Chapter 120: Curiosity Caught A Beastman

Sora, meanwhile, was secretly paying attention to him through her abilities.

She wasn’t worried about whether Ryan would take the bait.

After all, highly skilled hunters often disguised themselves as prey.

Right now, she was deliberately playing the role of prey.

Given Ryan’s personality, there was no way he would be able to ignore something completely unfamiliar.

The bait had already been thrown out.

Now she only needed to wait for him to take it.

Sora continued picking the kiwis.

And the more she picked, the happier she became.

These wild kiwis were truly excellent.

Not only were they large, but when she peeled one and took a bite, she discovered that the flesh was golden yellow.

The taste was incredibly sweet.

Sora’s eyes brightened.

"These would make excellent dried fruit too."

She could also use some to make kiwi wine.

The possibilities were endless.

Sora happily picked even more.

But just as she reached toward another branch, her fingers suddenly brushed against something soft.

Her entire body stiffened.

She slowly lowered her gaze.

A fat caterpillar was sitting on the branch.

Sora’s face instantly went pale.

"Ah! A bug!"

She jumped backward.

Although she had already moved away, the caterpillar hadn’t left.

Sora felt as if she could still feel something crawling all over her body.

Of all the creatures in this world, soft-bodied insects were among the few things she genuinely couldn’t stand.

During the apocalypse, whenever she encountered such creatures, she would immediately use her water-type cleansing ability to drive them away.

Unfortunately, her water ability hadn’t yet reached Level Four.

She couldn’t completely deactivate the protective mode surrounding her body.

Sora desperately retreated.

"Go away! Go away!"

The caterpillar seemed to move again.

Sora’s scalp tingled.

She jumped backward once more.

Without realizing it, she had already retreated all the way toward the hot spring.

Then she felt something brush against her neck.

The caterpillar seemed to have crawled into the back of her clothes.

Sora’s expression changed dramatically.

"Ah!"

She jumped again.

But this time, there was nowhere left to retreat.

Her foot slipped.

Her body lost balance.

And she fell straight toward the hot spring.

Ryan had just heard enough about the mysterious bread oven to become interested.

He was preparing to leave the water and put on his clothes when he suddenly saw Sora falling toward him.

Before he could react, she landed directly on him.

"Wha—"

Ryan didn’t even manage to finish his sentence.

His hands instinctively moved to catch her.

But the moment he felt the softness beneath his palms, his entire body froze.

His face instantly turned red.

He lowered his eyes.

His hand was resting in a particularly awkward position.

Ryan immediately wanted to pull it away.

But Sora was already in complete panic.

She could feel the caterpillar crawling against her back.

She grabbed Ryan’s hand without thinking.

"Quick! Help me check!"

Her voice was filled with urgency.

"There’s a caterpillar on my back! It bit me!"

Ryan’s expression turned stiff.

Sora didn’t seem to realize where his hand had landed at all.

She simply dragged his hand toward her back, desperately trying to get him to find the insect.

"It’s there! I can feel it!"

Ryan’s face became increasingly complicated.

He opened his mouth, apparently about to say something.

But before he could speak, a warm voice suddenly came from the shore.

"Kaelira?"

Sora froze.

She immediately turned her head toward the sound.

When she saw the newcomer standing at the edge of the hot spring, surprise flashed across her face.

"Lukan? What are you doing here?"

At this time, Lukan should have been out hunting with the other members of the tribe.

So why had he come to the hot spring?

Lukan smiled gently.

His gaze briefly fell toward Sora’s hand, which was still holding onto Ryan’s.

Then his eyes deepened slightly.

"I found some wild berries you liked while I was hunting, so I brought some for you."

He lifted the leaves in his hand.

Inside were several bright red berries.

Sora’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Are those wild raspberries?"

She quickly forgot about everything else.

"Do we have them here?"

She had thought raspberries only grew around Tian Shin Mountain.

She had searched the nearby forests before but had never found any.

She had been worried about making the cake with only kiwi.

Now Lukan had brought her exactly what she needed.

Raspberries were soft, sweet, and slightly tart.

They were perfect for cakes.

Sora’s gaze became brighter as she stared at the berries.

"Lukan, you’re amazing."

Lukan’s gentle smile deepened.

But Ryan, still standing in the hot spring, quietly looked between Sora and Lukan.

His expression became colder.

Sora, meanwhile, was completely focused on the raspberries.

She had no idea that the simple appearance of the berries had quietly changed the atmosphere around the hot spring.

She only knew one thing.

Her cake was going to be delicious.

"That’s great. I was just wondering what fruit to use for the cake, and this is perfect."

Lukan smiled at her.

