Chapter 29: Angry Merman

In the afternoon, the beastmen and females all went out hunting or gathering fruit, leaving the area around the Green Pool deserted.

Taking advantage of the privacy, Sora carried her beast skirt to the pool. Feeling much bolder with no one around, she removed her leafy chest wrap, slipped off her beast skirt, and even took off the small animal-skin underwear she had painstakingly made.

She couldn’t help admiring it for a moment. Despite the primitive materials, the little leopard-print underwear actually looked surprisingly fashionable and even a little sexy.

Just as she lowered her head to wash it, a figure suddenly emerged from the water.

Startled, Sora lost her grip.

The underwear flew through the air and landed perfectly on the stranger’s head.

Silence fell over the pool, broken only by the gentle sound of rippling water.

Embarrassed beyond words, Sora immediately sank deeper into the water.

The man pulled the underwear off his head, his face filled with icy anger.

"I still haven’t settled the score with you," he said coldly. "And now you’ve come looking for me yourself. Kaelira, this time you won’t escape."

Sora’s heart skipped a beat.

Who was this?

She had made sure everyone in the tribe had already left. Yet this man knew her name.

Keeping only her eyes above the water, she tried to get a better look at him.

Before she could, he casually tossed her precious underwear back into the pool and swam straight toward her with frightening speed.

"Hey!" Sora cried. "Don’t throw that! I worked so hard to make it!"

In this primitive world there were no scissors. She had spent hours sharpening a stone knife just to cut the animal skin into shape. After so much effort, she’d only managed to make two pairs. If she lost this one, she’d have nothing to wear.

Without thinking any further, she dove underwater and swam after the floating underwear.

The water was deep and green, making it difficult to see beneath the surface.

Just as she grabbed the drifting underwear, a powerful hand suddenly seized her wrist.

She looked up to find the stranger glaring at her with eyes as cold as ice.

"I told you," he said. "Last time was the last time. And yet today you dare strip naked to seduce me again."

With that, he dragged her toward the shore.

Struggling against his grip, Sora snapped,

"If you’re going to lecture me, can you at least be reasonable?"

The man paused.

This was the first time anyone being punished had dared complain about fairness.

Sora glanced pointedly at the water covering her body.

"You’re not even letting me put my clothes on. Do you expect me to follow you naked?"

For a moment, the man was speechless.

He looked at her with obvious disdain before quickly averting his gaze.

"Hurry up."

Sora glanced at the hand still gripping her wrist.

"If you don’t let go, how am I supposed to get dressed?"

After a brief hesitation, he released her hand and deliberately turned away.

Despite his fierce demeanor, he still observed proper etiquette.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sora quickly swam ashore, put on her beast skirt, adjusted her leafy chest wrap, and quietly began inching backward.

She wasn’t foolish enough to stay and be punished.

Only now did she finally realize who he was.

This had to be Ryan, the merman beastman—her arranged beast husband who had left on a long journey after being driven away by the original Sora.

He was undeniably handsome.

His long silver-white hair flowed over his shoulders like seaweed beneath the sea. His skin was pale, almost translucent. Unlike Ace, whose features were rugged and imposing, Ryan possessed softer, refined features. His nose was high, his jaw elegant, and his cold gray-blue eyes seemed as deep as the ocean itself.

His appearance was nearly flawless.

Unfortunately...

His personality was terrible.

Just as Sora silently complained, the system suddenly rang in her mind.

Ding! Warning!

Host’s total attraction value has dropped to zero.

"What?"

Sora froze.

"Didn’t it just reach forty yesterday?"

Sora frowned.

"How could it suddenly drop to zero?"

The system replied calmly,

"Replying to the host: Ryan has an extremely poor impression of you. Therefore, your overall attraction value has decreased."

"What kind of broken system is this?"

"The attraction value is calculated based on all five target beast husbands. If one target’s evaluation drops significantly, the total attraction value will also decrease."

"So if just one person’s affection drops... the total score can fall all the way back to zero?"

The system continued,

"For the best romantic experience, every target’s attraction must remain on an upward trend."

Sora sighed.

"Then what are Ryan’s current stats?"

The system immediately displayed his profile.

Target: Ryan

Age: 24

Beast Form: Merman

Attraction Value: 0

Anticipation of Meeting the Host: 0

Attention to the Host’s Actions: 0

Host’s Influence on Him: 0

Ability Level: Level 5

Love Level: 0

Heartbeat Value: 0

Heart Value: -100

Sora stared at the numbers in disbelief.

"Those stats are unbelievably bad..."

No wonder her overall score had been dragged back down.

She rubbed her forehead.

She had finally thought things were beginning to improve with Xavier, Lucas, Ace, and Lukan.

Who would’ve thought Ryan’s return would send everything back to square one?

That meant she had to completely rebuild his opinion of her.

Unfortunately...

Ryan was probably the hardest one to win over.

After all, the original owner had nearly succeeded in drugging him with the Charm Fruit. The psychological trauma he carried was far greater than the others’.

Sora couldn’t help sighing.

"Why is my life so miserable?"

Just when things were finally looking up, she had another mountain to climb.

Before she could finish complaining, a powerful splash echoed behind her.

A brilliant blue fish tail crashed onto the riverbank.

Ryan had caught up.

His handsome face was filled with undisguised disgust.

"You really are full of tricks."

"I almost fell for your act again."

Sora’s heart skipped a beat.

"No way... I ran this far, and he still caught up?"

She was frantically thinking of an escape when she spotted someone walking toward them.

The newcomer carried a stone spear over his shoulder and wore a slanted beast-skin skirt.

It was Lukan.

Without hesitation, Sora ran behind him and grabbed the back of his arm.

"Lukan!"

"Please save me! Someone’s trying to murder your female!"

She pouted dramatically.

She didn’t particularly want to phrase it that way...

But after spending several days together, she had learned Lukan’s personality well.

He appeared cold, but he was naturally kindhearted.

If she acted a little pitiful, he probably wouldn’t ignore her.

Sure enough...

Although Lukan stiffened slightly at her words, he didn’t push her away.

Instead, he stepped in front of her, spreading one arm protectively.

Ryan strode forward, his icy gaze fixed on Sora.

"Lukan."

"Move."

"This matter between her and me has nothing to do with you."

His tone was so cold that it almost froze the surrounding air.

Lukan remained where he stood.

After thinking for a moment, he spoke calmly.

"Ryan... don’t be too hard on her."

"We can talk this through."

Ryan’s eyes grew colder.

"I have nothing to discuss with her."

"Move."

"Otherwise, don’t blame me for being impolite to you as well."

He wasn’t giving Lukan the slightest bit of respect.

Lukan knew exactly what the Kaelira had done with the Charm Fruit.

Even so...

During the past several days, he had also witnessed how much Kaelira had changed.

Without moving aside, he continued trying to mediate.

"She truly was wrong before."

"But she’s changing."

"Perhaps you could give her another chance."

Hearing Lukan defend her, Sora secretly smiled.

She really had judged his character correctly.

Among all of them, he truly was the most fair and righteous.

Unfortunately...

Ryan clearly had no intention of listening.

Seeing that the situation wasn’t improving, Sora lightly patted Lukan on the shoulder, gave him a grateful wink, and whispered,

"Thanks."

Then, while Lukan continued blocking Ryan’s path, she quietly slipped away and escaped.

For now...

It was much wiser to let Ryan cool down before trying to speak with him again.