The smell of cooked meat slowly drifted out of the house.
A thin female beast slowly walked to their doorway.
Through the crack of the door, she saw a little female beast happily chatting with two male beasts inside.
They were sitting on wooden chairs. On the wooden table was steaming hot food, and clean white plates full of freshly washed red berries.
The bright colors, the tidy house, and their laughter made her imagine herself being part of them.
Wayin was chatting happily with his family when he suddenly felt someone watching them. He quickly looked toward the doorway.
His eyes met with the little female beast standing there.
"Who's there!"
Yujin and Kana were startled by his shout. They followed him to the door to see what was going on.
"Melita, why are you here?"
Kana remembered this female. She had seen her during the coming-of-age ceremony.
But now Melita no longer had the same spirit as before. Her eyes were tired, her face pale and thin, showing she hadn't been well cared for.
Melita shrank back, nervously glancing at them, especially at Kana.
Kana's skin looked healthy, and her eyes were clear. She was living the life Melita dreamed of.
Melita quickly lowered her head and whispered, "I… I was just passing by."
"Passing by?" Wayin gave a cold snort and asked, "Since when do people 'passing by' peek through someone's door crack? What are you trying to do?"
Melita's hands gripped the edge of her animal skin clothes tightly, rubbing them nervously. "I… I wasn't…" she stammered.
"You think I'm blind?!" Wayin bared his teeth and growled at her.
Frightened, Melita fell back onto the ground, curling up.
Kana hit Wayin's arm and hurried to help Melita up. "Is something wrong? Tell me, maybe I can help."
Melita shook her head with a bitter smile. "You can't help me."
At that moment, her stomach growled loudly. Embarrassed, she turned her head away.
Kana understood. She gently took Melita's hand and led her inside.
"Melita, we're just eating. We have plenty, and we can't finish it all. Help us out a little." Kana spoke carefully, trying to protect her pride.
Without waiting for Melita to answer, she went to the kitchen and brought back a piece of meat, placing it in front of her.
The juicy meat, with its delicious smell, made Melita's hunger unbearable. She couldn't hold back anymore and began eating in big bites.
Kana softly stroked her hair and patted her back, saying gently, "Good girl, eat slowly."
Yujin and Wayin didn't ask more questions. They went back to chatting.
When Melita finally realized what she was doing, she had already eaten more than half of the food on the table.
Ashamed, she wiped her mouth and quickly stood up, apologizing nervously. "S-sorry, I was just too hungry. I… I can work, I'll work to pay you back."
"It's just one meal," Yujin said, looking at her in confusion. "Melita, how did you end up like this?"
Her eyes slowly turned red. "Because I have low fertility, the tribe sent me to the riverside shelter. After that, when the beast attack happened, you all know… my family died. Only I survived…"
Kana knew about the riverside shelter. It was where females with low fertility had to stay for a year.
But in just over a month, Melita had already lost a lot of weight.
Yujin sighed and quietly explained to Kana, "The tribe says they provide for them, but really it's just enough so they don't starve. After leaving, it depends on whether they're lucky or not."
Kana's heart softened. She told Melita, "If you're hungry, come find me."
She still had plenty of food stored away. Feeding one more person wouldn't be a problem for now.
Melita wiped her tears, nodded, thanked them, and left their home.
The three of them were full, and Kana cooked more meat, waiting for Youxing to arrive.
Before meeting Youxing, Kana thought it would be better to clean herself.
Wayin happened to know a hidden hot spring and told her about it.
She changed into her beast form, avoided the orcs along the way, and ran toward the hot spring.
In the forest, she saw mist rising from the water.
That must be the place.
After turning back into human form, she looked around carefully. The area was covered by thick trees. If she hadn't been so close, she might not have found it.
It seemed safe enough to enjoy a soak.
She placed her clothes on a rock beside the hot spring and slowly entered the water. It wasn't too shallow or too deep, just enough to reach her collarbone.
