Chapter 191 - Hongse, The Gentle

Unlike Valerie, the talking panda hardly bore any human features--seemingly only inhabiting the intellect and somewhat closer muscle shape, underneath all of that blubber. 

His antics were ignored as Valerie shot her majestic gaze back at Ren, "You wanted to help right? Do you have any food with you? Anything?"

Thinking for a moment, a lightbulb shone over Ren's head as he raised a finger to the air, "Actually, I do! It's not the tastiest, but I still have some meat back where my group is."

The look of relief and glowing gratitude that made itself known on her iridescent canvas was something that could not be replicated; her eyes smiling as she nodded fervently, "That'll work!"

"Urr, can you give me a lift? That bridge is kind of...yeah."

Scratching his cheek, it wasn't the manliest thing to ask a girl to fly him away, but she didn't hesitate to agree with this. 

"I'll be right back, Hongse...Just hold on, food is on the way!"

Assuring the unconscious, snoring panda demi-human, Valerie placed her hands underneath Ren's pits, hoisting him up as her powerful wings brought them back into the abyssal skies. 

As kind of humiliating as it may be--flying is pretty fun! Ren admitted to himself, unable to hold back his smile as he glided through the air. 

Something he didn't consider--coming into view as he drew near the boundary of their humble campsite, the familiar, royal golden locks belonging to none other than Macheo. The absolutely bewildered, yet annoyed look that shined through his crimson jewels looked at Ren as if asking, "Really?"

"Okay, we can drop here…"

Holding a trembling smirk, Ren landed on the ground, greeting Macheo as he nervously scratched his head--the golden-haired boy could only keep his gaze on the towering, draconic woman standing behind his companion. 

"Right...This is Valerie, one of the people I saw. Turns out, her partner is suffering from a bit of starvation so…"

"So, you're giving our resources away to total strangers?"

"...Yup."

Averting his gaze, Ren couldn't deny the hesitative, questioning nature Macheo put on display as he kept his arms sternly crossed against his chest. 

"Hey! Don't get the wrong idea! I don't accept hand-outs; I'll be sure to repay you in full!"

Valerie, stepping past Ren, looked down at Macheo, who began to crack under the shadow of the demi-human, still holding his confident smile, "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Leaning down, their faces were so close that Ren actually feared a fist or spell might be flung; sliding himself between them as he broke up the tangible tension. 

"Calm it, calm it...Let's not wake the sleeping beauties over there. Macheo, remember what you told me?"

Allowing his voice to fall to a serious tone, Ren's question caused Macheo to freeze for a moment before relaxing his tense shoulders.

"...Yeah."

"Well, I've chosen to help them. Do you want to make that choice as well?"

Asked this, Macheo took another look at Valerie, meeting gazes with her draconic eyes, letting out a sigh before fervently ruffling his own locks before looking back up at the snow-haired companion of his. It was rare to see such a gentle smile on the prince's face, but it was a sight for sore eyes. 

Man, he is going to grow up to be a total ikemen, Ren thought. 

"Alright, I'll grab the meat. You're helping us gather more first thing when the new day starts."

Pointing this condition directly at the demi-human, Valerie didn't hesitate to accept it, giving him a simple, powerful nod, "Of course!"

Retrieving the jumbled chunks of dehydrated meat wrapped in a cover of sparse green found within the cavern, Macheo placed it in Ren's hand before seeing him off with a smile.

As much as I hate it, it feels good to help someone do a bit of good, Macheo thought.

"Help me open his mouth!"

Returning to the unconscious, hunger-stricken panda's side, Valerie was quick to return to her worried state. 

"Open it?…"

"This is a two-person operation! Trust me, his jaw is heavy!"

Begrudgingly, Ren knew he had no choice but to accept this unsavory role, kneeling down next to the fluffy, red-furred demi-human's head as he gulped. 

The snoring sounded like a bellowing beast roaring out to mark its territory, generating a stream of hot breath that pelted against his face—specifically attacking his nostrils.

Terrible! Ren thought.

"Hurry up!"

"This is slave labor!—whatever, I've got this!"

Psyching himself up, he placed his gloved fingers past Hongse's lips, having to fit them through the tiny grasp of his large teeth. 

