CHAPTER 38: A SECRET ADMIRER PERHAPS

"T-there it is." The rabbit beastman pointed out before scurrying away.

Theo barely looked at him as he disappeared from sight and instead turned his focus onto the hut the beastman had pointed out. He was used to weaker beastman getting scared of him because of his power level.

It probably also didn’t help that he was carrying a deer carcass over his shoulder, having returned from hunting. He’d already skinned and cleaned the carcass before returning to the village, giving the fur to Elder Samuel as promised.

Now he planned to roast some of the meat and smoke the rest so they’d have food on their journey. He could add some vegetables too, but was too tired to do that today.

He could do that tomorrow once he had his chat with Elder Samuel. Hopefully, the older beastman knew of a way for them to communicate with the Forest City.

The scent of rabbit was heavy in the air as Theo walked up the hill to the hut and at first Theo assumed it was because of the village belonging to the Rabbit Clan that the scent was just everywhere, but he was also wrong.

As he walked up the hut, he spotted a bunch of rabbit beastmen running around the hut doing different things. And in the center of it all stood Serena, giving out orders to them as they moved to repair the hut.

In her arms, she held something wrapped tightly in animal furs. Theo wasn’t sure what it was at first until he spotted a tail curling around her forearm.

Must be Kiro in there. Theo mused as he walked over to Serena and called out, "I see someone has been busy."

"I wanted to do the cleaning myself, but they wouldn’t let me." Serena sighed, turning to Theo. She glanced over at the deer on his shoulder before looking back at him. "We’ll probably have to cook outside. There’s some firewood in the corner over there... Kiro, why don’t you go help Theo."

The animal furs in Serena’s arms moved and a furry head peeked out. The cub murmured softly in beast tongue, "Is she gone?"

"She is." Serena said gently, bending down to let Kiro down. "Elder Samuel promised not to let her come here so you’re safe okay."

Kiro pouted, but shifted into his human form and ran to grab some firewood to make a fire for dinner. Theo, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow at Serena, silently asking what had happened.

Serena put the animal furs away in her basket and sighed, "Elder Samuel’s granddaughter grabbed Kiro’s tail and called it weird when he was getting some straw for me... The two also got into a fight."

Honestly, Serena was glad Elder Samuel took Kiro’s side on this one. Beastwoman were mostly seen as precious and right no matter what. Accidentally hurting one, even if they were at fault, meant nothing.

Kiro could’ve easily been kicked out of the village even if he was a young cub. However, Elder Samuel was quick to realize his granddaughter had been in the wrong too.

Beastmen’s tails, especially feline ones, were quite sensitive and they rarely allowed anyone to touch them. So, when Becky suddenly grabbed Kiro’s tail out of curiosity, it freaked out the poor cub.

He instinctively shifted and was about to attack her when Elder Samuel’s mate got between them. She had one of her other mates get Elder Samuel and calm down Kiro.

Becky had gotten the scolding of her life and Elder Samuel had apologized to them, giving them a small pouch of salt as compensation as well as a promise to keep Becky away from them.

Normally, Serena wouldn’t have let things go so easily, but Kiro asked her to. So, she took the salt, since it was something she couldn’t say no to considering its value, before heading back to continue repairs on the hut.

"I see..." Theo murmured, glancing at Kiro with pity. "I’ll be sure to check on him."

Serena gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

"Serena, where should I put these?" A rabbit beastman suddenly asked, running to her with some wood in his hands.

He gazed at Theo for a second, his head tilting up slightly before he turned his attention to Serena. As soon as he was looking at Serena, the back of the rabbit beastman’s neck was red.

Once the beastman was gone to do what Serena had told him to, Theo moved closer to Serena and bent down to whisper in her ear, "It seems like you have an admirer."

"Really..." Serena turned her head to look at Theo, pursing her lip.

Theo felt himself moving his head back a little, surprised by how close their faces were despite being the one to put them in that position.

Straightening up, he coughed, "I’m just saying... Don’t be surprised if anyone confesses to you."

"Like that would ever happen." Serena rolled her eyes, turning to her basket. "By the way, I was given some salt. Will you need it?"

"Sure." Theo murmured.

He glanced over at the rabbit beastman who had shown interest in Serena, noticing his brown rabbit ears were drooping. It didn’t take a genius to realize that the beastman had heard what they said.

But perhaps that made things easier. The beastman probably wouldn’t try confessing and getting outright rejected. Then again, beastmen were generally persistent.

Well, it’s not my problem if he tries. Theo shrugged to himself. It’s not like hearing this conversation wasn’t a warning to him.

"Here." Serena suddenly said, making Theo turn his attention back to her.

Serena handed him a small pouch and he took it before heading to where Kiro was eagerly building a fire. He moved to go help the cub out, letting the fire burn for a bit.

While it was burning, he had Kiro go get him some large leaves and wood to prepare the meat. He sectioned enough for them to eat tonight before preparing the rest to smoke.