King Kaneki [Kaneki X Fem. Reader]

Chapter 26

True to Remora's words, Ayato, Riven, and I found ourselves at the entrance of what seemed like a festival.

There were open tents lined up all around the sandy area and colorful cloth lanterns hanging above us. Village kids with eyes the pigment of coral, tagged alongside their parents—-most being mothers. I could only imagine what this place looked like at night.

"Bęji!" Startling me, we heard a tiny voice chirp from below us. Looking down, I noticed a small child waving at me, his mother smiling gently.

    Assuming that 'Bęji' means hello in their native language, I waved back, forcing a somewhat genuine yet out-of-place smile. This reminded me of when we first came across Nechakri citizens and how bizarre-looking the ghouls turned out to be.

"(Y/n)!" Hearing someone call my name with urgency made my eyes widen, but before I could even turn my head to the source, I was suddenly crushed into a hug. A familiar scent coated my nose, fabrics of white and red shrouded my vision.

    When the unknown ghoul had finally parted from me, my countenance softened, smile growing wide. "Your majesty! We just got back from the jungle, where've you been?"

"Where've you been?!"

Slightly, I was taken aback by his serious tone, "it took you two a whole night to get back here, if anything I would've succumbed to the belief that you were dead! I knew I should've never agreed to letting you guys go there, that tomb was far more dangerous than she made it out to be-"

"Your majesty," I interrupted him softly, almost hesitantly, "please, we're fine, I don't think I can explain to you how protective Riven was. Heed my words; there was no way I was dying with a man like him by my side."

Hopefully that sold him, I suppose it really didn't occur to me how worried and anxious the king would've been about my return. It showed that we had gotten a lot closer a lot faster than I expected. "You weren't at Remora's tent," I said. The king looked at me confused, prompting me to explain, "The leader of Nechakri, that's her name."

"Oh, while you and Riven were out on the tomb quest, she allowed me and my sailor men to gather our resources and food, I was able to restore the hunger and injuries of all the sailors and luckily we acquired water canteens for the rest of the trip. Nodding my head, I finally let go of his hands, "great, Riven and I just need some food along with water and we'll be on our way to Ries."

The king shifted his attention over to the brawn man, agreeing with my comment, "I'll show you where the farmers are."

For the rest of the morning, the king guided us through the festival and picked up a few things that would benefit our journey, granted that Remora's end of the deal made everything free for us. He eventually led us to the farmers area which was interestingly kind of secluded in comparison to the rest of the village and is probably extremely vital to the citizens meals. Walking through the giant curtains draped over the entrance, Ayato, Riven, the king, and I became enclosed in complete darkness.

"Don't worry, if we walk a little further we'll meet the owners." Slowly, we advanced down the seemingly empty pathway, careful not to bump into anything. When we had made it far enough, lantern light greeted our sight, the shallow ambience revealing a decently large room with woven rugs, clay pots, ink tapestries and organized harvested human meat wrapped in cloth and tied with a thin rope.