Chapter 196: Germaphobe Handle the Night Watch

Although Lucas had finally stepped on the gas, his speed was still painfully slow.

He was only using his hands.

There was no movement from his mouth.

Sora stared at him for a while, almost speechless.

At this rate, what exactly was this man planning to do?

She felt as though she had somehow become a lump of dough beneath Lucas’s large hands, being ruthlessly kneaded and flattened into a pancake.

This lunatic!

His hands moved from her chest toward her back, then from her back down toward her waist and tailbone, almost as though he were carefully smoothing out a piece of dough.

Front.

Back.

Left.

Right.

He was touching everywhere.

It was almost as if he were giving her a bath rather than doing anything else.

Yet after all that...

Nothing happened.

Absolutely nothing.

Sora’s expression slowly became strange.

Could Lucas really be unable to take the next step?

Or had his germaphobia returned at the critical moment?

She looked at the phoenix in front of her with a complicated expression.

He had finally managed to overcome his hesitation enough to touch her, but now he seemed to have become stuck again.

Was this man really going to spend the entire night kneading her like dough?

Sora was someone who wanted to sleep.

She was already tired.

Besides, there was a little cub growing inside her.

What if Lucas became too excited and accidentally used too much force?

She certainly couldn’t allow anything to happen to the little one.

But telling Lucas directly that he needed to be more careful felt far too embarrassing.

How could she possibly say something like that?

Sora thought about it for a while.

In the end, she made a decision.

Fine.

She would take the initiative tonight.

Otherwise, there was no telling how long this would continue.

Closing her eyes, Sora slowly raised her hands and wrapped them around Lucas’s neck.

Then, before she could lose her courage, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

The moment she did so, Sora’s heart began beating faster.

She was nervous.

If someone looked carefully, they would have noticed that her eyelashes were trembling slightly.

After all, they were kissing.

And Lucas was an ultimate germaphobe.

Who knew whether he would suddenly remember that saliva was also considered dirty?

Sora couldn’t help feeling a little anxious.

But if she didn’t do something herself, she had a strong feeling that the man in front of her would continue hesitating until dawn.

Lucas had been touching her with great interest when he suddenly felt her arms around his neck.

Then her lips touched his.

His entire body stiffened.

His first instinct was to push her away.

For someone as particular about cleanliness as Lucas, this kind of sudden contact was enough to trigger his instinctive resistance.

But just as his hands began to move, he suddenly noticed something.

Her lips were soft.

Smooth.

Warm.

The sensation was surprisingly pleasant.

It reminded him somewhat of the smooth sweetness of milk tea.

The hands that had been preparing to push Sora away slowly relaxed.

His hesitation faded.

Instead, Lucas found himself becoming immersed in the unfamiliar sensation.

At first, he was cautious.

Then, gradually, he began to respond.

Sora noticed immediately.

He hadn’t pushed her away.

A huge sigh of relief escaped her heart.

Fortunately.

Lucas still accepted her.

Otherwise, Sora couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to pursue him again if this final hurdle failed.

This ridiculous system certainly wasn’t going to complete the mission through Platonic affection alone.

If Lucas completely rejected physical closeness, wouldn’t she eventually have to help him overcome his germaphobia little by little?

The thought alone made Sora’s head ache.

Fortunately, her initiative had successfully put Lucas on the right track.

Unfortunately...

It also seemed to have unleashed something.

Lucas quickly became much more enthusiastic.

Before long, the situation had completely reversed.

Sora had originally been the one guiding him, but now Lucas was taking control, leaving her barely any opportunity to catch her breath.

"Mmph... mmph... Lucas, let go of me..."

Her voice came out between uneven breaths.

But Lucas didn’t seem to hear her at first.

He was completely absorbed in the moment.

Finally, Sora couldn’t take it anymore.

She raised her hand and slapped him lightly.

That finally brought Lucas back to his senses.

He stopped and released her.

His eyes carried a trace of confusion as he looked at her.

"What’s wrong?"

Sora immediately took several deep breaths.

She felt as though she had just returned from the bottom of a river.

After finally getting enough air, she rolled her eyes at him.

"Kissing requires breathing! Don’t you know how to breathe? I was almost suffocated by you!"

Lucas froze.

Only then did he realize what he had done.

His usually proud expression became slightly awkward.

A faint flush appeared across his face.

He glanced at Sora and noticed that her cheeks were bright red from holding her breath.

For once, the mighty Dragon Sparrow looked a little embarrassed.

But Lucas had never been the kind of Beastman who easily admitted defeat.

So after Sora’s breathing finally returned to normal, Lucas reached out and gently held the back of her head.

Then he leaned toward her again.

This time, his movements were even more intense.

Sora immediately regretted her previous complaint.

Had she somehow encouraged him?

Still, at least she could breathe properly this time.

That was something.

However, after a while, Sora felt another problem.

Her lips were becoming sore.

If Lucas continued at this pace, she was afraid she would wake up the next morning with lips swollen enough to resemble sausages.

Was this man a stubborn mule?

Why did he only know how to exert his strength in one place?

Unable to tolerate it any longer, Sora bent her knee and lightly kicked him.

"Kiss somewhere else! If you keep going, how am I supposed to eat tomorrow?"

She was genuinely worried.

If her mouth became too swollen, even eating would become troublesome.

And traveling around the tribe like this would be even worse.

Every Beastman who saw her would probably ask what had happened.

Then the gossip would begin.

Before long, everyone in the Wolf Tribe would know about her and Lucas.

Sora had lived in the Wolf Tribe for quite some time now.

She liked almost everything about the tribe.

Almost.

There was just one major problem.

The Beastmen here loved gossip far too much.

A tiny disturbance could spread throughout the entire tribe in the blink of an eye.

