Taming the Beast World with a Frying Pan-Chapter 195: The Moon Goddess Made Me Do It

[System: The best lies, are the ones seasoned with a speck of truth.]

Ren paused, her mouth half-open as she stared at Kael’s expectant face.

’A speck of truth?’ Ren considered.

[System: Tell them you are from another world. That is the truth.]

’This is already sounding like a bad idea,’ Ren argued.

[System: Listen. Tell them you are from another world, sent here by the Moon Goddess, Selene. Tell them your mission is to cure the Feral Madness that plagues this land. And the only way to enhance your magic to do that... is to have multiple mates. You must love them equally. If you disobey, the Goddess will smite you. And them.’

Ren blinked.

’Wait...what?’ Ren questioned. ’There’s an actual Moon Goddess or did you just make it up?’

[System: Yes.]

’Which one are you saying yes to?’

This system only knew how to annoy her.

Ren took a deep breath. She had no time to workshop a better script. She had to commit.

"I am the Moon Goddess’ disciple," Ren whispered to herself.

She squeezed Kael’s hands tighter. She summoned every ounce of drama she had learned from watching soap operas. She let her lip tremble. She made her eyes wide and watery.

"Kael," Ren said, her voice dropping to a tragic whisper. "There is something I haven’t told you. Something... dangerous."

Kael’s ears perked up. He leaned in, his expression shifting from jealousy to concern. "What is it?"

"I am not from here," Ren confessed, looking deep into his golden eyes. "I come from another world. A world far, far away."

Kael nodded solemnly.

"The world is vast," he said wisely. "I have never met anyone like you before. I already knew you must come from a distant territory."

Ren blinked.

’He thinks "another world" means, like, three mountains over,’ Ren realized. ’You know what? Okay. I’m not correcting him.’

"Right," Ren continued, pressing on. "But the reason I am here... is because She sent me."

She looked up at the ceiling of the hollow, as if referencing a higher power.

"The Moon Goddess, Selene."

Kael stiffened instantly. His muscles locked up under her hands. His pupils dilated.

"Selene?" he whispered, his voice hushed with reverence and fear.

"Yes," Ren lied through her teeth, looking pitiful. "She sent me to cure the Feral Madness. But... she gave me a condition. A curse, really."

She looked down at their joined hands.

"To have the power to heal... I must have multiple mates," Ren sobbed dryly. "I must bond with powerful males. I must love them equally. If I refuse... if I choose only one... She will be angry. She will punish me. She will destroy everything."

She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"It is not that I want to be shared, Kael! It is that the Moon Goddess forces me to! It is her fault that I desire you both! I am but a vessel for her will!"

’Where’s my damn Oscar?!’ Ren screamed in her thoughts.

She wondered briefly if the Moon Goddess—if she existed—would strike her down for slander. Was that a thing here?

Kael, however, looked terrified.

"Selene is not a goddess to be refused," Kael murmured, looking pale. "If she is angered... she could wipe out the forest.’

Then, slowly, the fear on his face was replaced by something else.

Pride.

He looked at Ren as if she had suddenly grown a halo.

"My mate," Kael breathed, "is a chosen female. Chosen by the Moon Goddess herself."

Ren blinked.

[System: The Moon Goddess is the highest power in this world. She is a Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit who watches over the Beast World from a temple on the highest mountain. She is very real, and very petty.]

Ren almost choked on air.

’She’s an actual PERSON?!’ Ren screamed internally. ’You’re telling me I’m slandering an actual, living Fox God?!’

[System: Technically, she is a deity. But yes. Don’t worry, she rarely descends. Just stick to the script.]

"Why..." Kael asked, his voice thick with emotion. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

Ren thought fast.

"It was supposed to be a secret," she whispered. "The Goddess... she tests us. But I couldn’t bear it anymore. I couldn’t let you and Syris fight."

Kael gripped her hands tightly.

"I understand," he said firmly.

He took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders.

"If your life is at stake and it is the will of the Moon Goddess, I must accept it. You have a purpose greater than me, Ren. I should be thankful that she chose me to be one of your mates."

Ren felt a pang of genuine guilt. He was so earnest. He was so loyal. He had swallowed the lie whole because he trusted her—and because he feared the Goddess.

’I am a terrible person,’ Ren thought.

"Thank you, Kael," Ren said softly. "You are the best mate a disciple could ask for."

She wondered if Syris would be this easy. Syris was cynical. But Kael was simple, a Golden Retriever in a Tiger’s body.

Ren stood up, dusting off her knees. She looked down at herself. "A dirty chef cannot cook. And you all need to eat."

"I can take you to the waterhole," Kael offered immediately, scrambling to get up. "It is nearby."

Ren held up a hand. "Not yet."

She went over her quest list in her head.

She could convince Kael to forfeit the Rite of the Severed Fang right now. He was in a listening and compliant mood. But Viper was sitting three feet away, his ears practically vibrating as he eavesdropped. If Kael forfeited now, Viper might tell Syris later, and that would ruin the power dynamic.

’I need them both awake,’ Ren decided. ’I need to hit them with the "Peace Treaty" simultaneously.’

"We have work to do first," Ren said.

"We are going upstairs," she declared, thinking of the five liters of cooking oil waiting for her as a reward.

Kael tilted his head, confused. "Upstairs?"