Gross. Gross. Gross. It's slimy—the smell is worse when I can attach it to a real feeling! Ren thought. 

He soon realized Valerie wasn't exaggerating—using his baseline strength, he wasn't able to budge the stone-solid maw of the crimson panda. 

"Okay, a little reinforcement never hurt anybody…Just a little, just a little…"

Taking a deep breath after muttering silently to himself, complete focus was set on maintaining a bare minimum level of his magical enhanced strength. 

If I just let it flow as much as my brain is used to by now, I might snap his jaw right off, Ren thought.

Using this amplified strength, he slowly parted the jaws of the panda—unleashing from his maw a foulest stench. The horrid stench that resided within the mouth of the unconscious panda coaxed tears out of his eyelids, coughing as he averted his gaze. 

"Does toothpaste not exist in this world?! Not even mints?!"

"Stop talking nonsense and keep your hold!"

Being told so sternly and vividly by Valerie, he simply nodded his head at her mature aura--watching as she fit the chunks of monster meat into the salivating maw of Hongse. 

"...Won't he choke like that?"

"I've seen him swallow entire lurgerfish whole. This is normal for him."

Even if she said that, he felt anxious watching a piece of meat the size of his fist simply be swallowed whole--but there was definitely a size difference between him and the giant, red panda. A disgusting, almost gag-inducing swallowing sound unpleasantly met his ears, releasing his hold on the panda's mouth as his eyes suddenly shot open. 

"Delicious!"

Jumping up as if he were an acrobat, the round, colorfully-furred panda hopped onto his two feet as he regained consciousness with one-hundred percent energy. 

"Thanks, Val. I really thought I was going to kick it there."

"Don't thank me--thank him, idiot."

Pointing past the panda, Valerie's index finger guided his attention towards Ren, who was wiping the bit of saliva off on his pants with a displeased, twisted look across his lips. 

"Thanks! Urr…"

Trailing his words off as he looked for the name of his supposed savior, Hongse extended his fluffy yet human hand, holding five fingers, including a working thumb. 

"Ren. You know what a handshake is?"

Accepting the gesture, Ren took hold of the hand that overshadowed his a few times over, but it was a gentle, comforting grip he found himself in. A chill ran through his entire body as he let out a relaxed sigh, feeling his hand being shaken by the pillow of a hand. 

His fur is so damn soft!...I'd totally pet him, Ren thought. 

"Good to meet you, Ren! I'm Hongse Kuande!...Oh, I'm guessing Val didn't know what a handshake was, huh? I'm an adventurer from Vesta myself, so I know my stuff. She's a bit of a recluse, though."

Leaning in close, Hongse quietly gave this information to Ren, who nodded his head a few times as if thinking, "Yeah, that totally makes sense."

"No fancy title either?"

"Mm, my family name is enough of a title for me! I'm not from a proud, famous house like Val."

Giving a hearty, bellowing laugh, the aura Hongse gave off was warm and enriching--as if just being near him cured any malicious feeling dwelling within him. 

"So, that's how I acquired two new members of "Team Weltwanderer"! Not bad, right?"

Sitting around the campfire, Ren earned a mixture of sleepy-eyed looks as well as utter confusion--not just from his original group, but from Valerie as well. 

Recounting the events that happened just a few minutes prior to his story, Ren smiled as if acquiring some grand tale of his. In truth, Iris and Aiko seemed transfixed by the giant panda standing besides Ren, outfitted in armor and fur as soft as the clouds of heaven. 

They totally want to pet him too, don't they? That fur is the apple of Eve that must not be touched, Ren thought. 

"Weltwanda-what?..."

Aiko yawned into her hand, rubbing her half-open eyes as she spoke drearily, swaying side to side subtly before resting her head on the shoulder of Iris. 

"Oh! "Weltwanderer"--that folktale, right? I heard a little bit about it from my travels."

Hongse raised his fluffy finger as he pinpointed the source of Ren's spontaneously decided name for their group of six. 

"Bingo!"

Giving a high-five to Hongse, the others watched in even further confusion as Ren and the red panda shared a celebratory laugh. 

They're totally in their own world, the others thought.