If everyone discovered what had happened tonight, Sora could already imagine the looks she would receive tomorrow.

She didn’t want to become the tribe’s newest spectacle.

After being kicked, Lucas let out a muffled groan.

He finally understood what Sora meant and moved his attention elsewhere.

At first, such intimate behavior had made him feel embarrassed.

There had been hesitation.

There had been disgust.

There had been countless thoughts about cleanliness.

But after he became accustomed to it, Lucas discovered something completely different.

It felt good.

Very good.

One moment of closeness had made him want another.

Then another.

And another.

His previous concerns about whether everything was dirty?

To hell with them!

At this moment, none of those thoughts seemed important.

Lucas felt unusually confident.

In front of Sora, he finally felt that he possessed the full charm and majesty of a phoenix Beastman.

It had to be said that once someone tasted something for the first time and discovered they enjoyed it, it could be difficult to stop.

Sora eventually regretted taking the initiative.

If she had known Lucas would become this energetic afterward, she might have simply allowed him to struggle with his germaphobia all night.

At least then she could have slept peacefully.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

As the night grew deeper, Sora’s exhaustion finally overwhelmed her.

Her eyelids became heavier and heavier.

Eventually, she slowly drifted into sleep.

Fortunately, Lucas knew his limits.

His movements weren’t overly forceful, and he was careful enough that Sora didn’t feel particularly worried about him.

While Sora was sleeping in a daze, a familiar mechanical voice suddenly sounded inside her mind.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have successfully pursued Lucas and upgraded to love level!]

[Reward: Water Elemental Ability upgraded to Level 5.]

[Additional Reward: Beast World Map.]

Sora’s sleepy mind suddenly became much clearer.

What?

She had succeeded?

The broken system had actually upgraded her ability!

Level Five!

A huge wave of excitement surged through Sora.

She finally had genuine defensive capabilities again.

God knew how long she had been waiting for this.

After arriving in the Beast World, her former strength from the Apocalypse had been almost completely unusable.

Even though she still possessed her Water Elemental Ability, controlling it in this unfamiliar world had been difficult.

She had felt restrained.

She had been cautious.

She had constantly needed to consider whether she could protect herself and the people around her.

But now...

Level Five.

Sora’s heart raced with excitement.

She could finally protect herself better.

She could finally regain some of the confidence she had possessed during the Apocalypse.

She was Sora.

She didn’t need to remain timid forever.

For several seconds, happiness flooded her entire mind.

Then her exhausted body finally betrayed her.

Before she could properly celebrate the reward, her eyelids became heavy again.

Sora fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, back at the Wooden Hut, several Beastmen finally returned from their meeting.

The moment they entered, they realized Sora wasn’t there.

Their expressions changed.

They immediately remembered that Lucas had left the Tribe Plaza earlier.

Their hearts became sour once again.

That Lucas!

He had actually become cunning enough to find a place for himself.

He hadn’t even stayed around waiting for them.

But this time, their reactions weren’t as intense as they had been the previous day.

Perhaps they had already experienced something similar.

Perhaps repeated exposure had made them more accepting.

Either way, they were slowly becoming immune to the jealousy.

At least, they weren’t as bitter as before.

When Sora woke the following morning, however, she immediately realized there was another problem.

She felt as though she had almost become a steamed bun.

Her entire body felt uncomfortable.

The moment she saw Lucas, she couldn’t help venting her frustration.

"Lucas!"

She glared at him.

"I’m so swollen! How am I supposed to wear my Beast-hide Skirt?"

Lucas immediately rubbed his nose.

His expression became slightly unnatural.

He knew exactly why she was complaining.

Perhaps...

He really had gone a little too far.

After hesitating, he cautiously offered a solution.

"How about I give you one of my Feather Skirts?"

Lucas was taller than Sora.

Naturally, his Feather Skirt was much larger than hers.

It should fit her loosely enough.

Sora didn’t particularly want to wear his clothes.

But she had little choice.

Her own Beast-hide Skirt was too tight now.

There was no way she could wear it comfortably.

And recently, for the sake of looking more beautiful, she had even adjusted the waist of her Beast-hide Skirt to make it smaller.

Now that she was swollen, putting it on would be nearly impossible.

After a while, Lucas returned carrying a green Feather Skirt.

Sora took it and tried it on.

To her surprise, it fit quite well.

The green feathers wrapped around her body like a natural feather dress.

Looking at herself, Sora suddenly thought it resembled the feather tube dresses she had seen during the Apocalypse.

It was actually quite attractive.

Lucas, however, reacted very differently.

The moment he saw Sora wearing his Feather Skirt, his eyes darkened.

She looked...

Too beautiful.

For a moment, he almost felt his nose begin to bleed.

His own skirt looked completely different on Sora.

The green feathers seemed to complement her appearance perfectly.

Lucas suddenly felt that giving her his Feather Skirt might have been a mistake.

But before he could say anything, Sora had already walked outside.

The moment she appeared, she attracted everyone’s attention.

Her Beast Husbands stared at her.

Then their eyes shifted toward Lucas.

Almost simultaneously, their expressions darkened.

That damned Lucas!

What had he done to Kaelira?

Why was she wearing his Feather Skirt?

The atmosphere around the Wooden Hut instantly became strange.

Several Beastmen looked at Lucas as though they wanted to settle accounts with him.

Sora, meanwhile, hadn’t even had time to understand what was happening.

Then another voice suddenly rang out.

"Kaelira, are you okay?"

Sora froze.

The expressions of the Beast Husbands around her immediately became even darker.

One by one, their gazes turned toward the newcomer.

Sora also stared at the person standing before her.

Her eyes widened slightly.

Why was he here?