Chapter 101: Chapter 101

"Master, perhaps maintaining some social interaction would help you appear more like a normal adult human male."

The Raven, who had been pecking away at a Sisi Fruit nearby, suddenly lifted its head and spoke.

Although this Lady Daisy didn't show it any respect and couldn't even be bothered to greet it, for the sake of its master's normalcy, this minor oversight was something the magnanimous Raven could forgive.

Loren's face darkened. "......"

Thank you so much for the reminder, coming up with this way to help me retain my humanity...

Daisy Wendy, hearing the Raven's words, couldn't help but chuckle.

A flicker of contemplation appeared in her eyes. Such high intelligence? It seems this isn't just a simple animal companion...

Seeing this, Loren's expression grew even darker.

"I think your companion makes a valid point. Perhaps you should consider its advice?" Daisy Wendy said with a gentle smile.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Raven."

"Good afternoon, beautiful lady. If I were a normal adult human male, I believe I would be utterly captivated by you."

The Raven spread its right wing, placed it over its chest, and gave Daisy Wendy a rather gentlemanly greeting.

I'm far more polite than you are, you little human girl...

The complimented Lady Daisy Wendy, her face beaming with a smile, retrieved a fiery red fruit from her spatial storage device. The fruit bore crimson patterns on its surface. She gently offered it to the Raven.

"Mr. Raven, you have such a sweet tongue. Please, have a Blood Dragon Fruit."

Daisy Wendy's smile was plastered across her face; clearly, the Raven's praise had pleased her immensely.

"Oh, beautiful, gentle, considerate, and generous Lady Daisy, this seems rather valuable. I'm not sure if my master will allow me to eat this fruit..."

As it spoke, the Raven tilted its head to look at Loren, whose face was somewhat dark.

Having long frequented the Supernatural Creatures section of the Interstellar Hunter Forum, the Raven was well aware of the value of the fruit before it.

This was the so-called miraculous fruit that could only grow when watered with "dragon's blood"—the Blood Dragon Fruit, worth no less than a thousand Spirit Stones apiece on the Federation market.

An extremely rare treasure...

Pah! You definitely have designs on my master!

Tease the child, think of the father.

We've only met a few times, and you're giving me such a precious fruit? Woman! Your intentions are far too obvious...

Loren, who didn't often browse the Supernatural Creatures section of the Interstellar Hunter Forum and generally paid little attention to such things, didn't recognize the value of this Blood Dragon Fruit.

"Is this fruit very precious?" Loren asked, looking at the fruit with its crimson patterns.

The Raven was about to explain when Daisy Wendy across the table beat it to the answer.

"Not precious at all. Ten Spirit Stones each. It's all just hype from unscrupulous fruit merchants. You know how those merchants are—they'll do anything to sell at a high price."

After saying this, Daisy Wendy gave the clearly knowledgeable Raven a gentle, knowing wink.

The Raven, understanding perfectly, returned an "I get it" look and nodded in feigned agreement.

"Really?" Loren felt something was off.

"Really," Daisy Wendy replied with a completely earnest smile.

"Master, think of that unscrupulous merchant friend of yours," the Raven chimed in from the side.

Loren thought of his newly-met unscrupulous merchant friend and nodded silently. Fair point.

Then, he glanced at the expectant-looking Raven, narrowed his eyes slightly, and spoke in a flat tone.

"Since you like it, go ahead and eat it."

Maybe the actual value differs a bit from ten Spirit Stones, but whatever. I, Las Loren, newly-minted wealthy man, can afford any fruit, no matter how expensive.

This stupid bird, going to such lengths for a single fruit... Loren silently complained in his heart.

Loren sensed something was amiss but chose not to expose the Raven's little game.

After all, a bird doesn't have many hobbies. Might as well indulge it...

Having received permission, the Raven happily lowered its head to eat the fruit.

It adopted an air of complete absorption, as if nothing outside the window mattered except devouring the fruit.

Beautiful, generous human female, I can only help you this far. If you want to complete mating with my master, the rest is up to you...

Across the table, Daisy Wendy, having witnessed this entire scene, smiled and said to Loren,

"Mr. Loren, you and Mr. Raven seem to share a very close bond."

Loren nodded silently, not refuting the statement.

Although the Raven can be a bit foolish at times, it's actually quite useful most of the time...

Because Loren remained silent and simply nodded, the two of them, having failed to find another topic of conversation, sat quietly together for a while, watching the Raven peck at the Blood Dragon Fruit.

At the dining table, aside from the sound of the Raven pecking at the fruit, no other sounds emerged.

Seeing this, the Raven sighed inwardly.

This is not the reaction a normal human male should have. Master's humanity is indeed severely lacking...

Clearly, Loren, accustomed to long periods of solitude, had no habit of making casual conversation with people.

Of course, this didn't apply when Loren was on the Interstellar Hunter Forum; the people there were always so interesting.

After a stretch of silence, even Loren began to feel the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

He took the initiative to break the silence and asked,

"You went to the trouble of using your spatial ability to find me. Is there something you need, Lady Daisy?"

Hearing this, Daisy Wendy tilted her head in thought, then answered with complete honesty.

"I originally wanted to check if you were injured last night, or if there were any... adverse changes."

"But after seeing you, I don't really have anything to say."

"You're stronger than I imagined."

Seeing the familiar coin appear in Loren's hand again after she finished speaking, Daisy Wendy's eye twitched.

Good thing I anticipated your move and chose to tell the truth.

A somewhat exasperated Daisy even began to wonder inwardly if, one day, if she lied and he found out, he might actually choose to eliminate her.

People from the Rotten Star really are strange...

The coin landed. Heads.

Receiving the coin's answer, Loren offered Daisy Wendy a slight smile.

"Thank you for your concern. I'm perfectly fine."

Aside from missing a bit of sanity and humanity, there are no other issues...

Daisy Wendy looked at the still-polite Loren, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Well, as long as there's no hostility...

After wrestling with her thoughts for a moment, Daisy Wendy spoke up again.

"Do you... have a contact method? Perhaps, if you encounter trouble during your future activities, I might be able to offer you some... modest assistance."

The coin was tossed into the air once more.

Therefore, Loren, somewhat unusually, lowered his head in contemplation.

Assistance from a spatial ability user? That doesn't sound bad.

In the end, Loren chose to provide the contact information for his portable computer.

Simultaneously, to prevent her from raising her price at the last minute, he cautiously asked another question.

"By the way, what's your fee for a single intervention?"