His face darkened as he sharply turned his head away and closed his eyes.
"Hurry up and put your skirt back on."
Sora quickly scrambled upright while covering herself with both hands. She dashed toward the banana tree, yanked down the torn beast-skin skirt, and hurriedly wrapped it around her waist again.
Only after securing it tightly did she finally breathe in relief.
"I’m dressed," she announced cautiously.
Xavier stood up immediately, refusing to even glance in her direction.
He looked ready to leave at once.
But Sora suddenly remembered something important.
"Wait... we still need the banana leaves."
Xavier stopped.
After several seconds of silence, he transformed into his massive purple serpent form and slithered effortlessly up the towering banana tree.
Moments later, several enormous leaves drifted down from above.
Sora quickly gathered them with bright eyes.
"That’s enough!"
Xavier landed nearby with a cold expression, clearly unwilling to speak another word after the earlier incident.
Sora didn’t mind.
He already disliked her anyway.
She spread the clean banana leaves carefully across the ground before placing the prepared wild chicken in the center.
Without proper tools or clean water, she could only improvise.
Breaking a branch from a nearby tree, she stripped away the bark and used the wood like a pestle, crushing ginger, star anise, and cinnamon into fragrant paste.
Next, she hollowed out a wild orange and used the peel as a bowl. Into it went the crushed spices, salt, and squeezed orange juice.
A rich aroma immediately drifted into the air.
Xavier’s nose twitched unconsciously.
Sora dipped the white ends of wild scallions into the mixture and spread the seasoning evenly across the chicken.
The scent grew even stronger.
Then she wrapped the chicken tightly inside the banana leaves and secured everything with thin branches.
Finally came the most important step.
Mud.
Not far away was a patch of soft yellow clay left behind by rainwater. Sora’s eyes lit up as she carried the wrapped chicken over.
Xavier, who had been silently watching from a distance, suddenly narrowed his eyes.
What was she doing now?
He watched her scoop wet mud and smear it directly over the chicken.
His expression instantly darkened.
In a flash, he appeared beside her and grabbed her wrist.
"Kaelira!"
He looked furious.
"Why are you covering food in mud?"
Sora blinked innocently.
"It’s not poison. Relax."
"Then why ruin perfectly good chicken?"
"This is called beggar’s chicken."
Xavier stared at her suspiciously.
"Roasted chicken is cooked over fire. Not buried in dirt."
Sora sighed patiently.
"That’s ordinary roasted chicken. This is different."
Seeing his distrustful expression, she explained further.
"The chicken still has feathers, right? Once the mud hardens in the fire, it’ll peel away together with the feathers."
Xavier paused.
"...Really?"
"Yes."
She looked at him helplessly.
"I’m eating it too, you know. Why would I ruin it?"
Only then did Xavier slowly release her hand.
But his gaze remained strange.
Especially after she casually called him brother earlier.
This female truly never missed a chance to flirt.
Meanwhile, Sora had absolutely no idea what nonsense he was imagining.
She focused entirely on smoothing the clay evenly across the chicken before digging a shallow pit nearby. After burying it beneath dirt, she gathered dry wood and skillfully started a fire above it.
Xavier silently observed her busy movements.
For once, she didn’t look lazy or foolish.
Everything she did had purpose.
After finishing, Sora dug up several wild sweet potatoes nearby and tossed them into the fire as well.
"These will take a while," she said while tossing Xavier several wild fruits. "Eat something first."
Surprisingly, Xavier accepted them quietly.
Not long after, the sweet potatoes finished roasting.
Sora used sticks like chopsticks to pull them from the fire before handing Xavier another pair.
"What are you staring at? Eat before it gets cold."
Steam rose from the roasted sweet potato, carrying a sweet smoky fragrance.
Xavier copied her movements uncertainly before taking a bite.
His eyes widened instantly.
Soft.
Sweet.
Warm.
Delicious.
He had never eaten anything like this before.
Without realizing it, he quickly ate several more.
Sora chuckled softly at his reaction.
After estimating the time, she finally dug up the beggar’s chicken.
The hardened clay had turned dark from the fire.
Crack.
The mud shell split apart beneath her stone.
As she peeled away the banana leaves, a rich aroma exploded into the air.
The scent of roasted chicken mixed with spices and the fresh fragrance of banana leaves instantly spread through the forest.
Even Xavier froze.
Sora tore off a chicken leg and handed it to him with a grin.
"Now do you believe mud has uses?"
Xavier accepted it silently and took one bite.
Then his entire expression changed.
The meat was unbelievably tender.
Juices burst across his tongue alongside rich spice flavors he had never experienced before.
Compared to the raw meat he usually ate, this was heaven itself.
For the first time, Xavier genuinely looked at Kaelira differently.
Maybe this strange female truly was useful.
Meanwhile, back at the tribe’s resting area, Lyra and the other females returned carrying baskets of wild fruit.
The exhausted beastmen gathered together to eat.
Lukan glanced around once before frowning.
"Where’s Kaelira?"
Before anyone else could answer, Serena spoke softly.
"She went somewhere else to gather food."
Lyra’s expression darkened instantly.
"Don’t make excuses for her. She’s obviously slacking off again."
Serena lowered her head, hiding the pleased smile in her eyes.
Martin also frowned.
"What is she running around for now—"
Suddenly, someone interrupted.
"What’s that smell?"
Another beastman lifted his head sharply.
"It smells incredible..."
The rich fragrance drifted through the forest like an invisible hook, instantly capturing everyone’s attention.
Hungry beastmen stood one after another, sniffing the air.
Even Ace’s ears twitched lazily from where he rested beneath a tree.
"That scent..." he murmured.
Without waiting another second, the entire tribe began moving toward the source of the aroma.
The rich aroma of roasted chicken drifted through the forest, drawing the tribe toward the fire almost instinctively.
The beastmen had traveled all morning without rest. Although the wild fruits had barely filled their stomachs, they could not compare to the warm, savory scent now spreading through the camp.
One after another, people followed the fragrance until they found Kaelira and Xavier sitting beside the fire