Chapter 62: Handsome Fiancé

Damien jumped lightly from the thick branch above, landing on the ground with effortless grace. A bright smile spread across his handsome face as though he had merely been waiting for the perfect opportunity to reveal himself.

He looked at Sora with crescent-shaped eyes and asked cheerfully, "Kaelira, what are you doing?"

Sora had been holding a difficult yoga pose, balancing on one leg with both arms extended. His sudden appearance startled her so badly that she lost her balance.

"Ah!"

She stumbled backward, barely catching herself before she fell flat onto the grass.

Her heart pounded wildly as she clutched her chest and glared at the unexpected intruder.

"When did you get there?" she demanded.

Damien blinked innocently.

"I’ve been watching for a while."

"..."

That only made it worse.

Seeing her expression, Damien smiled even wider.

"I thought your dance looked beautiful, so I couldn’t help coming closer to watch."

Sora’s lips twitched.

Dance?

This was the first time in her life someone had mistaken yoga for dancing.

Not only that...

...he actually complimented it.

For a brief moment she simply stared at him.

Then she silently confirmed something in her heart.

This man’s brain really might be a little... different.

She didn’t bother correcting him.

If he wanted to call it dancing, then let him call it dancing.

Explaining yoga would only create more questions.

If he asked where she had learned it, she would have to invent another excuse. Until now she had blamed almost everything unusual on her mysterious adoptive mother. But now someone claiming to know that very woman had appeared.

She could no longer casually use that explanation.

Otherwise, Damien might expose every lie she had told.

That would be troublesome.

Fortunately, she had already finished most of her morning routine.

She dusted the grass from her clothes and stretched her aching shoulders.

The morning jog, combined with yoga, left a thin layer of sweat across her forehead.

"I need a bath."

She turned toward the tribe.

After taking only a few steps, she noticed another set of footsteps following closely behind her.

Sora stopped.

Damien stopped too.

She moved forward again.

He followed again.

"..."

She turned around.

"Why are you following me?"

Damien looked puzzled.

"You were walking."

"So?"

"So I followed."

His answer was so natural that Sora couldn’t even think of a reply.

After a moment she sighed.

Maybe he was hungry.

After all, he had only arrived yesterday. As an outsider, he probably wouldn’t know where to get breakfast, nor would it be appropriate for him to wander into another family’s home looking for food.

Since she had agreed to let him stay temporarily, basic hospitality was only fair.

Thinking this, her expression softened slightly.

"Wait outside my house for a moment."

She pointed toward the wooden cabin.

"I’ll make breakfast."

Damien’s eyes immediately sparkled.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You’re still as kind as you were when we were little."

"..."

There it was again.

Every few sentences he managed to remind her of this mysterious childhood engagement.

She still had absolutely no memory of it.

The system was still upgrading.

She could only endure it for now.

The two of them walked side by side toward the center of the tribe.

Morning had fully arrived.

The square had become lively.

Many females were lining up near the fruit baskets that had been gathered at dawn, while beastmen carried fresh game back from the forest.

The moment everyone noticed Sora...

...and the extraordinarily handsome man walking beside her...

Conversation abruptly stopped.

The entire square became strangely quiet.

Then whispers erupted everywhere.

"Who is that?"

"I’ve never seen him before."

"He’s so handsome..."

"Isn’t that Kaelira beside him?"

"Didn’t she bring back that filthy black bear yesterday?"

"Why is there another handsome beastman with her this morning?"

"Has Kaelira become lucky recently?"

One especially nosy female couldn’t restrain herself any longer.

She hurried over.

"Kaelira!"

She pointed directly at Damien.

"Who is he?"

Before Sora could answer, Damien stepped forward with a friendly smile.

"Hello, everyone."

"My name is Damien."

One young female blinked.

"Damien?"

She looked at his perfectly human appearance.

"Then... are you a Demon?"

Damien looked confused.

"A Demon?"

She nodded.

"Your name sounds like one."

Several people nearby nodded in agreement.

Damien couldn’t help laughing.

"No."

"I’m a black bear."

The crowd froze.

"...Black bear?"

Everyone looked at each other.

Someone finally laughed awkwardly.

"Impossible."

"Black bears don’t look like this."

"Stop joking."

Damien scratched the back of his head.

"I’m serious."

Seeing no one believed him, Sora finally rubbed her temples.

"He’s telling the truth."

Every pair of eyes immediately turned toward her.

She pointed calmly at Damien.

"This is the black bear who came looking for me yesterday."

Silence.

Utter silence.

A moment later—

"What?!"

The entire square exploded.

"No way!"

"Yesterday?"

"The dirty one?"

"The one covered in mud?"

"You’re kidding!"

"He looked completely different!"

Many people immediately surrounded Damien, examining him from every angle.

Yesterday, his long hair had been tangled into knots.

Mud had covered nearly every inch of exposed skin.

His beard and messy bangs had hidden most of his face.

No one had imagined that beneath all that dirt was a man whose appearance rivaled the most handsome beastmen in the tribe.

Damien smiled sheepishly.

"I was in a hurry to find Kaelira."

"So I didn’t have time to clean myself."

The crowd finally understood.

"So that’s why..."

"No wonder..."

"I thought he was naturally dirty."

A few older beastmen laughed loudly.

"You youngsters really don’t care about appearances."

Damien merely smiled.

Among the crowd, however, several unmarried females stared at him with shining eyes.

One particularly bold girl stepped forward.

"So... you’re really Kaelira’s childhood fiancé?"

Damien nodded without hesitation.

"Yes."

"I came to fulfill my promise."

The young female’s smile instantly froze.

She looked at Sora with obvious jealousy.

How unfair.

Sora already had five exceptionally handsome beast husbands.

Now another handsome man had appeared.

Meanwhile, she still hadn’t found even one suitable partner.

The other females wore similarly complicated expressions.

Yesterday they had secretly rejoiced.

Finally...

Sora had attracted someone who matched her appearance.

That ugly black bear had restored their confidence.

But today...

Everything had been overturned.

After washing himself, Damien turned out to be astonishingly handsome.

Their brief happiness vanished instantly.

Some couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

Why was Sora’s luck with men so unbelievable?

Even if everyone called her fat and ugly...

...every beastman who appeared around her somehow ended up being incredibly attractive.

It simply didn’t make sense.

Sora naturally noticed the strange gazes directed at her.

She felt utterly speechless.

If these people knew she herself had been frightened by Damien’s transformation yesterday, they probably wouldn’t believe it.

She hadn’t expected someone buried beneath layers of mud to possess such refined features either.

Just then Damien suddenly leaned closer.

"Kaelira."

"Hm?"

"I’m getting hungry."

"..."

"So can we eat breakfast now?"

Sora couldn’t help laughing despite herself.

This man’s thoughts really were straightforward.

Whether it was sleeping together, following her around, or asking for food, he never hid what was on his mind.

Perhaps that honesty wasn’t entirely a bad thing.

She shook her head helplessly.

"Come on."

"I’ll cook."

Damien’s face immediately lit up with childlike excitement.

"Really?"

"Thank you!"

Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed Sora’s wrist before happily following beside her.

The intimate gesture made the surrounding crowd gasp.

Not far away, Ryan, Xavier, Ace, Lucas, and Lukan had just arrived after finishing their morning tasks.

The moment they witnessed Damien naturally holding Sora’s hand...

All five stopped walking simultaneously.

Their expressions changed in an instant.