บท 17: Reen- The Gluttonous Beast

With thoughts of future running at full speed in his mind, Eren finally made his way out of the woods. He has raised his makeshift mask again. Reen had been retracted inside his shirt. There wasn't even a speck of blood on him even though he had a bloodbath not long ago.

Therefore, Eren didn't look like he just had a fight. And that's what was most important to him right now. He didn't believe that he won't see any incoming hunters and adventurers on his way back to Osan city. But they wouldn't notice him unless there was something wrong with the way he looked.

Wearing masks was not entirely uncommon among hunters and adventurers alike. It was just that nobody would make the masks out of the sleeves from the shirt they were currently wearing.

But as long as Eren didn't approach them or gave them a reason to approach him, that fact would go unnoticed.

Eren untied his colt. The colts had been fed properly before Dom and Eren went inside. These magical colts would be able to run efficiently, without eating for days on end due to their high mana capacity. Therefore, they were ready to take Eren back to the city of Osan as soon as the latter came back out from the woods.

When Eren climbed up his colt and was about to head out, Reen asked him if she could eat the colt. Eren thought for a while and then allowed her to feed on the colt that Dom had ridden on. She obliged and finished the colt in a jiffy. But apparently that wasn't enough. Reen was now eyeing the colt Eren was riding on.

Eren felt like banging his head against the wall.

The demon slime always kept thinking about eating food and then some more food, whether it was wild animals, magic beasts, hunters, or normal humans. And her mental connection with Eren made it worse. He could feel her hunger even before she conveyed it to him.

Reen's hunger had been agitated by the five-members buffet Eren had created with her help. It couldn't be helped.

Eren told Reen that she could have the colt after they reached the city of Osan. Reen went inside his shirt and hugged Eren's chest tightly in response. Eren couldn't submit the colt to the renting agency at the southern gates anyway.

The colts were rented by Dom. The agency would take the original selling price of the colt and would return the money, minus a small charge, when you submitted the healthy, uninjured colt to them.

Although Eren would lose some money that wasn't his by not returning the colt, he was fine with it. Eren's name wasn't involved in colt rental agency's books. He wanted to keep it that way. As a result, a fine colt was going to get wasted.

It took Eren evening to see the city walls from a distance. It was just 5PM. He had plenty of daylight left. Eren went to an isolated spot and allowed Reen to have her fill. The F Rank colt didn't stand a chance when Reen ordered it to stay still while she eats it.

Reen could have taken care of Isaac's party members by herself. But in doing so, she would have released her demon beast's aura. That aura would have attracted top ranked hunters who were making their way in the woods.

That's why Eren only told her to wrap his body with her slimy mass. That limited her aura to the crime scene area.

Since he couldn't get rid of the bodies, Eren wanted to make it look like a human did it. To plant a seed of suspicion in the hunters' minds.

The news of hunters and adventurers using isolated environments to take care of their enemies in the shadows wasn't uncommon. United, they stand a chance to tackle any problem and uncover any truth hiding under the obvious. Divided, they will be busy doubting others and second guessing their hunches.

Eren was reminded of the dead bodies he had left behind as he watched the colt getting devoured by his demon beast. He wanted Reen to dissolve the bodies of his victims too and get rid of the maximum evidence he could. But the mana fluctuations in the surroundings of his crime scene was like a ticking time bomb for him at the time, forcing him to leave the area as soon as he could.

Eren couldn't use the ID stones of his victims to store their bodies. And Reen's dissolution of five bodies would have taken some time. That time would have been enough for a high ranked personnel to reach the place and catch Eren red handed, in a literal and metaphorical sense.

'You can plan for everything there is to plan for. But this thing called life doesn't always follow the script you wrote for it yourself.'

Eren sighed in regret as he had these thoughts while watching the colt slowly getting dissolved in a semi transparent slimy ball. Reen felt content after having a magic beast full of vitality. She expressed her desire to have more such colts in future to her master. Eren sighed helplessly at that request. He knew colt renting would get difficult for him henceforth.

Eren made Reen get tucked inside his shirt again while he made his way to the city. The city guards allowed him to enter the city after he showed a badge to them.

Every person who hasn't activated their Mana Core would get a city-specific badge to confirm their identity to the city guards. But when you activate your mana core, the ID stone becomes necessary for you to enter any city and other important human settlements.

Eren quickly made his way towards aunt Nina's house. She hadn't come back by then. Eren thanked his stars and went in. He immediately got fresh and made some dinner for him and aunt Nina if and when she returns tonight.

Aunt Nina didn't employ any servants. Her research on potions and stuff was a private matter and she didn't want any extra pair of eyes going through her stuff when she wasn't around.

Nina did the housework by herself when Eren was small. But he picked up the works as he grew up. He had started making lunches and dinners since last year. Only breakfast would be taken care of by Nina these days.

That lifestyle has helped Eren today. He could sneak out of the house without anyone being the wiser. And he didn't mind doing the household chores. Cooking food was a relaxing activity for him.

Reen plopped out of Eren's shirt when she felt him eating something. She could feel his hunger getting satisfied like her. So she thought Eren too must be having a few human bodies or colts for dinner. She was disappointed when she saw him eating something totally inedible to her.

Reen went back inside Eren's shirt after showing total disinterest in having the same food as him. Eren breathed a sigh of relief after witnessing that revelation. He forced his mind not to think about how good and delicious the food was while having it, lest Reen decide to give it a try.

Eren retired to his room after dinner. He had done a lot of things during the past two days. He needed to reflect on his actions and think about future plans.

Eren had already hid his lot of ID stones safely. But what should he do with Reen?