Chapter 195: Germaphobe Keeping Night Watch

Sora had never imagined, not even in her wildest dreams, that Lucas would actually become stuck because of his germaphobia.

During the Apocalypse, she had encountered people with all sorts of strange habits when it came to cleanliness.

Some ultimate germaphobes would disinfect something immediately after touching it, sometimes using extremely strong alcohol as though a single touch could contaminate their entire bodies. Others would change into completely different clothes the moment they entered their homes. Some even kept their outdoor clothes and indoor clothes completely separate, believing that anything worn outside was too dirty to be allowed near their beds.

Sora had always thought those people were exaggerating the dangers posed by bacteria and viruses.

In her opinion, their fear of contamination had eventually developed into a psychological obsession with cleanliness.

She didn’t necessarily agree with their behavior, but she could still understand it to a certain extent.

What she truly hadn’t expected was for someone like Lucas to maintain such an extreme level of cleanliness even when it came to something as personal as intimacy.

She couldn’t help wondering whether someone this particular about cleanliness could even get married and have children.

After all, Lucas seemed to find everything dirty.

Sora already had some understanding of his germaphobia.

When they had first met, Lucas had even been reluctant to sit at the same table and eat with her.

Over the past several days, however, he had gradually adapted. Because of that, Sora had assumed that his fear of contamination had slowly weakened.

Clearly, she had been wrong.

Apparently, to Lucas, intimate contact was even more difficult to accept than sharing food.

Sora almost wanted to laugh.

If she hadn’t been worried that laughing would affect Lucas’s state of mind, she probably would have burst out laughing already.

Having such an eccentric person around really did provide plenty of entertainment.

Unfortunately, Sora had a feeling that no amount of reasoning would convince him.

So instead of saying anything, she rested her head against her arm and watched Lucas struggle internally.

She was genuinely curious.

Would this ultimate germaphobe actually manage to overcome his psychological barrier tonight?

Lucas had prepared everything with such an exaggerated sense of ritual. He had even spent so much time carefully grooming himself.

Yet, when the moment finally came, he was the one who couldn’t move forward.

Sora clicked her tongue inwardly.

If the others found out about this, they would probably laugh until they couldn’t stand.

With the mindset of someone watching an amusing spectacle, Sora continued looking at Lucas.

Meanwhile, Lucas was trapped in a fierce internal battle.

What was he supposed to do?

He really felt that this was too dirty.

Just imagining the feathers he had spent the entire morning carefully preening becoming disordered because of close contact with Sora made him feel distressed.

Every single feather had been arranged meticulously.

He had spent so much time making sure his plumage looked perfect.

And now...

But having a little cub was also important.

More importantly, Lucas was the last among the five Beast Husbands to be intimate with Sora.

If he failed tonight, he would be ranked behind Damien.

That thought alone was enough to make Lucas uncomfortable.

As a phoenix, how could he accept being the last?

He had already suffered from being ranked last once.

He absolutely didn’t want to experience that humiliation again.

Thus, his mind continued going back and forth.

One moment he felt that he should proceed.

The next, his germaphobia immediately stopped him.

His gaze slowly moved toward Sora.

She looked clean.

She had already washed herself and was neatly groomed.

She shouldn’t be dirty...

Right?

Lucas stared at her for a moment longer.

Then Sora looked directly at him.

The corners of her eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint, amused smile appeared on her lips.

Lucas immediately recognized that expression.

He would never forget it.

It was the exact same look she had given him earlier when she had laughed at his carefully arranged feathers.

Mockery.

She was definitely laughing at him.

Whatever internal battle Lucas had been fighting suddenly changed direction.

His hesitation was replaced by irritation.

He strode toward Sora with a dark expression.

"Kaelira, what were you laughing at just now?" he demanded. "Were you making fun of me?"

Sora blinked innocently.

She immediately coughed lightly and put on an expression of complete confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

Lucas gave a quiet snort.

"Stop pretending. I saw you. You were laughing at me."

"I did not."

Sora blinked again, this time with a slightly guilty look.

"You must have seen wrong."

