"Welco- huh?"
The tiger king who heard the announcement rose from his seat bearing a friendly smile that instantly vanished as soon as he caught a glimpse of Fenghuang carrying the female in his arms.
"Yes, hello."
Unbothered by the reaction, Fenghuang went to take a seat placing Liss on the chair next to his.
"Say hello, little one, don't be shy,"
"Ah, yes, hello... How do you do? It's good to see you again."
The tiger king stood standing from the other end of the table, watching in a daze the nonchalant pair.
"O...kay."
The tiger king blinks a couple of times in disbelief.
His eyes shifted from Fenghuang to Liss and back a couple of times. Utterly speechless when the initial shock passed, the tiger king covered his mouth and took his seat in silence. He cleared his throat, unable to mask his awkwardness, and signaled the males on standby to leave the room.
"Feng Huang, thank you my friend for helping me with my bothersome request."
The tiger king smiled, adopting a laid-back posture as soon as they were alone.
"Yes, I won't be doing that again," Fenghuang in a light-hearted tone, putting his elbow on the table to support his head with his chin resting on his palm. "It just so happened that my protegee was involved. The young are bound to make mistakes."
"As expected. I wasn't able to look there as it is the territory of a three-soul beast mask."
"It's understandable."
"But why the secrecy? Concealing her whereabouts."
The two high-level males spoke comfortably, like two aunts gossiping about the neighborhood rumors. Liss who was guarded before relaxed with the informal atmosphere.
"My thoughts exactly. Haa" Fenghuang flips his hair, showing his condescension, gesturing disapproval, and bending his hands with palms facing up at his sides.
"The tribe turned upside down when no one saw her in the campfire."
His cackle resonated echoing on the tall walls at the mention of the campfire and the tumult, and Liss's eyes fell on the tiger king glancing side-eyed.
"Female"
"Little Liss." Fenghuang interrupted, cutting off the tiger king. "She is named Liss and is relatively shy." He lied.
"I see. Well, Liss, I recall your displeasure regarding selecting a mate."
Liss peeped in Fenghuang's direction reading the room before gathering the courage and straightening her posture.
"That's right, there's no need to rush with such an important decision."
Assuming that Fenghuang would take her side regardless, Liss decided to express her ideals before leaving his protection.
"You're still as how I remember." The tiger king mused and then there was a sound of knocking followed by males entering the space with wooden bowls. Swiftly they organized the table and when the tiger king gestured for them to leave they turned around and left after diligently serving the meal, all without uttering a word.
"Please enjoy. I hunted especially to this gathering."
Liss carefully examined the contents in front of her. A wooden plate with a slice of thick barbecued meat next to a bowl of soup with vegetables. At this point, Liss was starting to miss her world's food. The variety, lots of spices and condiments to choose and techniques to optimize the flavor.
"Thank you." Liss thanked him for the soup, using her hair to hide her face as she leaned forward to look at their plates. They both had a plate of meat and a goblet.
"I took special care and even acquired vegetables from herbivores. I was concerned because Feng Huang took you with him. I thought that Feng Huang wouldn't bother to care for you but I see you two are getting along."
"In a way." Liss shrugged mixing the soup with her spoon.
"It's truly a surprise seeing Feng Huang care for a female."
'It's only natural that I honor my words."
"Yes, as expected." The tiger king mused, leaning forward and covering his eyes with his hand suppressing his smile. "Liss appears to have been cared for."
"Of course."
"Hah... of course," Liss mumbled bitterly.
"Anyway, as you know, I can't accommodate Liss in my palace because of my mate. So, Liss, the place that you were originally offered is now renovated." Feng Huang's eyebrows rose slightly slipping a, somewhat, surprised expression. "Because of your unique situation, provisions will be sent, and until you find a mate, we will support you."
Liss, who had been indifferent to the conversation until now, looked up from her food with one raised eyebrow, while the other frowned, expressing her confusion.
"What?"
"Your lodgings"
"That I understood, but, who said I want to stay there?"
"Oh, so the place isn't to your link-"
"One second. My king, I already have a home."Liss signaled to stop with her hand held out in a gesture indicating a pause.
"And I will be staying with Feng Huang until going back."
Liss had always maintained the facade of a gentle and gracious girl, but in a sudden shift, her true nature emerged with an air of authority and regality. Despite her intention to communicate softly, her upbringing as an heir took over, and she found herself effortlessly issuing commands as if it were second nature.
"Understandable. In other circumstances, I would've gone along, but Feng Huang isn't one to be made responsible. I ask for your understanding, I will summon Semion when the time is right."
'When the time is right.'
Liss sneered, what he said was expected and Liss even found it amusing because of the underlying meaning of his statement. In a nutshell, the plan was to make Liss spend a while in the city, interacting with the males who expressed interest in her to appease them before going back to the trio. She had no intention of denying it, it was only a temporary measure to please the people and the Tiger King was now aware that Liss had Fenghuang's favor, Liss was calm but she was curious to know what Feng Huang had to say about it.
"So I can go back? Today? Tomorrow?' She said trying to pry into their intentions.
Feng Huang kept his silence, leisurely watching the two talk with a mocking smile.
"It can be arranged, but I have to ask. Why were you hidden away?"
"Hidden..." Liss mumbled.
"Semion and Levi are honorable beasts who always work diligently in hopes of growing our influence. While they did come to me in the meantime, they never mentioned you."
"Maybe they didn't consider it necessary." Liss crossed her arms and looked away. Her knowledge of the world allowed her to act arrogantly in order to take charge of the situation. With Feng Huang distancing himself from the discussion, the responsibility fell on Liss to handle the matter.
"I'm not interrogating you, nor am I trying to force you to do something you don't want to..."
"So?"
"I want to understand, that's all, why were they so protective of you? Why hide the fact that you were living with them."