Chapter 495: The Foraging Walk and the Sealed Passage

While eating and chatting.

It came as a surprise that the halfling Lily had also once submitted heroic tales to a newspaper.

She said the Chivalry Alliance had quite a few bards, all skilled at spinning stories out of thin air.

Spending time with them meant constantly being egged on.

So when bored, Lily would also pick up her pen and write down tales of chivalry and righteousness, but what she wrote were all short pieces — unlike Dimia's long-form, heavy-flavored, smut-and-violence novels.

The two girls were kindred spirits; chatting and chatting, they hit it off at once.

After the meal, they even arranged to stroll together down New Lanke Street to check out Shi Ying Town's night market, exploring the mysterious bookshop hidden somewhere within.

Rod had no intention of joining in on an outing between girls.

He packed up a large platter of grilled scorpion, grilled bird, and grilled snake — a mixed grill — to bring back for the little horse-girl Little Little Bangde and the big squirrel Cui Qian to try.

But when he got to her place, he found she wasn't home.

The tree spirit Vivian, the half-deer Miss Xiao Ke, and the little horse-girl Little Little Bangde all lived together, and not only the horse-girl — the other two were out as well.

Rod sent Vivian a 【Far Whisper Chain】, and only then learned that their dinner today was a foraging walk.

A so-called foraging walk, you see.

Was when the three of them wandered idly through the forest, plucking and tasting any ripe wild fruit they spotted, sharing it all together, until they were full.

It just so happened that the three of them shared similar habits — each needing an irregular meal of wild fruit.

The other girls in the forest rarely took part.

The elf Kali would do so too, but she was used to going solo; even if she seemed interested, she'd only ever act alone.

Soon enough.

Rod spotted the girls' group in the pine district.

There turned out to be more than just the three of them.

The expressionless tree spirit Vivian and the loving-faced half-deer Miss Xiao Ke, who was holding the little horse-girl Little Little Bangde's hand, walked side by side.

At the very front, apparently serving as the vanguard, was the big squirrel Cui Qian, who had found a long tree branch from somewhere and was wildly swinging it with her short little hands.

A few other grey squirrels from Lotatosek who'd come over from the Tree Realm for a holiday were also clustered along with them.

Some climbed all over Little Little Bangde, playing around — one speaking in Grey Squirrel, another in the continent's common tongue; whether they could actually understand each other was anyone's guess, but somehow they were communicating.

Others sat directly on Miss Xiao Ke's deer back, some puffing out their little bellies and lying down to rest, some clinging to Miss Xiao Ke's waist and letting out strange shrieks as they were bounced around.

It was a good thing the other grey squirrels were much smaller than Cui Qian, or Miss Xiao Ke wouldn't be able to carry them.

Most of them were squabbling over spots on Vivian's shoulders and head.

After all, she was a tree spirit, naturally more beloved by the grey squirrels.

The forest's bioluminescent plants shimmered in the night as the foraging-walk army swelled.

And they were all cute and beautiful girls or adorable creatures — how could it not look good?

Rod stared at the scene in a slight daze.

He couldn't shake the feeling that this was the kind of treatment reserved for some runaway princess in a Disney animation.

Rod stepped forward slowly.

Before he even showed himself, Vivian spotted him first.

She turned her head and looked straight into the pitch-black woods; as the sound of crunching leaves drew closer, every member of the foraging walk froze, the lively atmosphere suddenly stiffened, and they all stared fixedly in that direction too.

Only when Rod appeared carrying the food box did they cheer again.

"Good evening, everyone."

Rod greeted them with a smile.

"Rod!!!" Little Little Bangde slipped free of Miss Xiao Ke's hand and galloped over cheering.

"What the heck, it's Mr. Rod — I thought it was finally my moment to shine!"

The big squirrel Cui Qian, who at some unknown point had shrunk behind Vivian, said as much.

She huffed and puffed and swung her tree-branch spear again, intending to pull off a flashy full spin of the "spear," but her hands were too short — smack! — and she whacked herself on the head.

"Why the sneaking around, scared me half to death!"

Miss Xiao Ke was already timid by nature, and now she patted her chest, still feeling the aftershock of the fright.

Because of winter fat storage, the half-deer girl's chest had grown quite a bit; one pat like that made it wobble enticingly.

But she immediately noticed Rod staring, and her face flushed red.

She hurriedly shielded herself with her slender little arms and shot him a reproachful glare.

Then, feeling it was too suggestive, she secretly checked Vivian — and only breathed a sigh of relief once she knew Vivian hadn't noticed.

As for Vivian.

She had already snuggled into Rod's arms, gently kissed his neck, then drifted slowly away and stood beside him without moving, neatly making room for Little Little Bangde to come barreling in.

Outside the duration of the 【Lust Ke Yin】's effect, she would revert to the tree spirit's emotional flatness; though she still stayed close to Rod, she no longer felt she had to cling to him every waking moment.

Rod affectionately rubbed the back of her neck, leaned in, and whispered: "Are you still wearing the spider-silk stockings I gave you?"

Vivian's innocent big eyes, glowing with white light, blinked once, and she nodded.

"Bring them over to the gun room tonight, I want to see you wear them."

"Stockings, uncomfortable."

The girl stated her feelings plainly.

Tree spirits didn't like clothes that clung too tight — supposedly it interfered with their contact with the force of nature.

"Alright, next time I'll have Watching Yuna knit you a loose-fitting pair."

Rod naturally wouldn't force her.

