Immediately, she grabbed Lukan’s wrist desperately.
"I’m coming with you."
Lukan raised a brow.
"You’re afraid of being beaten now?"
Sora coughed awkwardly.
"If you leave, he might beat me up."
Xavier sneered.
"I wouldn’t dirty my hands."
Still hiding partly behind Lukan, Sora muttered defensively,
"That wasn’t really a trick," she muttered defensively. "I found those eggs first."
Then she rolled her eyes dramatically.
"He claimed they were his just because he saw them yesterday. What was I supposed to do?"
After a pause, she added honestly,
"Besides... if I hadn’t hidden them, I wouldn’t have been able to bring any for you."
Lukan fell silent.
He clearly hadn’t expected that answer.
After a moment, he finally said quietly,
"Then next time, stay away from Xavier."
Sora’s eyes brightened instantly.
"So you believe me?"
Lukan glanced at her calmly.
"You wouldn’t deceive someone over a few duck eggs."
Something warm spread quietly through Sora’s chest.
For the first time since arriving in this world—
Someone had chosen to trust her.
Behind them, Xavier watched silently as the two walked away together.
His golden eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
For some reason—
The sight felt strangely irritating.
* * * * *
As Sora followed Lukan through the winding paths of the tribe, her gaze drifted toward his broad back again and again. Even after all the trouble she had caused, he still instinctively stepped in front of her whenever danger appeared.
The warmth in her chest felt unfamiliar.
Before she could speak, another beastman rushed over in a panic.
"Lukan! Hurry, the chief is looking for you!"
The urgency in his voice immediately sharpened Lukan’s expression.
"I’ll be there."
Without another word, he followed the messenger away.
Sora watched them leave thoughtfully. Whatever had happened seemed serious. Yet only the male beastmen had been summoned, meaning the tribe likely intended to keep the females uninvolved.
After a moment, Sora turned down another path alone.
As she walked, her thoughts returned to her body.
Losing weight could only happen gradually. The original owner had destroyed her health for years, and Sora had no intention of starving herself just to become thinner. In the apocalypse, she had seen too many people ruin their bodies chasing shortcuts.
Even in her previous world, rapid weight loss was unhealthy. Besides, compared to her figure, the more urgent issue was the enormous dark birthmark covering half her face.
If only there were lasers here...
One treatment and it would disappear instantly.
Unfortunately, this primitive world had no advanced technology. Not even basic skincare existed. No whitening serums. No facial masks. No vitamin supplements.
Sora sighed softly.
"If only there were whitening serums here..."
Then suddenly, her eyes lit up.
Pearl powder.
Many beauty masks in the apocalypse used pearl powder as a brightening ingredient.
Without hesitation, she hurried toward the riverbank.
Kneeling beside the water, she focused her thoughts.
She stretched out her hand, focused her mind, and several tiny droplets of water floated from her palm.
Her water ability had become much easier to control recently.
The droplets slipped silently into the river, searching beneath the surface until they located a cluster of river clams hidden among the mud.
With a flick of her wrist—
Splash!
Several clams flew out of the water and landed beside her feet.
"Perfect."
Sora crouched down happily and pried one open using a stone knife.
Inside sat a dull silver pearl.
Though rough and uneven, it was more than enough for skincare.
"This primitive world really is full of treasures..."
Soon, she gathered several pearls and returned to her cave. Taking out a stone mortar, she carefully crushed them into fine powder before mixing them with water into a smooth paste.
Then she spread the mixture across her face and neck.
The cool sensation immediately relaxed her.
Leaning lazily at the cave entrance, Sora began humming cheerfully to herself.
"I love bathing~ my skin is so good~
I love bathing~ my skin is so white~"
Not far away, a tall figure stopped in his tracks.
Ace.
The white Tiger beastman had come to deliver meat, but the moment he saw the ghostly white face lying at the cave entrance, he nearly thought he had encountered a wandering corpse.
The pale powder covering Sora’s face looked especially eerie beneath the sunlight.
Ace’s golden eyes narrowed with disdain.
