatly arranged the items on the stone. "I'll bring more tomorrow morning."
"Okay. If I'm not up yet, you can just leave it on this stone slab."
"Got it." Aji responded and headed back.
It wasn't convenient to make a fire inside the hut, so Nina used nearby stones to build a temporary stove outside. Thinking about the rain, she decided she would put up a small shelter tomorrow and turn it into a simple outdoor kitchen.
She laid some dry grass under the stove and, full of curiosity, tried using the firestone.
With a few sharp szz sounds, sparks flew from the firestone and ignited the dry grass.
Nina's eyes lit up. This was actually kind of fun.
She added firewood, set the pot to boil water, processed the meat, washed the wild vegetables she had picked earlier, and began making herself a simple hotpot to eat.
After enjoying a satisfying meal, Nina washed up and then lay on her back in her little nest made of animal hides, feeling content.
"Little Bun, are you there?" Nina called softly.
Ever since coming to this world, Little Bun would sometimes suddenly go into hibernation. It had said it was slowly adapting to the local magnetic field.
Still, it had separated the system backpack into an independent space, so even if it went dormant, Nina could still use the items she had already purchased.
[I'm here, Host.]
"I'm a bit scared being alone. While I'm sleeping, can you help keep an eye on the surroundings? If there's any danger, wake me up."
Sleeping alone deep in the mountains for the first time, in a stone hut without a proper door, Nina truly lacked a sense of security.
Fortunately, she had spent some time sleeping in caves before and had more or less adapted.
[No problem. Host, sleep peacefully. As long as I'm not in hibernation, Little Bun will keep watch for you.]
"Mm, thank you, Little Bun."
After thanking it, Nina closed her eyes and finally enjoyed her first truly good night's sleep in over a month.
The next morning, just after Nina woke up, Aji came by to deliver supplies.
"Nina," Aji called from outside the hide curtain. "Are you awake?"
"I am. Wait a moment."
Nina quickly changed her clothes and went outside.
As soon as she stepped out, she saw Aji carrying a pile of items—food, along with several animal hides.
"You're the only female here, so I brought you some extra hides. The quality isn't great, so I hope you don't mind them."
Nina guessed these were from Aji personally. "Of course I don't mind. Thank you."
"It's nothing. Do you need any other help? I still have some time," Aji said as he set the food and hides down.