96 W2 (30)

“What’s going on?” Genad asked as he walked into the tiny house where the duo was stuffing their face up.

Feral immediately froze up while Paws simply kept on stuffing his face in and facing Genad he said softly, “I’m cooking.”

With the help of Zero, Dina learned about how the childhood Genad always had homemade meals prepared by his father before his death, which was why she had taken her time to do all this. Her main goal was to raise that meter no matter how, and what better way to awe a person than with delicious food?

Although her main reason was mostly that she wanted to try various recipes on seeing such a plentiful garden, but then again, who wouldn’t?!

“…. you can cook?” Genad asked incredulously, it was rare seeing a male who could cook, let alone do it well, and with how good the kitchen smelled, he could guess that Feral checked out both requirements.

“Yeah, wanna have a bite?” Feral asked while raising up the wooden spoon filled with soup, she had made a simple three-course meal made of only veggies.

For the appetizer, she made grilled pickled vegetables, which was a bit difficult since she had difficulty adjusting to the vegetables and their strangeness but eventually, she got the right consistency.

For the main dish, she prepared a mushroom soup packed densely with mushrooms and accompanied by a bunch of other veggies. And lastly, for the appetizer, she made a fruit salad with citrus sauce.

They were in the middle of tasting every dish before Genad caught up to them and Feral had to coax the pouty Paws to wait for the food to be served properly.

Genad leisurely sat as he watched the duo bustle about, with Paws arranging the table and Feral dishing out the meal and soon the wooden table was filled with assorted dishes, plates, cutleries, glasses, a jug of water, orange and watermelon juice.

With a poof, Paws transformed into a human, a young boy with fluffy white hair and brilliant red eyes who looked around 8 years. Walking steadily, he took a chair and sat next to Feral.

Before Feral could complain Genad cut him off,

“His human form doesn’t take much energy so he should be fine for a while.”

Dina reasoned and thought it made sense, after all the humans were closely related to beasts.

“Dig in!” Feral said with a bright smile after filling out the meal for everyone. Since they had left the aqua demons, they had been surviving simply on wild meat and fruits some of which were bitter and since there was no seasoning for the meat, it was rather bland.

Dina was adamant about not taking the blame for this, after all, how was she to find out the substitute for seasonings just like that? It was admirable in movies but the last thing she wanted was to kill herself from food poisoning due to picking the wrong herb.

The only time they had a decent meal was with the human king and after that, it was back to square one but finally, they were here and Dina was not about to go back to the former days!

‘Goodbye, bland meals!’

“Mhhh~,” Feral moaned as bit off the grizzled veggies, they were so good it hurt. The sweetness was subtle yet distinct, reminiscent of sun-ripened fruits at the peak of their season but it wasn’t all sweetness; there was an undercurrent of gentle bitterness that added to the depth of the dish.

Despite its ragged appearance, the vegetables offered a tender but satisfying crunch with every bite. It was a delightful contrast, the outer appearance hinting at roughness while the interior embraced a comforting softness.

And at each bite, Dina sank into a marvelous dance of contrasting flavors and textures which left her in an awed daze for a while until a light clanking of a spoon awakened her.

“I think… I’ll like some more of this,” Genad motioned to the filled pot of grizzled veggies while tapping at his empty plate causing Feral to burst out into a brilliant smile and with a light nod filled up the male’s plate.

Genad observed the homey atmosphere, the food, the drinks, and the playfulness of the duo as Feral spoonfed the clingy Paws once in a while as it whined like a spoiled brat. He felt a strange feeling of warmth envelope him.

Just like his father… this person was gradually warming up his cold world and that was something not even Cray could do. He didn’t really mind that, in fact, it made him feel good, and although he shouldn’t indulge he found himself subconsciously falling into this honey trap.

‘Ah, what a pain.’

/ Awemeter increased to 80% /

Feral who had been slurping down the thick soup suddenly stopped but immediately continued eating, a tiny smirk adorned his face however, and throughout the meal, his face seemed to contain an almost unconcealable grin.

‘Mission accomplished.’

***

“Feral, come sleep with me,” Genad who lay on the bed lazing about suddenly called out to the lightly clothed male who was placing a cup of tea by his bedside.

Feral froze up, his fair skin flushing in embarrassment as he gave the atrocious male a glare, did he really think he’d fall for that? Obviously not!

“I won’t touch you, just sleep with me,” Genad, however, reassured him the next minute but Feral was still suspicious and after a last-ditch effort to escape with Paws as an excuse, he gave up when Genad didn't seem to be letting the matter go.

‘If you’re gonna order me in the end, why even try coaxing me?!’ Dina berated aggrievedly, talk about abuse of authority!

“Sleep,” Genad’s calm voice resonated through Feral’s ears making him shrivel uncomfortably, with such a sensitive body it made one really want to tease him to death.

With a slight hum of agreement, Feral who had been squirming around in order to find a comfortable position stopped before obediently shutting his eyes to sleep.

Genad watched the male fall asleep, a strange light flashing through his eyes as he pondered something seriously.

Looking at the free male who had smoothly fallen asleep and rolled into a hazardous sleeping position with his leg crossed over him and hands on his neck intimately cuddling with him like he had done it a million times; Genad’s eyes darkened.

With who exactly had he done this?

Agitated, Genad gave a slight pinch to the male’s cheek earning him a slight groan, and with a slur the sleepy male muttered, “…love you… sleep already….”

Genad’s darkened as he glowered at the sleeping male whose rosy lips were slightly parted as his harmonic breath echoed through the room. Genad stared at him for a while, restraint visibly staining his visage; before finally sighing and with a light kiss on those tempting lips he cuddled closer to the male.

“Hm, I kinda like you too.”

/ Awemeter increased to 85% /