Chapter 70: Fiancé Not Husband

Ace had remained silent, but inwardly he couldn’t deny one thing.

Kaelira had started to become...beautiful.

As a Tiger beastman, he had never liked females who were painfully thin. To him, skin stretched tightly over bones looked fragile and lifeless. He preferred someone with soft curves—someone warm enough to hold.

Kaelira wasn’t quite there yet.

She still had a little weight to lose.

But at the pace she was going...

It wouldn’t be long before she became stunning.

Thinking about it, that ridiculous rotation schedule suddenly didn’t seem quite so ridiculous anymore.

The realization startled him.

He frowned.

What was he even thinking?

Xavier wasn’t doing much better.

Ever since yesterday’s bathtub incident, an image kept replaying in his mind against his will.

Sunset.

Warm water.

Sora’s embarrassed face.

And...

That dangerously curvy figure.

He had closed his eyes several times, trying to erase the memory.

It hadn’t worked.

The more he tried to forget it, the clearer it became.

"This isn’t right..."

He frowned slightly.

Sora wasn’t even close to his usual type.

So why was he suddenly noticing her?

Could she have secretly used some kind of charm fruit?

The thought crossed his mind immediately.

Last night he had even checked himself carefully for traces of any aphrodisiac pollen or enchanted fruit juice.

Nothing.

There wasn’t the slightest hint of foul play.

Which only made things stranger.

The attraction wasn’t coming from outside.

It was coming from himself.

That realization only left him more confused.

Lucas had no intention of agreeing to Damien’s so-called rotation schedule.

Sharing a room wasn’t dirty.

Sharing a bed, however...

That was another story.

Still...

He noticed that neither Xavier nor Ace had immediately objected.

That alone made him suspicious.

What are those two thinking?

Lucas remembered the popcorn incident.

The first person to speak had ended up offending Sora.

If he rejected the idea too quickly now, would she misunderstand him again?

Better to stay quiet.

Observe first.

Speak later.

Lukan, meanwhile, had quietly considering the proposal from an entirely different angle.

When he hunted with married beastmen, they often complained about taking turns spending nights with their wives.

Some even argued over whose turn it was.

Apparently...

That was simply part of married life.

If Kaelira really intended to marry all of them one day...

Wouldn’t taking turns be perfectly normal?

The more he thought about it...

The more reasonable Damien’s suggestion sounded.

Each of the four beastmen had completely different thoughts.

Yet...

Not one of them actually rejected the proposal.

Sora had waited.

One second.

Two seconds.

Five seconds.

Nothing.

She looked from one face to another.

What’s wrong with these people today?

Normally, they’d reject every ridiculous suggestion before she even finished speaking.

Now?

They were all pretending to admire the scenery.

This was terrifying.

Seeing that no one had intended to save her, Sora had no choice but to rescue herself.

She folded her arms.

"What companionship?"

"If you’re all so free..."

"Go do something useful."

"Can’t you see I’m busy every single day?"

"I don’t have time for any rotation schedules."

Damien had stared at her in shock.

"But..."

"You’re our female."

Sora immediately interrupted him.

"I’ll remind you one more time."

"We’re only engaged."

"Nothing more."

"My relationship with the other five beastmen is our business."

"You have no right to interfere."

She had tolerated him calling himself her beastman for several days.

Enough was enough.

If she didn’t correct him now...

Tomorrow he’d probably start introducing himself as her husband.

Damien looked genuinely hurt.

"Kaelira..."

"How can you say that?"

"I’m your beastman too."

Sora sighed helplessly.

"We don’t even have a Beast Mark."

"We’re not truly married."

In this world, every officially bonded couple possessed matching Beast Totems.

Both the female and the beastman carried the sacred mark after completing the bonding ceremony beneath the Sacred Tree.

Over the past few days, Sora had secretly observed Damien several times.

She hadn’t found any Beast Totem on him.

Which made her even more suspicious.

Until that unreliable system finally confirmed his identity...

She wasn’t willing to trust him completely.

