Chapter 22 - 022: Mr. Village leader
Anaria was still standing outside the leader’s room, completely unaware that Rylan and Kai had already begun searching Ravenfall for her.
The heavy beast aura pressed against her senses, seeming even stronger now that she was standing directly in front of the wooden door. She could feel a strange pressure in the air, enough to make the back of her neck prickle. Anaria tightened her grip on the small confidence she had gathered and stared at the door.
She had already escaped the village prison, sneaked through the leader’s residence, avoided several guards, and somehow made it all the way here. Turning back now would be ridiculous.
Still, she couldn’t help sighing. "Why does everything I do become complicated?"
The familiar fox-like figure appeared beside her.
[Host is delaying the task.]
Anaria slowly turned her head toward it. "I already know that, at least cheer me up"
[ I do not provide emotional consolation.]
Anaria rolled her eyes. "Obviously."
She looked back at the door. Whatever was inside had to be the reason the entire residence felt so tense. She had been told the village leader was seriously ill, and now she had been given the impossible task of helping him.
Anaria reached for the door.
Whatever happened next, she needed to find out what was wrong with him before the villagers decided her fate for her then she pushed the wooden door inward.
The moment the door opened wider, the oppressive beast aura became even stronger. Anaria instinctively slowed, but she forced herself to step inside.
The room was larger than the ordinary shelters she had seen around Ravenfall, it’s wooden walls surrounded the space, animal hides covered part of the floor, and a large bedding area sat farther inside and on that bedding was the village leader.
Anaria stopped.
A large bear beastman was curled up against the bedding, his massive body overheated and his breathing uneven. His fur was damp with sweat, and his muscles remained tense as though he had spent hours fighting against something only he could feel.
Anaria stared at him.
"So this is the village leader?"
Before she could process what she was seeing, the familiar fox-like figure appeared beside her again.
[Oops, new information detected.]
Anaria looked at the System. "What now?"
[The Village Leader is not suffering from an ordinary illness.]
Her gaze shifted back to the bear "Then what exactly is wrong with him?"
[He is experiencing an intense rut.]
Anaria’s expression went completely blank.She looked at the bear then at the System and again to the bear. "You’re telling me this is the illness you sent me here to cure?"
[His condition requires immediate intervention.]
Anaria rubbed her forehead "Why can’t these beastmen just get normally sick for once?"
The System completely ignored her complaint.
[Host’s survival remains dependent on the Village Leader.]
"Yes, yes. My survival depends on him. You’ve made that painfully clear."
Anaria sighed and looked at the bear again. She had already dealt with Kai during his unstable period, and that experience had left her Fox Soothing ability almost completely exhausted.
She wasn’t about to pretend she could simply use it again "Can’t I use Fox Soothing?"
[Fox Soothing is currently insufficient to manage his present condition.]
Anaria’s shoulders dropped "Of course..."
She studied the bear again, trying to understand what exactly the System expected her to do. The answer seemed obvious to the System, but it certainly wasn’t obvious to her.
"Then how exactly am I supposed to soothe his rut?"
The System remained silent for a moment before responding.
[Host should know what is required.]
Anaria slowly turned her head and narrowed her eyes at the fox-like System "That’s all you have to say"
The System gave no further explanation.
Anaria stared at it for several seconds before finally looking away. Whatever that answer meant, she already had a feeling she wasn’t going to enjoy finding out.
Unfortunately, the bear had noticed her by then his head lifted slightly, and his brown eyes fixed on her. His breathing remained rough as he stared at the unfamiliar female standing inside his room. "Who are you?" he demanded. His voice was low and strained. "And why are you in my section?"
Anaria pointed at herself "Me? The thing here is that I didn’t exactly volunteer for this."
The bear frowned.
"I was brought here by the villagers," Anaria explained. "They said you were the village leader. Then I was thrown into prison because of a misunderstanding, and I somehow landed here"
"But looking at your state" Ananria continued with feigned concern "I can’t just leave you in this state"
His expression tightened immediately "Leave here."
Anaria stared at him "Trust me, I would love to."
His eyes narrowed.
"But apparently I can’t."
"You need to leave before I lose control."
Anaria folded her arms "My life is already going wrong, so you might as well stop arguing and let me help you."
The bear looked at her as though she had completely lost her mind. Anaria ignored his expression and slowly approached.
The closer she got, the stronger the heat coming from his body became. His entire frame was tense, and she could see the effort he was making to restrain himself.
Anaria carefully reached toward him. The moment she touched him, his body stiffened with a strained groan.
She stared at him. "I haven’t even done anything yet."
The System appeared again.
[The Village Leader has been suppressing his rut for several days.]
Anaria paused and looked at the bear whose eyes remained shut as he struggled to control his breathing.
[He deliberately isolated himself to prevent himself from harming others while unstable.]
Anaria glanced at him again, she noticed how exhausted he actually looked. Anaria’s expression softened for half a second before her usual sarcasm returned. "Oh, poor soul. Should I start crying now?"
The bear looked at her "You should still leave."
"No." Anaria said while moving closer and looked directly at him. "I’m not here because I want to be. I’m here because apparently my life depends on getting you through this."
The bear remained silent.
"So cooperate," she continued. "It’ll be easier for both of us."
He watched her for a long moment then, slowly, his resistance eased.
Anaria finally exhaled "Damn my life."
Her gaze dropped to the leather covering the bear had been using to keep himself restrained. It was obvious that he had been relying on it to keep himself from losing control completely, she crouched beside him and reached for it.
The bear immediately tensed again. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"Helping you."
"You don’t know what you’re doing."
Anaria gave him an unimpressed look. "And arguing with me is going to make this easier?"
He fell silent then she carefully loosened the leather covering before pulling it away and tossing it aside.
The moment she looked at him properly, Anaria froze. Her eyes widened, she had expected his rut to be severe, but seeing the full extent of his condition made her realize just how badly he had been struggling.
For several seconds, she simply stared.
The bear noticed her expression and looked away, his ears lowering slightly.
Anaria tried to hold back her reaction but she couldn’t, she then let out a small, incredulous laugh escaped her.
The situation was so ridiculous that she didn’t even know what else to do, she shook her head, still staring at him in disbelief. "So you wanted it after all," she muttered.