What foolish thing was she doing now?
Could smearing white mud on herself really make her prettier?
Even if she turned white, she would still be nothing more than a fat white pig.
Sora, meanwhile, had her eyes closed and was enjoying the cool sensation of the pearl mask. Suddenly sensing someone nearby, she opened her eyes sharply.
When she saw Ace standing there with meat in his hand, she jumped slightly.
"Ace? Why are you standing there like a ghost?"
Ace’s handsome face darkened.
Without ceremony, he tossed the meat onto the ground.
"Even if you paint yourself white, you still won’t look good."
Sora blinked slowly.
Then her brows twitched.
"What?"
Ace snorted coldly.
"It’s embarrassing enough already. Don’t make the tribe laugh at us even more."
Sora immediately sat upright.
"What does me applying a face mask inside my own cave have to do with you?"
"That dye won’t make you beautiful," Ace replied mercilessly.
"Dye?" Sora’s voice rose. "This is pearl powder. Are your eyes broken?"
Ace clearly did not believe her.
Before Sora could continue arguing, he turned and left with a dark expression.
As one of Sora’s beast husbands, he had long since grown accustomed to being mocked because of her outrageous behavior. To him, today’s actions were merely another humiliation.
Watching his departing figure, Sora rolled her eyes.
"If his eyes aren’t blind, then his heart definitely is."
Muttering under her breath, she waited for the mask to dry before washing it off carefully.
Then she stared into the blurry reflection inside the water basin.
Ugly.
The blurry water surface still reflected an extremely dark complexion and the massive birthmark stretching across her face.
It was ugly.
Far uglier than she could tolerate.
Then suddenly, Ace’s earlier words echoed in her mind.
Paint.
Dye.
Sora froze.
Wait...
Ace’s skin was bronze-gold. Lukan’s complexion was light wheat-colored. Even Xavier’s skin was pale.
Something felt wrong.
Why was the original owner so unnaturally dark?
Even if she inherited darker skin, it shouldn’t look like this.
Unless...
A thought suddenly flashed through Sora’s mind.
Could the original owner’s skin color have been artificially dyed?
Her eyes narrowed immediately.
"System."
"Yes, Host?"
"Is there a plant capable of dyeing skin black?"
The system paused briefly.
"...Yes."
Sora’s heartbeat quickened.
"What is it called?"
"Black Walnut Fruit. Some tribes crush the fruit and smear it over their skin to appear more majestic and intimidating."
Sora’s eyes instantly brightened.
"Where can I find it?"
The system became suspicious.
"Why are you asking?"
Sora silently rolled her eyes.
Other people’s systems acted like caring assistants.
Hers acted like an interrogator.
"My nails look boring," she lied smoothly. "Wouldn’t black nails look better?"
The system fell silent for several seconds before finally answering.
"The fruit is dark purple with thorny hairs and usually grows near thorn bushes."
After obtaining the information, Sora immediately headed into the forest.
Not long after, she discovered several Black Walnut Fruits hidden beneath thorny plants.
However, instead of picking the fruit immediately, she first plucked several nearby leaves.
Everything in nature had balance.
If the fruit created the dye, then perhaps the leaves neutralized it.
Sora crushed one Black Walnut Fruit between her fingers.
Instantly, her skin darkened.
Her eyes flashed.
Then she rubbed the leaves against the stained skin.
Moments later, the black coloring faded cleanly away.
Excitement surged through her chest.
Quickly gathering more fruits and leaves, Sora rushed back to the cave.
This time, she crushed the leaves into juice and carefully spread it across her face.
After waiting quietly for a while, she washed it off.
Then she stared into the basin again.
Her skin...
Actually looked slightly lighter.
The difference was tiny, but enough to make her breathing quicken.
To test her theory completely, Sora crushed several Black Walnut leaves and spread the dark dye across her face before lying down on the stone bed.
If the leaves truly removed the staining effects...
Then perhaps the original owner had never been naturally dark at all.
Just as that realization surfaced in her mind, the system suddenly chimed loudly.