Chapter 14: Overthinking It

“Get up, I’m hungry.”

“……” Feeling a slight itch on his nose, Zheng Yichen unconsciously shifted his body and moved his head to the side.

Loris, who stood before him, narrowed her eyes slightly…

“Wah!” Startled by a sudden, cold sense of danger while deep in sleep, Zheng Yichen sprang up as if electrocuted. He waved his Dragon’s Claw at the empty air, cautiously scanning his surroundings, before his gaze finally settled on Loris.

“I’m hungry.”

“If you’re hungry, eat. Isn’t there still plenty of roasted meat left?” Zheng Yichen glanced at the remaining meat on the grill and couldn’t help asking.

“I don’t eat leftovers.”

“Huh? Fine.” Shaking his dragon head, Zheng Yichen grabbed the leftover roasted meat from the grill and stuffed it into his mouth. “I’m going hunting. Don’t wander off—uh, do as you please.”

Realizing just how ferocious the Little Lolita before him could be, Zheng Yichen cleared his throat and strode out of the Town. He had blurted that out earlier purely because Loris’s small size made her look like an easy target for kidnapping.

After leaving the Town, Zheng Yichen didn’t head straight into the Forest. Instead, he first circled the Town’s perimeter to observe. There were no traces of many people leaving on any of the roads.

With so many people in the Town, even if they had dispersed on a large scale, there should at least be more signs near the exits. Yet… there were none!

“Guess this counts as an unsolved mystery?” After searching for a while and finding nothing, Zheng Yichen gave up on looking for further clues. Even if he could find something, what would he do about it?

“Strange, there weren’t this many beasts in the Forest before.” Carrying a Wild Boar, a wolf, and a few rabbits on his way back, he glanced back at the Forest from time to time.

This Forest was rich in resources. He had messed around in it for a long time before without anything happening. It was mostly home to small animals; while there were plenty of large beasts, one wouldn’t just run into them by wandering in casually.

This time, he hadn’t gone far before encountering a bunch… Could it be mating season for these beasts again?

When he returned, Zheng Yichen saw Loris holding a book she had gotten from somewhere, reading it with such focus that he didn’t want to disturb her. He fetched water on his own and began processing the new ingredients he had obtained.

Just as the first piece of roasted meat was about to be done, Loris, who had set down her book at some point, stared intently at the meat in front of Zheng Yichen’s claw tip. Her expression still showed a bit of disdain. “Is this the only thing you know how to make?”

“What delicate work do you think these claws of mine can do?” Zheng Yichen waved his claws discontentedly, stirring up a gust of wind. Only after experiencing the dexterity of human hands did one realize how clumsy these claws were for fine tasks. Comparison really drove the point home.

“I see. Then look at this first.” Under Zheng Yichen’s stunned gaze, Loris extended her small hand and lightly drew a line in the air beside her. A black crack with smooth edges appeared next to her hand. She pulled a book out of the black crack and tossed it toward Zheng Yichen.

Fumbling to catch the book, which was smaller than his palm, he read, “Roasting Meat from Scratch? What the heck?”

With a sense of inexplicable unease, Zheng Yichen opened the first page of the book. Sure enough, it was a cookbook. “Are you planning on making me a cook?”

“If that’s what you intend, I agree,” Loris said flatly. She jumped down from the stone platform she was sitting on and approached Zheng Yichen. Reaching out, she lightly flicked one of his Scales. A prickling sensation spread through him again. He turned his head to look—she had indeed taken another small cup of his blood. The amount was tiny, negligible to him… basically equivalent to the loss from sweating a bit more.

“Are you a Vampire?” This scene finally made him unable to hold back, and he asked.

“No.” Placing the cup aside, Loris didn’t explain why she did this. She simply gave a straightforward example. She pulled off one of her gloves and grabbed the wolf head Zheng Yichen had discarded nearby. In her hand, the wolf head rapidly withered and turned to dust. In less than a second, it had completely vanished from Zheng Yichen’s sight.

“Whoa!?” If he had body hair, Zheng Yichen’s would surely be standing on end right now. Her small hands had touched him many times before. “Is that an active ability?”

“It’s passive.”

“……”

“It doesn’t work on you, so I’m quite fond of you.”

“If it worked on me, wouldn’t I have turned to ash long ago?” Zheng Yichen’s mouth twitched slightly. If it had such a powerful effect on something already dead, how much worse would it be on living things?

“Correct,” Loris nodded.

“Wait… then what do you usually eat?” Zheng Yichen suddenly realized something. If Loris had such a terrifying passive ability that caused things she touched to turn to dust, what did she eat? Dust?

“You don’t need to worry about that,” Loris glanced at Zheng Yichen. “The meat is about to burn.”

“Oh, right! Almost!” Quickly flipping the meat on the grill, Zheng Yichen looked at the slightly charred parts. They still seemed edible, and it would be a shame to waste them. He decided to eat them himself. As he placed a few new pieces of meat on the grill, Loris swiftly skewered one of the roasted pieces. Using some unknown method, she fully infused the small half-cup of blood into the meat.

“This piece is a bit charred…”

“It’s fine,” Loris said without looking up. Watching her completely engrossed in eating, Zheng Yichen felt an inexplicable sense of… pity.

Though she wouldn’t say what she usually ate, one could easily guess that obtaining food must be very difficult for her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t enjoy his poorly roasted meat so much!

Watching her finish one piece, Zheng Yichen couldn’t help but pick up a fresh one. “Want another?”

“I’ve had enough,” she wiped the corner of her mouth. “I’m fond of you, so I won’t treat you as a tool.”

Scratching his head, Zheng Yichen tossed the roasted meat in his hand into his mouth, chewed briefly, and swallowed. “Let’s not talk about that. What do you plan to teach me?”

“That depends on what you can learn.”

“You mean like Magic aptitude? Once you detect which Elemental Affinity someone has, they can learn that type?” Zheng Yichen sat down on the ground, immediately intrigued. Since he had crossed into a world with supernatural powers, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t interested in them!

“You’re overthinking it.”