Chapter 205: Potatoes And Sweet potatoes

"There’s something else underground?"

Sunset exclaimed in surprise.

The Primitive Society was incredibly rich in natural resources. Treasures seemed to be hidden everywhere, sometimes right beneath their feet, without anyone realizing it.

It was only natural that the beastmen hadn’t discovered many of the things buried beneath the earth.

In fact, they had probably explored less than one-thousandth of what the forest had to offer.

Sora had discovered this fact when she first dug up potatoes.

At that time, Xavier hadn’t even recognized what a potato was. He had no idea that food could grow beneath the soil.

That discovery had made Sora realize just how unfamiliar these beastmen were with the resources surrounding them.

She didn’t answer Sunset.

Instead, she crouched down, gripped her wooden digging stick, and began carefully loosening the soil.

Scrape.

Scrape.

Scrape.

The stick sank deeper into the earth.

Soon, something fuzzy and brownish appeared beneath the leaves.

Sora’s eyes lit up.

She reached down, grasped the exposed root, and pulled.

A large, oddly shaped tuber emerged from the soil.

Holding it up for everyone to see, Sora said, "This is called potato."

The surrounding beastmen immediately crowded closer.

"Potato?"

"What is it?"

"Can we really eat this?"

Sora nodded.

"Yes. Everyone will dig for these today."

She pointed toward the green stalks growing above the ground.

"But be careful. Don’t touch the stalks with your bare hands. They’ll make your hands extremely itchy."

Everyone immediately became cautious.

Some looked at the leaves as though they had suddenly become dangerous creatures.

Sora couldn’t help smiling.

The forest truly was full of surprises.

Just then, Lyra’s unpleasant voice came from behind them.

"What’s so good about eating this fuzzy thing?"

She looked at the potato with obvious disdain.

"It’ll probably scrape your mouth if you take a bite."

Several beastmen couldn’t stand listening to her anymore.

"Madam, Kaelira’s cooking skills are much better than yours. You should just trust her."

"Exactly. Everything Kaelira has made so far has been delicious."

"I believe her too."

"If Kaelira says it’s edible, then it must be edible."

"I’d rather eat something Kaelira discovers than go back to eating wild fruits all day."

Sora had been about to respond to Lyra herself, but after hearing everyone defend her, she quietly closed her mouth.

She felt strangely pleased.

It seemed her cooking hadn’t been in vain.

Once she had earned their trust, people would naturally stand up for her.

Sora couldn’t help feeling amused.

Lyra, on the other hand, was so thoroughly ignored that her expression became increasingly ugly.

She looked as though she had swallowed something bitter.

Sora glanced at her and deliberately added fuel to the fire.

"Mother, if you think it won’t taste good, you don’t have to eat it later."

She pointed toward the distant forest.

"You can pick some red frost fruit for yourself."

Lyra’s face immediately darkened.

What could she say?

At the moment, neither birds nor wild beasts could safely be eaten because of the plague.

If she refused the potatoes, she would have nothing to eat.

Therefore, despite her unwillingness, she could only swallow her anger and remain silent.

Sora turned back to the large patch of taro.

"Everyone, start digging!"

The beastmen immediately got to work.

"These stalks can also be kept and taken back with us."

Sora carefully explained, "We can make sour potato stem from them."

"Sour potatoes stems?"

The beastmen looked at one another.

They had never heard of such a thing.

But their curiosity quickly turned into enthusiasm.

Anything Sora mentioned was worth trying.

Soon, the entire group became busy digging.

The forest echoed with the sounds of wooden sticks striking the earth and excited voices calling to one another whenever someone uncovered a large potato.

Before long, several baskets were filled.

But Sora wasn’t finished.

After leading everyone to collect the potatoes, she took them farther into the forest to search for sweet potatoes and cassava.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the peak season for cassava, so they didn’t find very many.

However, there were plenty of sweet potatoes and potatoes.

The piles quickly became so large that the beastmen had to make several trips to carry everything back to the Tribe.

Everyone was exhausted by the end of the day, but their faces were filled with satisfaction.

At least they had found another source of food.

Because of the previous plague outbreak, Martin had reinstated the Tribe’s collective dining system.

Sora taught everyone how to prepare the food, but she wasn’t responsible for doing all the cooking herself.

Fortunately, Sunset and Zainabu volunteered to lead the Tribe’s Females in preparing the meals.

"Kaelira is carrying a little cub," Sunset explained. "It’s not convenient for her to cook for everyone."

Sora nearly hugged the two of them.

They understood her!

She really didn’t want to spend every day cooking for the entire Tribe.

Teaching them recipes was one thing.

Standing beside a fire and preparing enough food for more than a hundred people was an entirely different matter.

By the time everything was settled, Sora was exhausted.

She finally returned to her Wooden Hut and collapsed onto her bed.

She let out a long breath.

"What a tiring day..."

She reached toward the animal hide bedding, intending to pull it over herself.

Before her fingers could touch it, someone else picked it up.

The hide was gently placed over her body.

Sora blinked.

Before she could turn around, a strong arm slipped around her waist.

A familiar head rested against her shoulder.

A gentle voice sounded beside her.

