Chapter 106: Easy Weight Loss?

Lukan, listening from the side, felt an inexplicable discomfort settle in his chest.

When those females had begun laughing at Sora, he had instinctively wanted to comfort her. He had even thought of telling her not to pay attention to their cruel words.

Yet when he turned to look at her, he discovered something unexpected.

She wasn’t upset.

On the contrary, the corners of her lips were lifted into an increasingly brilliant smile, her bright eyes sparkling with excitement instead of embarrassment.

She looked... happy.

Lukan couldn’t understand it.

Most females treasured their appearance more than anything else. Even the slightest criticism about their looks would make them cry for an entire day.

But Sora...

She seemed completely immune.

Not only was she unbothered by their ridicule, but she appeared to be enjoying herself.

Seeing the cheerful smile on her face, the anxiety in his heart gradually disappeared, replaced by a warm feeling that spread through his chest.

His female...

was truly optimistic.

She possessed a kind of resilience that no one else had.

No matter how others mocked or looked down on her, she always chose to smile instead.

It was a quality he admired more and more with every passing day.

...

Meanwhile, following several steps behind them, Tisha’s expression became increasingly complicated.

She had expected the fat female to cry after being mocked.

Instead...

nothing happened.

Not only that, but the werewolf beside her continued looking at her with gentle eyes, as though she were the most precious treasure in the world.

Tisha couldn’t understand it.

She had always believed beauty determined everything.

Beautiful females deserved the strongest beast husbands.

Ordinary females could only settle for ordinary males.

Yet reality had slapped her in the face.

That plump female had the most handsome beast husband she had ever seen.

While...

she herself...

Despite being praised since childhood as the most beautiful female of Snow Tiger City...

had never met a beastman as handsome as Lukan.

Thinking about it made her chest tighten.

She glanced toward the group of gossiping females ahead.

Every single one of them was laughing at Sora.

Some covered their mouths.

Some pointed openly.

Others whispered behind their hands.

The sound irritated Tisha for reasons even she couldn’t explain.

Finally, unable to hold herself back any longer, she stepped forward and folded her arms.

"What exactly are you laughing at?"

Her voice wasn’t loud.

But because everyone around had quieted down after climbing for so long, her words spread clearly across the mountain path.

The laughing females all turned to look at her.

Recognizing the beautiful female from Snow Tiger City, many of them immediately restrained themselves.

Tisha snorted.

"Even if she’s fat, so what?"

She pointed directly at Lukan.

"None of your beast husbands are even half as handsome as hers."

The words landed like a stone dropped into a quiet lake.

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The mocking laughter vanished instantly.

Every female subconsciously glanced toward Lukan.

Only then did they realize...

Tisha wasn’t exaggerating.

The silver-haired werewolf walking beside Sora possessed refined features that looked almost sculpted by the Beast God Himself.

His calm jade-green eyes...

His elegant posture...

His tall, powerful physique...

Even the way he quietly accompanied Sora while carrying all their belongings made countless females secretly envious.

Compared to him...

Their own beast husbands suddenly looked painfully average.

The females who had been laughing moments ago immediately lowered their heads awkwardly.

They had noticed Lukan long ago.

In fact...

Ever since Sora arrived at the Divine Mountain, many females had secretly stolen glances at him.

They simply couldn’t understand why such an outstanding beastman had chosen such an ordinary female.

Their mockery toward Sora had actually been born from jealousy.

If they couldn’t have him...

Then surely Sora didn’t deserve him either.

But now that Tisha had bluntly exposed their thoughts, everyone felt embarrassed.

One female forced a laugh.

"W-We were only joking..."

"Exactly."

Another quickly agreed.

"Nobody meant any harm."

Tisha rolled her eyes.

"Hmph."

"If you have time to laugh at others, why don’t you go make your own husbands look as handsome as hers?"

The surrounding females were speechless.

How could appearance be changed?

Beastmen were born looking the way they did.

One by one, they quietly dispersed, no longer daring to continue the discussion.

