Chapter 8 8 Appetite

"What do you mean by that? What is this rocket science you are speaking about? Is it some kind of spell chant?" Luna asked, her curiosity had clearly been piqued.

Zach only shrugged and didn't answer her question which frustrated her.

"I can't understand why a human like you would try to save a succubus like me from your own kin. You even went as far as to murder your own kin to save me. Why?" Luna finally asked the question that had been haunting her all this while. This was also the reason why she wasn't able to trust Zach until now. She wanted to know his reasons for saving her.

She felt that there was some ulterior motive behind Zach's actions. Her distrust stemmed from this single doubt and her initial impression of humans only aggravated her belief further into strongly rejecting Zach's kindness no matter how sincere he appeared to be.

"I have been cut off from society for a long time now. I have lived most of my life in the mountains with my master. I have never interacted with the outside world in my whole life so I am unaware of even the most common customs and beliefs. Everything is brand new to me. It's the reason I came out here in the forest to escape the crowd of humans who make me uncomfortable. Otherwise did you think I enjoy roaming around the forest like a beggar?" Zach made out a believable story that would explain his ignorance about the world and its inhabitants.

Luna looked like she had bought his story very easily. Therefore, she began to explain to him why she had been unable to understand his thought process. She felt like Zach needed to learn about the world that he was stepping into.

"The reason I was unable to believe that you had acted to save me was because Succubi are a race that are specially hated by humans."

"Why is that? Is that due to some kind of racial discrimination? Zach asked in astonishment since he had been thinking that countless humans would love to know a succubus given the chance. The reason being, succubi could be incredibly charming and seductive. The greatest example was right in front of her. Luna was one of the most beautiful women that he had ever come across and she might not even be among the top tier among succubi.

"It's because among those of my race some of the more radical ones choose to live more freely and give in to their insatiable hunger. Their uncontained hunger eventually became the cause for the deaths of a large number of men who became consumed by their lust and gave all of their vitality to the succubi in order to indulge in carnal pleasure. I can't say that humans are wrong in their prejudice since my kind did cause their deaths but the way humans use the same scale to judge all succubi is unfair to say the very least." Luna explained everything calmly but the way she had clenched her fists at her sides revealed the frustration she had been trying to hide.

Of course, Zach noticed this as well since he had been observing her keenly as she revealed tidbits regarding what was considered common sense in this world.

Luna on the other hand cautiously looked at Zach fearing he might have changed his mind after hearing everything from her; after all he was a human as well.

To her surprise, Zach didn't even look at her differently. He was busy taking out something from his backpack as if that was the most natural thing to do.

Gathering up some courage she asked him again since he hadn't answered her before.

"Why did you save me? Even if you did not know about the enmity between my race and yours, no one helps another person while expecting nothing in return. You must also be expecting to get something from me, right?" Luna wished for the voice inside her head to be wrong about the human. She wanted to believe that he was different but her instincts were warning her not to believe in anything the human told her.

"Do I need a reason to save someone in trouble?" Zach understood that the racial conflict had ingrained certain beliefs among both the races so he approached the situation more delicately. He knew that the situation might backfire if he tried to be straight forward about it. Luna had experienced far too much to take his words at their face value.

"Of course you need a reason. No one in these parts is exactly selfless especially to someone you know nothing about." Luna retorted intent on prying the answers out of him.

"Well, if I had to think of one, then it has to be 'guilt'." Zach looked her in the eyes seriously as he had managed to fish out a piece of beef jerky after scouring his backpack.

"Guilt?" Luna tilted her head cutely to the side in confusion. She didn't understand what Zach was trying to get at.

"Yes, guilt. To be honest, it didn't take me much effort to save you. And I knew that, before I leaped in to defend you. Had the enemies been stronger, I might have left without even blinking and without feeling any remorse. For survival would have been a good enough excuse to satisfy my conscience. But because I knew how easy it was, if I hadn't bothered saving you, I might have regretted it in the future." Zach made it sound as if he hadn't done it with the intention of saving her in order to not let Luna feel burdened by it.

Zach noticed her facial expressions soften slightly and let out a sigh of relief. She had at least believed his words to some extent.

Zach chewed on beef jerky as he reached into his backpack and pulled out another one before offering it to Luna who was still paralyzed deciding whether to trust him or not.

"Want one? It tastes quite good. You must be hungry after all that." Zach offered with his outstretched hand.

Luna was still stuck inside her mind thinking god knows what, but she still took the time to shake her head to deny his offer.

"Why don't you have some? I have plenty in my backpack." Zach pointed to his backpack that weighed quite a bit and tried to get her to eat a little.

"I really can't eat that even if I try to. It will taste all bland and horrible, not to mention that it might give me a stomach ache later." Luna finally came down to the realm of the living and answered only to refuse his offer.

"You can't eat meat then. Are you a vegetarian?" Zach prodded a bit more.

"No, I am not. We succubi follow a different kind of diet." Luna staggered her words as she tried to explain her reasons.

"What do you eat then? Maybe I have some in my backpack. I have a lot of stuff hidden there." Zach felt that something was wrong with her expression.

"I am a succubus and our race can only feed on semen. Our stomach is unable to digest any other kind of food. That…would taste like my own filth, not that I know what that tastes like…my filth I mean." Luna explained in a flustered manner with an expression of disgust as she pointed towards the jerky that Zach was currently chewing with her index finger.

Unconsciously Zach imagined the picture that she had painted with her words and his expression darkened.

"And there goes my appetite." Zach cursed under his breath as he pulled out the jerky from his mouth and stealthily threw it into the bushes behind him. The action remained unnoticed by Luna though. She was busy trying to hide her face that was turning a reddish hue.

Zach finally understood why it had taken him so much effort to pry out the secret of her diet. She was definitely embarrassed to say it out loud.

Zach understood her predicament perfectly and he wanted to help her recover from her injuries as well. Not to mention that his semen might prove to be quite nutritious for Luna since one of his abilities enabled him to upgrade the strength of any woman from this world through his semen.

<quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>