novelraw Chapter 314: Bia and Las
Chapter 314: Bia and Las
The morning sunlight filtered weakly through the high, jagged archways of the obsidian scullery, illuminating a truly terrifying mountain of cracked red crab shells and greasy cast-iron cookware.
Ren stood at the wide stone basin, her hands submerged in warm, soapy water, aggressively scrubbing the life out of a wooden platter. Her eyes, however, were completely glazed over. She was entirely zoned out.
Earlier that morning, she had gently but firmly shooed the eager coral and albino snake females out of the kitchen, telling her loyal apprentices to go get some much-needed rest and that she would handle the cleanup alone. In reality, Ren just desperately needed to be by herself.
The System’s devastating bombshell from last night was dwelling incredibly heavily on her thoughts.
Infertile.
How could it not? The last thing most women in any world would ever want to hear is that their womb is a barren wasteland. It felt like a punch straight to the gut. And to make matters infinitely worse, the system had simply dropped the mic and refused to say a single word of explanation after delivering the crushing news!
Still, as Ren furiously scrubbed a stubborn patch of congealed garlic butter, she began reasoning with herself.
There had to be a way to fix it, right?
If her condition was permanent and entirely irreversible, the System would never have given her the ’Conceive a child’ objective for Main Quest 1 in the first place! A quest implied a journey, and a journey implied a solution. Initially, Ren had just been patiently waiting for her natural menstruation cycle to regulate itself, figuring that her body just needed time to flush out the effects of the expired contraceptive. She had assumed that after her first period, she would be perfectly able to get pregnant.
But the hint, as brutal as it was, was actually somewhat useful. Now she knew that passively waiting wasn’t going to work. She was infertile, which meant she needed to seek out a specific, magical cure or ingredient in this world to heal her reproductive system.
Ding!
[System: Good morning, Host! I detect elevated levels of cortisol and melancholic brain waves. To cheer you up, I have compiled a list of highly exciting new System updates that have been available for some time now! I have been eager to share and now seems like the perfect time!]
Ren let out an exhausted sigh. "No, thank you," she grumbled, setting the clean wooden platter onto the table to dry. "If this update is not related to something that will magically help me get pregnant, I do not want to hear it."
The System, completely ignoring her wishes as usual, cheerfully went on anyway.
[System: Patch Notes 3.0! First, the ’Restaurant Building Update’ is now live! You can now construct, customize, and manage your very own culinary establishment in the Beast World!]
Ren paused, her soapy hands hovering over the basin. A restaurant?
[System: Second, the ’Harem Manager’ has been significantly updated! The interface will now clearly display your husbands’ specific ’Likes and Dislikes’, allowing for optimized affection farming and reduced domestic disputes!]
That actually sounded...pretty brilliant. Managing three territorial toddlers was exhausting, and having a cheat sheet for their exact preferences would save her a massive headache.
[System: Third, the ’Gourmet Hunter Update’ introduces new tracking capabilities for rare ingredients! And finally, the System Shop has restocked with brand new, high-tier items, including an expanded magical Water Storage tank capable of holding up to 200 gallons of fresh, clean water!]
"Two hundred gallons?!" Ren gasped out loud, completely dropping her sponge into the suds.
Despite her lingering depression over the fertility news, Ren was undeniably, deeply intrigued. Two hundred gallons of perfectly clean water on demand? An actual restaurant?!
[System: Exactly, Host! And remember, the more Main Quests you successfully complete, the more of these amazing, world-altering updates will come your way!]
Ren quickly dried her hands on her dress and eagerly checked out all the new stuff. She began scrolling through the brand new System Shop stock and the updated Harem Manager screens, completely engrossed in the fresh digital menus as she absentmindedly wiped down the smooth obsidian countertops with a damp sponge.
She was so distracted by Altair’s newly revealed ’Dislikes’ tab that she completely failed to hear the silent approach of the apex predator behind her.
Suddenly, two muscular pale arms wrapped securely around her waist.
Before Ren could even register the touch, she was effortlessly hoisted off her feet and pulled flush against a rock-hard chest.
"Eep!" Ren squealed in surprise, her sponge flying out of her hand and onto the stone floor.
Syris let out a low chuckle. He buried his handsome face directly into the crook of her neck, his long, silky black hair curtaining her shoulders as he hugged her small body tightly against him. He inhaled her scent deeply.
"How much longer will you be cleaning?" Syris murmured, his deep voice thick with a dark morning rasp. He shamelessly ground his hips forward, letting her feel the rigid morning wood currently tenting his snakeskin robe. "I want to mate."
Ren’s face instantly flushed a brilliant red. Even after their intense session the day before, his body was already demanding more?!
"I can finish cleaning a lot faster if you actually help me, your majesty," Ren squeaked, gesturing vaguely to the remaining mountain of greasy pots and pans.
Syris paused. He looked over her shoulder at the massive basin of dirty, soapy water and the crusty crab shells. His beautiful face twisted into a look of absolute, unadulterated disgust, as if she had just asked him to willingly bathe in a pool of swamp leeches.
Without a single word of argument, the Snake King promptly set her gently back down onto her feet.
"I will call for Bia and Las," Syris stated smoothly, smoothing down the front of his robe.
Ren blinked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Who in the world are Bia and Las?"