By the time they returned to the village center for lunch, it was almost over.
Zane was welcomed with great enthusiasm, and a table filled to the brim with all kinds of food imaginable.
“Dear chosen one.” Unlike Clyde, who had already known about the attitudes of the villagers, Michael sat in silence, trying his best to comprehend what was happening.
Zane was given a special cushioned chair that was now dripping with water.
They were both still soaked from head to toe, looking completely out of place among everyone else.
“Would you like a change of clothing?” One of the elders asked as they placed the last plate of food on the table.
After assuring them that he was fine, they quietly stood by to watch Zane eat his meal.
[The protagonist’s similarity to the previous holy maiden has been noticed.]
[Update: Mission progression is currently at 75%]
It dropped because of that?
The roasted chicken dropped onto the plate at the carelessness of Zane’s hands.
He hadn’t expected that mission stats could falter if the protagonist decided to bounce back.
Almost instantly, his gaze wandered around the large hall, zeroing in on a single person with his back to their group.
Oliver chatted happily with the village chief while being offered something to snack on.
He can’t stop the village chief from talking to people all the time, so he decided to ignore whatever was happening and focus on the food instead.
The system fell silent at the nonchalant attitude its host had as he tore into the fragrant meat.
If this were any other host, they would have long freaked out about the drop in progress and tried their very best to come up with a solution.
“All right!
Listen up, everyone!” With a loud clap, all sounds died instantly, and everyone turned to focus on the group of professors.
“We’ll be working on installing the water filters and heaters powered by the solar.
The sky is clear and bright!
Perfect for setting it up.
With everyone helping, it is expected to finish before dinner.”
Do I have to go?
Zane had already forgotten what Professor Reed had said about him in particular.
As if reading his mind, the professor continued her announcement.
“There are some who are exempt from these activities due to other special tasks they have to complete.
The villagers were kind enough to help with last night’s food, breakfast, and this very lunch.
However, starting tonight, a few selected students will be cooking the meals.
The roles will be rotated according to this chart that we will be handing out!”
This beef stew tastes like heaven.
The moment it was confirmed that he was exempt, Zane had already blocked out all noise and returned to the dishes on the table.
“Please double-check where you are stationed and when!
Come and grab one of these and meet up with your assigned group leader in ten minutes!”
“Your skin is all red.” Michael had eaten a few dishes, but his eyes kept wandering back to Zane and his stuffed face.
Only now, as they sat under a roof, did he notice the slight burn on Zane’s skin.
“Is it stinging or itchy at all?”
Clyde also took a closer look once he mentioned it.
Zane, on the other hand, hadn’t been paying much attention.
He didn’t hear the first part about his skin, so he misheard the question, thinking that Michael was asking if he felt itchy from being horny, and if his dick was stinging after all the rubbing.
“It’s a little itchy inside.”
“What?” Both Clyde and Michael froze.
Their gazes immediately fell to his crotch to inspect.
“I was hoping you’d put it in, but…okay.” It didn’t take too long for both of them to ejaculate, and seeing that both Michael and Clyde were hard, he thought that they would continue.
Unexpectedly, he was pulled up from the water and dressed before being escorted by both of them to lunch. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“Tonight, we could—,” Just as Clyde spoke, a figure dashed to their table.
“Guess what!?” Oliver wrapped his arm around Michael’s shoulders, happily retelling everything that had happened during lunch.
“Because the village chief asked me to stay back and perform offering rituals with him, I don’t have to go do those tasks!”
“Oliver…” Michael awkwardly glanced at Zane, unsure of how to go about dealing with this situation.
Oliver hadn’t seen Zane yet.
His gaze fixed on Clyde, who sat peacefully enjoying his meal.
“The best part is, you guys get to accompany me, too!”
Rituals?
A sudden urge to flip the table nearly overcame Zane.
He resisted it, hands gripping the silverware tightly to stop himself from cringing at the thought.
If he was going to ask anybody, why did he make me look crazy!
Zane still felt annoyed at them forcing him to do the offerings this morning.
More than that, he silently cursed Silas for being the main cause of this embarrassment.
Shitty system.
Stupid question mark looking ass.
Zane’s frown didn’t go unnoticed, nor did his clenched fist and tight jaw.
Clyde and Michael understood it to be Zane feeling jealous, so they tried even more to distance themselves from Oliver.
