Luckily, they discovered it in time, and most of the fish were saved.
Celeste breathed a sigh of relief and sprinkled some salt on the grilled fish; the aroma filled the air immediately.
The fish was golden brown and looked incredibly appetizing. Veyra and Lucien had never imagined that something they had always found difficult to eat before could smell so delicious.
Seeing their expressions, Celeste couldn't help but smile and said, "The mushroom soup is almost ready, too. We will eat everything together when it's all done."
After a while, the mushroom soup was ready. Celeste couldn't help but swallow, and despite how hot it was, she still took a small sip.
It was delicious!
She did not want to spit it out, so she hopped around because of the heat, blowing on it with her delicate little mouth.
After swallowing, she turned around and said, "It's all done, you both can try it out now."
They took a bite, and their eyes lit up; it was delicious!
Not only Veyra, but even Lucien couldn't stop his mouth, one bite after another.
The aroma of the grilled fish and the mushroom soup quickly attracted the beastmen living next to them, who all walked out of their house and stared longingly at them, or rather, the food itself.
The bolder women cautiously walked towards Celeste and asked if they could have a taste.
"Come and eat together, there's still a lot. Just remember to watch out for the fish bones." Celeste quickly agreed.
[Limited-time Quest Completed!]
[Reward: +15 Survival Points]
[Achievement Unlocked: Aroma Weaver!]
[Achievement Reward: +1 Bag of Sugar]
The limited-time quest was completed really easily.
One of the bolder fox beastmen transformed into its beast form and rubbed its head against her leg, "Beautiful female, my name is Ren, a gray fox beastman, and I sincerely request you to be my mate."
Celeste paused for a moment, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I am not interested in finding a mate right now."
Ren was confused. Why would a female not be interested in finding a mate?
He decided to try his luck. "But little female, I'm a level 3 beastman. Although I am not as strong as the young city lord, I can still protect you."
In the beast world, females would usually have at least five mates to ensure sufficient protection and to reproduce. If there are too few of them, they might not be able to survive the cold winter.
She shook her head again. "Ren, you're a good beastman, and you will find the right mate. But I'm not the female for you."
Veyra and Lucien both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw her refuse without hesitation, especially Lucien. He was a serpent beastman, a cold-blooded beastman, and most females usually wouldn't choose to mate with cold-blooded beastmen because they weren't as considerate as other beastmen. His only advantage was his strength, but he knew that Celeste wasn't the type of woman who particularly cared about levels.
That night, after Celeste cleaned herself up, she went directly to bed. The beds here were nothing like the ones she slept in in the modern world. They were essentially just large stones flattened out, with a few animal hides spread on top, but Celeste was already really satisfied with this.
Lucien followed her into the room and purposely slammed the door shut, nearly smashing it into Veyra's nose.
"Damn it," he muttered. "He was one step faster than me."
I also want to sleep together with Celeste, he cried inside.
On the other side, Lucien transformed his lower body into a snake's tail, coiling it around Celeste's legs.
She struggled for a moment, but was completely unable to move. Giving up the struggle, she found a comfortable position in his arms and asked, "Lucien... How were you able to find me?"
Lucien knew what she was asking, or more precisely, he would never forget it.
He unconsciously holds her tightly, feeling her body temperature and the warmth of her presence.
"I found you based on the clues you left." She heard him slowly say.
…
After Lucien hunted and caught a wild boar, he hurried back to the cave. But instead of finding Celeste waiting for him inside, he found the ground full of scattered rocks and the corpse of a beastman.
He swam closer to examine the body and realized it looked familiar.
"Hiss~"
"Isn't this Draven's body?"
There was a time when Lucien nearly lost his life while killing a level 5 demon beast. When he finally extracted the demon beast's core, it was stolen by a spider beastman who had been hiding nearby.
The spider beastman intended to kill Lucien as well, but at this time, a level 6 wolf beastman happened to pass by, forcing him to flee. Gravely injured and utterly exhausted, Lucien had no strength left to pursue the stolen core and could only watch helplessly as the spider beastman disappeared.
After recovering from his injuries, Lucien went to find Draven, and the two fought. Although they were both level 5 beastmen, Draven was no match for Lucien. During the fight, Draven swallowed the level 5 demon beast core, attempting for a chance to level up and to kill Lucien, but he failed, and Lucien seized the opportunity to severely injure him. At this moment, another spider beastman came to help, so Lucien didn't choose to chase him.
Afterward, Lucien was unable to find Draven; he had gone into hiding, and after searching for a while, Lucien eventually gave up.
But what Lucien never expected was that instead of coming after him, Draven would turn his attention to Celeste and attempt to kill her.
Lucien immediately felt anxious, fearing that Celeste would be killed by Draven.
But at the same time, he also smelled the scent of another beastman, and that scent belonged to the level 6 wolf beastman that had passed by him last time!
He swam quickly in that direction, hoping to rescue Celeste, even though he might not be able to survive himself.
"Celeste, wait for me…"