Ace paused, the fur towel still in his hand, and looked at Sora with an odd expression.
"This ugly creature actually said thank you?"
The thought caught him off guard. In the past, whenever he helped her, she acted as though it were only natural, never offering gratitude. But after a moment, he dismissed it. Kaelira was unpredictable. Who knew what new scheme she was planning?
That was exactly why he had chosen to sleep in the tree tonight. Under normal circumstances, he would have found a comfortable rock and rested there. Instead, he had stayed above, keeping his distance from her.
Once the danger had passed, Sora carefully climbed down from the tree. She had only just begun rebuilding everyone’s trust and had no intention of ruining it now. Besides, the night was still young. Who knew what other disasters might appear?
Before lying down again, she deliberately dragged her fur blanket closer to the tree trunk. If anything happened, she wanted to be able to scramble up the tree as quickly as possible.
Watching from above, Ace found the sight strangely amusing.
She’s unbelievably timid.
After the snake incident, Sora had assumed sleep would be impossible. Yet the distant sounds drifting from the tribe somehow made her feel secure. As long as she could hear voices, it meant people were nearby. If something happened, someone would hear her.
As the night deepened, those enthusiastic noises gradually became softer and more rhythmic. Before she realized it, sleep claimed her.
By the time Sora opened her eyes the next morning, dawn had already arrived.
Ace was gone.
She had no idea when he’d left.
Stretching lazily, she packed away her blanket and began her usual warm-up exercises. No matter where she was, morning jogging remained part of her weight-loss plan.
The forest looked completely different in daylight. The shadows and dangers of the night had vanished, replaced by vibrant greenery and fresh air.
As she jogged through the trees, she breathed deeply.
The air here was incredible.
In the apocalypse, the atmosphere had always been tainted by corruption and decay. Nothing compared to the crisp, clean scent of this primeval forest.
Yesterday she had been too busy searching for ingredients to appreciate the scenery. Now she finally had time to enjoy it.
A short distance ahead, she spotted a clear pool.
The water sparkled beneath the morning sun. It looked clean enough to drink.
But something white seemed to be moving beneath the surface.
Curious, Sora slowed her pace and approached.
The moment she reached the edge of the pool, the white shape burst from the water.
It was Ace.
And he was completely naked.
For a brief second, Sora froze.
The scene looked like something straight out of a fantasy novel—a handsome man emerging from crystal-clear water beneath the morning sunlight.
Unfortunately, the man in question was glaring at her with enough hostility to freeze the entire pond.
Sora’s heart immediately dropped.
She hadn’t meant to see anything.
Unfortunately, before she could explain herself, her foot slipped on the wet ground.
With a yelp, she slid forward and landed right at the edge of the pool.
Now it looked even worse.
A murderous glint flashed through Ace’s blue eyes.
Sora nearly cried.
Great. I finally improved his opinion of me yesterday, and now everything is ruined.
At that moment, the system chimed in.
Ding. Warning. The target’s favorability is currently decreasing.
You don’t need to tell me, Sora thought bitterly. I can see it on his face.
Forcing a stiff smile, she immediately raised both hands.
"Please continue. I didn’t see anything."
Then she turned and tried to run.
Unfortunately, she was too slow.
Water exploded behind her.
A moment later, Ace emerged from the pool, a fur cloth wrapped around his waist.
Before Sora could take another step, he grabbed her wrist.
His icy voice sounded beside her ear.
"KAELIRA! You’re becoming more and more shameless. Now you’re peeking while I bathe?"
"No!"
She shook her head so hard her hair flew everywhere.
"I was just running and happened to pass by!"
"Then why were you lying on the ground?"
Sora opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Then opened it again.
Nothing came out.
The evidence really wasn’t helping her case.
"I swear I didn’t know you were here," she finally said. "You left before I woke up. How could I possibly know?"
Ace studied her carefully.
After a long moment, he asked,
"Then why are you here?"
"I was jogging."
"Jogging?"
His eyebrows rose.
Sora nodded.
"I’ve been trying to lose weight. Running helps."
Ace remained silent.
Clearly, he wasn’t convinced.
Seeing that, Sora hurried to continue.
"I’m serious. Look, I’m sweating. If I wasn’t running, why would I be sweating this early in the morning?"
She pointed at herself.
"And look! My neck is thinner now. I’ve already lost weight."
Ace glanced at her.
To his surprise, she wasn’t wrong.
Her neck looked slimmer.
Even her chin had become slightly sharper.
Of course, she was still far from attractive.
But the change was noticeable.
After a moment, he finally released her wrist.
"This time, I’ll believe you."
Sora immediately raised a hand.
"If there’s a next time, I’ll accept any punishment."
Ace narrowed his eyes.
"Any punishment?"
"Yes."
She thought for a second before adding dramatically,
"If I ever do it again, may I gain twenty pounds."
Ace stared at her.
Of all the oaths he had expected, that wasn’t one of them.
For someone obsessed with losing weight, it was practically a curse.
A faint look of surprise crossed his face.
When had Kaelira become this self-aware?
