“Chomp, munch, gulp, crunch!”

Right now, I was witnessing the marvel of the human body. The large stockpile of food we had—enough to make me worry about it spoiling—was vanishing before my eyes at an astonishing rate.

The woman who’d shown up with an earth-shaking growl from her stomach eagerly accepted my offer to join us, replying, “Please do!” without missing a beat. Since then, she’d become an uninvited guest at our barbecue.

In no time, she devoured the meat, grilled the prey Sanshita had hunted, and continued eating until every bit of our prepared food was gone.

Not satisfied with that, she moved on to our leftover supplies and kept eating.

The scene unfolding before me felt like déjà vu on repeat: her tackling meal after meal. Currently, she was working her way through the third wild boar we had.

Despite being smaller in stature than I was, how could such a tiny body hold so much food?

“Why is she eating my share too…?”

Sanshita grumbled, clearly displeased that even the meat he had set aside for snacks was being grilled and devoured.

From his perspective, giving away food equated to a tribute, and he saw no obligation to offer anything to some stranger. For the first time in a while, he let out a genuine growl of frustration.

Wow, Sanshita. I didn’t know you could make that kind of face. The ruler of the skies still had some fight left in him.

“Nom nom… munch munch… crunch… gulp!”

Even though the meat was prepared in Sanshita’s wild style—completely unbled—she seemed unfazed, happily sprinkling salt on it and tearing into it.

Wow. She’s eating the bones, too. What jaw strength.

Unlike me, who struggles to chew wild boar meat unless it’s sliced paper-thin, her body seemed fundamentally built for this.

“Grrowr… GAAAH!”

Oh no, Sanshita was on the verge of a full-blown tantrum.

But come on, it’s not like you were going to eat it anyway. Knowing you, you’d forget about the meat and let it rot before returning it to the forest.

That’s right—Sanshita often gets scolded by Ivy for this exact behavior.

“If you’re not going to eat it, take it back for the forest animals!” she’d admonish.

Their interactions were like watching a parent and child. It always made me feel warm inside.

And not just that—seeing the tiny, floating Ivy lecture a sulking griffon was such a surreal scene that it was hard not to chuckle.

Ivy, as always, was clean and detail-oriented. But… why does she seem tense?

Usually calm and composed, Ivy now looked sharp and serious. Her demeanor was unusual.

Having spent so much time with her, I could tell—she was nervous.

And the reason?

It was clear: the strange woman sitting before us.

“Chew… munch… phew. For now, my stomach is at minimum capacity. Time for a break,” the woman said at last, putting down the meat.

Minimum? A break?

Ignoring her peculiar choice of words, I realized this was my chance to address the situation. Ivy and Sanshita were teetering on the edge of conflict, and things were getting dangerous.

As the only one who could mediate, it was up to me to resolve this peacefully.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Bruno. This is Ivy, and that’s Sanshita. It’s a strange way to meet, but let’s get along.”

“Oh, apologies for the late introduction. I’m Rey. I’m something of an adventurer due to… certain circumstances. Sorry for barging in and taking your food. Here, take this as payment,” she said, slipping ten gold coins into my hand.

Ten gold coins!?

“That’s way too much!”

“Is it? I’m not familiar with city prices, so you decide how much is fair.”

What? That’s… strange. Something about her felt odd.

And how was she so unbothered by Sanshita? Even seasoned adventurers would flinch at the sight of a griffon.

“She’s so irritating!”

“Aw, what a cute bird. So big for a bird, though—is it a magical creature?”

“Yes. I’m a tamer. This is Sanshita.”

“Got it. Nice to meet you, Sanshita!”

“GRAWWRR!”

Sanshita lunged and bit her outstretched hand… only to recoil with a yelp, whining like a puppy.

Looking closer, her hand was unscathed, while Sanshita’s gums were bleeding.

The mighty ruler of the skies was whimpering with tears in his eyes…

Who was Rey?