“I would like to invite you to join, Zane.” The chief also arrived at their table, smiling benevolently, as if he was doing the world a favor with his rituals.
“Wait!
You—!” Oliver’s eyes widen at the sight of Zane.
Is he blind or something?
He didn’t quite understand how Oliver had only just noticed him when he sat directly beside Michael.
I guess the table is round, but did he seriously not see me?
“What is it now?” Not wanting to hear Oliver’s voice any longer, Zane asked the chief with visible annoyance in both his facial expression and voice.
“It has been dry for the past three weeks.
We plan to do a ritual to ask for rain.
Please join us, dear chosen—!”
“Okay!” Zane couldn’t bear the title of chosen one or being called that any longer.
AHAHAHAHAH!
Such a bright and beautiful day!
Gone will be this stupid reverence title!
[…] Silas could barely believe its host.
It was clearly written in the novel plot that there would be a storm today, so the system guessed that the host had skimmed most of the story.
[Major plot point is coming up soon.
Please prevent the protagonist from successfully being viewed as a saint.]
What are you talking about?
You mean the threesome?
[Yes…] The system gave up on trying to coach the host.
If Oliver successfully prays at the exact time the storm hits, the mission progress would drop again.
But with Zane’s level of intellect, he would definitely accidentally be the one praying at that time.
He watched Zane shamelessly stuff his face while the chief and elders stood around with a gentle smile.
It took Zane nearly an hour before he burped and rubbed his belly in satisfaction.
After that, they were all guided to the top of the waterfall where they met a few other villagers.
At the sight of Zane and the others, those who had been preparing the ceremony since early morning all blushed.
Are they all hot or something?
The curious glances and shy smiles sent his way had him confused.
Michael, however, noticed that the view below them was clearly visible from where they stood.
He, too, blushed and shyly glanced at Zane.
It was clear that what they did had been seen by these people, and yet none of them said anything aside from the occasional playful glances the men sent toward Michael.
Thanks to the heat and breeze, their clothes had dried somewhat, with only a few spots still feeling damp.
Zane’s skin tinged with the pink of irritation caused by the sunlight.
It made Michael worry that if he stayed unprotected, the sunburn would be worse.
“Do you have anything to help with the sun?” He asked one of the people responsible for setting up the ceremony.
“We have some coconut oil.” He went to grab a bottle and handed it to Michael.
“It is very good for bedtime fun also.” They grinned at each other knowingly before the man walked off to finish his task.
“I also b-brought some…” Oliver had followed along, only catching the last sentence before Michael spun around and nearly knocked into him.
He shyly toyed with his fingers, thinking that Michael was planning to do something later tonight.
“We already talked about this earlier, Oliver.” He didn’t mind staying friends with Oliver, but he also couldn’t continue their sexual relations.
At first, Michael felt conflicted about whether Zane liked him, but his jealous reaction earlier was more than enough.
“This isn’t for you.”
“I don’t believe it!
That idiot is just playing everybody!”
“Go and yap at the gods.” Zane didn’t mean to intrude on whatever conversation they were having, but the chief had sent him over to get Oliver.
“You’re so noisy all the time.” He gripped the shorter man’s back collar and dragged him to the altar.
“Let go, Crazy!”
“Sure.” The moment he released him, Oliver tripped and fell from the imbalance.
He could only silently curse at Zane because the elders had already arrived with two cups of colorful drinks.
“You will drink half of this, and the gods will drink the rest.
Both of you will stay kneeling until you are done with your part.
The person who goes first is free to stand and move back some steps.
Aside from that, you will do nothing else.” The chief explained.
“Who will go first?”
“I’ll go first!” Oliver had seen the bruising on Zane’s knee.
He grinned, hoping to cause some distress to Zane, even if only a little.
“Have fun kneeling with the bruising.” He couldn’t help but smugly whisper into Zane’s ear once they both were made to kneel.
Zane frowned but said nothing.
Originally, he had wanted to go first so that the elders would pin their hopes on Oliver and dispel the idea of Zane being the chosen one.
Doesn’t matter when there is no rain.
But after thinking about it carefully, if there weren’t any rainfall coming, the elders would ignore Oliver and look at Zane with a lot less reverence.
It was a win-win situation for him.
And yet…the sky immediately darkened the moment he placed his half of the drink down on the altar.
Drop after drop, the cheers of the villagers immediately roared alongside the thunder.
Fuck.