Damien bit his lip before quietly explaining,

"That’s because..."

"We were too young back then."

"We couldn’t form the bond beneath the Sacred Tree."

"But now we can."

His eyes brightened.

"We can go together."

"Once we complete the ceremony..."

"We’ll both receive the Beast Totem."

The moment those words left his mouth...

The atmosphere changed.

Xavier.

Ace.

Lucas.

Lukan.

All four looked up simultaneously.

Even Sora was caught off guard.

This black bear...

He really refused to give up.

The corners of her lips twitched awkwardly.

She decided to reject him as gently as possible.

"Why don’t..."

"...you think about it a little longer?"

"I’m not exactly..."

"...the best choice."

Admitting it aloud still stung.

Although she’d accepted the original owner’s appearance long ago, saying she wasn’t attractive in front of everyone still bruised her pride.

Damien either failed to understand the hidden meaning...

Or deliberately ignored it.

He smiled warmly.

"I don’t need to think."

"I already think Kaelira is wonderful."

Sora stared at him.

Can someone please explain why this bear is completely immune to hints?

Seeing no progress whatsoever, she simply changed the subject.

"I don’t want to form the bond right now."

Damien blinked.

"Why?"

Sora answered honestly.

"Because..."

"I haven’t seen your performance yet."

The others looked confused.

Only Sora knew what she meant.

That unreliable system might suddenly assign Damien as a target tomorrow.

If she officially bonded with him now and something unexpected happened later...

She’d be trapped.

Until she understood him completely...

She wasn’t making any promises.

Damien lowered his head slightly.

"So..."

"What do I have to do..."

"...for you to think I’ve performed well?"

Sora smiled mysteriously.

"I can’t tell you."

"You’ll have to figure it out yourself."

Damien became quiet.

A moment later...

His entire face brightened again.

"I understand!"

His mood changed so quickly that Sora nearly laughed.

One second ago he looked abandoned.

Now he looked ready to conquer the world.

His eyes sparkled with determination.

Seeing that hopeful expression, Sora couldn’t bring herself to discourage him.

She simply nodded.

"Good."

Meanwhile...

The other four beastmen secretly breathed sighs of relief.

She had refused.

She had actually refused.

None of them had expected Sora to reject the opportunity to immediately gain another official beast husband.

She really had changed.

Not only had she become a talented cook.

Not only was she growing prettier every day.

Even her personality had become calmer and easier to like.

Somewhere along the way...

The annoying female they once desperately avoided...

Had quietly become someone surprisingly enjoyable to be around.

Even today’s rejection of the rotation schedule had surprised them.

The old Kaelira would’ve eagerly agreed without hesitation.

The current Kaelira...

Didn’t seem interested at all.

Completely unaware of the complicated thoughts swirling around her, Sora simply tied on her apron and began preparing breakfast.

Business came before romance.

Especially fake romance.

The tribe had become much busier over the past few days.

Usually, the square outside the wild kitchen would be packed with beastmen lining up for breakfast.

Today...

Only a handful of young, unmarried males remained.

Lyra frowned as she looked across the unusually empty square.

"Where is everyone?"

"Why are there so few people today?"

The nearby females exchanged guilty glances.

No one answered.

Their strange silence only made Lyra more suspicious.

Just then, an elderly female chuckled softly.

"Chief’s Wife, don’t worry."

"The men all went hunting early this morning."

"Hunting?"

Lyra looked surprised.

"So many of them?"

The old woman laughed.

"Didn’t you see Kaelira’s new animal-skin outfit yesterday?"

"It looked so beautiful that nearly every female in the tribe wanted one."

"So..."

"They all sent their husbands hunting for more hides."

Lyra’s smile stiffened.

She slowly looked toward Kaelira’s wooden house.

Just one dress...

One single outfit...

And nearly the entire tribe had started copying her.

Her fingers unconsciously tightened.

Exactly what had Kaelira been doing every day?

How had she unknowingly become the one setting trends for the entire tribe?