Chapter 319: Hunger
"Uh... Who are you?" Vritra questioned, while pressing his forehead, feeling the ice-cold water against his skin.
"Huh? You don’t remember me?" Yennefer asked in shock, as she pulled back from the hug.
"Yeah, how rude to barge into the bathroom of a man with three wives. What would the people say if they knew the empress is such a perv?" he replied with a shake of his head.
"Sigh, stop joking around. I really thought you were going to die. How are you feeling now? Do you feel any pain?"
Yennefer questioned, touching his cheek and forehead, and felt relieved that his temperature seemed to be returning to normal.
Vritra looked down at himself and after a moment he replied: "I am perfectly fine. Now can you go out for a moment? I will be out soon."
Yennefer nodded, and after taking one long look at him, she walked out of there and started to prepare food for him. Even though she had never done such things in her life, she was quite efficient.
’Haa, what was all that? It was like I was stuck in that dream that just won’t end, the fight of those creatures...’
Vritra massaged his temples and wondered if it was all just psychological, a drawback of taking a look at that abomination. But he had a feeling that this was different.
As he closed his eyes, he could still remember the image of that insect, which had mutated and transformed into something completely different.
It had taken on the characteristics of the dragon and the demon it was fighting after devouring them.
He even wondered if such a thing actually happened and if his physiques were somehow related to that dream, but there was no way to confirm it currently since he couldn’t even open the status panel.
’Wifey, it would have been good if you were awake.’
Vritra thought, as he finally got out of the chilly water, then wiped his body and dressed into the new clothes that Yennefer must have left there.
Pushing the door open, Vritra walked out of the bathroom and found Mark and Lisa standing there.
"Are you completely fine now? You should just rest," Lisa said in a worried tone.
"I am feeling better than ever," Vritra answered. Though he was still feeling a bit weak, his health and strength were recovering at an extreme speed.
"You must be hungry. I have prepared some food for you," Yennefer came out of the kitchen and called out, her tone seeming rather warmer than usual.
Grrrrrr...
Vritra’s belly let out a faint sound as if it was just waiting for her reminder. More than the weakness, it was the hunger that was bothering Vritra.
"Yeah, I do feel quite hungry," he replied, then looked at the two. "Where is Chopper?"
"He is still interrogating those guys. Those bastards from Bone Blood Cult are just getting out of control," Mark replied, gritting his teeth in frustration.
"Did something else happen?" While walking towards the kitchen, Vritra asked. He sat down at one of the chairs and found several dishes prepared by the empress.
"Yeah, we found something—well, you should eat first. Let’s talk about it later. Come to the town hall if you want to know more."
Mark paused when Lisa lightly hit his arm and gestured at the food, since it wasn’t something a person would want to hear while eating.
"Okay, I will come to the town hall later. And why don’t you join—" Vritra asked, but Mark and Lisa refused politely and made their way out of there, leaving the couple together.
But before leaving, Mark walked closer to Vritra and whispered: "Man, you sure are lucky to have such a caring wife.
Even though I am into men, you make even me feel jealous haha. Be good to her, okay?"
Vritra nodded, a bit surprised that the cold empress could actually do all that. He glanced at her and saw her gaze already fixed on him.
"Mmm, I didn’t know you could cook. The food is delicious," Vritra said, as he started devouring the food hungrily.
"I did learn it from my mother, but it’s been so long since I tried cooking anything." Yennefer sat beside Vritra and watched him eat with an unreadable expression.
There was a brief silence before Yennefer spoke out: "Lisa and Chopper helped me a lot while you were unconscious, and a few other people too.
They provided us with food and clothes even though there is a slight shortage of food."
"Oh—GULP—I will thank them personally later. And is there more?" Vritra asked. Within just a few minutes, he had already almost emptied all the bowls and plates.
"Yeah, there is some extra." Nodding, Yennefer stood up and served him more food. Even though she showed no expression on her face, she seemed quite happy.
...
Vritra soon finished even the second servings. He stood up and drank a few glasses of water.
’What the hell is going on? Even after eating all that, my hunger hasn’t been satiated at all. Why do I still feel just as empty?’ He frowned and drank even more water, but nothing helped.
"Are you okay? Was the food not enough? Should I cook more for you?" Yennefer asked.
"No, that’s enough. Thank you for taking care of me all this time." He replied, and pulled the empress into a tight hug.
The two stayed like that for a while. Staying in his embrace and feeling his warmth, Yennefer felt so relaxed as if all the exhaustion had disappeared from her body.
"I will be going to the town hall for a while. Would you like to come?" he asked, as he took a step back and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"...No, I need to arrange a few things here. Uh, just come back quickly." Yennefer said. She wanted to spend more time with him, stay close to him, and just keep him in her arms.
"Okay." Giving her a smile, Vritra walked out of the house. The moment he stepped out, sunlight struck his face—it was a hot day.
"Oh, you are fine now? Good lad, I knew nothing would happen to you."
"Good to see that you are already around and moving."
...
A few of the people Vritra had only seen before spoke to him, and he thanked them for their words.
Soon he arrived at the town hall and went straight inside. Duffus, Chopper, Mark, and Lisa were present there along with the people from the Bone Blood Cult.
"Hoo, I am so glad that you are fine. I just heard it from Mark. If something happened to you then I would have lived in guilt," Chopper said as he gestured at Duffus to stop the torture.
"Chief, it wasn’t your fault as I had said before. Anyway, can you now tell me everything you know about this place, whatever you have found or even have doubts."
Vritra spoke in a serious tone. All the weakness had already left his body, but now only the hunger remained.
"Haha, getting straight to the work. Well, sure. People have been coming here for several decades, like I have said before, through that train. We have tried to follow those tracks but they are just endless." Chopper spoke.
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Thanks for reading...