She quietly enjoyed the rare moment.
Not long after, a shadow appeared under the water, and then someone stood up from the surface.
"Ah!!"
Kana quickly stepped back, but the water made her lose balance, and she fell.
A pair of big hands pulled her out of the water.
"Tuze! It's you! Why are you here?"
Tuze raised his eyebrows, holding her in his arms. "I should be asking you that. I was soaking in the hot spring, and you suddenly came down."
He was clearly lying.
"You, when I came down, there was no one here."
"I was underwater. Maybe you didn't notice."
Kana slipped out of Tuze's arms and swam to the shore.
When she turned her head, Tuze had a wild grass stem in his mouth and was watching her with interest.
"Turn around, don't look!" Kana's face turned red. She splashed water forward, trying to block his view, but by the time it reached him, it was only ripples.
This little female was quite cute.
Tuze teased, "Maybe you should turn around and not look at me."
"…I don't want to argue with you." Kana frowned, still blushing. She turned her back to him and said, "Fine, I didn't see you. I'm sorry. Now please turn around, I want to get out."
Seeing how embarrassed she was, Tuze laughed a little and turned around.
As soon as he did, Kana hurried ashore, ran into the trees, and put on her clothes.
Wolves had sharp hearing by nature.
Her footsteps, the sound of leaves brushing against her skin, her breathing while dressing—all of it reached Tuze's ears clearly, even with his eyes closed.
It felt as if she wasn't at the shore, but right in front of him. Even the mist seemed like her hands, softly brushing over his body.
Tuze opened his eyes. Maybe the hot spring was too effective, but his heartbeat had quickened.
Kana lifted her head. At some point, the sky had filled with stars.
When she returned home, her brothers and Youxing were already waiting.
The moment Kana pushed the door open, Youxing's eyes went straight to her, forgetting the conversation he was having.
Wayin nudged Yujin with his elbow and whispered with a smile, "Looks like we're going to have another brother-in-law."
Yujin laughed and picked up a red berry, tossing it toward Youxing.
Youxing came back to his senses, scratched his head in embarrassment, and then the three of them burst out laughing.
He hadn't expected to lose focus like that. He had only just learned that Wayin had a younger sister. What surprised him even more was how absentminded he became.
But he had indeed heard many rumors about the fox tribe. Kana had already gone through her coming-of-age ceremony, and some males had chosen her, but in the end, nothing happened.
From the shaman's news, that male had already become a mate with another female.
A fool who didn't recognize treasure when he saw it.
Looking at Kana's face, Youxing thought, if he hadn't happened to save Wayin, he wouldn't have this chance now.
He couldn't help but raise his cup and drink more.
Kana recognized the drink right away. It was the rice wine she had prepared in the kitchen, meant to be enjoyed today.
"Youxing, I heard from my brother that you saved him," Kana raised her cup and said, "why don't you go a step further and help my brothers find kind and understanding females?"
Yujin and Wayin almost spat out their food. They stared at Kana in disbelief.
Their faces instantly turned red.
"Sister! Don't talk nonsense!"
"We're not that bold."
The truth was, it wasn't that they didn't want to. Their talents were ordinary, and they didn't dare dream too big. Out of conscience, they hadn't sought females and ended up staying single until now.
Youxing looked at Kana and asked, "You trust me that much?"
"You're the best archer in our settlement. If you step in, I'm sure someone will agree."
As she spoke, Kana pulled two crystal cores from her pocket and placed them on the table.
"You'll have to run around for this. Consider these as payment for food and drinks."
Yujin and Wayin were stunned. Their sister was being really generous. Even though the cores weren't high-grade, their quality was very good.
"Then I'll ask around the wolf tribe. I know some families there have females. But I can't promise it'll work out."
Kana was already happy that he agreed. "That's fine, just ask."
But Youxing didn't take the crystal cores.
He didn't think he had fallen so low that he needed a female's crystal cores.
He asked Kana to put them away.
