Chapter 147: The Proud Mother

For the first time, Lyra felt that perhaps Sora wasn’t as terrible as she had always imagined.

Apart from being somewhat plain in the past, the girl didn’t seem completely useless.

In fact, when she thought about everything Sora had accomplished recently, Lyra couldn’t deny that she had become rather capable.

And tonight...

Sora had even cleaned herself up quite nicely.

Her appearance was completely different from before.

Lyra glanced toward her again before turning back to the females surrounding her.

"Are you listening to me?"

One of the females immediately nodded.

"Of course! How exactly did Sora make that milk tea?"

Lyra hesitated.

How was she supposed to explain it?

She didn’t even know how Sora had made it.

And, more importantly, she couldn’t let these women know that Sora had learned these things from that mysterious bare mother.

If they found out, where would Lyra’s reputation go?

She had always been proud of her cooking skills.

Admitting that she didn’t know how to make something her daughter had created would be humiliating.

After thinking for a moment, Lyra came up with an excuse.

"If I simply tell you the method, you might not understand it properly."

She smiled.

"Why don’t I bring Kaelira here and have her make it in front of everyone? Then you’ll know exactly how it’s done."

The females immediately agreed.

"That’s a good idea!"

"I wanted to taste it when I saw Kaelira making it at the Divine Mountain, but I was too embarrassed to ask."

"Me too."

"We mocked her before, so asking her afterward would have been awkward."

Now that they had an opportunity to taste the milk tea without having to ask Sora themselves, they were naturally excited.

Lyra nodded.

"Then wait here. I’ll bring her."

The matter could have been solved by simply sending someone to inform Sora.

But Lyra had another concern.

She remembered that strange woman who had appeared around Sora before.

If Lyra sent someone else and Sora refused to acknowledge her authority, it would be embarrassing.

No.

She would go herself.

Besides, Sora spent most of her time either in the tribe square or the wild kitchen.

Lyra knew exactly where to find her.

Without thinking any further, she headed toward the wild kitchen.

At the wild kitchen, Sora was sitting quietly.

Her chin rested on her hand as she stared into the distance.

She wasn’t thinking about milk tea.

She wasn’t thinking about the Moon God Festival.

She was thinking about tomorrow.

More specifically...

Ryan.

Sora had already decided that she needed to figure out how to impress him.

Her usual methods didn’t seem particularly effective on him.

Food?

Ryan didn’t appear particularly enthusiastic about it.

Gifts?

He had given her the luminous pearl, but she still couldn’t understand his intentions.

Beauty?

Sora had already noticed something interesting.

Her figure had changed significantly after losing weight.

She was now much more proportionate than before.

Her chest and hips were certainly noticeable.

Yet Ryan hadn’t shown the same reaction as the other beastmen.

So physical attraction alone clearly wasn’t enough.

Sora frowned.

"What does this man actually like?"

She rubbed her forehead.

Then an answer suddenly came to her.

His mind.

Ryan was obviously interested in knowledge.

He liked strange things from her world.

He was fascinated by the high-tech objects she occasionally showed him.

If she wanted to leave a lasting impression on him, perhaps she needed to use her greatest advantage.

Her knowledge.

She could show him something technological.

Maybe a small device.

Maybe something related to science.

Or perhaps she could explain something he had never encountered before.

As long as she could stimulate his curiosity, she might be able to increase his affection and attraction points.

Sora nodded to herself.

"That’s it."

Just as she was beginning to plan tomorrow’s strategy, a shadow suddenly fell over her.

Sora frowned.

Before she could look up, an awkward voice came from above her.

"Kaelira..."

She froze.

That voice...

Wasn’t that Lyra?

Sora slowly raised her head.

Sure enough, Lyra was standing in front of her.

Sora stared at her in surprise.

Why had Lyra come here?

And why did she suddenly look so uncomfortable?

Lyra rarely came looking for her.

In fact, this might have been the first time Lyra had lowered herself enough to approach her voluntarily.

