I took a bite out of the meat stick, and my mouth was hit with a sweet but gamey and rich taste. The meat was not what I had expected, but I was hungry, and the meat wasn't that bad.
"What do you think of the meat?" The Demon woman that had handed me the food asked me, but I put up a finger to get her to wait.
The meat was chewy, and there wasn't much fat on it, so I was trying to empty my mouth before speaking.
"Not horrible, but a bit chewy. Still, I was starving, and the sweet sticky sauce that you put on it is perfect!" I explained after I was finally able to swallow the meat.
"Yes, the Gnoll tends to have a bit of a weird taste."
The woman's words instantly made my mouth start to salivate. My stomach started to churn, and I had to fight to keep the food down.
"Are you okay?" Nushi tried to ask me, but I nodded my head yes, even though I was far from okay.
The gnoll were humanoids, and the thought of eating anything human-shaped was making me sick. I knew that they were not human, but that still didn't make me feel any better about it.
"Thank you for the food; it really hit the spot!" I said with a fake look on my face, but I turned to Nushi and Howl.
"Umm, do you still want to go to see the fights?" Nushi asked with a hesitant tone.
"Nah, I thought that we might just get out of here and go for another walk. I don't think there is anything on this island that can hurt either of us, so we should be able to sleep outside," I explained to Nushi, but the woman that had guided us here spoke up before Nushi could speak.
"Leave? You don't want to sleep outside! You two lovebirds can have the top floor of the house that I share with some other demons! The two of you can go out and explore in the light of day tomorrow!" Wanda, our guide, declared.
Before I could argue against it, the blue-skinned woman had grabbed our arms. Wanda started to pull us back the way we came, and I looked over at Nushi, but she shook her head.
"We should sleep here, and it is rude to refuse a free bed, don't you think?" Nushi explained as we were pulled along.
The truth was that I wanted to go find some normal food, even if that was just berries or something like that. The meat had left me feeling sick, but I couldn't deny how hungry it had actually made me.
"I saw the way the meat seemed to make you sick, but you don't have to worry! I am sure that one of the other women living with me or I can find something more to your taste," Wanda explained as we started to slow down.
"Sorry, I am just not used to eating things like that. If you show me your kitchen, I am sure that I can whip up something quick for the two of us, depending on what you have," I explained, and Wanda nodded her head as we stopped in front of a two-story house.
The house was jammed in between two other houses, and the place looked almost identical to the rest. I supposed that the Demons weren't really too big on interior design like Mex had been.
"You, a man, can cook? And you choose to do so? Do you fear poison that much?" Wanda asked with real shock.
"No, he doesn't fear to poison. I can agree; the first time that I saw him cook, I had a similar reaction. Still, Zack is an excellent cook, and all of us at the Keep love to eat his food," Nushi explained for me, and that made me grin.
"Really? Well, this will be a treat for all of us women here! Come inside, and I will show you around!" Wanda said with excitement.
The woman turned around, opened the door to her house, and waved for us to follow her. I looked over at Nushi, and she smiled broadly.
"Well, this is better than trying to hunt your own food, right? This can also be a good chance for some of the Demons to see what kind of a person you are," Nushi explained to me, and I nodded.
"Yeah, I didn't plan it that way, but you are right. Though, I am not really sure that my cooking will persuade them all," I said, but Nushi shrugged her shoulders.
Wanda had already stepped inside, but the two of us were standing still.
"The idea isn't to bring everyone, just the people that will be beneficial to us. You don't want people that don't want to come, but with the orders for us to never return, most don't want to come. You are going to have to show them that you can be trusted. If you don't and force them to come, you will be no different than Dao," Nushi explained.
Instead of replying, I just nodded. I was different from the Doa, but Nushi was right.
I didn't need any of them to come. In fact, it might be better if all the other Demons just stayed here on the island.
I really didn't need more people to protect, but I was going to need people to help. There was no way I would be able to put everything on the grandmothers and Mex.
"You're right, and I don't need everyone, but we will need some people to help. I will try to make a good impression on them, but I am also starting to get tired," I explained with a weary smile.
"Good! Now, let's get inside so you can get started with the food!" Nushi said with a smile and then grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.
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