Kana also understood. Owing someone a favor wasn't easy to repay.
The meal grew lively, and everyone was enjoying themselves.
They especially praised the rice wine.
Holding their full stomachs, they all thought they wouldn't be able to sleep without taking a walk.
"Youxing, let's go for a walk."
Of course Youxing agreed. Her two brothers were considerate enough not to follow.
They only reminded Youxing again and again to keep Kana safe.
The moon was bright, the stars thin. Most beasts were already asleep, with only a few lamps flickering in the night.
They walked side by side.
Even though Kana had tasks from the system, she couldn't force him. She still had to ask his opinion.
"Youxing, what kind of female do you like?"
The scent of wine lingered in his breath as he stretched lazily and asked back, "What kind of female do you think suits me?"
"A female you like," Kana said casually.
To be honest, she only had a little good impression of Youxing now.
According to the system, feelings didn't matter at all.
She really didn't want to waste energy playing emotional games with him.
If he showed even a little unwillingness, then just move on to the next one.
She thought about how she had less than 500 days of life left.
If she really got into feelings, someone would die for sure.
Youxing looked at the girl in front of him. After drinking a little wine, under the moonlight, Kana looked hazy and even more beautiful.
Her eyes shone like stars in the sky.
This was his ideal type. Even though her fertility was uncertain, his family had many brothers. Passing on the family line did not depend on him alone.
"Kana," Youxing stopped walking. She turned her head and saw his serious face as he said, "I don't care about a female's fertility. I just want to be with the one I like."
"What kind of female do you like?"
"I like you."
Kana froze, not expecting Youxing to say it so directly.
She had thought she might need to put in more effort.
Looking into his eyes, Kana stood on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck. They both closed their eyes, ready to enjoy the moment that belonged to them.
Bang!
A sharp sound came from near their feet.
Youxing quickly shielded Kana behind him and precisely located the source of the sound.
Kana followed his gaze and under the moonlight saw a familiar figure standing on a tree trunk.
The figure leapt down.
"Tuze, why are you here?"
His wolf eyes glowed in the dark, filled with aggression.
"I should be asking you. I was at the hot spring and you were there. Now I'm trying to sleep, and you bring some outsider to disturb me."
Looking at the male in front of him, Tuze's expression grew more and more annoyed, and his words sharp.
"Instead of wasting time on those other males, you'd better please me."
Youxing lifted his chin and mocked him, "I've never heard that an outcast lone wolf has the right to choose a female."
The tension grew stronger in the air, so Kana hurriedly pulled Youxing away from there.
Watching her back as she left, Tuze's claws tightened and crushed the tree trunk in front of him.
Ever since he left the witch doctor, he had been asking around about her every day. He had checked with both the wolf tribe and the fox tribe, only a few more places left before he would have found her.
How did she suddenly make progress with someone else so quickly?
Could it really be like his brother said, fall behind once and you'll fall behind step by step?
Tuze suddenly raised his head. Even if he hadn't gotten close to the little female yet, he would never allow other males to approach her.
His wolf eyes flickered before he disappeared into the dark forest.
In another place, Shilu was snoring in his sleep when he suddenly felt a cold wind blow into the cave.
"Who left the door open?" he muttered as he got up to close it.
But before he could, his hand was pressed down.
A ghost-like gaze moved closer in the dark.
"Y-you, who are you?"
"Lone wolf, Tuze."
Shilu instantly woke up. Other tribes might not know Tuze, but as a wolf himself, he knew Tuze's temper all too well.
"I haven't offended you. What do you want?!"
Tuze smiled. "I heard your precious son wants to be with a female who can't have children. I came to kindly remind you."
In Shilu's eyes, Tuze's face was full of a sinister smile. Under the moonlight, his mouth opened and closed as he spoke, showing his sharp fangs.
Shilu was already nervous, but after hearing his words, he reacted quickly. Before he could ask more, Tuze had already vanished into the night.