Tamed Monster - Chapter 91

It was the monster who taught Sylvia how to hunt.

Ironically enough, she found herself quickly adapting to the situation.

The deeper you went into the swamp, the fewer signs of ordinary wildlife there were. But on the outskirts, where strong monsters and thick magical energy were less common, there was actually a surprising amount of animal life.

While it was hard to find the usual swamp creatures—alligators, otters, snakes—there were plenty of fish everywhere you looked.

“Be quiet. Don’t move from there.”

Her false husband preferred to break off a sturdy, thick branch, fashion it into a crude spear, and then use it to skewer fish.

He made it look easy, but for Sylvia it was anything but. Even after more than thirty tries, she still couldn’t so much as graze a single fish. After one last demonstration, he pointed out a good spot for her to try.

“And here’s another thing you should know. While you’re with me in the swamp, monsters haven’t attacked you because of my presence, but your skin actually gives off a very strong, tempting scent. If you want to mask your smell from fish—or monsters—make use of the mud all around you.”

Throughout their time in the swamp, Sylvia’s skin had felt sticky with an unpleasant dampness. She was almost amazed her body hadn’t started swelling up from it.

In fact, she’d seen plenty of the now dead knights and servants with swollen, waterlogged skin. She glanced down at her own smooth arms.

“That fish keeps its distance because it can smell you. I’ll let you bathe in the river soon, but for now, cover yourself with mud and let’s see if it still avoids you.”

Now that she knew he was three hundred years old, she started to see his experience in a new light.

If he seemed childish at times, maybe it was simply because he’d been alive so long, there was no one left to worry about impressing. Maybe it was a kind of enlightenment—he’d grown so old that his ways were completely out of step with everyone else’s.

“You’re getting distracted…”

“Oh.”

“If you’re not thinking about me, then stop daydreaming and focus.”

The chill in his voice snapped Sylvia back to the moment. She shook off her wandering thoughts, set the branch down in a nearby pile of mud, and began searching for finer mud to smear over her skin.

Surprisingly, it actually felt cool and refreshing, washing away some of her discomfort. Sylvia spent a while just focusing on covering herself.

“That’s enough.”

Even after he spoke, she made sure to cover every inch up to the back of her neck before carefully picking up the branch again.

The thick, long branch felt almost as heavy as a real spear. It had real heft, yet oddly wasn’t hard for her to lift. Her own physical strength had clearly increased—though she still hadn’t realized what her monster-husband had actually done to her body.

She lifted the branch high and got into position, waiting for one of the fish swimming lazily near the surface to drift within range.

By now, her husband had completely erased his presence. Even though he was right in front of her, she could barely sense him at all, which meant he wasn’t a distraction to her hunting.

All she had to do was focus. Sylvia silently counted down. Five, four, three… as soon as the fish came within range—

Whish—

Smack!

The tip of the branch struck the fish square in the body. It flailed once, then went belly-up and floated to the surface. The ‘spear’ stuck into the shallow bottom, and the fish’s body bobbed upward.

For a moment, Sylvia could only gape—then she let out a cry of triumph.

“Wow!”

Forgetting her situation, she found herself celebrating as if she was out on a picnic with her beloved husband, overjoyed at a successful hunt.

Kuinan spread his arms wide as if waiting to be hugged. Sylvia’s smile faded as she caught sight of him, and she forced herself to calm down, tamping down her excitement.

“…”

“…Aren’t you coming?”

Of course she wasn’t going to run into his arms, not just because she’d managed to catch a fish the way he’d taught her.

Instead, Sylvia stepped back to put distance between them. Seeing this, he dropped his arms and simply fished her catch out of the water with his bare hands.

Twist–

He slowly pulled the branch from the fish’s body. It was like a silent warning to her.