Satisfied with her vow, Ace finally turned and walked away.
Sora let out a huge sigh of relief.
Another crisis survived.
She made a mental note never to wander around randomly again.
One accidental bath encounter was already difficult enough to explain.
After jogging a little longer, Sora returned to the pool and washed her face.
The purple birthmark on her face had faded considerably thanks to the herbal treatments, though traces still remained.
She needed more medicinal leaves.
And pearl powder.
And, most importantly, a house.
She absolutely refused to spend another night sleeping on the ground while giant snakes crawled around nearby.
After cleaning up, she headed back toward the tribe.
Unfortunately, her body ached all over.
Sleeping outside had clearly taken its toll.
As she walked, several females noticed her and exchanged knowing smiles.
"Kaelira you look tired," one of them teased. "Didn’t sleep well?"
Sora rubbed her sore back and nodded absentmindedly.
The women immediately burst into laughter.
She blinked in confusion.
Why were they laughing?
Then Serena approached with a bright smile.
"Kaelira, how was your night?"
The question sounded innocent.
It wasn’t.
Sora instantly understood.
The women had mistaken her exhaustion for something else entirely.
Looking around, she noticed the expectant expressions and then caught the frustration hidden in Serena’s eyes.
A mischievous thought crossed her mind.
Instead of denying it, she smiled faintly.
"I was pretty tired."
The surrounding females immediately exchanged excited looks.
"See?" one of them said knowingly. "It’s always exhausting the first time."
Sora nearly choked.
The women of this tribe really had no concept of subtlety.
Before anyone could continue the discussion, Lyra stormed over.
"Kaelira!"
Her voice was sharp enough to startle nearby birds.
"You skipped gathering fruit again today. Since you didn’t work, you don’t get breakfast!"
She had been furious ever since Sora refused to share the beggar’s chicken yesterday.
Now she was finally venting her frustration.
Sora simply shrugged.
"That’s fine."
Lyra froze.
"If I don’t get breakfast," Sora continued calmly, "I’ll just make my own."
The tribe instantly grew interested.
After tasting her cooking yesterday, everyone knew how good it was.
Several beastmen and females looked tempted to follow her.
Only Lyra’s presence stopped them.
Ignoring the stares, Sora headed straight for the place she had marked yesterday—the spot where she had discovered wild corn and peanuts.
The corn was wrapped in fresh green husks, looking healthy and ripe.
She peeled one open.
Golden kernels gleamed beneath the silk.
Her eyes lit up.
Perfect.
Taking a bite, she tasted sweet juice and tender flesh.
Definitely ripe.
She immediately harvested several more ears.
At first, she only intended to gather enough for herself.
Then she remembered Ace saving her from the snake last night.
And despite their misunderstanding this morning, she decided to prepare extra.
After all, improving favorability required consistency.
She couldn’t focus only on one person either.
Lukan had helped her plenty as well.
Good relationships needed to be built slowly.
After collecting the corn, she checked the peanuts.
The leaves were beginning to yellow, suggesting they were almost mature.
She pulled up a plant and cracked open one of the peanuts.
The flavor was still slightly immature.
Not quite ready yet.
Corn would be enough for breakfast.
She planned to roast some cobs and make corn porridge.
If conditions allowed, she would have preferred simply boiling the corn. Freshly ripened corn produced a wonderfully sweet broth when cooked.
The problem was finding a cooking pot.
After searching nearby, she found a large round wild fruit. She had never seen anything like it in the apocalypse. It resembled a coconut on the outside, but the interior was more like a pomelo. Once the flesh was removed, the shell formed a sturdy bowl-shaped container—perfect for cooking.
Not wanting another accidental encounter with Ace at the deep pool, Sora quickly rinsed the corn and returned to the secluded area she had discovered earlier.
Few people came here.
There were plenty of dry branches for firewood, making it an ideal outdoor kitchen.
After shaking the water from the corn, she used a stone knife to slice the kernels into her improvised pot. When it was half full, she prepared to start a fire and cook the porridge.
The shell made a surprisingly good cooking pot.
Soon she had assembled a small outdoor kitchen hidden among the trees.
As she carefully sliced kernels from the cob with a stone knife, the system suddenly chimed.
Ding. Congratulations. The target’s anticipation value has increased by five points.
Sora nearly cut herself.
"Wait, what?"
Someone was actually looking forward to seeing her?
Who could possibly be anticipating a meeting with her?
Before she could question the system further, a hand suddenly appeared in front of her holding several large eggs.
Startled, she looked up.
Then relaxed.
It was Xavier.
"What are you trying to do? Scare me to death?"
Xavier remained expressionless.
"I found six eggs."
He held them out.
"I’ll give you three."
Sora blinked.
"What do you want in return?"
"Cook for me."
For the first time, Xavier had voluntarily come to her.
The memory of yesterday’s food had completely ruined ordinary meals for him.
Once someone had tasted delicious food, bland eggs suddenly seemed unbearable.
Sora smiled knowingly.
The snake beastman had become hooked on good cooking.