Celeste lay on Sylas' back, observing the group of beastmen. She had been too busy 'arguing' with Sylas these days so she didn't notice, but now she sees that there were also other women among these 'rogue beastmen,' and quite a few of them.
Were they, like her, also claimed by these 'rogue beastmen'?
She looked around, but couldn't find the person she was looking for.
"What are you looking at?" Sylas' voice startled her.
"Where is Lyra?" she asked.
"Lyra…? Who?"
"Don't you remember? The woman who tried to kill me before." Her eyes widened.
"I don't have time to remember ones who have nothing to do with me," he said, changing his tone. "But if you keep staring at me like that, I might not be able to control myself."
"SYLAS! (˶˃⤙˂˶)" Her face flushed immediately.
Just then, Lyra appeared in the crowd with Varkon, her left cheek flushed red as if she had been slapped.
She saw Celeste and glared at her fiercely.
Varkon noticed her action, shoved her aside, and walked to Sylas, saying, "My lord, I apologize again for Lyra's mistake."
Sylas didn't even look at him, simply saying, "Never again."
Logically speaking, beastmen are usually very respectful and caring towards their partners because once a beastman chooses to mate with a woman and become her partner, their power will decrease if they mate with another woman or are abandoned by their partner, which can lead to death. However, 'rogue beastmen' don't care much about these rules because some of them have either lost their partners or deliberately severed this power-based connection, making them less sensitive to the consequences of decline.
Lyra certainly didn't want to stay with Varkon, but she had no choice. She had been banished from her tribe. While she could choose to go to other tribes, and as long as no one knew what she had done, she would be warmly welcomed as a woman, but if she dared to leave the group, she would be torn to pieces by wild beasts before even reaching another tribe.
After everyone was ready, they began to head southeast.
Since she couldn't resist, she could only enjoy it. She looked around at the surroundings of the forest. The beast world possessed the most pristine natural environment; everything was breathtakingly beautiful—truly a blessed place.
"Sylas, stop!" she suddenly shouted out.
Celeste slid down his back and ran a few meters ahead. "System, is this...?"
[These are blackberries. You're pretty lucky.]
She picked a few blackberries, brushed off the dust, and carefully put one in her mouth. "This is it!"
Her eyes lit up. She turned around and called Sylas over. "Come here!"
Sylas transformed back into human form and came over. "What's this?"
"Try it. These are called blackberries. It tastes really good."
Celeste thought he was going to pick a few to try, but instead, he simply took her hand, ate the blackberry from her hand, and then licked the remaining juice off her hand.
[Host, your heart rate is elevating again! >ᴗ<]
The system's voice pulled her back to reality. Her face flushed red, and she immediately withdrew her hand.
[Side Quest Unlocked: Collect 30 new edible ingredients (can't be ingredients that the beastmen already know).]
[Reward: +30 Survival Points]
[Tip: Just Have to Use Your Brain! ദ്ദി◝ ⩊ ◜.ᐟ]
"Pretty good," Sylas liked the taste of it.
"Could you help me collect some?" Then, as if remembering something, she added, "If you want something in return, then never mind. I can collect them myself."
He laughed in anger. What kind of person was he in her eyes?
[A/N: Sylas, you may need to raise your self-awareness a little (voice getting lower and lower…)]
"Then you just collect it yourself." After saying that, he turned around and wanted to leave.
[Host, do you believe he will definitely turn around in less than 3 seconds? (⸝⸝> ᴗ•⸝⸝)]
"I don't think so…" Before she's done with her words, Sylas walked back and started picking blackberries.
He looked at the other beastmen. "What are you guys looking at? Get to work."
It had to be said—Sylas's prestige had always been remarkably high. Those beastmen immediately started working.
While picking blackberries, Celeste quickly placed many of them in the system's storage space, using her body to block the view and conceal what she was doing.
[Side Quest Progress: 1/30 Completed]
[Achievement Unlocked: Forest's New Gift]
[Achievement Reward: Map Marker Unlocked (currently only unlocked the Forest of Vorrimfel) - can be used to mark discovery locations]
With the help of everyone else, they quickly finished picking. Celeste stopped them from taking everything, leaving some behind in case other animals needed to feed.
They continued on their way, and then it started to rain, with nowhere to take shelter.
The temperature began to drop, and Celeste clung tightly to Sylas' fur, trying to find some warmth.
Sylas raised an eyebrow and ordered a beastman to get him an animal hide.
Celeste curled up inside the animal hide, which made her a little warmer.
She looked back and saw the other women trembling in the rain as they tried to catch up with the group. Although she had no connection with them, a pang of pain shot through her heart. She asked Sylas, "Sylas, could you share some of the animal hides with the other females? I'm afraid they will fall ill halfway there."
But Sylas didn't understand her feelings, or rather, those 'rogue beastmen' were heartless. He simply replied coldly, "Mind your own business. We do not hoard animal hides; I'm only collecting them for you."
"System…?" She instinctively turned to the system for help.
[Host, maybe you could try begging him, or rather, mate with him.]
Celeste immediately ruled out the second option. She wasn't sure if it was because of her interactions with Sylas during the previous days that made her less afraid of him, so she gently placed her hand on his wolf head and tried to keep her voice down, "Sylas, you must still have some animal hides left. Can you send them out? It's raining so hard, they can't keep going in this condition."