Chapter 61: Green Tea Husband?

Seeing that none of the five beastmen denied Sora’s explanation, Damien had no choice but to accept reality.

A trace of disappointment flickered across his handsome face before he sighed softly.

"Very well."

"I’ll sleep in the tree tonight."

His agreement immediately made Sora breathe a quiet sigh of relief.

Thankfully...

This matter had finally been settled.

But before she could completely relax, Damien looked at her with a smile so gentle that it almost seemed pitiful.

"Kaelira..."

"My tree will always have a place for you."

"If you ever miss me..."

"Come find me under the big tree."

The courtyard instantly became deathly silent.

"..."

Ace slowly raised an eyebrow.

Lucas nearly tripped over his own feet.

Even Xavier’s usually expressionless face twitched almost imperceptibly.

Ryan frowned.

Lukan quietly lowered his teacup, hiding the amused smile threatening to appear.

Sora stared blankly at Damien.

...What was that?

Why did those words sound strangely... flirtatious?

No.

Not just flirtatious.

They carried the same delicate, innocent tone that Serena often used when pretending to be harmless while quietly putting someone on the spot.

If Sora had to describe it...

It felt strangely "green tea."

An innocent face.

An aggrieved tone.

Dangerously misleading words.

The worst part was that Damien looked completely sincere.

Whether he meant it or not, Sora couldn’t tell.

She decided not to respond.

The more she explained, the more complicated things would become.

So she simply nodded politely.

"I understand."

Then she turned and walked toward her little wooden house.

The others exchanged meaningful glances before leaving one after another.

Ace chuckled as he walked away.

"This tribe just became much more interesting."

Lucas laughed awkwardly.

"I have a feeling tomorrow won’t be peaceful."

Ryan remained silent.

As he passed beneath the large tree Damien had chosen, he glanced upward briefly before continuing home without another word.

Lukan simply smiled.

"Rest well."

Damien waved cheerfully.

"Good night."

No one answered.

After washing up, Sora collapsed onto her small wooden bed.

Today’s events replayed endlessly in her mind.

The sudden appearance of Damien...

The mysterious childhood engagement...

The system conveniently entering maintenance at the worst possible moment...

Nothing made sense.

She rubbed her temples.

"What a headache..."

Within moments, exhaustion overcame her.

After spending the entire day making pottery, cooking for everyone, and dealing with endless unexpected situations, she drifted into a deep sleep almost immediately.

The following morning...

Before the first rays of sunlight reached the tribe, Sora quietly opened her door.

Fresh morning air greeted her.

The forest was still wrapped in a thin layer of mist.

Birdsong echoed softly through the trees.

Like every morning, Sora stretched before jogging toward the outskirts of the tribe.

Ever since deciding to change herself, she had never skipped her morning exercise.

The only exceptions had been the days she traveled to gather salt and make pottery.

Otherwise...

Rain or shine...

She ran every single morning.

Although her Level Two water ability could greatly increase her speed and stamina, she deliberately suppressed it most of the time.

She couldn’t allow the tribe to notice anything unusual.

Instead, she only used a tiny fraction of her ability to make her workouts slightly more effective.

The results had been surprisingly obvious.

Less than a week had passed.

The thick layer of fat around her waist had noticeably decreased.

A faint curve had begun to emerge beneath her clothes.

Her face was still slightly round, but her jawline was becoming more defined.

Her arms and legs no longer shook with every movement.

Instead of looking bloated, she now possessed the healthy softness of someone steadily losing weight.

It wasn’t dramatic.

But it was enough for Sora to notice every morning.

She smiled to herself.

"At this rate..."

"I’ll look completely different in another month."

The thought alone filled her with motivation.

After completing several laps around the clearing, she slowed to a stop beneath a large tree.

Sweat glistened on her forehead.

She inhaled deeply before calling out in her mind.

"System."

Silence.

She tried again.

"System."

Still nothing.

A moment later, the familiar mechanical notification finally echoed in her consciousness.

"Apologies, Host."

"System upgrade in progress."

"Services remain temporarily unavailable."

"We apologize for the inconvenience."

"..."

Sora rolled her eyes.

"It still isn’t finished?"

It had already been an entire night.

How long could one system update possibly take?

She folded her arms.

"This system has never once been reliable."

"Not from the beginning."

"And apparently not now either."

Since there was nothing she could do, she simply shook her head.

"Forget it."

"I’ll deal with Damien myself."

"One step at a time."

After catching her breath, Sora moved to an open patch of grass.

Losing weight alone wasn’t enough.

Posture mattered too.

Back when she first arrived in this body, many yoga movements had been impossible.

Her stomach had gotten in the way.

Her joints had hurt.

Her balance had been terrible.

Now...

Things were different.

She spread a woven grass mat across the ground before beginning her morning stretches.

Mountain Pose.

Forward Fold.

Low Lunge.

Each movement flowed smoothly into the next.

The morning breeze brushed gently against her face.

Birds chirped overhead.

The peaceful surroundings made it surprisingly easy to focus.

Soon she transitioned into more difficult poses.

Her feet planted firmly apart.

One knee bent.

Her upper body twisted elegantly.

Both arms extended.

Although her flexibility still wasn’t perfect, today’s movements felt noticeably easier than just a few days ago.

A satisfied smile appeared on her lips.

She was making progress.

High above her...

Hidden among the thick branches of the giant tree...

Someone quietly watched everything.

Damien had returned to his tree after sunrise.

Originally, he had planned to climb down and greet Sora.

Instead...

He noticed her performing a series of strange movements unlike anything he had ever seen.

He rested one arm lazily behind his head while lying across a sturdy branch.

His phoenix eyes followed every movement below.

A playful smile slowly spread across his face.

"So energetic..."

"So early in the morning."

He tilted his head.

"What exactly is Luo doing?"

Was she dancing?

It didn’t quite resemble dancing.

The movements lacked rhythm.

Was it some kind of tribal ritual?

But...

No ritual he’d ever witnessed involved twisting one’s body into such peculiar positions.

She would stretch.

Pause.

Bend.

Balance on one leg.

Then somehow twist herself into another impossible posture.

Damien watched with increasing fascination.

"Interesting..."

He had traveled through many tribes over the years.

Yet he had never seen anything remotely similar.

Unable to suppress his curiosity any longer, he lightly jumped from the tree.

His landing was almost soundless.

Leaves fluttered gently around him.

A bright smile appeared on his face as he walked toward Sora.

At that exact moment...

Sora happened to be balancing in Tree Pose.

One foot rested against her opposite thigh.

Her palms were pressed together above her head.

Her breathing remained slow and steady.

Then—

"Luo."

His cheerful voice rang out unexpectedly.

"What are you doing?"

Startled, Sora’s concentration shattered instantly.

"Wah—!"

She lost her balance.

Her raised foot slipped.

Her entire body tilted sideways.

Just before she could fall flat onto the grass—

A pair of strong arms caught her securely around the waist.

Everything froze.

Sora blinked.

Damien looked down at her with crescent-shaped eyes full of concern.

"Careful."

"You almost fell."

Only then did Sora realize how close they were.

She immediately stepped backward, putting some distance between them before clutching her chest.

"You scared me!"

"What are you doing here?"

Damien scratched his cheek sheepishly before smiling with complete innocence.

"I thought your dance looked beautiful."

"I couldn’t help being curious."

"So I came over to watch more closely."

Sora’s lips twitched.

"Dance?"

She pointed at herself.

"You think... this is dancing?"

Damien nodded without hesitation.

"It looks very elegant."

"I’ve never seen anything like it."

Sora covered her face with one hand.

She didn’t know whether to laugh... or cry.