Chapter 172: Squad Leader

The thought of having worked so hard to lose weight, finally managing to make herself look somewhat human, only to have everything return to square one overnight made Sora feel deeply conflicted.

She was already ugly enough according to this world’s standards. If pregnancy made her lose her carefully maintained figure, especially her ample bosom, she didn’t even want to imagine what she would look like afterward.

That was terrifying.

She couldn’t help remembering the way a wolf mother had once described raising an entire litter. If Sora really became pregnant, would she give birth to that many cubs too?

No.

Absolutely not.

She was a human woman, not some supernatural nursing station.

The thought alone made her scalp tingle.

She had seen pigs give birth in the apocalypse. Once the piglets were strong enough to nurse, they would swarm their mother from every direction. Dozens of tiny bodies would scramble over one another, squealing and fighting for a place.

Sora had never forgotten that sight.

If she had a litter like that, wouldn’t her breasts be completely drained within a day?

She instinctively folded her arms over her chest.

She had worked far too hard to get her body under control.

She couldn’t possibly return to that old state.

And besides...

Her mission wasn’t even complete yet.

How could she possibly have time to raise cubs?

As Sora’s imagination spiraled further and further out of control, the female beside her suddenly leaned closer.

"But Kaelira, if you’re really worried, you could go see the shaman."

"The shaman?"

Sora blinked.

During the earlier commotion, she had only caught a brief glimpse of the mysterious man. He had been wrapped in white beast hide, with an unusual stone ornament resting against his head. His appearance had been difficult to make out clearly, but his position in the tribe was obvious.

The shaman was highly respected.

He was the one everyone turned to whenever someone became seriously ill or strange things happened.

Sora remembered him telling Martin that she could visit him whenever she had time.

Maybe that would be easier than worrying herself to death.

Then again...

Her eyes narrowed.

Why was she forgetting the most convenient solution?

The system.

That troublesome system had been suspiciously quiet for days.

It hadn’t appeared.

It hadn’t issued a mission.

It hadn’t rewarded her.

It hadn’t even explained why the affection levels of her beast husbands seemed to be changing.

If there was anyone who should know whether she was pregnant, it was that thing.

Fine.

Tonight, she would interrogate the system.

But before she could do anything else, the bonfire party grew even livelier.

The large fire in the center of the settlement burned brightly, its golden flames twisting toward the night sky. Sparks floated upward like tiny stars while the surrounding beastmen laughed, sang, ate roasted meat, and danced.

Sora sat among them, holding a piece of roasted meat in her hand.

For a moment, she simply watched.

The warmth of the fire.

The laughter.

The smell of food.

The sound of people talking without fear.

It was strangely peaceful.

Too peaceful.

In the apocalypse, peaceful nights like this had been almost impossible.

There had always been something lurking beyond the walls.

A monster.

A mutated beast.

A desperate survivor.

A hunger that never disappeared.

Back then, Sora had learned to sleep with one hand near her weapon.

She had learned not to trust silence.

She had learned that happiness could disappear in an instant.

Yet here she was now, sitting around a fire surrounded by people who were arguing over food and laughing about trivial things.

Her heart softened.

Perhaps...

Perhaps this was what she had been missing all along.

Not luxury.

Not power.

Just a place where she could sit beside others without wondering who would die before morning.

"Kaelira."

She looked up.

A young beastman was standing nearby, smiling nervously.

"Would you like to dance?"

Before Sora could answer, Ace stepped forward.

His tall figure immediately blocked the young beastman’s view of her.

"She’s my female."

Ace crossed his arms over his chest.

"If you want to dance, find your own."

The young beastman froze.

Sora stared at Ace.

He really was becoming more shameless by the day.

The young beastman hurried away.

Sora almost laughed.

She couldn’t even dance if she wanted to. If there really was a cub inside her, what if someone accidentally bumped into her?

Ace’s possessiveness was excessive.

But somehow...

It was also strangely endearing.

Ace wasn’t the most delicate of her husbands. His personality was rough, straightforward, and sometimes unbearably blunt.

Yet whenever it mattered, he paid attention to her.

He might not know how to express concern with beautiful words like Lukan did, but his actions often spoke louder.

Sora smiled faintly.

She hadn’t expected to find that side of him.

After Ace’s interruption, nobody else dared approach her.

The six beastmen around Sora already created enough pressure on their own.

And each of them was a fifth-tier beastman.

Anyone with common sense knew better than to provoke them.

Eventually, the bonfire party began to quiet.

Sora yawned.

"I’m going back."

She rose and stretched.

Behind her, six pairs of eyes immediately followed.

Xavier, Ace, Lukan, Ryan, Lucas, and Damien had been thinking about the same thing for most of the evening.

The cub.

More specifically...

Whose cub was it?

None of them had been able to stop thinking about it.

So when Sora left the bonfire, the six followed almost immediately.

Sora reached her little wooden house and pushed open the door.

She entered.

Turned around to closed it..

And froze.

Six men were standing outside.

They had followed her so efficiently that they now stood in front of her door like a perfectly organized hunting party.

Sora stared at them.

Six pairs of eyes stared back.

The sight was strangely familiar.

For one horrifying second, she remembered the apocalypse.

Zombies.

It looked exactly like a group of zombies preparing to break through a shelter.

Sora rubbed her eyes.

"Is there something you need?"

Silence.

Nobody answered.

Sora raised an eyebrow.

They had never been this organized unless food was involved.

Even when she assigned them work, they argued with one another.

Yet tonight they had arrived together.

That was suspicious.

Finally, Xavier leaned against the doorframe.

His expression was calm, but his eyes were fixed on Sora.

"Don’t you have something to tell us?"

Sora frowned.

"Something to tell you?"

She thought about it.

Had she forgotten to assign them a task?

No.

Had someone broken one of her tools?

No.

Did they need food?

She had already prepared dinner.

After thinking carefully, Sora shook her head.

"No."

The six men exchanged glances.

Xavier frowned.

"Think again."

Sora’s eyes narrowed.

"I already did."

"You don’t have anything to tell us?"

"No."

Xavier’s expression became even more serious.

"Are you sure?"

Sora sighed.

"Yes."

Then she paused.

Wait.

There actually was something.

She snapped her fingers.

"Oh. Right."

The six men immediately straightened.

Their eyes brightened.

Especially Ace.

His beast ears practically stood upright.

Sora noticed their reactions and became suspicious.

"Why are you all so excited?"

Ace cleared his throat.

"Nothing."

"Really?"

"Really."

Sora stared at him.

He looked far too eager for someone who supposedly had nothing to do with this.

She shrugged.

"Fine. Since you’re so enthusiastic, you can take the lead tomorrow."

Ace blinked.

"Take the lead?"

"Yes."

His expression changed.

The other five also looked confused.

"What does that mean?" Ace asked.

Sora answered naturally.

"Grinding wheat."

Silence.

Complete silence.

Ace’s face went blank.

"The... what?"

"Grinding wheat."

"The flour?"

"Yes. We’re running low."

Sora pointed toward the grain she had stored.

"We need to grind more tomorrow. Since you’re so enthusiastic, you can take the lead."

Ace stared at her.

The other five stared at Ace.

Then Damien couldn’t help himself.

A laugh escaped him.

Lucas immediately turned his head to hide his amusement.

Ryan’s shoulders trembled.

Even Lukan’s usually composed expression cracked slightly.