Chapter 58

Although it had been decided to go to the settlement with Titus, they had to wait until tomorrow to set off. Besides it being a bit late in the day, today she had to first deal with the big fish Titus brought back, and... because she wasn't sure how long they would stay in the settlement, she needed to consider what to bring with her.

"Since you're taking me to the settlement, don't bring the fish over," Cloudy looked at the fat and juicy fish lying white next to the bonfire, feeling troubled. It was definitely too much for one meal today, making it into dried fish would be a waste; this was such a delicious fish! It had only been in her hands for a short while, and now it was going to be dried in the wind...

Titus mumbled beside her, "I thought you wouldn't agree, so..."

"So you wanted to bribe me with food," Cloudy fiddled with the necklace on her neck. "This was given to me by the Matriarch, right? What does this represent?"

After learning a lot of new vocabulary, Cloudy summarized that this necklace represented "honored guest" and "most precious gift" within the settlement. Every material on the necklace was extremely rare; the bone came from a highly cherished bird-beast, whose droppings and eggshells were important medicinal materials. The light-colored stone was picked up from under a tree struck by lightning, symbolizing great luck, and the dried flower was extremely beautiful when it bloomed.

After fully understanding the necklace, Cloudy felt her neck become heavy. But this was good in a way; it indicated that the Matriarch had completely let go of her guard against her and really needed her help. The Matriarch was the most influential figure in Titus' settlement. Even if others had opinions about her, as long as the Matriarch treated her well, staying in the settlement for a while wouldn't be so scary!

"Cloudy, it doesn't look good on you." After explaining, Titus frowned slightly, looking dissatisfied at the necklace clearly not fitting Cloudy's size on her neck. It might suit them, but Cloudy wearing it felt awkward to him. Cloudy would look better with something shiny and delicate, considering her slender neck.

Thinking this, Titus reached out and held Cloudy's neck, measured the size with his hand, then let go. "This is too big for Cloudy."

"I thought you were going to strangle me for wearing it, Cloudy rolled her eyes slightly. "I thought you would say it looks good."

"It doesn't look good."

"Say it looks good!"

"It doesn't look good... It's too big for Cloudy, it's not suitable." Titus walked over and fiddled with the necklace. "Cloudy should wear something smaller. I know there's another one in the settlement, very beautiful, I think that one suits Cloudy."

"You're not allowed to steal."

"... "

Titus's ears flapped, "I didn't want to steal before."
The memory of the fire incident is still vivid in Cloudy's mind. She couldn't believe it: "No stealing! I think this one is good enough!" This was her first piece of jewelry since coming to this world! Although it wasn't very attractive... Cloudy lowered her head and fiddled with the necklace a couple of times, reminiscing about the small pieces of jewelry she used to buy for herself before crossing over.

Since coming here, she had seen fewer delicate things, so even this rough necklace that seemed like a cursed item appeared charming to her... Not to mention, the holes in the bones and stones were perfectly crafted. When she reached the settlement, she definitely had to ask how those holes in the stones were made.

"Fish, how about we take half of them back tomorrow?" Cloudy started gathering firewood near the kiln, preparing to make a fire and cook something to eat. She hadn't eaten anything good besides her dry rations all day since she went out this morning, and she hadn't had fresh fish for days!

Cloudy pursed her lips, contemplating whether to roast the fish or make fish soup. For fish soup, since there was no animal fat reserve in the cave, she couldn't fry it first and then cook it, so the soup might not turn out as white, and the taste probably wouldn't be as rich: "Can Titus help me with making the fire? Or maybe help me prepare the fish?"

"I'll make the fire!" Titus quickly took the firewood. "When we get to the settlement, will Cloudy tell them how to make a fire?"

"Of course, knowing how to make a fire would be very convenient, right?"

Once the fish was roasted, Cloudy took out a spare bone knife from the cave, first sharpening the blade with a stone for a while to keep it sharp, then started to gut the fish.

The fish Titus had just caught didn't have very thick scales, feeling soft to the touch, resembling an oversized eel without the ugly face. She positioned the fish correctly, and with the bone knife, she cut down the back like slicing an eel. Since the knife wasn't very sharp, it was a bit difficult to gut the fish, getting stuck several times before reaching a third of the way down.

Estimating the portions for herself and Titus, Cloudy cut off the rest in half and wrapped it in leaves to take back to the settlement tomorrow.

Handling the entrails and blood of the prey had become routine for Cloudy, but this fish had a subtle taste. After cutting the meat, apart from the usual smell of blood and innards, there was a strong earthy odor mixed with the fish's distinct smell.

