Chapter 26: Sleeping With Xavier

Xavier, meanwhile, simply wanted the entire situation to end as quickly as possible.

He turned and started walking away.

After a few steps, he noticed Sora hadn’t followed.

He glanced back at her.

"Aren’t you coming?"

The entire area fell silent.

Every beastman stared at Xavier in disbelief.

They couldn’t believe what they had just heard.

Xavier had actually waited for Kaelira.

Sora nearly choked.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a simple act?

There was no need to be so convincing.

Still, she hurried after him.

Once they had left the tribe behind, she sincerely thanked him.

"Thank you for helping me."

"No need," Xavier replied coldly. "I just don’t want to go hungry. This benefits both of us."

Although he hadn’t exposed her lie, that didn’t mean he had agreed to spend the night with her.

Meanwhile, the entire tribe was already waiting to see what would happen tonight.

If she wanted to maintain appearances, she would somehow have to convince Xavier to stay.

After walking a little farther, Sora cautiously asked,

"Xavier... can I stay with you tonight? Don’t worry. I promise I won’t do anything."

Upon hearing that, Xavier stopped and glanced at her.

"Didn’t you say this was all for show?"

"Huh?"

"So how will everyone believe it if you don’t come with me?"

Sora blinked.

"Wait... does that mean you agree?"

"Then why are you still standing there?"

Her gaze drifted toward the small house she had built.

Xavier cleared his throat and looked away.

"Do you want people spying on you?"

"Oh."

That actually made sense.

Xavier rarely stayed inside the tribe itself, making his place the safest option.

"You’re surprisingly considerate," Sora said with a grin. "I’ll make you some snacks tomorrow."

Xavier didn’t react at first.

Then he froze.

"What are snacks?"

Sora smiled mysteriously.

"That’s a secret. You’ll find out tomorrow."

If she told him now, how could she use it as leverage later?

The two continued walking until they arrived at the edge of a cliff.

There was no path ahead.

Only a sheer rock wall.

Sora’s legs instantly began trembling.

Surely Xavier wasn’t expecting her to climb that?

With her current weight, that would be impossible.

Before she could think any further, a strong arm suddenly wrapped around her waist and lifted her into the air.

Then she was pulled into the air by Xavier and gently set down on top of the cliff.

He pointed toward a cave ahead.

"Go in."

No wonder the people in the tribe could never find his cave. It was so high up that simply reaching it was a challenge. Unexpectedly, Xavier had discovered such a place.

The cave was quite spacious, though a little damp. However, Sora guessed that Xavier liked it that way since snakes preferred cool, humid environments.

She glanced inside.

There was only a bed made of animal skins.

Licking her lips, she asked, "Where will I sleep tonight?"

Xavier’s expression remained indifferent.

"As long as you don’t cause trouble, you can sleep anywhere."

Of course she wouldn’t dare cause trouble.

Honestly, Sora felt there might even be bats inside the cave. She shivered and hugged her arms.

"Don’t worry. I’ll behave myself. I have absolutely no intention of taking advantage of you."

The statement sounded pleasant enough, but for some reason, Xavier felt slightly uncomfortable.

Why did it sound like she was deliberately trying to keep her distance?

Wasn’t she usually trying to flatter him?

Unaware of his thoughts, Sora looked around the cave.

Although it sheltered them from the wind and rain, it was far too cold. She needed more firewood before nightfall.

Thinking of this, she told him,

"I’ll go out for a bit."

Xavier lazily glanced at her.

"Don’t say I didn’t warn you. There are a lot of snakes around here."

"But I really need firewood."

He stared directly at her, clearly unconvinced.

Sora hugged her arms tighter.

"I want to gather some firewood. It’s too cold here. If I sleep without a fire tonight, I’ll freeze to death."

After hearing that, Xavier said nothing.

Assuming he couldn’t be bothered with her, Sora walked toward the cave entrance.

After taking a few steps, she turned back.

"What now?"

"Didn’t you say there are snakes around? Can you come with me for a bit?"

Sora asked softly.

"Go outside and turn left. There’s a tree on the right. You can collect sticks there. There won’t be any snakes."

"Why?"

"This cave and the surrounding area are all my territory. Other snakes don’t dare come near."

Xavier replied coldly.

"All right. You’re amazing."

Sora nodded in understanding.

The tree Xavier mentioned wasn’t far away, and she reached it after only a short walk.

As she gathered firewood, she suddenly caught sight of a shadow moving through the distance.

It looked like a goat, though she wasn’t entirely certain.

If it really was a goat, that would be wonderful.

After collecting enough firewood to last through the night, she returned to the cave.

While building the fire, she remembered the strange shadow and asked,

"Do sheep often come here?"

Xavier immediately frowned.

"What? Do you want someone from the sheep tribe to become one of your beast husbands?"

Sora rolled her eyes.

"I have no such thoughts. If there are sheep nearby, then there might be salt. I’m running out."

After hearing that, Xavier’s tone softened slightly.

"I’ve seen them before, but I don’t know exactly where they live."

It seemed she would need to search carefully another day.

Sora didn’t dare sleep on Xavier’s bed.

She understood perfectly well that he still found her unattractive.

So she wisely chose another raised stone ledge covered with animal skins, probably where Xavier usually sat.

With the fire burning warmly, the cave wasn’t nearly as cold as before, and Sora slept surprisingly well.

Meanwhile, Xavier, lying on his own bed, found it difficult to relax.

He kept worrying that Sora might crawl into his bed in the middle of the night.

To his surprise, he waited until the second half of the night, and she never moved.

The next morning, Xavier carried Sora back down from the cliff.

Many people in the tribe had hoped to watch some excitement unfold, but after seeing Xavier personally bring Sora down, they had nothing left to say.

That cliff was clearly where Xavier lived.

Even if they wanted to investigate, they couldn’t climb up there.

And so the matter quietly died down.

After completing her usual morning run around the deep pool, Sora returned to her secret cooking spot.

Breakfast was already prepared: boiled peanut porridge and several roasted sweet potatoes.

After breakfast, Sora took out the dried corn she had prepared earlier.

The snack she had promised Xavier was popcorn.

Ever since discovering corn a few days ago, she had been thinking about making it.

She had already removed the kernels and dried them in advance.

Since there was no sugar, she used wild honey instead.

The golden popcorn coated with honey became fragrant, sweet, and wonderfully crisp.

After tasting a few pieces herself, she carefully wrapped the rest in clean leaves and handed them to Xavier.

Xavier was already struggling to contain himself.

He had always loved sweet foods and often searched for honey to eat on his own.

Now, seeing honey-coated popcorn, he was even more delighted.

He immediately grabbed a piece and tossed it into his mouth.

The sweet fragrance exploded across his tongue.

The taste was incredible.

Sora smiled at his satisfied expression.

"Well? Was it worth sleeping beside me for one night?"

Nearby, Lucas watched enviously.

If he had known sleeping beside Sora would earn him such a delicious reward, he would have volunteered yesterday.

Now he could only stare longingly.

At dawn, Ace had originally come to mock Xavier.

Instead, he arrived to find Xavier happily eating a pile of golden snacks whose aroma filled the air.

The teasing words on his tongue immediately disappeared.

"What is that?"

Xavier glanced at him but ignored the question.

"What are you here for?"

Ace shrugged.

"I came to tell you that your archenemy has returned."

Lucas, who had been staring at the popcorn, immediately turned toward him.

"What did you say?"

"Ryan has returned."

After saying that, Ace secretly glanced toward Sora.

A good show was about to begin.