Taming the Beast World with a Frying Pan-Chapter 108: Moral Dilemma of a Bad Liar

Crunch. Squish. Gulp.

The sounds coming from behind Ren were enough to make a weaker woman lose her lunch. Syris and Viper were decimating the pile of raw fish with the efficiency of industrial trash compactors. No cooking, no seasoning, just straight-up protein loading.

Ren sat by the crackling fire, her knees pulled to her chest, vigorously rubbing her arms to generate friction. The fire was warm, but the anxiety in her gut was ice cold.

She popped another Electric Blueberry into her mouth.

Zap.

Her tongue tingled, then went slightly numb. It felt like licking a 9-volt battery, but at least it distracted her from the sound of fish heads being bitten off.

She looked up at the moon. It was climbing higher. The window of opportunity was closing.

’System,’ Ren pleaded internally. ’I need a plan. A real one. How do I knock out a Snake King and his strongest guard without a weapon? I need them unconscious or gone within the hour.’

The blue screen popped up instantly, shimmering in the firelight.

[System Suggestion: Seduction. Initiate mating ritual with the Primary Target (Syris). Post-coital exhaustion is a scientifically proven method of inducing deep sleep in male specimens.]

Ren choked on her berry. She coughed, pounding her chest.

’Are you serious right now?’ she hissed in her mind. ’You are such a pervert! Is that your answer to everything? Sex?’

[System Defense: This is the Beast World, Host. The hierarchy of needs is simplified here. The answer to 90% of problems is either Food, Sex, or Violence. Sometimes all three simultaneously. I am merely working with the available data.]

Ren rolled her eyes so hard it hurt. ’I refuse to believe that. That is such a primitive mindset. There is much more to life than sex and a full stomach! There’s... diplomacy! And... culinary arts! And puzzle-solving!’

[System Rebuttal: And yet, here you are, eating berries and plotting to sneak out to meet a Fox for a secret rendezvous. The data speaks for itself.]

Ren’s face flushed. ’It’s not a rendezvous!’

She shoved another berry into her mouth, ignoring the fact that she could no longer feel the tip of her tongue.

’Give me another idea,’ she demanded. ’Something that doesn’t involve me getting naked.’

[System Processing...]

[System Result: No other viable strategies detected. Your physical stats are too low for combat. You possess no sedatives. You cannot outrun them. Seduction is the only path with a success rate above 5%.]

"You are useless," Ren grumbled.

She glanced over her shoulder. Syris was wiping fish scales off his lips with the sleeve of his snakeskin robe, ruining the texture without a second thought. He looked elegant even when practicing terrible table manners.

Ren turned back to the fire, her face heating up.

’Think about it logically, System,’ she argued. ’Even if I were to... you know... "distract" Syris until he’s tired... do you know who we are dealing with? That man is a machine!’

A vivid, humiliating memory flashed through her mind. The garden. The pond. Syris pinning her against the tree. He had gone for rounds. Plural. Many, many rounds. She didn’t even remember when she passed out; she just woke up the next day sore and unable to walk in a straight line.

’What is the guarantee that the insatiable Snake King would be satisfied by the time I need to leave?’ Ren panicked. ’What if I pass out first? Knowing my luck, I’ll be the one snoring while he’s asking for round five! I’ll miss the meeting with Vex entirely!’

She shook her head vigorously. ’Bad idea. Terrible idea. Nothing good can come from it. I’ll just end up exhausted, sore, and trapped.’

’And what about Viper?’ she added. ’Am I supposed to just ask the Royal Guard to sit in the corner and cover his ears? "Hey Viper, ignore the noises, just watch the perimeter?"’

[System Analysis: Incorrect. Reptilian biology is currently on your side. Snakes are ectothermic. Syris spent the entire day boiling in the direct sunlight since you got off the boat. He has absorbed excessive heat energy, which, contrary to popular belief, induces lethargy in the evening as his body attempts to regulate. He is currently a "tired noodle." He will not have the stamina for a marathon.]

Ren blinked. ’Tired noodle?’

[System Continues: As for the Subject Viper... he is simple-minded. His loyalty is absolute, but his intellect is... limited. Tell him to go guard a tree three miles away. He will do it. He is a glorified golden retriever with scales. Sending him away is a trivial task.]

Ren sighed, the sound heavy with dread and exasperation.

She hated this. She hated the scheming. She hated the lying. She wasn’t a spy; she was a Michelin-star chef. She was used to screaming at line cooks about the viscosity of a reduction sauce, not orchestrating covert ops in a forest. Living this lie was significantly more stressful than a dinner rush on a Friday night.

She looked at Syris again. He was staring into the dark forest, his expression guarded, likely worrying about the "feral" Kael running into danger. He genuinely cared. In his own twisted, possessive way, he was trying to protect them.

And here she was, plotting to deceive him.

A thought crept into her mind. A dangerous, stupid thought.

’What if I just told him?’

Ren bit her lip.

’What if I just walked over there and told him the truth? "Syris, the fox left with Kael. I ran into him while foraging. He says he can cure him. I need to go see him." Would it really be that bad?’

Ren knew Syris was jealous. She knew he hated Vex. But surely, if it meant saving Kael’s life—if it meant stopping Kael from becoming a mindless monster—Syris would understand? He was a King, after all. He was rational.

...Right?

Ren stared at his back, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm against her ribs as she weighed the risk of honesty against the safety of a lie.