Free Web NovelChapter 194: Should we add that to the menu
Foxy moved ahead, its tails swaying behind it. Eva lay face down on its back, staring absently at the trees.
"I’m bored..." Eva groaned, turning onto her back and stretching her hand toward the sky.
Clouds were scattered across the blue sky, dimming the sunlight as though it might rain.
But it hadn’t rained during the three days they had been there. It seemed the sky was storing up rain.
"So, entertainment around here. Novel... nah, music... nah. Nothing. Maybe I should introduce those things here." Eva was muttering to herself when a burst of inspiration lit up her mind.
She straightened up, her gaze darting around for Ethan.
Only to realize she had separated from them.
"Foxy, take me to them," Eva instructed, her eyes gleaming with excitement. She couldn’t wait to tell them about her ideas.
She could write novels; she had read enough to remember some unique, interesting stories, but for music... she wasn’t sure.
But she could tell them about other fun things they could build, like an amusement park or a skating rink. All those things could be used to liven up people’s lives.
Though she was excited, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had never experienced any of those fun places before.
’Maybe it’s parts of my memories I lost after regaining consciousness as a zombie,’ Eva thought lightly, then shrugged those thoughts away, feeling they weren’t important.
The wind brushed against her face as the surrounding trees blurred when Foxy’s speed increased.
"Howl!" Foxy stopped and let out a threatening growl toward a hole behind a tree.
Its sudden action snapped Eva out of her musing. She looked over and noticed a ball-sized hole peeking out behind a tree.
"Did you find a rabbit hole? Maybe we should catch some for dinner," Eva muttered, patting Foxy to settle the fox down.
Eva jumped down, landing lightly on her feet. Drawing her daggers, she moved cautiously toward the hole, making sure to walk quietly so as not to startle any rabbits that might be hiding there.
Foxy tilted its head, its tails swaying with a confused rhythm as it glanced at its master’s actions.
Seeing its master wanted those things in the hole, it shrank to its normal size and followed beside her.
Eva turned and made a hushing sound to quiet it, feeling its tails rustle the dry leaves on the ground.
Foxy frozen, its slit eyes blinking innocently as it gathered its curled tails up in one position so as not to touch the ground.
Eva gave it an approving nod before squatting beside the hole. She used her dagger to quietly gather the nearby leaves, then took out a flint from her space ring and lit it.
The leaves burned, sending smoke slithering into the hole.
Eva added more leaves, sending even more smoke into the hole. Feeling it was enough, she gripped her dagger, preparing to catch some rabbits.
She held her breath, watching the hole with rapt attention. After a few minutes, she heard sounds, but what came out sent goosebumps all over her body.
She flinched, jumping away from her squatting position as a dense number of snakes slithered out.
"Foxy! Drain them!" Eva barked a sharp order, dousing the burning leaves with water and running off as she rubbed the goosebumps on the back of her hand.
Foxy did as instructed and drained the snakes’ energy, reducing them to dried corpses.
Seeing that nothing else was coming out of the hole, he rushed to find Eva, who had run further ahead.
Unaware there was a red snake still hiding in the hole, it looked at the backs of Eva and Foxy and flicked its tongue in fury.
"Foxy, next time be specific. If it’s edible prey, growl twice as a signal. But snakes are edible too. Ugh, I’m not eating one of those slithering things." Eva’s face twisted in disgust.
She barely managed to tolerate Julian’s cobra, which didn’t mean she was a snake-loving person.
Ethan spotted her from the left and called out as he walked toward her.
As he drew closer, he noticed her face was slightly pale and asked in concern.
"Is your stomach still aching? Maybe we should go back to the tent. We’ve explored the valley enough." Eva shook her head in response, then told him what had happened earlier.
"Snakes. I didn’t expect you to be afraid of them. But the chef said their meat tastes delicious." Ethan added with a flicker of amusement in his eyes, watching as her face scrunched up at the thought of eating snake meat.
"Nope. I’m good." Eva shook her head frantically, showing how strongly she was against it.
"Did you find the exit to the valley? We’ll be leaving here tomorrow," Eva said, quickly changing the subject.
"Yes, but we have to cross a rugged mountain path, and it’s snowing heavily," Ethan responded with a troubled frown.
The path and the surrounding area were covered in icy mist, making it difficult to see the way ahead. He really wished Aaron were here with his flying beast at that moment.
"We have to be extremely careful tomorrow, and our beasts would remain in the space," Ethan added after a moment of silence.
Eva nodded, eyes brimming with curiosity at his troubled expression.
"Is the terrain dangerous? We can go out of the cave and visit this place later." She suggested upon receiving his nod.
"We’re here to assess the danger level of this island. If we leave without exploring this area, that would defeat the whole purpose of why we’re here." Ethan refused, feeling they should go and check it out.
"Alright then," Eva responded, and they walked back to the tent, with Eva telling him all the fun ideas she planned to open up once the city was built.
"Haha... I’ll be rolling in money once everyone buys my book or pays to visit an amusement park or aquarium. We can even dive into the ocean to see marine life... I’m getting ahead of myself a bit. The city has to be built before all this is possible." Eva’s face was flushed with excitement. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.
She had the urge to achieve all this immediately, but she knew it would take a year or two, depending on how quickly the city was built.
Ethan listened. Some of her words sounded new to him, but he understood the gist of what she meant.
"I’ll support you. If you need my help, tell me." He could only offer his unwavering support and protection.
Eva hummed, giggling as she imagined swimming in gold coins.
"What support? What are you two talking about?" Julian asked as he strode over.
Eva hopped to him and began rambling excitedly. Julian could only hum and nod as he listened, and they eventually reached the tent.
Ethan offered her a cup of water to soothe her throat.
"What do you want for dinner? I’ll go ask the chef to start making it." Julian asked, swinging a dagger at a red figure slithering through the grass.
His aim was perfect, killing the snake instantly and cutting short its attempted revenge.
"Should we add that to the menu?" Julian asked, pointing to the dead snake hidden in the grass.
Ethan burst out laughing, recalling what had transpired earlier.
"No! I’m not eating that!" Eva yelled, her face puffed with anger.
"Okay, we won’t add it."
Julian raised his hands in surrender, wondering who had stepped on her toes. He was only asking, not expecting to be yelled at in response.
It was only after he learned the reason that he began to tease her about the matter.
They ate dinner and retired early, wanting to get enough rest for the day ahead.
...
The morning sun shone its rays over the valley, while morning dew slid down the leaves and the grass swayed gently in the wind.
Eva and the others woke up amid bird calls and the sound of insects.
"Yawn...morning." Eva greeted between yawns, stretching.
"Morning." Ethan pressed a kiss to her forehead and got out of bed.
Julian remained on the bed for a while longer. He pulled Eva closer and whispered a morning in her ear before getting up with a yawn.
"After breakfast, I’ll teleport everyone to the valley’s exit," Julian said as he brushed his hair back with his fingers.
They hummed, signaling they heard him.
Julian took down the tent while Ethan gathered the furs on the grass.
Eva placed everything in her space and took them in to wash up and get ready for the day.
She took them out of her space after they finished breakfast.
Today she wore a long-sleeved top, jean shorts, and long, thick stockings she found in her wardrobe, then put on a long fur jacket over it.
Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and her daggers were strapped to her waist.
"Let’s go," Julian announced as he grabbed them by the shoulders and they disappeared.
