CHAPTER 324: CHAPTER-324

Hearing that, Kaya paused, her tone thoughtful. "So you mean... they have all the knowledge and information about every beastman here, right?"

Veer shook his head. "No, not all," he said slowly. "Even though they are ancient, they couldn’t possibly know everything in the world. But yes... if you ever seek knowledge, most of it rests with them."

Kaya nodded faintly, then tilted her head. "But if I’m not wrong, you—being a vulture—can’t enter their tribes, right?"

At that, Veer fell silent for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. I can’t enter the Snake Tribe... or the Turtle Tribe." He paused, his gaze shifting back to Kaya.

"The turtles?" Kaya asked, brow raised. "You mean the ones that live in water—tortoises?"

Veer shook his head. "No. You see, turtles are divided into two kinds—the ones that live in the ocean and the ones that dwell on land. The ones I’m talking about are the Turtle Tribe. As for the Tortoise Tribe, they’re ancient too—almost the same in wisdom—but their knowledge belongs to the ocean world. The turtle tribes know about the land, while the tortoise tribes hold everything about the sea."

He leaned back slightly, eyes distant. "And the Snake Tribes... they aren’t just one. There are at least five to seven major snake tribes, each with their own knowledge. But the problem is—they despise one another. If you learn from one, the others will refuse you. To gather every piece of information, you’d have to travel from one snake tribe to another, each time risking your life."

Kaya blinked slowly. "And you can’t go near them?"

Veer gave a faint, bitter smile. "If I go, it’s a fight. Vultures and snakes never end it until one of us is dead."

Kaya sighed helplessly and closed her eyes for a moment, lost in thought. Truth was, she didn’t want to go anywhere near the Snake Tribe either. Her last encounter with them hadn’t exactly left a good impression.

Even though she’d met Vayu—who, to be fair, wasn’t entirely terrible—Kaya had to admit that her experiences with snakes, both in this world and her previous one, were anything but pleasant. She wouldn’t dare step into their territory.

How do you even fight something that can slither away before you blink?

So her thoughts drifted to the next option—the Turtle Tribe.

She opened her eyes and looked at Veer. "Can you go to the Turtle Tribe?"

The moment the question left her lips, Veer averted his gaze.

Kaya’s brows drew together. That look—it wasn’t fear. It was guilt.

"Wait," she muttered, narrowing her eyes as she slowly stepped closer. "You can go to the Turtle Tribe, right?"

Veer scratched the back of his neck, still not meeting her eyes. "Sweetheart... we can go later, no?"

That did it. Kaya was sure now—this bastard was hiding something.

He had the exact same expression her old subordinate once had after spilling water all over a pile of important documents and then shoving them under a table, hoping no one would notice.

Kaya’s gaze hardened a little as she looked at Veer. Her tone lost its usual playfulness, growing sharper, colder.

"Veer," she said slowly, "we can go to the Turtle Tribe, right?"

The way she said it—measured, without a hint of stretchiness—made Veer shudder. He turned to meet her eyes and muttered, "If you want... we can go. In a few days."

Kaya studied him for a long moment, then simply nodded. "Okay."

She wasn’t in a hurry anyway. Part of her wanted to explore the capital a bit more before heading out—and truthfully, she did want to meet this Turtle Tribe herself.

That night, after the three of them returned to the hotel, Kaya felt the fatigue creeping in. Dinner had been light—mostly fruits and whatever she could find that didn’t reek of heavy meat. There wasn’t much bird or fish around; most stalls sold fatty meat, the kind that turned her stomach after a few smell .

When she reached their room, she paused at the door. Her fingers brushed along the bamboo panel before curling around the edge. As she opened it, a single hair fluttered down, landing softly in her palm.

A small, knowing smile crossed her face.

Her little trick had worked.

She had placed that hair there before leaving—an old habit she’d picked up long ago. It was her way of knowing if someone had entered while she was gone. If the hair fell, untouched, it meant no one had opened the door.

So, whoever had been following her earlier hadn’t managed to get in.

Satisfied, Kaya stepped inside. The exhaustion hit her at once. She didn’t even bother changing—just dropped onto the wooden bed and let her eyes close.

Cutie, on the other hand, returned to his favorite form—a soft, rabbit. Curling up in the little basket filled with cotton at the corner, he tucked his ears in and fell asleep almost instantly.

As for Veer—he, of course, was as shameless as ever. He slipped beside Kaya, wrapped his arms around her, and hugged her tight without a word.

From outside, the sounds of life poured into the room—the chatter of people, footsteps shuffling, faint laughter, and the occasional bark or growl echoing through the night. Of course, expecting soundproofing in a world full of beastmen was ridiculous, but still... Kaya hadn’t imagined it would be this bad.

Even when she’d slept in the forest, it had never been this noisy.

Now, in the middle of the night, wolves were howling somewhere nearby—long, drawn-out cries that cut through the air like wind through bone.

Kaya groaned, opening her eyes in frustration. She pressed her hands against her ears, trying to block out the sounds, but it was useless. The howling, the rustling, the low growls, and the chatter—it all came through, crashing into her head like waves.

Her temples throbbed.

Her patience snapped.

It felt as if her skull might split into three pieces if she heard another damn howl.