Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off - Chapter 278

Chapter 278: Chapter 278: Monster Plant
Stove soon finished his portion in many huge bites, chewing like a hungry beast who had not eaten for three days.

Every time he bit down, the big roasted leg shook, and even the little flower trembled along with it.

She stared at him with wide eyes, her petals slightly curled in fear. Why did she feel like this plant was becoming less and less like a spiritual plant the more she watched him eat?

She slowly lowered her gaze and wondered if she had landed herself in trouble.

He did not feel like a spiritual plant… but at the same time, he had a very strange and unique energy around him. It was warm and clean.

It was something that made her want to stay close to him no matter what. As a spiritual plant herself, she knew very well how dangerous that thought was. She knew how much she had to hide her existence.

Because with the greed of beastmen… her ending would never be good.

If these beastmen ever found out she was actually a spiritual plant, they would force her to condense spiritual drops again and again.

They would squeeze them out of her small body until her health broke down. And when she became weak and withered… they would not even let her die in peace.

They would dry her corpse and drink it with water.

Just thinking about it made her leaves shake lightly.

She was truly afraid.

If not because she was migrating with her family that day, she would have never been left behind in this strange mountain.

Her previous home had less and less spiritual energy, so her entire family… almost fifty spiritual plants had slowly begun moving toward a new place. They were traveling together like a small forest, supporting one another.

But somewhere along the way… she was left behind.

Only she knew how much she cried in that unknown place. Every sound of footsteps, every gust of wind, every strange creature that passed by…she thought they would discover her.

For days she hid under a rock, curling herself tightly, not daring to move. But plants could not stay hungry forever. She needed to feed. She needed to absorb energy.

In the end, she had no choice but to come out.

And the moment she did… she was pinned down by this strange plant.

At first she thought her family had returned for her. Her tiny heart had burst with hope. But the moment she saw him clearly, she realized he did not look like anyone from her family. He was not from the same species. He felt like a spiritual plant… yet also not one.

Something about him was always slightly… off.

But she could not think too deeply about it.

Right now, this big strange plant was the only living thing she could rely on in this dangerous mountain. And she was only a five-year-old plant…a baby by beastman standards who had not even completed her first month of growth. Spiritual plants lived for decades. Right now, she was fragile, soft, and completely unable to fight.

So she relied on him.

And honestly… everything had been fine.

He brought her food every day. He guarded her roots when she slept. He even pulled aside small rocks and leaves for her so she could lie down comfortably.

Sometimes he even hummed strange plant-like sounds, as if talking to himself. She thought maybe… this strange plant was not bad at all.

Until the day they were ambushed by a big fox.

That day, she truly thought death had come to claim her. The fox’s shadow covered them from above, its sharp eyes glowing, its claws scraping across stone. Her tiny body froze.

Stove tried to protect her, but everything happened too fast. Before she could even cry out…darkness surrounded her.

And when she woke up…

She was in the home of beast men.

Now she truly didn’t know whether she should cry or faint.

At any moment they could kill her. Or worse… they could chain her like a slave and force her to produce spiritual drops every day.

The entire house was filled with strong Orcs. Their heavy footsteps made the ground shake, and every time someone walked past, her leaves trembled in fear.

She felt like a small leaf caught in a storm.

Her poor petals shivered at every sound.

She was doomed. Completely doomed.

She slowly turned her gaze toward Stove… and almost fainted again.

There he was eating like some big carnivorous plant. He had teeth. Big teeth. Sharp teeth. This alone was already wrong. What kind of plant had teeth? And why did they shine like polished stones?

She knew it then.

He was definitely not a spiritual plant.

Her little heart sank.

She was truly doomed.

Still, she forced herself to eat. She picked up the roasted meat and took a small bite, expecting the usual fishy and pungent taste she always disliked. Spiritual plants needed meat to grow stronger, but she hated the smell, so she always forced herself to swallow it.

But the moment the meat touched her mouth…

Her eyes widened.

It was… delicious and rich in flavor.

She blinked at the texture again and again. This was meat, but what kind of meat? Why was it so good? If she could go back home… she would definitely tell her entire family to eat this meat too.

Just thinking of them made her heart ache again.

Without even realizing it, she had already eaten almost one-fourth of the portion, which was truly unbelievable for her tiny appetite. She stared at the half-eaten meat in shock.

How did she eat that much?

Stove finally finished his own big leg. He had eaten so fast that he had already finished digesting while she was still chewing slowly like a shy squirrel nibbling crumbs. He tilted his head and stared at her.

She was still nibbling. Still biting tiny pieces. Still drooling a little.

He looked very… disappointed.

If she ate like this, how would she ever grow up?

She looked up at him and softly said,

“I… can’t eat anymore. I am full…”

Stove’s vine-eyes widened. Full?! She had barely put a dent in it! Then he looked at the meat.

It had been sitting in the cool room for a while. It was getting cold. Ah, Stove thought, maybe she doesn’t like cold leftovers. She’s a delicate lady; she probably wants it fresh from the fire.

​He decided he would go back down and get her a fresh one later. But he couldn’t let good meat go to waste.

​He reached out and took her leftover leg. The flower plant watched, curious, until Stove did something that nearly made her faint.

He opened a “mouth” in his main stem that suddenly grew three times its normal size. It looked like a dark, bottomless abyss.

​In one swift motion, he dropped the entire giant deer leg into his mouth.

​GULP.

​A second later, he daintily spat out a clean, white bone.

Ptooie!

After swallowing the evidence, he instantly shrunk back down, returning to his form as a harmless, wiggly little plant.

He turned toward the flower plant and gave her a wide, “friendly” rustle of his leaves, which he thought was a very handsome smile.

​The flower plant didn’t find it handsome. She trembled so hard she almost tipped over her pot. She was now 100% sure: he was a terrifying predator in disguise.

​Stove, completely oblivious to her terror, did a little victory dance. He felt great. He had a full stomach, a beautiful wife who (he thought) was impressed by his appetite, and a cozy room.

He scurried over to her pot and wrapped a gentle, “protective” vine around her stem, intending to cuddle.

​The flower plant froze like a statue. “Don’t eat me, don’t eat me,” she chanted in her head as the “monster” plant settled in for a nap.