But Vivian hesitated a moment, then said:

"Cut it, make it shorter, Vivian, okay."

You mean a shorter length is acceptable?

Rod thought about it briefly.

Among the series of girls in white silk long stockings, a pure and cute white silk short stocking girl with a blank expression appeared.

Seems not bad.

"Sure, let Miss Xiao Ke help you shorten it, she knows how."

"Vivian, cut short, Rod, don't, ignore, Vivian."

The eyes shining with Bai Guang barely changed, but a faint trace of unease could be glimpsed.

Rod smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I'll never ignore you, because I like Vivian the most."

"Vivian, like, Rod, also. Like, forest, same."

A love like the forest.

This is probably the most sacred form of love a tree spirit can express.

Vivian's obedience level increase is actually simple to explain—it's nothing more than protecting this forest.

Not long ago when driving away the Witherers, it actually increased by a small two points, smoothly reaching 98, still the highest among all the enslaved subjects.

Rod has a premonition that once obedience reaches 100, the Nu Yi Zhou should undergo some changes.

Wait

Has Little Little Bangde grown again?

The little horse girl in his arms, clinging to his chest and waist while acting cute, had a thick, solid chest that made him feel awkward.

Miss Xiao Ke seemed to notice something.

Frowning, she came over and cautiously pulled Little Little Bangde away.

"Hey, what are you here for? You're not joining our food walk."

Her tone was dissatisfied, but a hint of anticipation was hidden within.

That's how tsundere works.

Even if she wants him to join, she'll never say it.

Rod picked up the food box and smiled:

"I brought everyone extra food."

"Extra food!" *2

Little Little Bangde and Cui Qian rejoiced at the same time.

The other squirrels responded and came over.

As soon as the food box was opened, the aroma of roasted meat instantly spread.

Miss Xiao Ke was stunned for a moment, then furious: "You're causing trouble! You came to disrupt our food walk! The food walk is vegetarian!"

"It's the dead of winter, why still vegetarian? Eat more of this to supplement protein."

Rod smiled and took out a roasted scorpion from inside, holding it up to Miss Xiao Ke.

Half-deer people are timid, and girls generally fear these insect foods, so he originally intended to tease her.

But unexpectedly, her petite nose sniffed twice, and an expression of interest actually appeared.

"You're not afraid?"

"Afraid of what? Scorpions?" Miss Xiao Ke said curiously, "Before you came, I would often run to the edge of the Death Desert to catch scorpions and roast them to eat. It's just that after you gave Little Little Bangde's food expenses every so often, I stopped going."

"Uh"

Miscalculated—Miss Xiao Ke is originally a beastfolk, of course not like the city girls from the previous life who were pampered and delicate.

Saying so.

Miss Xiao Ke wiped her hands, pinched a roasted scorpion with two snow-white fingers, and put the whole thing in her mouth to chew.

A satisfied smile appeared.

As for the others.

Little Little Bangde goes without saying, standing out as someone who loves to eat everything.

The big squirrel Cui Qian was originally a bit hesitant, but seeing Little Little Bangde eating so deliciously, she also tried some.

Vivian merely tasted a little, sitting properly on a rock, quietly tearing at a small piece of snake meat.

"Delicious! Hmph. You should try it too, it'll taste bad once it gets cold."

"Uh, forget it."

To be honest.

Although Rod brought it over, he himself actually doesn't eat roasted scorpions.

Miss Xiao Ke's round little deer eyes looked at him curiously, seemingly seeing through something.

A maternal smile appeared on her face as she removed the tail and head parts of one of the scorpions.

"Here, isn't it not scary now? Open your mouth, ah—"

Saying so.

She pinched the roasted scorpion and held it to Rod's mouth, actually intending to feed him.

Noticing Rod's gaze, her face reddened: "It's not that I want to feed you! It's just that you paid for the food but never tasted it, it feels impolite!"

Rod couldn't tell whether to laugh or cry, stepped forward, and bit down, taking her tender fingers along with it.

He casually teased with his tongue a few times.

Miss Xiao Ke stiffened all over, glanced at Vivian who hadn't noticed, and quickly pulled her hand out.

"Y-you lecherous dog!"

The night wind blew.

The food walk had turned into a roasted-dish tasting party.

Everyone sat around in a circle, chatting and eating as they went.

Rod had already eaten his fill, so he found Miss Xiao Ke and began asking about Coral Bay.

To deal with the dark elf sorcerer's ability to resurrect endlessly, Lady Kali had been discussing with Miss Xiao Ke and researching countermeasures.

The half-deer's prophetic ability could, to a certain extent, verify the ritual Lady Kali was conducting.

Miss Xiao Ke sighed, not daring to be too optimistic:

"Right now, the only thing that can clearly and completely prevent resurrection is the 【Victory Pod】 in your hand. The 【Hound Fiend Feast】 that Lady Kali has mastered can deeply bind the subject's body and soul together, but it only has a 50% success rate."

And the 【Hound Fiend Feast】 can usually only target one person at a time, and setting it up consumes a great deal of magical power and spellcasting materials."

"The cost-to-effectiveness ratio is too low."

"Exactly, so Lady Kali began to change her approach, shifting instead to researching spells to seal the Infernal passage. Why, not long ago when she went to the Sword Coast region with you, that was precisely to look for the relevant spellcasting materials."

As Miss Xiao Ke spoke, she once again tore off the tail, legs, and head of a roasted scorpion.

She glanced up, saw that Vivian wasn't paying attention to this side, and only then secretly slipped it into Rod's plate.

(End of chapter)