The snake beastman transformed into human form immediately and prepared to confront her.
But Sora had already disappeared into the forest carrying his breakfast.
Xavier: "..."
Without hesitation, he followed her silently.
Completely unaware she was being stalked, Sora hurried away from the pond protectively clutching the eggs.
She feared the ducks might return and attack her if she lingered too long.
After leaving the marsh, she finally relaxed.
Now came the important part.
Cooking.
Unfortunately, the Beastlands lacked proper cookware.
Stone pots existed within the tribe, but if Lyra saw Sora using precious communal supplies for herself, another lecture would inevitably follow.
Sora had no patience for that.
"I’ll make my own."
She scanned the forest carefully before spotting a thick section of hollow bamboo.
Perfect.
Using a sharpened stone, she split the bamboo in half and cleaned the interior thoroughly. Then she arranged several rocks together to form a simple stove pit.
Primitive.
But functional.
Next came oil.
Modern humans would probably cry seeing her methods, but after surviving the apocalypse, Sora had learned how to make almost anything from nature.
Nearby castor plants swayed gently in the wind.
Their seeds contained natural oils.
Sora immediately gathered several mature castor beans and crushed them inside another bamboo tube before mixing in water.
Then she knelt beside dry grass and rubbed two sticks together rapidly.
Smoke rose slowly.
Finally—
Flames sparked alive.
The fire crackled softly beneath the bamboo tube while the castor mixture heated.
As the water boiled away, oils would eventually separate naturally.
A slow process.
But worth it.
Meanwhile, Sora needed salt.
After setting up the fire, she carefully glanced around.
Then her eyes dropped toward the duck eggs.
No.
Absolutely not.
Leaving these unattended was too dangerous.
What if someone stole them?
In the apocalypse, food theft often led to murder.
Sora trusted nobody.
So she turned around and retrieved the eggs again before heading deeper into the woods.
Hidden nearby, Xavier watched the entire process silently.
His expression became increasingly strange.
What exactly was this female doing?
First she split bamboo.
Then gathered stones.
Then boiled crushed beans.
And somehow the eggs still hadn’t entered the fire.
Xavier frowned thoughtfully.
Was she inventing some bizarre tribal ritual?
After observing for several more minutes, he finally reached a conclusion.
"She’s trying to boil eggs."
Obviously.
What else could it be?
Still...
Why go through so much trouble?
Wouldn’t roasting them directly over fire be easier?
The snake beastman continued watching from concealment, curiosity slowly replacing annoyance.
Eventually, Sora left again searching for salt deposits nearby.
At first, he assumed she intended to boil the eggs directly, but strangely enough, Sora never added them to the fire.
Instead, after setting everything up, she suddenly stood and walked away.
Xavier blinked.
"She’s leaving?"
His gaze immediately shifted toward the six duck eggs resting beside the stove.
A dangerous smile slowly appeared on his lips.
Since she abandoned them, reclaiming his breakfast seemed perfectly reasonable.
The serpent beastman silently extended the tip of his tail through the grass toward the eggs.
Just a little closer—
Suddenly—
At last.
His breakfast.
The snake beastman smirked faintly and extended the tip of his long black serpent tail from the bushes.
Slowly...
Silently...
The tail curled toward the eggs.
Just before touching them—
Rustle.
Sora suddenly returned.
Xavier froze instantly.
Before his tail could grab anything, Sora snatched the eggs protectively back into her arms.
"...!"
"So dangerous," she muttered while scooping the eggs protectively back into her skirt. "Leaving food unattended is basically inviting theft."
Xavier froze.
His tail stopped midair.
For several seconds, silence filled the clearing.
Then the serpent beastman slowly clenched his jaw.
The snake beastman nearly exploded with rage.
Second time.
This was the second time she had stolen his breakfast.
And the worst part?
She still hadn’t noticed him.
Xavier clenched his jaw tightly while murderous thoughts flashed through his golden eyes.
Meanwhile, Sora remained completely oblivious.
Soon—
She would finally eat a proper meal in this cursed beast world.
And somewhere behind her, a certain snake beastman stared at her like someone contemplating homicide.
_ _ _
The serpent beastman stood silently among the trees, his golden eyes narrowing dangerously as he watched her disappear deeper into the tribe.
His mood darkened immediately.
At first, he considered revealing himself and demanding the eggs back directly. But after taking only two steps forward, he suddenly stopped.
No.
That would be humiliating.
What was he supposed to say?
Those are my eggs because I saw the ducks lay them first?
Ridiculous.
His pride would never survive such embarrassment.
The snake beastman leaned lazily against a tree trunk, golden eyes narrowing dangerously as Sora hurried away through the forest clutching the eggs like precious treasure.
"At this point," he muttered coldly, "she’s doing it deliberately."
Yet despite his irritation, Xavier continued following her silently.
The deeper they moved toward the tribe, the more inconvenient his serpent form became. Beastmen rarely revealed their original forms inside crowded tribal territory unless hunting or fighting.
