Chapter 416: Massage

"You used to call me ’Master,’ but now you’ve already switched to using my name?" Rory noted that Lian was moving in fast.

Lian’s deep chuckle echoed through the communicator device. "What I call you isn’t important. What matters is that I miss you."

Rory’s face flushed slightly. "Then do your best to get back early," she replied.

"Alright, I’ll definitely be back soon." Lian smiled as he asked, "Have you felt any discomfort or anything unusual since I left?"

"Nothing uncomfortable. It’s just that the baby in my belly shifted a moment ago. It gave me a bit of a scare; I thought he was coming out early."

Lian finally understood why Xarion had messaged him. "That’s completely normal. As long as you aren’t in any pain, everything is fine. The baby will start moving more frequently from now on, so just relax and don’t worry too much. He won’t come out ahead of schedule." Lian explained to her gently.

"I understand now." Rory’s mind was completely at ease.

Once Rory hung up the phone, Xarion accompanied her back to her room to rest. No sooner had she stepped inside than Terry came running up to her.

"Mommy! I heard you’re going shopping tomorrow with those two females who visited today. Can you take me along too?" He really wanted to go.

"You want to come?" Rory asked with a smile.

"Uh-huh!" Terry nodded eagerly. "I can change back into a fruit and hide in Mommy’s hair. That way, I can keep you company and protect you in secret." He wasn’t going just to play; he wanted to keep his mother safe. "Mommy, please take me with you." Terry pouted, wrapping his arms around Rory’s arm.

Rory had absolutely zero resistance to his badgering. "Alright, I’ll take you. But you have to get a good night’s rest tonight, okay?"

"I will, I will!" Hearing that Rory had agreed to let him tag along, Terry stopped bothering her and ran off happily.

Once Terry left, Xarion took his turn, wrapping himself around Rory’s arm and acting spoiled. "Master, I want to go tomorrow too. Can you take me along as well?"

Rory seriously wanted to roll her eyes at him. "Why are you copying a little kid?" This man was really something else...

"Well, do you agree or not?" Xarion stared at Rory. His fluffy tail snaked out from behind him, wrapping around her ankle. "Master..."

"Yes, of course I’ll take you." Rory quickly reached down to catch the tip of Xarion’s tail, which was brushing against her calf. It tickled so much she could hardly stand it.

After grabbing his tail, Rory casually stroked it a few times. The plush, furry texture felt absolutely wonderful.

"Ngh..." Xarion let out a strange hum. His silver eyes grew slightly hazy as he looked up at Rory. Up on his head, his ears had already transformed into wolf ears.

Xarion leaned down, brushing his slightly cool wolf ears against Rory’s shoulder.

"Master, since you stroked my tail, you have to do this part too..." He took Rory’s hand and placed it over his ears. Then he rested his head on her lap, his tail gently wrapping around her waist. Because Rory was carrying a baby, he didn’t dare use any force.

Stroking Xarion’s ears, Rory looked at him resting on her lap with a face full of pure bliss. An idea struck her, and she said, "Xarion, change back into your beast form. I’ll give you a massage."

She had petted cats and dogs before, but she had never petted a wolf. Xarion rarely shifted into his beast form in front of her, usually only revealing his tail and ears like he was doing now. Rory reminded him, "Shrink yourself down a bit. If you’re too big, I won’t be able to hold you."

Hearing this, Xarion immediately transformed into a tiny wolf about the size of a tabby cat.

Rory’s eyes lit up at the sight. She hadn’t expected Xarion to be able to get so small—a tiny, silver wolf pup. It was so cute it should have been illegal.

Rory immediately scooped him into her arms, her slender fingers resting tentatively on his fluffy head first.

Xarion instantly narrowed his silver eyes in sheer comfort, a deep, satisfied purr rumbling from his throat. Seeing how much he was enjoying it, Rory reached out and gently scratched beneath his chin with the pad of her finger.

The pleasure left Xarion looking completely dazed. He had no idea that shifting into his beast form and being petted by his female could feel this amazing.

Rory treated him just like a cat, petting him all over without stopping. Every now and then, she would even lean down to bury her face in his fur for a good sniff. Xarion felt so blissful he thought he might faint. His mind turned completely fuzzy, making it impossible to think straight, and he ultimately had no idea how he drifted off to sleep.

By the time Xarion woke up again, it was already evening and time for dinner. Rory wasn’t in the room; he was all alone on the bed.

"Master?"

Xarion immediately shifted back into his human form, got out of bed, and went barefoot down the hall to look for her. Rory was down in the first-floor kitchen, prepping fruit for brewing alcohol. After asking Jasper, Xarion found out that was where she was.

As he walked in, he saw Rory placing washed and dried fruits into a crystal barrel. Inside, she had also added a few ingredients he didn’t recognize. Jasper, Nix, and Paros were just standing by, watching without offering to lend a hand.

Xarion immediately marched over, washed his hands, and offered to help Rory. "Master, what do you need done? Tell me, and I’ll handle it." He couldn’t believe guys like Jasper would just let their female do manual labor herself.

Hearing Xarion offer to help, Jasper, Nix, and Paros instantly took a synchronized step backward.

"I’d better do it myself," Rory said, not daring to let Xarion touch anything. "I’m brewing alcohol. I’m worried that if you catch a whiff of this smell, you’ll end up completely drunk just like the three of them."

Jasper and Nix had wanted to help her earlier too, but the moment they smelled the mixture, their faces had flushed bright red. Remembering how Jasper and Vincent had acted when they got drunk before, Rory didn’t dare risk letting them help again.

Paros had also tried to help a moment ago, thinking that since his ability tier was higher than Jasper’s and Nix’s, he would fare better. As it turned out, his face had flushed even faster than theirs.

"Alcohol?" Xarion frowned. "The stuff Yuel mentioned before?"

Rory nodded. "Yes." She gave Xarion a gentle nudge. "Step back a little. If you stay too close, I’m worried you’ll get drunk too."

She had only just started brewing the alcohol, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of the yeast starter or something else, but Jasper and his crew were getting a buzz just from smelling it. Standing right next to Rory, Xarion’s face was already beginning to flush slightly. He quickly took two steps back.

"Master, do you want to drink?" Xarion asked. Why else would she suddenly think to brew alcohol out of nowhere?

"It’s not for me, it’s for Bree," Rory explained.

Since beastmen got completely drunk on alcohol, Rory was very curious to see what Bree would look like intoxicated. Would it force her to reveal her true form? After seeing the Zerg photos Vangar had sent her this afternoon, Rory had a sneaking suspicion that Sunbo might actually be a Zerg.

The alcohol would take three days to ferment properly, which aligned perfectly with the Day of All Females. Rory had already figured out exactly how she was going to get Sunbo to drink it.

Once the initial prep work for the brewing was done, Rory had Jasper store the crystal barrel safely away where it wouldn’t affect them, and then she left the kitchen.

That evening, Vincent, Yuel, and Vangar didn’t return. Rory ate her dinner, played with Terry for a little while, and then went back to her room to rest.

Close to midnight, Vangar returned from outside.

The moment he stepped into the castle lobby, he caught a faint, elusive fragrance drifting through the air. His sense of smell was exceptionally sharp. Following the scent, Vangar quickly tracked it down to the kitchen.