There was no way Lucas had seen wrong.

That expression had been far too obvious.

And although Lucas was an extreme germaphobe, he was still a Beastman.

Being teased by a Female over something so personal was not something he could simply tolerate.

A nameless fire rose inside him.

Before Sora could react, he leaned toward her with a determined expression.

"I won’t give you the chance to laugh at me."

Sora raised an eyebrow.

Had she accidentally provoked him?

It seemed that her teasing had somehow accomplished something she hadn’t expected.

Perhaps she had actually helped him break through his psychological barrier.

Tsk.

What a pity.

Was it really going to end this quickly?

She had thought Lucas might struggle with this for the entire night.

After all, she had already dealt with several Beast Husbands, so she wasn’t inexperienced when it came to handling their personalities.

She prepared herself for whatever Lucas was going to do next.

But after waiting for a while, Sora slowly realized something.

Lucas seemed to be stuck again.

Her eyes twitched.

She almost laughed.

So much for breaking through his psychological barrier.

She had overestimated him.

The momentary burst of courage hadn’t actually solved anything. His mind was still fighting against itself.

Sora sighed inwardly.

This really was an extreme germaphobe.

She became bored after a while and wanted to shift her position.

However, Lucas was leaning so close that even the slightest movement seemed to attract his attention.

Sora carefully moved backward.

Lucas immediately noticed.

Almost instinctively, he leaned closer again.

The two of them moved at nearly the same time, and in the process, Lucas’s hand accidentally brushed against Sora.

He froze.

For a moment, his entire expression became blank.

A strange sensation spread through him.

It was difficult to describe.

It felt as though something had lightly scratched at his heart, leaving behind a strange and unfamiliar feeling.

His thoughts suddenly became quiet.

Instead, his attention was drawn completely toward Sora.

The sensation was unfamiliar to him, softer and warmer than anything he was accustomed to.

Lucas looked down for a moment.

Sora’s expression had also changed slightly because she hadn’t expected the sudden movement.

Lucas’s breathing became heavier.

The hesitation in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by curiosity and a growing sense of boldness.

He had spent so much time thinking about cleanliness that he hadn’t considered how easily instinct could overwhelm his thoughts.

His gaze darkened slightly.

His hand moved again, this time without the same hesitation.

Sora, meanwhile, had been lamenting internally about how long Lucas was going to take.

She was getting sleepy.

She had already expected him to spend the entire night hesitating.

But the next moment, Sora realized that the phoenix who had been moving at the pace of someone traveling along a dirt road had suddenly accelerated like he had found a smooth highway.

What happened to this guy?

Once a person finally broke through their psychological barrier, they could become surprisingly bold.

That was exactly what was happening to Lucas.

The moment he stopped allowing his germaphobia to control every thought, his actions became much more decisive.

Sora was caught completely off guard.

How was this phoenix so fast?

He had looked like a complete novice only moments ago.

Yet somehow, he seemed to be learning very quickly.

Before long, Sora found herself struggling to keep up with his sudden change in confidence.

Her body leaned backward as Lucas moved closer.

The chairs in this Primitive Society were nothing more than simple wooden planks without proper backrests.

There was no support behind her.

Her back was suspended awkwardly in the air, and after maintaining that position for a while, discomfort quickly spread through her muscles.

This was becoming exhausting.

Sora finally couldn’t take it anymore.

She reached out and pushed against Lucas.

"To the bed."

Lucas paused when he heard her.

For less than a moment, hesitation returned to his eyes.

Then he moved.

In the next instant, he fell onto the bed with Sora in his arms.

The difference was immediate.

With proper support beneath her back, Sora finally felt comfortable.

She let out a small breath of relief.

At least she didn’t have to endure that awkward posture anymore.

For a brief moment, she thought everything had finally settled down.

Then she realized that a completely new problem had arrived.

Sora’s eyes widened slightly.

She had forgotten one very important thing.

Lucas might have finally overcome his fear of getting close to her...

But he was still Lucas.

And for someone as particular as him, overcoming one psychological barrier clearly didn’t mean the night would suddenly become simple.