Chapter 455 - 399: Po? Your Spouse?
Chapter 455: Chapter 399: Po? Your Spouse?
"He..."
Kaper’s name lingered on the tip of Gu Ning’s tongue, but she cautiously decided against saying it.
"Per..." Cook suddenly spoke.
Both Gu Ning and Kaper froze.
"Cook!" Gu Ning thought Cook was about to reveal the name. She hurriedly pulled at him and whispered in her native tongue, "He’s not a good beastman. Don’t say your brother’s name."
Cook licked her, then raised a paw and waved at Kaper.
Kaper snapped back to reality. He pulled a chair up to the table, grabbed a large strawberry from the full spread of food, and took a big bite. Leaning back, he looked at Gu Ning and asked, "Per? Your mate?"
Cook: "Per... bro..."
Gu Ning tugged at the fur on Cook’s rump. Cook stuck his tongue out to look at Gu Ning, but upon seeing Ningning’s frown, he immediately retracted it, shut his mouth obediently, and stared seriously at the beastman before them.
Kaper finished the strawberry in two bites and picked up a large chicken leg to gnaw on. He asked, feigning ignorance, "So is this ’Per’ your brother or your mate? What’s his full name?"
Gu Ning looked up, thought for a moment, and said, "Amber."
Kaper’s chewing paused. He swallowed the food in his mouth. "Amber?"
Gu Ning had just made it up on the spot. "Amber" was a transliteration of Kaper’s name in her native tongue. She didn’t know how to say "amber" in the beastmen’s common language, but glancing at the beastman’s jewel-like blue eyes, she bluffed, "A gemstone. It means gemstone."
Kaper’s heart stirred slightly. The corners of his mouth twitched as he asked, "Are you from the Sea Clan? What’s your name?"
’The Sea Clan loves using names like that—Coral, Pearl, Crystal, Shell, and so on.’
’The ones from the Sea Clan who have studied on the mainland tend to pick more thoughtful names, though.’
’Her accent doesn’t sound like it’s from around the Beast Alliance, either.’
Gu Ning didn’t speak.
’Why isn’t he leaving? What’s with all the questions? Isn’t he afraid someone will come in and capture him?’
Kaper asked again, "What did you say this Amber was to you just now? Your brother?"
Gu Ning: "My mate."
Kaper leaned forward slightly, as if he hadn’t heard clearly. "What?"
Gu Ning felt this beastman was being deliberately deaf. She raised her voice, "Brother! *His* brother!"
Cook: "WOOF!"
Kaper straightened up, clearly enjoying that, and automatically ignored the last part of her sentence.
’Even though he knew she was talking nonsense, he just liked the sound of it.’
"Him." Kaper pointed at Cook with the chicken leg. "This Amber is his brother, and also your mate, is that right?"
Gu Ning clamped her mouth shut.
’This beastman is such a gossip, and he’s eating our food!’
Gu Ning studied the beastman’s relaxed demeanor. The more she looked, the more something felt off. She had a nagging feeling that he was sent by a rival of the beastmen around her, deliberately trying to catch them in a mistake.
Thinking about all the trouble they’d encountered on their journey, Gu Ning thought to herself, ’As I suspected, I can’t tell the truth.’
Cook drooled while staring at the chicken leg in Kaper’s hand. He’d been too out of sorts to eat earlier when they were grooming his fur.
Kaper offered the chicken leg to him, then snatched it back just as Cook stretched his head forward for a bite. Watching the little mutt whine in frustration, he went back to gnawing on the leg himself.
’The thing on my hand consumes too much energy. Plus, I’ve been running and hiding for days, so I need to eat a lot.’
Gu Ning noticed that although the beastman had good table manners, he ate as if he hadn’t seen food in days. He hadn’t stopped since his first bite, and in no time, he had polished off a third of the massive spread.
Taking advantage of a lull in his eating, Gu Ning hid behind Cook and sent a brief message to Philinos:
[Get back here, quick!]
(Sending failed. Please check your network connection.)
Gu Ning: ?
"TAP, TAP..."
Kaper’s fingertips tapped rhythmically on the tabletop. A faint blue light seeped from his arm, blocking the room’s network signal.
Watching the female who had tried to send a message while hiding behind his foolish little brother, only to awkwardly lower her arm in defeat, he tugged on his sleeve. "Why are you keeping a Mixed Breed like him around?"
’I know for a fact that Cook didn’t know any females before his regression. The guy is timid and shy; he never had a chance to meet any.’
’From what I overheard of her conversation with the dog on the floor just now, she met Cook in Zone 19.’
’That makes it even harder to believe.’
’A place like Zone 19... forget females, most males wouldn’t want to spend any extra time there. Even if she went to Zone 19 for some special reason, Cook would have had little chance to get acquainted with a female like her.’
Kaper sized up the small female before him, his gaze sweeping across her face.
’She’s really bundled up. The only thing exposed is her eyes, and even those are hidden by messy hair. I can just barely make out the cunning glint in them.’
’This female seems as timid and honest as Cook, but in reality, she’s a complete liar. Not a single true word out of her mouth.’
’But she genuinely has an unusual affection for Cook, and it goes without saying for him.’
’Cook has regressed this badly, yet she’s patient enough to blow-dry his fur, which is as thick as a blanket. She’s clearly scared herself, but she still stands protectively in front of him.’
He was very curious. What on earth had happened between her and Cook during the days he was gone?
"He is... my mate’s younger brother."
Gu Ning, worried the beastman would ask for her terminal again, continued with her appeasement strategy. "Amber... is gone. I have to take good care of him."
Although she was deliberately playing the sympathy card, she was also telling the truth, and a bit of genuine emotion unintentionally seeped into her tone.
Kaper didn’t believe her.
’I’d rather believe Cook just got incredibly lucky, that she took a liking to him in Zone 19. Then maybe it happened to be the Mutant Species’ culling season, and Vine and the others came back to Zone 19 to give instructions about him. One thing led to another, and Cook ended up staying by her side.’
’But aside from Cook getting lucky, none of these guesses hold water.’
Kaper glanced at the little female’s still-damp hair and didn’t press her further.
He was more or less finished eating. After wiping his mouth and hands with a napkin, he beckoned to the little female. "Come here."
Gu Ning didn’t move.
Kaper stood up. "Then I’ll come to you?"
Gu Ning: "Don’t come over here!"
Kaper spread his hands. "I don’t have a weapon, and I wouldn’t harm a female."
Gu Ning didn’t believe him for a second.
Kaper raised a hand toward Cook. "Then I’ll just have to hit the dog."
Gu Ning: "..."
She glanced at Lanuo lying peacefully on the floor, took a deep breath, and took a step forward. "I’m warning you, if you dare to touch him..."
"You’ll beat me to death?" Kaper chuckled. "I can’t beat that bird of yours. I’m wary of him, so don’t worry."
Kaper: "I’m scared of you too. Maybe you’re even stronger than he is."
Gu Ning couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or sarcastic. This beastman gave her a strange feeling. He’d been antagonistic since the moment he appeared, yet she didn’t feel the heart-pounding terror she usually felt when facing a bad beastman. Cook didn’t seem hostile toward him either.
"But I’m short on money," Kaper said. "Give me your hand."
Gu Ning glanced back at Cook, then hesitantly took another small step. She slipped the terminal off her right wrist behind her back before extending her hand toward him.
Kaper chuckled. "I’m not going to snatch your terminal."
With that, he pulled her hand over, turned it palm-up, and rubbed the slightly rough lines and calluses that hadn’t yet faded. "You don’t use melee weapons, and these aren’t calluses from a gun. Did you go to Zone 19 to do hard labor?"