Vol. 1 Chapter 9 : Suspicion

"Eat? You didn't want meat But do you want to eat these sticks? Are you a herbivore orc?" He walked towards the bed where Belle was seated, He breathed her aroma as he bent slightly with his face towards her neck. "You don't smell like one"

She pushed his face away with a faltering voice, alarmed by the unexpected close distance between them. "g-get away from me!" Her face blushed, as she aimed a finger at him. "We need to set some basic rules mister! do not go near me without my permission!"

He examines her flushed, puffy cheeks, There was a faint smile on his face, almost palpable. "Whatever you want" This female is easily embarrassed by even slight physical touch, which he finds adorable

She bows her head slightly and relaxes herself, still cooling down after the unexpected embarrassing situation, "I'm not a herbivore but an omnivore, I can eat both plants and meat, I just can't eat them raw"

"Omnivore? what kind of orc are you?" he crossed his arms over his chest with one leg bending slightly 'Why does he look so sassy' she humored "I'm an ape orc" The closest human related, an ape was the safest choice she had just now

"An ape orc? How did you go this much while your village is so far away?" Liam was beginning to have doubts about the intriguing woman in front of him, How did she get so close to the black swamp, and what things did she have with her??

"I'm really an ape orc, and I can't seem to remember why I was there" Belle appeared composed on the outside, but she was terrified on the inside. 'This is bad he's starting to get suspicious!' She was startled to hear Conrad's voice.

'Simply tell him you got separated from your family during an attack!' She was taken aback but quickly regained her composure as she looked him in the eyes, putting on a sorrowful face "All I remember is being with my tribe when we were brutally ambushed; they all died in battle, and I was the only one who survived, I kept running till I blacked out and didn't know where I was."

It was a cliched and untrustworthy story, 'Considering how unbelievable everything about this world is, I might just as well make something up.' she was waiting for his response when she heard Conrad again 'Wow, you don't even blink when you're lying, do you? You must be accustomed to it.' 'Shut up!'

Despite the fact that she and Conrad are arguing in her thoughts, she was completely focused on the male opposite her who was wearing a blank face. He had a lot of suspicions about her, but if she refused to reveal anything, he could only figure out for himself. 'I'll just quietly monitor her for the time being because she'll be here for quite a while'

He did nothing but sigh and move his arm. "Okay" and the conversation ended like that. She exhaled a breath of relief. 'I need to be more careful' He asked again before she can even properly relax. "What are you intending to do to those sticks since you're not planning to eat them?"

She looks at the pile beneath her feet "You don't need to know what I'm talking about; I only need them for something related to my meal" She gives him a tiny smile. He stares at her silently before resuming his questioning "Do you need anything else?" She pondered for some time. "Please provide me with water to wash and drink"

"Okay, after I'll get you your bath, after that eat and we'll treat your feet again" after saying that he turned around and transformed into a jaguar again sprinting out at full speed. 'Why do I feel like I've turned him into my errand boy?' 'That's because you just did' Conrad popped into her thought once again 'He's suspicious of me what do I do?' 'Don't worry, I'm here to assist, okay? Just keep the story going and also don't display any strange behavior in front of him.'

'What weird behavior? I'm not weird!' she justified herself 'You're already acting strange in front of him, and I'd want to advise you that this is not your world, and you will need to learn to act like them. Whereas intimacy is natural here, responding the same as you did only a few moments ago would raise suspicion, and you will need to work on it now' Afterwards, he sighed. She murmured as she folded her arms across her chest. 'Still, anybody would be frightened if a stranger's face appeared that closely to them, and since I have little experience with guys, how can someone not overreact when somebody flaunts their junk exactly in front of me?'

'Still, keep your reaction to a bare minimum for the time being; I have a suspicion this Liam guy is not really an ordinary orc.' They heard rushing footsteps outside the cave, and a tall and gorgeous Liam strode in, holding a large bucket-like barrel with overflowing water atop his right shoulder, a smaller container in his left hand, and additional animal hides. He walked over to the cave's left side, where Belle was seated, he placed down the large barrel and moved towards the side of the bed bending and putting down the smaller jar and hides. He then got up and stood in front of Belle pointing towards the large barrel "That's for your bath, I had to borrow the one from Galen since you couldn't go out with your condition, additional hides and this is for you to drink" He pointed to the little jar.

"If you need anything else just tell me" She looks at him perplexed 'Why is he putting in so much effort for someone he only met yesterday? Beastmen have an odd dedication.' "Why are you committing so much work and attention to someone you hardly know?" She blurted out, and she was taken aback as to why she said it out loud 'Are you stupid?' Conrad remarked. Liam, wearing his usual poker face, merely stared at her, perplexed as to why he cared about this female. Even when he had previously interacted also with females in his tribe, he had never shown such affection for them. He had a lot of females interested in being his mate, but he's never been interested in it and kept a respectful distance between them, However, only with female opposite him, he felt a need to be close her, to touch her, something he had never felt before.