"Are you very tired?"

Sora had been slightly startled at first.

But once she recognized the voice, her body relaxed.

It was Lukan.

She placed her hand over the arm around her waist and smiled.

"I’m alright."

She paused before adding softly, "Being able to help everyone in the Tribe makes me happy."

Lukan was quiet for a moment.

Then he lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss against her ear.

Sora’s body stiffened slightly.

His voice became lower.

"You’ve gotten thinner."

His hand rested carefully against her waist.

"There’s hardly any flesh left here."

Sora immediately smiled.

"Isn’t that good?"

She turned her head slightly.

"I look better when I’m thinner."

Ever since discovering that she was carrying a little cub, Sora hadn’t deliberately tried to lose weight.

She had actually been afraid of becoming too thin.

After all, she didn’t want anything to happen to the little life growing inside her.

She had always assumed pregnancy would eventually make her gain weight.

She had even worried that if she became too thin now, her body might rebound later.

Yet somehow, she had continued losing weight.

Perhaps the constant activity, her abilities, and the healthier food had changed her body.

Lukan shook his head.

"No."

His answer was immediate.

"Seeing you become thinner makes my heart ache."

Sora froze.

She hadn’t expected those words from him.

For a moment, she didn’t know how to respond.

Lukan had always been gentle and reserved.

He wasn’t someone who easily expressed his emotions.

Yet right now, his concern was so straightforward that it touched something deep inside her.

Sora rarely became emotional.

Since arriving in this world, she had gradually learned how to handle her several Beast Husbands.

At first, she had always felt that their attraction toward her was mainly because of her figure.

Her face wasn’t exceptionally beautiful.

But her body was undeniably attractive.

She had therefore assumed that most of their interest in her came from physical attraction.

But now Lukan was telling her that he didn’t want her to become thinner because he genuinely worried about her health.

For some reason, that simple sentence made her heart soften.

For a fleeting moment, she felt as though she and Lukan were truly husband and wife.

Not merely Beast Husband and Female.

Not merely partners bound together by circumstances.

But a real married couple who cared about one another.

Before Sora could fully process the feeling, Lukan continued.

"I should catch more fish for you."

"You need to nourish yourself properly."

He hesitated before adding, slightly embarrassed, "It’s just that my cooking isn’t as good as yours."

His ears seemed to redden.

"Please don’t despise it."

Sora couldn’t help smiling.

The beastmen of this Tribe seemed strangely obsessed with feeding pregnant Females fish.

Perhaps they genuinely believed fish was a powerful tonic.

She had already eaten plenty of fish over the past few days, but she hadn’t gained any noticeable weight.

Still, this was Lukan’s way of showing concern.

How could she refuse?

"I won’t despise it."

She smiled warmly.

"It’s good to change flavors sometimes."

Hearing her answer, Lukan’s expression softened.

A gentle smile appeared on his face.

His eyes were filled with tenderness.

His arm around her waist tightened slightly.

Then he leaned closer.

One soft kiss landed near the corner of her eye.

Another touched her cheek.

Then another brushed lightly against her forehead.

They were gentle, restrained kisses.

Yet each one seemed to carry an emotion he couldn’t put into words.

Sora’s heart began beating faster.

Being with Lukan always felt comfortable.

There was no pressure.

No force.

Only a quiet warmth that slowly surrounded her.

She waited.

Perhaps this time, he would continue.

But Lukan suddenly stopped.

He took a deep breath and moved away from her face.

Sora blinked.

The warmth of his kisses lingered against her skin.

The sudden distance left her strangely empty.

It was like a balloon being slowly filled with air, only to suddenly lose it.

Sora felt a tiny pang of disappointment.

Beside her, Lukan closed his eyes.

His back was stiff.

His breathing was heavier than before.

He was struggling desperately to control himself.

He had thought that if he only kissed her forehead, eyes, and cheeks, he would be able to remain calm.

He had been wrong.

The moment he touched her, his heartbeat had accelerated.

The emotions he had been suppressing surged forward with frightening intensity.

He had completely overestimated his self-control.

After a long moment, he finally managed to suppress the restless feelings in his heart.

His voice was slightly hoarse.

"Sleep."

"It’s late."

"You’ve been tired all day. You need to rest."

Sora stared at him.

Lukan was actually stopping himself.

Even though he was clearly struggling, he still placed her well-being first.

She could hear his heavy breathing.

It was restrained.

Controlled.

Almost painfully so.

Sora’s heart began beating even faster.

She looked at the man beside her.

Then, without fully thinking about what she was doing, she turned toward him.

Lukan’s eyes were still closed.

Sora leaned closer.

Then she pressed her lips gently against his.

For one brief moment, everything became completely still.

Lukan’s eyes flew open.

Disbelief filled his expression.

Then came surprise.

Then unmistakable joy.

Sora had taken the initiative to kiss him.

The last thread of restraint inside Lukan seemed to snap.

His suppressed breath caught in his throat.

His heart hammered wildly against his chest.

He had been trying so hard to remain an ascetic.

But at that moment, Lukan suddenly realized something terrifying.

His self-control might not survive Sora taking the initiative.