These Beast Husbands Are Too Hard To Tame, So I Just Give Them Cubs!

Chapter 22: 22: Fishing

"Wow." Little Black approached the squirrels, who were completely absorbed in their walnuts. "How did you do it?"

He ran a hand across his chin thoughtfully. "Walnuts are impossible to find around here. I haven’t seen any anywhere! How did you manage to get these?"

Sunnie shrugged. "Well, I guess I’m just lucky."

"Huh? Weren’t you supposed to be that unlucky jinxed rabbit lady?"

"..."

Sunnie sighed. "Whatever. Let’s just go and gather the things we need while they’re still happy about their new find."

Sunnie and Little Black headed into the garden and began collecting the required ingredients.

Sunnie would have to worry about detoxifying them later to make them suitable for eating. For now, all she needed to do was get her hands on as much as she required.

She gathered a decent amount of carrots and cabbages, along with some leafy greens. Then she moved on to the mushrooms, most of which appeared to be dying or past their prime.

So Sunnie carefully selected the ones that seemed most appropriate for use. The same applied when she was picking the onions, garlic, and ginger. She had to be extremely selective with those as well.

She also picked up some dried herbs that she planned to use to make the meal healthier. She did not see the specific ones the system had recommended, so she opted for alternatives she knew would work just as well.

Sunnie had to purchase a sack bag from the system store for 100 heart coins in order to carry everything. Little Black volunteered to help her with the sack. So she picked the ingredients and placed them into the sack bag while Little Black carried it along.

Soon, she had finished gathering everything she wanted. The squirrels were still busy sitting on their branch, enjoying their walnut.

"Bye, then. See you!" Sunnie waved at them as she began to make her way off.

The squirrels paused their eating for only a second. They looked up at her, blinked, glanced at each other, and then continued eating as though nothing had happened.

---

"So where to now?" Little Black inquired as they made their way through the thick brushes.

"Hmm, I either need to find some meat, or chicken, or fish..." she thought aloud.

Little Black considered the matter. "Hmm, it’s going to be difficult to find any of that around here. Catching anything for meat is hard. All the animals in this area are so cautious and difficult to catch."

"Hmmm," Sunnie mused. "Even the fishes?"

Little Black nodded firmly. "Yes. They’re stubborn and smart! One time, I went fishing and used some food I had heard they would like. But I sat there all day and got nothing! Not even a single fish took the bait!"

Sunnie did not know whether to laugh or feel sorry for herself. How was she supposed to obtain what she needed, then?

She thought it over. Chasing and hunting down an animal for meat or something similar would be far more difficult and would likely take much longer. So she decided to go with the easier route—fishing.

"Hmmmm. Let’s still give it a try. Shall we go fishing?"

Little Black stared at her. "Do you want to waste your entire day? When will you cook, then?" His stomach grumbled audibly.

Sunnie smiled. "Don’t worry. I have a plan." She did not actually have a plan.

---

As they moved along, heading closer to the river for the fishing attempt, Sunnie could not help but look around at the scene: the thick and lonely forest, which became rather creepy when it grew quiet; the unkempt roads; and the general desolation of it all.

"Does no beastman actually live around here, though? I heard this place was used for throwing away dead and unwanted beast bodies or something like that..." she said.

Little Black scoffed. "Yeah, it is. Bodies are certainly disposed of here. Bodies that are considered cursed or useless. Someone like you, I guess."

"..." Sunnie stared at him.

Little Black blinked. "Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean that you would be disposed of here. I meant—"

"I understand."

He nodded and continued. "Well, what I mean is, people who are considered worthless and cursed are thrown here to die. So you might find a few beastmen around here. I’ve seen some, but they’re unfriendly. I don’t hang out with them."

Sunnie nodded at his explanation. "I see. And you? Were you perhaps disposed of here too...?"

The little one fell quiet for a while. "I told you, I was born and raised here. Stop asking, okay?" He seemed as though he was sulking.

Sunnie nodded gently. "Okay, sure. I won’t ask again," she assured him.

Sunnie looked around as she asked, "Do you think it’s possible to make this place livable? Like, building a tribe out of this land?"

Little Black laughed. "That would be completely delusional. Look at this place—it’s abandoned and cursed. What kind of home could survive here?"

Sunnie slowly nodded. "I see." But her system had told her she would have to do exactly that. She supposed she would find out just how possible it would be.

"Is that heavy? Let me carry it," she offered, reaching for the sack bag from Little Black.

"Don’t worry, I’m fine! I’m not a weak kid!" he insisted, carrying it ahead of her.

Sunnie smiled. "Okay. If you say so." She smiled softly as she watched him go.

Soon, they arrived at the river.

---

They set the pot and the sack bag aside as Sunnie made preparations to begin fishing.

Before she turned around, she noticed Little Black already getting the fishing stick ready. He had made it himself—a long stick with a rope attached to it.

He was getting ready to sit down and fish.

"Are you sure you can manage that...?" Sunnie felt a pang of pity for the kid.

"Of course I can! I’ve been surviving here for years. So just sit down and watch!" he insisted as he settled himself onto a rock and placed some scraps of food he had picked up around the tip of the rope.

And then he threw the rope into the water, sitting down and waiting for something to happen.

Sunnie sat down beside him, staring into the water as well. The two of them sat there quietly, gazing into the river while waiting for any sign of movement.

But thirty minutes passed. Then an hour. Then an hour and thirty minutes, and then two hours. Still, nothing happened.

No fish was taking that bait. And at that moment, Sunnie knew she would have to resort to plan B.