╔═══ Author's note ════╗
Double update! Enjoy.
╚════════════════╝
"I traded it," I said, but it came out more like a whisper because I felt like I did something wrong, "They said...they would give me gems. Later. Two deer females."
"You traded my mates' piss?" Madam turned to me, and I jumped back, "With strangers?"
I nodded, then shook my head, then nodded again. I didn't know which answer she wanted. I settled with the truth, "The berry bushes had enough markings on them, so I thought...I didn't need more."
"If you need money, you can ask us," Baron said, sounding a little hurt, "Did you think we wouldn't give you any? Let me call Vick to fill up your chest with treasures, okay? Michael owns all mines in his desert territory. Ha can give you enough gems to last you a lifetime. If you want pearls, then Gold's seas have the rarest pearls. Kurus' forests─"
I raised my free hand in the air to stop him, "Money is...not safe in my hands. It's mine...and then it's gone."
Moyu rubbed his chin, "Let's give her some anyway. I want to see what happens."
Baron held his laughter back, while Madam marched forward, "Imagine if we became poor because it goes missing in Little Miss' hands."
Moyu turned to the side, covering his smile with his palm, "Sounds like a good challenge. We stopped appreciating money ever since Romeo took over the finances."
"Is Romeo good at...managing money?" I asked, thinking of asking him for some tips.
"There's nothing he can't get a hand on. You want a whole planet? He already has a few in his possession," Baron said.
Planet as in some plantations, I assumed. I didn't know how rich the owners were, but it must have been nice not to worry about food and shelter.
I nodded in amazement, and Madam looked back, as if she knew what I was thinking, "Don't ask him for money, he will definitely give you more than you can handle."
Baron scratched his cheek, "I remember when I asked him for a cooking pot, and he got me a whole factory team that specializes in making cooking pots, to make me the best pot ever made. I just wanted something to cook my morning stew in."
Moyu shook his head, still in disbelief, "Never ask Romeo for anything. Don't even mention that you need anything in his presence."
I tried to remember if I ever asked Romeo for anything, but couldn't remember it.
The deer village was next to the sheep village, separated by a river. The river marked the border between their territories.
We passed by the sheep village, getting curious stares from the locals. My hand in Baron's, Moyu behind me, and Madam walking ahead. We definitely looked like we didn't belong here.
And as if to prove that, we walked right into the middle of a sheep gathering, where the sheep females were being slaughtered, used as an offering to the Royal family of tigers from how many tiger beastmen gathered there. At least ten.
The row of females stood at the edge of the village, their eyes filled with fear.
The predators seemed to be amused by it, making bets on who would last the longest as they got clawed to death, one after the other. Some dropped as soon as the first claw touched them, the others held out until their innards were spilled on the ground.
"Look at their faces. They are not even trying to fight back," a tiger beastman laughed, his black and orange tail swishing behind him.
"They are not even fighting. This is boring," another tiger complained, his claws coated in blood.
This place wasn't a usual habitat for the tiger beastmen, the strongest ones lived in different environments. The Kushan's royal family brought tigers to forests that were not suitable for them, making the lives of the locals much harder.
In exchange for living in their territory, the locals had to pay tribute, and the tribute was always their females.
I turned my head away, not wanting to see anymore, my hand tightening around Baron's. His hand squeezed mine back in comfort.
It didn't take long for a tiger beastman to notice us, no, Madam. Madam's beauty stood out so much that the males couldn't take their eyes off of her.
I was a sheep, and sheep were not worth even a glance, so they ignored me. They eyed Moyu and Baron instead, calculating their chances.
"Outsiders," the biggest tiger beastman addressed Moyu and Baron, his voice as deep as his purr, "You are in the wrong place. This is the Royal Family's hunting ground."
"Good thing we are not hunting then," Baron replied, his fingers flexing around my hand, "We are only passing through."
The tiger's eyes finally moved to me as if I was a weird kind of pet.
"A black sheep?" he laughed, "Did you lose a bet or something? Is that why you are holding a freak's hand?"
He approached us, his steps confident, his eyes on me, "I have never seen one in person. It's so ugly, yet so fascinating. I bet it tastes bad. I heard that their meat is inedible."
I shrank in Baron's shadow, trying to hide behind him, but he picked me up and made me wrap my legs around his waist instead and my arms around his neck, "I wouldn't know. She is not for eating, you see."
I no longer saw the tiger as Baron hid my face in his chest, his hand on the back of my head, keeping me there.
"Which one of you is her mate?" the tiger asked, probably referring to Madam, who was standing at a distance.
"Both of us," Baron replied.
"What? A female with more than one mate?"
I didn't know how the tiger beastman assumed that Moyu and Baron were weak because they couldn't secure a female to themselves, but he was very loud about it, "What a shame. What a joke of a male you are to share your female. How can you even live with yourself?"