18: Did you say tiger meat?

"At last, we're done."

Fatty patted his big belly. His belly fat bounced as a result. He took out the straw hat on top of his head and looked at the fifteen buckets filled with water with a satisfied grin.

"Hmph..." Luna curled her lips, also happy.

Caleb, on the other hand, just stood indifferently, as if he didn't put the task in his eyes. 'I did all the work, though.'

Andre walked to the door. He gave them a knowing look.

"The hunting party would be back in the evening. Let's go in first, so we look good when we greet them outside later."

As he said this, he pushed open the door and walked in. Caleb and Clifford nodded at each other and followed.

Fatty licked his lips. His brown eyes darted to Luna.

"I'm already hungry. What are you still doing standing like a fool? Let's go inside!"

Hearing this, Luna rolled her blue eyes. She lifted her black dress to avoid slipping and ran towards the door.

"All you do is think about food!"

Seeing that he was all alone. Fatty whispered secretly. "What's wrong with me liking food? Fool! Without food, you won't be able to function properly."

...

"You guys are back. Come and eat." One of the old women greeted the five with a gentle smile on her face. She looked as if she was glad about their arrival. "Did you guys finish your task early?"

One of the old men this time eyed the five with a fierce expression.

"Did the five of you slack? Don't get me wrong, I'm not monitoring here. I must ensure that everyone is doing their job properly."

Caleb studied the fierce old man in front of him. All his hair strands were white, face was filled with wrinkles and blemishes due to old age, but Caleb could see that the old man had some muscle beneath his white robe.

Fatty gritted his teeth and was about to retort when Clifford covered his mouth and shook his head.

Andre smiled politely.

"We're done. You can see it for yourself outside. Fifteen buckets of water were all filled to the brim. No more, no less. It only took an hour this time, thanks to Johan."

The old man gave Johan a look of doubt before and strode towards the door. When he saw the fifteen buckets of water, the expression of fierceness disappeared, replaced by a warm smile.

"You brats did a good job! I didn't expect you would be productive this time! Why is that so?"

"It all thanks to Johan," Luna repeated Andre's words with a deadpan expression. Her silver hair and flawless skin made her appear like an ice-cold princess.

Then, the other old man dozing off woke up. He rubbed his eyes and looked back and forth at his friend and the five teenagers.

"What can Johan do? Push the buckets with his thin arms? He looks like he can even't break a stick. Hahahaha!"

Caleb's eyes twitched when he heard the rude remarks of the other party. If it was allowed, he would have punched the old man in his face. He wants to see if he can still laugh with a broken nose and swollen eyes.

However, the statement of the old man wasn't completely unfounded. After all, even the four with him almost didn't believe him if not seeing it with their own eyes.

"Don't tease the kids." The old woman reprimanded.

...

On a square wooden table, four teenagers sat at the four sides facing each other. Above the table, there are all sorts of food. But most of them came from the meat of wild animals such as deer, rabbit, and even dire wolves. Then there's also a jar of water, along with four cups made of wood.

'Didn't expect to eat such a delicacy in this kind of place! This is all damn meat! I thought we were supposed to eat dirt.' Caleb took the vegetable soup near the fried deer meat. Then he used the wooden spoon in his and scooped. When he raises the spoon, he can see some white mist. 'Ouch... Hot!'

Caleb felt the hotness of when he ate the soup. Nevertheless, it didn't stop him from taking another scoop. Such a simple obstacle won't be able to stop his hunger. The taste of thing that look like a carrot tastes like a potato instead. Then he looked at the variety of meat on the table with glistening eyes. 'Meat is life!'

Unlike Caleb, the other three didn't look as energetic as him. They just eat their share at a normal pace without a change of expression on their face. Every day, all they eat are meat and vegetables that all the meat tastes the same anymore.

If you eat a thing every day, even if was your favorite, inevitably, you would grow sick of it and even hate it if it's the only thing that you literally eat.

Of course, there's always an exception in everything. Just like Caleb, Fatty ate his fill at astonishing speed. Even the dire wolves which have rougher texture and fishy taste didn't escape his big hands.

"Fatty, slow down. Do you want to choke yourself to death?" Andre placed a blackened rabbit meat in his mouth.

Fatty munched relentlessly that a bulge formed on both sides of his cheek. He gave Andre a look of relish.

"Hey, this is me enjoying the food! Don't disturb my precious time."

Clifford looked at the two while eating vegetable soup. He looked at the green leafy thing with a hint of hesitation. In the end, he placed it in his mouth and ate it reluctantly.

Contrary to the two, Luna just ate quietly without emotion on her face. She just ate whatever her hands touched.

'Well, she can eat for her size. Does she enjoy the food or not?' A question mark appeared on Caleb's mind. He couldn't see a trace of enjoyment or disgust on Luna's face, so he had a hard time reading her. 'Hmmm... Does she eat just for the sake of it? It seems she's only expressive when talking but silent when eating.'

"No tiger meat this time," Fatty complained.

Caleb's eyes widened and asked:

"Tiger meat? Did you just say tiger meat? By the way, don't talk with food in your mouth."

With a smile, Luna took a sip of water from the wooden cup. Caleb could even see her throat move from chugging. After drinking, she opened her mouth to say:

"Yes, we ate one last week, right? It seems that the hunting party didn't manage to kill one this time. That thing is quite tasty."