Free Web NovelChapter 3: I’m Not Your Heavenly Being!
"You’re already awake!" Cerus called out, his voice full of excitement.
He quickly ran toward Maeve, but instead of comforting her, it only made her panic.
"Wait!"
Maeve immediately threw the animal pelt off her body and scrambled backward. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest. She kept moving until her back hit the cold cave wall.
"Don’t come any closer!" she shouted, raising her hand to keep him from coming any closer.
Even though Pinky had told her that her role in this world was important, Maeve was still scared. Everything felt strange and unfamiliar, especially the group of blue-skinned men she had never seen before.
On the other side, Cerus froze mid-step, like a puppy that had just been scolded.
"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, his voice dropping a little.
Maeve didn’t answer. She stayed pressed against the wall, her hand still raised like a shield. Her thoughts were a mess, and her heartbeat refused to slow down.
"Are you afraid of us?" another voice asked. It was Ikarus.
Unlike Cerus, who had rushed toward her, Ikarus approached her carefully, just like someone trying to win over a stray cat on the street.
"You don’t have to be afraid," Ikarus said calmly.
Maeve shook her head slightly, her voice trembling. "H-How can I not be afraid? I don’t even know where I am!"
And more than that... how could she stay calm when she was facing a group of strange men who were easily over two meters tall?
"You’re in the Azuryn Tribe’s settlement," Axan, the white-haired alien, said. "It’s in the western part of Lumivale Forest. This is the only safe place to live in the forest, so you shouldn’t wander too far because something bad might happen if you do. And right now, you’re in our home. It may not be as nice as heaven, but... it’s still livable." frёewebnoѵēl.com
He paused, then added, "If you don’t like it, we can prepare another place for you. Do you want that?"
Maeve fell silent and blinked several times because she didn’t expect him to explain everything so quickly and even give her the option to move from this cave.
"The cave is fine... I guess," she said awkwardly.
Axan widened his eyes slightly, looking confused. "Really? This place isn’t even as good as your home in heaven."
Cerus quickly added, "How could we compare our shabby home to hers? She must have lived in a beautiful, shining place, surrounded by many servants!"
Maeve looked at them with a deadpan expression. ’Servants, my ass.’
Let alone servants, her shabby apartment was sometimes filled with trash because she was too tired to clean it after coming home from work.
"But even if this place isn’t perfect, we promise to improve it little by little," Ikarus said gently. "It will just take some time."
"Yes! Yes! My brother is right! We will make this place better, so—"
"Stay back!" Maeve shouted again when Cerus took another step toward her. "I said don’t come closer!"
[Host, Host, how are you going to complete your mission if you keep them from getting close to you?!] Pinky protested.
Yeah, how was she supposed to do that? But seriously, give her a break!
She had just been thrown into the sea and stranded in the middle of nowhere. It was only natural that her brain felt scrambled like an omelet.
"Alright! Alright! I won’t come closer!" Cerus stopped immediately, not daring to take another step. "But why are you so scared of us? We won’t bite you!"
Maeve then glanced at their small fangs every time they spoke. Yeah... she wasn’t so sure about that.
"She just needs some time to adapt to this place," Ikarus said with a small sigh. "Maybe we should give her some space and leave her alone for a while."
"T-That would be nice," Maeve said quickly. "Thank you."
Maybe if they left, she could finally think clearly.
"B-But before you go..." Maeve bit her lower lip, then pretended to cough.
"Are you sick?!" Cerus reacted in less than ten seconds. "Do you need a healer? A medicinal plant? I knew it! A heavenly being can’t survive in a place like this!"
Maeve almost laughed because she was anything but a heavenly creature. To be honest, she was probably just trash in her own society.
"No, no, I’m fine! I’m fine!" Maeve replied quickly. "I just... I just need something to eat."
She slowly looked to the side as her stomach grumbled.
Hey, don’t blame her! She had barely eaten anything before getting dragged into all this mess.
"Oh... that’s good," Cerus said, instantly calming down. "Being hungry is a good sign. It means you’re alive."
She honestly wasn’t sure what kind of food existed in this world. She had even thought they might bring her boiled scorpions or maybe a bunch of worms.
However, the moment the female aliens brought food into the cave, it was completely different from what she had imagined.
"Am I... in heaven now?" Maeve almost teared up as she took a bite of the grilled meat.
She didn’t know what kind of meat it was—and honestly, she didn’t want to know. But it tasted amazing, like a mix of savory, a little salty, and something else she couldn’t explain.
In short, she had never eaten grilled meat this delicious before. Maybe it was because she was too poor to buy good meat, or maybe the meat in this world was just special. Whatever the reason, she was glad she had the chance to taste it.
[See, Host? You’re starting to like this place!] Pinky said happily. [Maybe you’ll like it even more if you have a child—]
"Stop," Maeve cut it off immediately, pointing at it. "Stop right there. Just let me enjoy this food for a moment, okay?"
Pinky only blinked at her response, then floated around in the air in an annoyingly slow circle like a tiny pink balloon.
Maeve ignored it and took another bite of the grilled meat, her shoulders finally relaxing a little. For the first time since waking up in this strange place, she felt... somewhat calm.
But that peace didn’t last long because a loud shout suddenly echoed from outside the cave.
"Fire!"
