harleyscars Page 33
Page 33
Ruby was clearly not in the mood to argue with Payne, and simply gave a weak reply.
But the previous conversation seemed to have inspired Payne. Ruby could clearly see what he was thinking, and he was very engrossed in it, pausing his washing hands for a few seconds every now and then.
He would sometimes even forget what he had just done, scrubbing the soap vigorously on his clothes again and again, until the soap was noticeably smaller after he finished washing.
On the way back, Ruby noticed that he also seemed absent-minded, and he would trip over potholes in the road every now and then.
In the end, Ruby couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she took Payne's hand and led him along the uneven dirt road.
What a troublesome person!
Back in the tent, Payne plopped down on the blankets and began to ponder with a worried expression, without saying a word.
Left with no other choice, Ruby had to personally ask Grace and Shawn to go out for a late-night snack, and also asked Lacey to help hang up her wet clothes, hoping that she could play outside for a while before coming back.
The three animals were all observant and good children. Without saying a word, they left the tent, with Grace even saying they would return in the middle of the night.
Having dealt with the other three beasts, Ruby tidied her hair and rubbed her cheeks, forcing a smile before tucking her large tail into Payne's arms.
"Okay...okay, don't be so downcast, come and do something fun...happy with me~"
But Payne, who used to be absolutely captivated by the fluffy, bouncy tail, only unconsciously stroked it twice today before sighing and stopping.
Ruby frowned slightly in displeasure, but instead of complaining, she sat down in Payne's lap with concern and asked, "Is there anything you need to tell me?"
Payne shook his head and gently hugged the delicate body sitting in his lap. "Sigh... Although I'm very worried, there's really no use thinking about it..."
"The French have chemical weapons, but the Germans are unlikely to be able to copy them."
"However, Germany's biotechnology is more advanced than France's; they...they might develop biological weapons..."
But at this moment, Ruby, who was being held tightly by Payne, was no longer in the mood to listen to what he was saying.
She had completely forgotten that she had just told Payne that she was willing to listen to him; she just felt like she was burning up with fever all over her body, and if she didn't do something soon, she would definitely burn out.
"Okay...okay, stop thinking about those things...I've finally gotten my hands on the Divergent, can't I...can't I think about something happy?"
As she said this, Ruby eagerly hooked her arms around Payne's neck, pulled him down, and made him lie on top of her.
Looking at Ruby's flushed face and the shy expression that revealed her anticipation beneath him, Payne didn't want to disappoint such a lovely child, so he could only force a somewhat awkward smile.
"Yes, this is a rare opportunity."
Soon, the sound of a person and a beast deliberately lowering their breathing volume could be heard from inside the tent.
Chapter 49 XLIX. Grace's Doubts
In order to give the human and the beast enough time to be alone, Grace originally planned to walk around the village a few more times after grazing.
Although she didn't have a good impression of humans, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable after moving so many wounded people who looked miserable, and wanted to take this opportunity to clear her mind.
But after walking around twice, Xiao En said she couldn't walk anymore. She was tired after an afternoon and all she wanted to do was sleep, so they went back.
Grace was worried that going back so early might ruin the good time for the human and the beast, but when they got to the tent, they didn’t see any lights or hear any strange noises.
They ended things so quickly?
That doesn't make sense, didn't he and Xiao Ma spend quite a long time together before?
Or is it just that Ruby is petite and thin?
With these questions in mind, the sheep, dog, and cow went into the tent one after the other.
Xiao En didn't make any unnecessary movements, crawled into her quilt and fell asleep immediately;
Lacey didn't think much of it. She just licked Payne's face twice as usual, and then curled up and went to sleep.
But Grace could see clearly that although Payne and Ruby were sleeping in the same bed, they were lying back to back.
Ruby's big tail was even held in her arms, not in the middle.
The relationship between this human and the beast is like that of a young couple who, after arguing, still end up sleeping in the same bed.
What happened between them? ...
This was clearly not the right time to ask questions, so Grace could only crawl into her blankets with her doubts.
She couldn't help but reflect on how her perception of Payne had changed over the past few days.
Not long ago, when she heard that she would be assigned to that human who was rumored to be very friendly to orcs, she was overwhelmed with a mix of excitement, curiosity and doubt.
Needless to say, the better the beast tamer's attitude towards the beastman, the better;
The reason for my curiosity is that in an era where orcs are generally regarded as "novel and exotic creatures," why would he be so kind to them?
