Blood Assimilation

The man stopped in his tracks and turned around to face them with a suspicious gaze. He appeared to have lowered his guard, but he still seemed skeptical of their identity. With a nagging suspicion, he doubtfully asked: "Why are you here? I don't think you're from the nearby village. I haven't seen you the last time I was there, and I've met everyone in that village."

"We're just lost hunters from a different village." Liena answered politely, Brawler Randy merely observing the play being put on by her with interest as he didn't expect her to suddenly change her demeanor to put on an act.

He could infer that she was most likely putting on a pretense to catch her target off guard, making her job much easier, so he didn't plan on interfering by adding on to her words.

"Is that the case? I thought you were bandits. Then, which village are you from?"

As if waiting for this question, Liena quickly replied: "West Wind Village. We were experiencing drought and our hunting forest yielded less game than usual. We decided to venture out of the comfort of our village and search for food in other villages and hunting forests."

After listening to her narration, the man became silent briefly, seemingly pondering her words, before stating: "It must've been hard walking all the way here."

"You must be thirsty. Can I offer you some water? There is a creek not far from here with fresh water. I happen to have some boiled and filtered. It is safe for drinking. If you don't mind, you can come in to rest.

I live here by myself. It's good to have some company once in a while."

The man cordially offered, walking into his hut without waiting for their reply. Liena sharply exchanged a meaningful glance with Brawler Randy before taking a step forward, with the latter following behind her. They both entered the hut after the man.

Inside the hut...

Liena and Brawler Randy sat on a makeshift chair offered by the man. They sat side by side as they surveyed the interior of the hut, examining the rudimentary setup. Meanwhile, the man went to the back of the interior space where the storage was situated within the hut to fetch them some water.

While they waited, Brawler Randy looked around the interior briefly before turning to Liena with an ambivalent expression.

"Of course, you don't have to stay if you don't want to. It's just that it's getting dark outside. Since you wanted a place to rest for a bit, I just thought it would be inappropriate to kick you out at night when feral wild beasts roamed the forest."

The man pointed to the corner, where the giant rabbit-like wild beast, freshly caught earlier lay, and added: "Look, as you can see, I just caught a wild beast, preparing to cook it for dinner. If you don't mind wild beast meat, I can share it with you."

The man mentioned the last statement as a test because he presumed they might not be who they claimed to be. If they were from the city, they might not like wild beast meat. From his experience associating with city people who came to his village in the past, he concluded that people in the cities all preferred eating magical beast meat as it was more delicious than wild beast meat.

He couldn't discern their identities from their clothes. Liena changed into normal attire to blend into her mission environment beforehand. Brawler Randy, on the other hand, was still wearing a simple garment he bought in some random shop. He didn't like dressing excessively, so his current attire didn't give away his identity or situation.

Contrary to his expectation, Liena gratefully responded: "Since you're offering, we can't be impolite to reject. Thank you for your hospitality."

"Then, it's settled." The man said, clapping his hands.

"Just wait for a moment, I shall prepare dinner soon. I don't have a kitchen, so I'll have to cook outside using firewood."

As the man went to pick up the giant rabbit-like wild beast, about to turn around to leave, Liena suddenly stood up, stopping him, pulling out her dagger.

"Wait, can I help you prep the meat? I am quite good at butchering." She offered, twirling her dagger.

Hearing her eager words, the man contemplated for a few moments before nodding.

"Sure, I don't mind. That would save me some time." The man said, gesturing for her to take the giant rabbit-like wild beast.

"Good. You won't regret it." After taking the giant rabbit-like wild beast from him, Liena followed the man outside to take on her role as a butcher, her sharp dagger gleaming with a deadly, cold light.