It seemed like a few days old yellow croaker had rolled in the mud. Cloudy looked at the large piece of tender pink fish meat she had dissected in her hand and pondered, "Titus, where did you catch this fish?"

"In the water."

"I know it's in the water! But where in the water..."

Titus rubbed a stick, his voice trembling slightly from the quick rubbing, "In the mud in the water. This kind of fish likes to hide in the mud because its scales are very thin."

That makes sense... Cloudy lifted the fish meat to her nose and sniffed. The smell, while unique, could be considered a special fishy aroma: "Usually..."
"In the settlement, how do people eat this kind of meat?"

"They eat it directly, or cook it over the fire."

Eating it directly... that certainly piqued Cloudy's curiosity. She used to only eat raw meat out of necessity, but now she found herself trying it out of sheer curiosity, a sign of her improved living standards.

Almost involuntarily, she raised the bone knife and carefully sliced a piece of fish meat, then took it over to wash it in the water. The cleaned fish slice appeared relatively clean and translucent, with a deeper color near the bones that faded as it spread outwards.

The familiar smell lingered in the air as Cloudy first nibbled on a small piece with her teeth and then took a big bite.

Indeed, there was a distinct earthy taste typical of river fish, but Cloudy didn't mind it. The meat was tender, and the part closer to the bone provided a satisfying chew.

There wasn't any particular taste, as the fish had been sitting for a while and was cold. It had a refreshing quality to it.

If only it had been cooked in a hot pot... what a waste! Eating the raw fish left Cloudy slightly disappointed; she thought it would have been better grilled. While Cloudy was experimenting with new flavors, Titus had already started a fire outside the stone oven and was adjusting the fire with a wooden stick. "Cloudy, we can eat now."

...

Fish slices, fish chunks, fish fillets.

Cloudy arranged three different shapes of fish meat on the clean stones. Inside the wooden house, there were some simple dried herbs and flowers that could enhance the flavor. She took them all out, crushed them with her hands, and sprinkled them over the fish meat.

"Why cut them into different shapes?" Titus thought it just made the meat look smaller.

"Different food shapes can lead to different textures and flavors." While it sounded a bit mystical, Cloudy genuinely believed that fish slices for hot pot and fish chunks for hot pot had different flavors. With limited seasonings available, she was just trying to satisfy her taste buds... especially after trying those astonishing insect eggs.

The fish cooked quickly. Titus went straight for the largest fish fillet, being a wild man, he enjoyed any meat cooked over the fire, not paying much attention to the taste.

Cloudy, on the other hand, tasted each piece by hand. The fish slices cooked the fastest. Compared to the raw slices, the cooked ones had a better texture... they were oddly crispy, which was strange because fish meat usually becomes softer and more tender when cooked.

The spices she had applied didn't have much effect; each had its own taste, quite bland.

Nevertheless, it was still great. Cloudy kept eating the meat eagerly, saying, "This is... the best meat I've had in these past few days!" Her mouth was filled with warm, delicious fish meat, making her cheeks bulge.

By now, Titus had already started on his second large fish fillet. He hadn't really eaten well since returning to the settlement; everyone welcomed him warmly and missed him a lot, asking if he was hurt... after finding him perfectly healthy, most of his time was spent being lectured by the Matriarch, except..."
The Matriarch's hunting companion, who was with him on the hunt, had been complaining about him for a long time.

In addition to learning about the loss of the settlement and having to take Cloudy back, he wasn't very happy... But now, sitting by the fire with Cloudy, eating hot meat, most of his unease and gloom dissipated.

Especially watching Cloudy eat voraciously like a hungry beast, it made him feel very reassured.

What changes will there be between them after Cloudy goes back to the settlement... The Matriarch will definitely realize how amazing Cloudy is. Based on Titus's understanding of Cloudy, she is much more skilled in many ways than most of the mothers in the settlement, and she is also very skilled in hunting and surviving alone.

"Cloudy is mine."

As Cloudy chewed on the fish meat in her mouth, she couldn't understand how her previous statement, "This is the best meat I've had in days," led to Titus saying this...

"...If everyone knows how amazing Cloudy is, she won't be mine anymore." Titus's face wrinkled, and the fish meat in his hand lost its fragrance due to his clumsy thoughts.

She wasn't yours to begin with... She knew Titus's meaning was definitely not possessiveness in a romantic way, but why did he suddenly say that!

Cloudy wiped the fish meat from her mouth and said, "I'm yours, don't worry."

"Really?"

"Really, really." Her tone was casual, but this wild man surely couldn't tell, and just as she thought that, she suddenly noticed Titus's eyes sharpening. "What's wrong...?"

"Cloudy, are you lying to me."

How did he figure it out!!