Grace had heard that in the myths and legends of the Iya religion, the devil was a terrifying figure with a human-like form, horns on his head, and a tail behind him.
Doesn't he find my ears, horns, and tail strange, even devilish?
As for the doubts, they partially overlap with the reasons for curiosity—why is he so kind to the orcs, could he have other motives?
After spending a few days with Payne and his orcs, everything she observed told her that Payne's affection for the orcs seemed to be quite innocent.
There was only one thing that prevented her from being completely at ease—he had actually agreed to help Xiao Ma solve the problem with the divergence device.
Could this guy actually be a pervert, using the splitter to exploit the orcs for sexual gratification?!
Grace had heard rumors that the young men who stayed on the front lines for months on end were driven by lust; some would use food to lure innocent girls, some would collude with their comrades, and some would even persecute various animals...
Grace felt a wave of discouragement whenever she thought of the last type of people.
Are we really that scary? Why would they rather go looking for real animals than come to us?
Of course, despite her frustration, she wouldn't allow humans to do anything to her against her will, not even while she was in the splitter.
She had already decided that if that situation really happened, she would kick the other person away and then try to escape.
As for why she said "try her best," it's because she didn't think she could outrun bullets...
Therefore, although Pine's performance offered her some comfort, she remained somewhat wary of it.
Could this guy really be that twisted to the extreme, which is why he'd even accept having sex with orcs?!
However, when this guy was facing orcs, his concern seemed to be entirely genuine, without any pretense.
In his daily life, he treated orcs almost like humans.
He would even take into account the special needs of different orcs, and would not use this as a condition to ask the orcs to do anything difficult.
In training and combat, he treated the orcs as true comrades-in-arms, not as laborers or even meat shields.
He would rescue orcs in danger and shed tears for their deaths.
The orcs were willing to trust him, gather around him, rescue him on the battlefield, and ask him to help solve the problem of the diverging device, perhaps for these reasons.
He was willing to help the orcs with the issue of the splitter, and he did so not out of any other motive but out of a forced disgust.
Moreover... it doesn't seem that he did it entirely to satisfy his lewd desires.
Because that kind of anticipation and joy for the continuation of life cannot be faked.
Hmmmm... what a human being that even beasts find hard to understand.
Well... although he's an oddball, he doesn't seem to have any bad intentions.
As she pondered, Grace finally felt a bit sleepy.
Let's talk about it tomorrow morning.
So she turned over, closed her eyes, and fell asleep peacefully.
……
The next morning, Grace was awakened by Payne getting up and leaving the tent.
She rubbed her eyes and sat up. She could see that the sky outside was just beginning to brighten. Payne was sitting on the ground with his back to the tent entrance, and a wisp of smoke was rising from above his head.
While there is indeed a saying about having a cigarette afterward, isn't his cigarette... a little too late?
Grace blinked twice, then turned back to look at Ruby.
The little squirrel was still lying with its back to Payne, its tail tucked into its arms, looking as if it hadn't moved all night.
It seems... she's angry?
Something must have happened between this man and this beast.
Although she thought it was unlikely, Grace felt she had to confirm with Ruby the true identity of Payne, this human.
Thinking this, she quietly crawled over and patted Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby, are you awake?"
To Ruby's surprise, she reacted quickly. She turned her head with bloodshot eyes and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
Grace was taken aback. "You're not asleep?"
"I went to sleep, but I didn't sleep soundly and woke up very early." As he said this, the little squirrel yawned wearily.
"Are you still feeling unwell?"
"Um...yes."
"Didn't Payne... already take care of it for you?"
“Sigh—” Ruby sighed softly, “This…this is between him and me. Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal.”
Grace was quite surprised to hear this.
She had never heard any orc say anything like "I have some little secrets with a human," or even share them with their own kind.
Things would have been much more interesting if she hadn't been threatened by Payne.
Grace felt she had to find out what had happened between them.
However, seeing Ruby's sleepy expression, she decided to take a nap first.
Chapter 50 L. Ruby looked aggrieved.
When Grace opened her eyes again, the sun had already risen completely above the horizon.
The work of moving ammunition was finally over, and after breakfast, everyone was given the order to "move freely within the village".
This was the free time that Payne had been longing for; he finally had the opportunity to continue teaching the beast girls battlefield survival skills.
Perhaps because he believed that an attack was about to be launched, he did not rush to talk about poison gas, even though they had just encountered a poison gas attack. Instead, he focused on teaching about hand grenades.