With a faint shimmer, dark scales receded across his body.
Moments later, a tall young man stepped from the shadows.
His black hair hung loosely around sharp features while emerald-gold eyes glimmered with annoyance. Unlike Lukan’s calm restraint, Xavier carried an almost predatory beauty—elegant, dangerous, and difficult to approach.
He crossed his arms and continued tailing Sora quietly.
What exactly was she planning?
Sneaking around the forest just to eat eggs?
The more he thought about it, the stranger her recent behavior became.
Usually, Sora spent every opportunity trying to cling to her husbands shamelessly. She constantly searched for attention, especially from the more powerful males.
But these past two days...
She had changed.
Not completely.
But enough to feel unsettling.
Xavier frowned slightly.
His long black hair swayed behind him as he moved soundlessly through the village paths. Even in human form, the serpent beastman carried an eerie elegance that made others instinctively avoid him.
Meanwhile, Sora remained entirely focused on protecting her precious breakfast.
The duck eggs were warm against her hands as she hurried through the tribe thoughtfully.
She needed salt.
Unfortunately, salt was extremely valuable in the Beast World. Ordinary tribe members rarely possessed much of it, and Lana certainly wouldn’t give her any willingly.
That left only one option.
Lukan.
According to the little information displayed by the Romance Strategy System, Lukan sharpened his hunting weapons alone every morning before leaving with the hunting teams.
And more importantly—
He was probably the only husband willing to tolerate her existence for more than three minutes.
Soon, Sora reached a rocky clearing near the edge of the tribe.
The sound of metal scraping stone echoed softly through the air.
There he was.
Lukan sat atop a large rock beneath the shade of a towering pine tree, sharpening a bone dagger carefully against a flat whetstone. Sunlight filtered through the branches overhead, casting shifting patterns across his silver hair.
The sight was unexpectedly beautiful.
Even Sora paused briefly.
The wolf beastman’s broad shoulders and calm expression gave him the appearance of someone carved from stone itself.
Unlike the other husbands, whose hostility burned openly, Lukan carried a quiet distance instead.
Cold.
But not cruel.
Gathering herself, Sora walked forward with a smile.
"Lukan."
The wolf beastman lifted his head slowly.
The moment his gray eyes landed on the bundle gathered in her skirt, his brows furrowed faintly.
"What are you carrying?"
"Treasure," Sora declared proudly.
Then she lowered her skirt slightly to reveal the duck eggs hidden inside.
Lukan blinked once.
"Duck eggs?"
"Mhm." Sora crouched beside him excitedly. "Can you lend me some salt?"
At the word salt, Lukan’s expression immediately turned cautious.
Salt was precious enough that tribes occasionally traded animal pelts for it. It wasn’t something someone casually borrowed to play around with.
"What do you need salt for?" he asked.
Sora pointed at the eggs confidently.
"I’m going to fry them."
"...Fry?"
Confusion finally appeared on the wolf beastman’s usually calm face.
Clearly, the Beast World had no concept of fried food.
Sora immediately brightened.
"Look, first you crack the eggs open," she explained enthusiastically while gesturing with her hands, "then you cook them with oil and a little salt over fire."
Her eyes sparkled slightly as she spoke.
"When they’re done, the outside becomes golden while the inside stays soft. It smells amazing."
Lukan stared at her silently.
To him, this sounded unnecessarily complicated.
Beastmen usually ate meat roasted directly over fire. Even eggs were normally swallowed raw or boiled whole.
Smashing them apart before cooking?
What kind of strange method was that?
Still...
For some reason, Sora’s expression while talking looked unusually lively.
Not fake.
Not clingy.
Just genuinely excited.
Lukan stared at her silently.
For some reason, the current Sora felt strange.
Not because of her appearance.
That part remained exactly the same.
But her eyes no longer carried the desperate obsession they once did. Instead of trying to force closeness, she now spoke naturally, almost casually.
It felt... easier to breathe around her.
Hidden behind nearby rocks, Xavier watched the entire interaction with narrowed eyes.
A mocking smile curled across his lips.
So that was her plan.
Steal eggs.
Cook them.
Then use them to curry favor with Lukan.
How shameless.
And worst of all—
Those eggs belonged to him.
Xavier’s lips curled coldly.
The snake beastman already disliked Lukan enough. Wolves were straightforward creatures who often attracted admiration from females because of their dependable personalities.
Annoying.
Now Sora was trying to flatter him too?
How shameless.
The serpent beastman crossed his arms coldly.
Females in the Beast World often tried to gain favor through gifts and food, especially toward powerful beastmen. Yet seeing Sora attempt such tactics felt strangely irritating.
Then Sora spoke again.
"When they’re finished, I’ll share some with you."
Xavier froze instantly.
The smile vanished from his face.
His expression darkened so quickly it resembled storm clouds gathering before rain.
Share them with Lukan?
"...What?"
His eggs.
His breakfast.
His duck eggs.
And she planned to give them to another male?
A dangerous hiss nearly escaped his throat.
Those were clearly his eggs.