Sora waited.

Lyra looked away awkwardly.

Then she finally asked,

"How do you make that milk tea?"

Sora blinked.

"What?"

She wondered if she had heard correctly.

Lyra was asking her about milk tea?

How did she even know about it?

Sora looked at her suspiciously.

Lyra’s expression became even more uncomfortable under that gaze.

But she had no choice.

She remembered the females waiting for her in the tribe square.

She had promised to bring Sora.

So she lowered her voice and explained,

"That milk tea you made at the Divine Mountain."

She paused.

"Several people want to learn how to make it. You should come and show them."

Sora immediately understood.

So that’s why she came.

No wonder Lyra was suddenly speaking so politely.

Sora glanced at her.

There was something amusing about seeing Lyra act this way.

Normally, Lyra was quick to criticize her.

But now she had come all the way to the wild kitchen because she needed something.

Sora’s lips curled slightly.

She decided not to make things too easy.

She blew lightly on her fingernails and lazily said,

"I’m not going."

Lyra’s face instantly changed.

"What?"

"I don’t have any milk tea left."

Sora shrugged.

"I only made a small amount."

Lyra’s expression darkened.

She clearly wanted to scold Sora.

But she remembered that she still needed her.

So she forced herself to suppress her temper.

"How could you not have any left?"

Sora glanced at her.

"There are many people in the tribe tonight. Making enough milk tea for everyone would require a lot of ingredients."

She paused.

"I only have a little left."

Lyra immediately said,

"Then demonstrate it with the little you have."

Sora raised an eyebrow.

She hadn’t expected Lyra to compromise so quickly.

She looked at her for a moment before asking,

"What benefit do I get?"

Lyra’s face stiffened.

There it was.

This girl really did bargain for everything.

But Lyra needed her.

"What do you want?"

Sora hadn’t actually expected Lyra to agree.

She had only asked to make things difficult for her.

After all, Lyra had treated her poorly for so long.

Sora wanted to see how far Lyra would bend when she needed something.

But since Lyra had genuinely asked what she wanted, Sora thought for a moment.

Then she said,

"In the future, whatever I want to do, you can’t stop me."

Lyra stared at her.

She had expected Sora to ask for something difficult.

Perhaps some precious item.

Perhaps a special privilege.

Perhaps something that would embarrass her.

Instead, it was this?

Sora continued,

"If I want to participate in something, you can’t interfere."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"If I want to learn something, you can’t stop me."

She had only managed to participate in the beauty competition because she had temporarily intimidated Lyra.

But that method wouldn’t work forever.

There would always be another situation in the future where Lyra might try to obstruct her.

Sora didn’t want to deal with that repeatedly.

So this was a chance to secure some freedom.

Lyra thought about it.

Then she nodded.

"Okay."

Sora was slightly surprised by how easily she agreed.

But she didn’t waste any more time.

She stood up.

"Wait here."

She walked into the wild kitchen.

After a moment, she came out carrying fresh tea leaves.

She pointed toward several things placed nearby.

"Mother, help me carry those."

Lyra frowned.

"What?"

Sora pointed toward a white jar and several clay pots.

"It’s inconvenient for me to carry everything while holding the tea leaves."

Lyra’s mouth twitched.

How did this girl become so good at ordering people around?

Everyone had been praising Sora all night.

Now she was even ordering her own Amu around.

But there was nothing Lyra could do.

She needed Sora.

So despite her irritation, she picked up the containers.

Sora smiled brightly.

"Thank you, Mother."

Lyra’s expression became complicated.

She didn’t know whether Sora was deliberately teasing her.

But Sora was already walking ahead.

Lyra had no choice but to follow.

The sight of the two of them walking through the tribe quickly attracted attention.

Sora walked in front.

Lyra carried the jars and pots behind her.

Several females who knew them stared in surprise.

They had never expected to see such a scene.

Lyra, who normally acted proud and distant, was actually carrying things for Kaelira?