...

Sora blinked in surprise.

She hadn’t expected the arrogant beauty from earlier to suddenly speak up for her.

She turned around curiously.

Tisha immediately looked away with an awkward expression.

"I-I’m not helping you."

"I just hate noisy people."

"...Oh?"

Sora smiled teasingly.

"Really?"

Tisha’s face flushed slightly.

"Don’t misunderstand."

"I still don’t like you."

She paused before muttering almost inaudibly,

"...I just dislike those gossiping females even more."

After saying that, she hurried forward without looking back.

Watching her retreating figure, Sora couldn’t help laughing.

"What a strange girl."

The System suddenly spoke inside her mind.

[Host, congratulations.]

Sora raised an eyebrow.

"Congratulations for what?"

[Tisha’s favorability toward you has increased slightly.]

"...What?"

[Current favorability: -35.]

Sora nearly stumbled while climbing.

"Negative thirty-five and you call that an increase?"

The System coughed awkwardly.

[Well... it was originally negative fifty.]

"..."

Sora was speechless.

So this proud little princess had secretly improved her opinion of her by fifteen whole points simply because of today’s events?

Women truly were difficult to understand.

...

The climb continued.

As they ascended higher, the air became noticeably cooler.

Clouds drifted below them like a white ocean.

The surrounding vegetation gradually changed as well.

Dense forests gave way to towering ancient trees whose trunks required several people to encircle.

Every step upward made the atmosphere more solemn.

Many beastmen who had been chatting earlier unconsciously lowered their voices.

Some even clasped their hands together respectfully.

The Divine Mountain...

was approaching.

Lukan noticed Sora’s breathing becoming slightly uneven.

Although she never complained, sweat had already formed across her forehead.

Without saying a word, he slowed his pace to match hers.

Whenever she needed to stop and catch her breath, he patiently waited beside her.

He never urged her.

Nor did he show the slightest impatience.

Sora secretly noticed this.

"You don’t have to slow down because of me."

Lukan smiled gently.

"We’ll arrive eventually."

"There is no need to rush."

His tone remained as calm as flowing water.

Sora smiled back.

"You’re really patient."

Lukan shook his head.

"I’m only accompanying my female."

The simple sentence somehow warmed her heart.

They continued climbing together.

Along the way, many beastmen overtook them.

Some looked back mockingly.

Others pitied Sora’s exhausted appearance.

But gradually...

something unexpected happened.

One female who had sprinted ahead earlier collapsed onto a nearby rock, panting heavily.

Another beastman was supporting his exhausted mate.

Several others had already stopped for their third or fourth rest.

Meanwhile...

Although Sora walked slowly...

She never stopped moving.

Step after step.

Breath after breath.

Her pace remained steady.

Her stamina, enhanced by the constant strengthening of her water abilities, allowed her to recover surprisingly quickly after each burst of effort.

Even Lukan was slightly surprised.

He had originally worried she wouldn’t be able to endure such a long climb.

Yet now...

Many slimmer females had already begun complaining.

Sora, however, simply wiped away the sweat on her forehead and continued smiling.

"Almost there."

She encouraged herself quietly.

"I’ll definitely lose plenty of weight after today."

The System replied cheerfully.

[Host’s body fat is indeed decreasing through continuous exercise.]

[Current estimated weight loss: 2.8 pounds.]

Sora’s eyes lit up.

"Really?"

[Yes.]

She immediately became even more motivated.

Excellent.

By the time they returned to the tribe, everyone would have a perfectly reasonable explanation for why she had suddenly become slimmer.

No one would suspect the System.

They would simply assume the arduous climb up the Divine Mountain had helped her lose weight.

Thinking of that, her footsteps became noticeably lighter.

Lukan looked at the delighted smile blooming across her face and chuckled softly.

She truly was unlike any female he had ever met.

Others climbed this sacred mountain praying for blessings from the Beast God.

His female...

was happily climbing it because she believed she could lose weight.