MHGA Chapter 161 – The Poor Hungry Child and Granny Felyne
But...
Just as the crowd erupted in cheers, Laios silently raised his hand.
"Wait! Please hear me out!"
Laios suddenly addressed everyone: "I know there are still many things we need to do, but... there's something very important!"
"We made a promise earlier. If we could defeat the demon and return safely, we'd all share a meal together!"
Laios's expression was unusually serious. "I want everyone to keep that promise!"
"You're bringing this up now...?" Flaméla, representing the elves, scratched her head in frustration. "There's still so much to deal with..."
"Alright." Mithrun nodded without hesitation. "When do we eat?"
"After... the Guildmaster and I return!"
Laios exchanged a glance with Kairo Retsu, then said, "I want you all to join us... in eating my sister!"
"?!"
Laios's words caused quite an uproar. Just as everyone was about to think he was a lunatic drake-eater, he barely managed to explain the entire story of his journey.
"Everything we did along the way was for one thing only: to save my sister!"
Laios said this earnestly. "Please help me—even if it's just a bowl of meat stew."
"Then…"
As everyone fell into silence, Laios turned to Joseph and the others and said, "I leave the rest to you for now. The Guildmaster and I are heading back to the Gathering Hub…"
Saying this, Laios suddenly vanished from sight, temporarily leaving the world and returning to the hub.
Kairo Retsu scratched his head and followed him back to the Gathering Hub.
Seeing the somewhat quiet atmosphere, Kazuma stepped up and said to Tanjiro and the others, "Anyway, let's take care of what's left…"
————————————————
At that moment, within the Monster Hunter Gathering Hub—
Laios and Kairo Retsu entered the trade district of the hub one after another.
The Felynes swarmed over when they saw the hunters return, happily meowing and speaking to them.
"Winged Lion."
Kairo Retsu directly addressed the Winged Lion residing in Laios's body: "Time for a proper introduction."
"This is our Monster Hunter Gathering Hub. I'm the Guildmaster... Kairo Retsu."
"Welcome to our Hunter Assembly. From now on, you're one of our newest…"
"Felynes."
Kairo Retsu grinned, looking in Laios's direction.
And just then, the previously formless Winged Lion inside Laios was abruptly ejected by some mysterious force.
In the next moment, a Felyne colored exactly like the Winged Lion was expelled from Laios—and on its back, a tiny pair of wings…
"!"
Even the Winged Lion was stunned.
This was the first time something like this had happened to it. As a manifestation of magical will, it suddenly had a physical form…
"You kinda look like Kero from Cardcaptor Sakura!" Kairo Retsu remarked as he looked at the Winged Lion's new appearance. "Now that I think about it, Kero's a winged lion mascot too…"
"Kero?" Laios asked curiously.
"Some kind of magical girl mascot?" Kairo Retsu gave a thumbs up. "Winged Lion! Come on! I'll take you to see Granny Felyne!"
The Winged Lion looked a bit bewildered, but—
Before long, it was being led by Kairo Retsu and Laios, taking a brief tour of the hub. Then it saw with its own eyes the kind old Granny Felyne stirring a pot of fragrant stew before a giant cauldron.
"Granny Felyne!!!!"
The moment Kairo Retsu saw her, he dove at her and hugged her tightly, happily exclaiming, "We finished our mission and made it back! It's party time! Cook for us, Granny!"
"You and the hunters have really worked hard, haven't you?" Granny Felyne patted Kairo Retsu's head lovingly, then looked up at Laios and the Winged Lion. "Is this a new Felyne the Guildmaster recruited? Another child has come."
She gestured warmly to both Laios and the Winged Lion. "I've made fresh stew. Hunters and new little ones alike, come eat."
"It's dragon meat stew—Laios Hunter, you'll like it."
"Dragon meat stew!!"
Laios immediately perked up. "I want some!"
"Me too! Granny's stew is a must!" Kairo Retsu clenched his fist.
"…?"
The Winged Lion remained confused.
What's with these two hunters turning into big babies the moment they see Granny?
And why are they inviting it too? After all, it feeds on desire...
Grrrrrr…
Just as the Winged Lion was thinking this, its now-Felyne stomach suddenly rumbled—loudly. A wave of intense hunger hit it.
Under the effect of hunger, the aroma of the stew Granny had just prepared filled its nose with irresistible force, and the Winged Lion realized… it was experiencing true, primal appetite.
"Can… I have some too?" the Winged Lion asked, swallowing a mouthful of saliva, unable to hold back.
"Of course you can." Granny Felyne had already ladled out bowls of stew for Laios and Kairo Retsu at the dining table. Upon hearing the Winged Lion's request, she turned to it with a tender gaze.
"You poor thing... You haven't been full in a very long time, have you?"
Granny Felyne's expression grew slightly sorrowful as she reached out a paw and led the Winged Lion to the table. She placed a large bowl in front of it and filled it with freshly made dragon meat stew.
"Poor child, you've been starving for so long, haven't you?"
She patted the Winged Lion's head, and finally dropped a Lifepowder into the stew, letting it dissolve: "Eat well now. From now on… you won't be hungry again."
The Winged Lion stared at the dragon meat stew before it, then—using its tiny new Felyne body—lifted the bowl and began eating in large, hearty gulps.
To the Winged Lion, eating had always felt like…
The more it wanted to eat, the hungrier it became.
Its very existence of boundless desire meant it could never be sated by a finite meal—like endlessly falling into a bottomless abyss.
But now, things were different.
This feeling—it had known of it, but never experienced it before.
The feeling of satisfaction.
That sensation… as though something external was slowly filling a long-empty space deep inside its being…
"Is it good?"
As the Winged Lion buried its face in the stew, Kairo Retsu patted it on the shoulder. "Come eat again next time—my treat."
"At our hub… the canteen's always open!"
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