A New Life In The Beast World-Chapter 137: A Proper Chat (1)

They were barely finished with lunch when Finn came over to start working on the grinder project. Theo told Serena to go ahead and get her work done while he focused on cleaning up.

It was the least he could do after leaving her to deal with lunch. Serena agreed to it, but only after telling Kiro to help out before he went to play.

The young cub nodded his head in understanding and with that Serena led Finn to where they had been working with the rocks. It was just behind all the firewood, Serena not wanting all that rock to get in the way.

When they finally came to a stop, Serena quickly began explaining the rough design of the grinder to Finn. She first drew out the main design on the ground, so Finn could get an idea of how exactly to carve the grinder.

"We’ve managed to get the basic design right." Serena explained, pointing at their failed attempts. "However, it’s the more detailed carvings that get to us. That’s where we’ll need your help."

Finn pressed his lips together, eyeing their failed attempts. "Hmm... It is quite detailed..."

"Do you think you can do it?" Serena asked.

"I can try." Finn mused, not bothering to look up as he continued to observe their previous works. "This might take some time though... I haven’t tried making a design like this before."

"That’s fine." Serena said. "We just need to have it done before the end of the cold season."

"I could work with that timeframe." Finn nodded his head as he lifted one of the broken stones. "I don’t really have anything else to do."

"Actually..." Serena murmured. "I was wondering if you could do something else. It’s a private request though..."

Finn finally turned to look at her, ears flickering. "What do you want to request?"

"We’re in need of some cookware.. A few pots to be exact." Serena stated. "We’re willing to exchange food for the pots. That is if you’re willing to do a trade that is..."

She knew she originally planned to make an exchange with soap, but after getting a talking to from Liz, she decided to forgo that plan for now. She had gotten ahead of herself and needed to wait for the soap to actually be completed.

Then she could gift some beastwomen the soap as a way of spreading it though the village. And look into exchanging it afterwards.

Of course that meant she was left trading with food or crystals. And she didn’t really want to make use of her crystals right now. Those were limited, so she was left with food.

"I can do a trade like that. Pots are a pretty easy request." Finn answered.

It was one of his most requested crafts along with farm tools. However, there was something he didn’t quite understand. Serena already had pots, he’d seen them being used while they were walking.

So why would she need more? Two pots were typically enough for most. Anymore and it’d just take up space. Still, it wasn’t his place to question what others wanted with the tools he made.

"That’s good. How much do you request for pots then?" Serena asked.

"I usually make it one basket of food per pot about the same size as the ones you have now. Smaller ones are half a basket and a bigger one is two baskets." Finn explained. "It takes me about two days to make one pot, but if you want me to speed things up I charge an extra basket of food per pot."

While they did need some new pots soon, it wasn’t like they couldn’t live without them for a few days. So, Serena decided to not bother with speeding up the work.

"Alright then..." Serena said. "Can I request two pots similar to the ones I have now? No need to worry about timing, I’m in no rush... So two baskets of food then. Anything specific you want?"

"I’m good with any vegetables. Just not orange roots maybe. I have enough of those." Finn stated. "You can pay me once I’m done with the pots."

"Sounds good to me." Serena said.

She could collect the vegetables over the next few days and just keep them in her subspace until she needed to pay for the pots.

Finn gave her a small smile. "If that’s all, I think I’m going to start working on this grinder now."

"Then I’ll leave you to it." Serena stated. "I’ll be out front if you need any help."

Finn just nodded his head, barely hearing her words as he turned back to the failed attempts. Serena chose to just leave him be, not wanting to get in his way.

Besides, there was something else she needed to do.

***

Serena stepped out of the hut after checking that Kiro had gone to sleep. She’d been trying to find a moment alone to talk to Theo about this morning, but they just kept getting interrupted.

However, now that it was late into the night, they finally had a chance to speak.

Which had Serena on edge. She knew she had it all planned, but her mind couldn’t help but go a million different directions. Wondering about everything that could possibly go wrong.

Still, she needed to do this. Otherwise, things would just keep getting worse and she’d just keep lying more and more. Something she couldn’t keep doing.

"Theo." Serena called out as she walked over to the tiger beastman sitting on the log by the fire. "We need to talk about earlier..."

Theo nodded his head in agreement. "We do."

Serena came to a stop in front of him and took a deep breath, clenching the sides of her fur dress to calm her. She then said, "But before that... I need you to promise me something."

"If it’s about how I reacted before... Then I promise that won’t happen again." Theo sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I’ll hear out what you have to say."

"Thank you..." Serena gave a faint smile. "However... That’s not what I wanted you to promise me. Not exactly."

Theo frowned at her words, not sure where this was heading. "Then what do you want me to promise?"

"I need you to promise me you won’t tell anyone what I’m about to show you." Serena stated nervously. "I’ll explain everything... But you can’t tell a soul. Not even Kiro."

Now her words were starting to worry him. What exactly was she going to show him? Weren’t they just going to talk about the priest matter? And to keep this a secret even from her brother...

Serena sensed Theo’s confusion and added, "This is related to the priest matter... And explains why I’m suddenly getting a priest mate after saying that I don’t want another mate..."

"I see..." Theo mused before going quiet. After some time, he sighed, "Alright, I promise I won’t tell a soul."

Serena nodded her head. "Thank you..."

A part of her kept telling her to request for a vow, to cement their promise, but Serena knew she needed to take this risk. She trusted him enough with Kiro, she had to trust him with this too.

Otherwise, there was no point in this relationship because sooner or later it would collapse under all the lies and secrets.

Taking another deep breath, Serena held out her hands and murmured, "You can show yourself now."

Theo furrowed his eyebrows, wondering who Serena was talking to. He couldn’t sense anyone’s presence around the hut. Granted they had less than five stripes.

So when a small blue snake suddenly appeared in Serena’s hands, Theo couldn’t help but stare at it in horror. He hadn’t even seen the thing move.

"This is Liz." Serena stated. "A messenger of the Beast God."

She originally never planned on doing this, but after having a chat with Liz while she was taking care of lunch, Serena decided to change things. She had to stop hiding from her fears and doubts.

Granted, the dream would’ve been easy, but she preferred doing things this way. Then she could explain everything else in one go. Plus she was worried that Theo may not take the dream seriously or even doubt the message.

Meeting Liz wasn’t so easy to doubt.

"W-what...?" Theo murmured, not quite sure if he was dreaming.

Or maybe he was going crazy. Because there was no way any of this was real. The Beast God’s messengers were all priests from the city, not some wild animal.

Theo pinched himself, a biting pain zapping to his brain a second later and confirming that this was all indeed real. This was really happening.

"Hi!" Liz exclaimed. "It’s nice to finally meet you, Theo of the Tiger Clan."

"It talks..." Theo muttered, still trying to process everything.

Serena pursed her lips, deciding not to comment on those words. Instead, she said, "Why don’t you show him Liz."