"I picked quite a lot, so you can eat them slowly."

Then, as though he were merely asking out of curiosity, he glanced toward the hot spring.

"What are you and Ryan doing?"

His eyes settled on the two figures in the water.

Ryan was shirtless, with one of his hands still being held by Sora. From a certain angle, the scene looked rather suggestive, almost as though Sora had deliberately pulled him close.

Although Sora was fully dressed, the upper half of her clothes was completely soaked from falling into the spring. The wet fabric clung closely to her body, making her curves appear even more pronounced.

Perhaps Sora herself hadn’t noticed.

But from Lukan’s perspective, the sight was undeniably alluring.

His gentle expression remained unchanged, but there was a subtle shift in his eyes.

Ryan’s hand had originally been dragged over by Sora herself.

Hearing Lukan’s question, he simply glanced at her.

"Why don’t you ask her yourself?"

Sora felt slightly embarrassed.

She quickly explained, "A bug crawled onto my back while I was picking kiwis, so I asked Ryan to check for me."

Upon hearing this, Lukan’s expression softened.

He placed the wild raspberries wrapped in broad leaves on the ground before extending a hand toward her.

"Come up. I’ll help you check."

Coincidentally, the strange discomfort Sora had felt on her back seemed to have disappeared.

She shook her head.

"It seems the bug has already left."

She was about to climb out of the spring by herself when a golden-colored hand appeared in front of her.

Sora hesitated for a moment before placing her hand in his.

Lukan smiled and gently pulled her up.

Her small, chubby hand felt incredibly soft in his grip.

For a brief moment, his thoughts returned to that night on Tian Shin Mountain.

Her body had felt just as soft then.

Sora quickly emerged from the water.

Her clothes were almost completely soaked, and droplets of water slid down her body.

Lukan noticed immediately.

He reached toward his waist, pulled out a beast-skin towel, and handed it to her.

"You’re soaked. Dry yourself."

"Thank you."

Sora accepted the towel with a smile and began drying herself.

After a moment, curiosity appeared in her eyes.

"How come you carry a beast-skin towel with you?"

It was quite surprising.

This was a primitive world where living conditions were extremely simple. The beastmen lived close to nature, and although they possessed intelligence far beyond ordinary animals, they weren’t usually so meticulous about carrying small conveniences with them.

Lukan bent down and began picking up the scattered kiwis.

"Sometimes it rains while I’m out in the wild. It’s useful to have something to dry myself with."

Sora nodded thoughtfully.

As expected of a gentle person.

He always seemed to think of everything.

Meanwhile, Ryan remained standing in the hot spring, watching the two of them chatting on the shore.

He shook his head inwardly.

Lukan had truly been completely lured in by Kaelira.

No matter how he looked at the situation, Ryan couldn’t help thinking it was a pity.

Such a gentle and tender young man had become entangled with Kaelira.

Lukan’s hands were quick.

Before long, he had picked up all the kiwis Sora had dropped and placed them carefully into a vine-woven basket.

Once Sora finished drying herself, she crouched down and gathered the wild raspberries Lukan had brought.

She picked up one of the bright red berries and popped it into her mouth.

Her eyes immediately narrowed in delight.

"So sweet!"

Seeing how much she liked them, Lukan’s eyes brightened even more.

He lifted the basket and asked, "Besides these, do you want to pick anything else?"

Sora smiled and gently patted the raspberries in her hand.

"No need. These are enough."

She looked toward him.

"Then let’s go."

After taking a few steps, Sora suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, Lukan, how did you end up at the hot spring? This place is quite far from the wild kitchen and the tribe. It’s rare for anyone to come here."

Lukan’s gaze flickered subtly.

But his expression remained perfectly natural.

"There’s a shortcut through here. It’s quicker to take this route when I’m coming back."

Sora didn’t suspect anything.

Lukan had never given her a reason to doubt him, and she trusted his explanation completely.

The two continued walking together while chatting casually.

Behind them, Ryan remained in the hot spring, his expression unreadable.

Then—

Ding!

The system’s voice suddenly rang inside Sora’s mind.

[Well done, Host. Ryan has already followed you.]

Sora’s lips curled upward.

Just as she had expected.

She knew Ryan couldn’t resist.

He might not have any particular affection for her, but that didn’t matter.

What truly interested him was something else.

The bread oven.

She had deliberately mentioned it loudly enough for him to hear.

A completely new invention.

A device capable of producing food he had never encountered before.

For someone like Ryan, whose curiosity was easily awakened by new inventions, that was an irresistible bait.

Sora’s smile deepened.

The hook had been swallowed.

Now she only needed to reel him in.