Just as the cub successfully opened its eyes, its mother breathed its last breath. It was as if the mother tiger just waited for its cub to open its eye before leaving this world.
Seeing its mother slowly closed her eyes, the cub slowly made its way to its mother's face while making cute sounds. If one wouldn't see what really is happening and then heard the sound of the cub, one would only think that the sound was cute. But for Ronald, who was at the scene, he felt like crying as this scene reminded him of the time when his mother left him.
After the cub reached its mother's face, it licked its face several times before lying on its side, as if wanting to be with its mother for the last time.
After seeing the cub's actions, Ronald slowly closed his eyes and started calming his self, he then looked up and saw the bright moon shining in the sky.
'Should I just stay near this area for tonight, it is extremely dangerous to travel in the forest this time,' Ronald thought as he started looking for a spot to rest for the night.
After searching for a spot, Ronald gathered some materials from the surroundings to build a temporary bed and roof.
There are many fallen trees and crushed rocks in the area that can be used, especially those trees that are neatly cut in half by the tiger's huge wind blades, which can be used as a temporary bed.
And due to the dead tiger's aura, no beast in the outskirts of the Everlast forest will wander in this area.
A peaceful and quiet night slowly passed, as there wasn't any other beast, insects, or any animals in the area to make some sounds.
***
Morning came as the sun slowly uncovered its glory and Ronald slowly woke up, but when he woke up, he immediately noticed some movements in his surroundings that made him immediately become alert, as he reached out for his sword.
But a moment later, he relaxed his tense body, as he saw that it was just the cub doing something besides its mother's body.
Ronald then looked carefully at what the cub was doing and noticed that it was digging on the ground beside its mother.
Ronald was confused at what the cub was doing, so he just left it there and took some dried food from the small bag on his waist and ate it.
After Ronald ate his breakfast, he then thought of why the cub was digging. But as he was thinking of possible answers, he accidentally looked at the dead tiger's body and was immediately struck by an idea.
'Was the cub digging a grave for its mother?' this thought appeared in Ronald's mind, and it continued to linger in his mind for some time before he heard Luna's voice.
"Ronald, your knowledge and understanding about beasts is really lacking. Have you ever asked yourself why beasts are called beasts and not monsters?" Luna paused for a while as he waited for Ronald to think.
Thinking about Luna's question for a while, Ronald was immediately enlightened as if seeing a new world.
"Although beasts and monsters may have the same appearance, they can still be differentiated. And one of their major differences is that beasts have emotions. They can feel sadness, happiness, loneliness, and many other feelings that a human has. Although not as complicated as humans have, but still, they have emotions. Monsters, on the other hand, only follow its instincts, that is why they are more chaotic and destructive than beasts are."
After Luna finished speaking, she stopped and let Ronald think of what he said for a while.
But while Ronald was still thinking, the cub was still digging the ground, though, it had made little progress as even if it was a cub of a level 5 or higher beast, it was still about a day old. So, its strength was still developing.
After several minutes, Ronald came back to his senses and decided to help the cub. So, he used his sword to stab the ground repeatedly so that it would be easier to dig.
It was only several hours later that Ronald and the tiger finally finished digging a very huge pit for the tiger, but then here comes another problem, Ronald doesn't know how to move the tiger's body into the pit.
Seeing Ronald's predicament, Luna suggested using the tree trunks as a conveyor, making it easy for Ronald to push the cub's mother into the pit.
After some time of gathering some tree trunks, Ronald then carefully inserted the trunks beneath the tiger's huge body.
The cub just watched Ronald do the work, as it lay beside its mother's corpse.
A while later, Ronald finished inserting the tree trunks and was preparing to push the tiger's dead body into the pit. Seeing all of this, the cub stood up and helped Ronald in pushing its mother's dead body, although, its help was insignificant, Ronald didn't shoo it away, and just let it help him.
After the tiger's body was finally inside the pit, Ronald then slowly covered the pit with the dirt that he and the cub dug.
It was already noon when Ronald finally finished everything, and he then put a huge stone in the middle of the grave to mark its location.
After everything was done, Ronald rested as he felt very tired.
Seeing the hot sun, Ronald then started preparing his lunch, and took some dried food from his bag, and gathered some fruits from the surroundings.
As Ronald was preparing to eat, he saw the cub intently looking at the dried meat that was on his hand. So, he decided to give it to the cub, then the cub cautiously took the dried meat, and happily ate it.
Seeing the cub enjoying the meat, Ronald smiled and happily ate his food.
After Ronald finished eating, Luna then said to him, "Ronald, what is your plan now? Will you leave the cub? Or will you bring it back?"
Hearing Luna's question, Ronald answered, "If you asked me before, then I would surely bring the cub back and make it my first tamed beast, but after you told me the difference between a beast and a monster, I really don't know what I am supposed to do now. I want to bring it back, but I want it to decide if it wants to follow me," Ronald paused for a while and sighed before he continued, "I guess I should just accompany it for several days, and then let it decide if it wants to follow me. And as for my supply, I guess I'll just search around and just make do for it."
"Hmmm... That's a good idea. I support you..," Luna said as she mentally gave Ronald a thumbs up.