Chapter 244: The Secret Of The Crystal Stones

It was just a crystal stone.

So why had the conversation suddenly shifted to whether she had the strength to "take" them?

Sora was completely bewildered.

She couldn’t make sense of what Xavier had just said.

She immediately turned her attention to the system.

"System, does this crystal stone have some special meaning?"

Before the system’s familiar mechanical voice could answer, Ace suddenly looked at Sora with excitement.

"Kaelira, you really want crystal stones?"

His eyes seemed to brighten.

"Then I’ll give them to you. How many do you want?"

Sora blinked.

Ace continued enthusiastically.

"I have both black crystal stones and white crystal stones here. As long as you form a Deep Contract with me, I can give all of them to you."

Before Sora could respond, Lucas let out a disdainful snort.

"Black and white crystals are nothing special."

He looked toward Ace before turning his attention to Sora.

"Kaelira, if you form a Deep Contract with me, I’ll give you pink crystals. Those are extremely rare among ordinary Beastmen."

Sora stared at the two of them.

Deep Contract?

Again?

Why did everyone keep mentioning this strange term?

She finally couldn’t hold back her curiosity.

"What exactly is a Deep Contract?"

Ace stared at her as though she had just asked the strangest question in the world.

"You actually don’t know about the Deep Contract?"

His disbelief was obvious.

This was something every adult Female and Beastman should know.

How could Sora have absolutely no idea?

Moreover, Ace remembered that Sora wasn’t supposed to be such an innocent person.

Back then, she had even been capable of climbing into people’s beds.

Yet now she was sitting here and pretending not to know something that should have been common knowledge.

Ace narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Kaelira, you aren’t intentionally playing dumb so you can escape, are you?"

Sora’s neck stiffened.

She immediately realized that she had walked into a dangerous question.

Was this really common knowledge in the Beast World?

Apparently, it was.

Everyone was looking at her as though her ignorance were unusual.

Sora quickly began thinking of an excuse.

Fortunately, before she could say anything, Lukan’s clear and gentle voice sounded.

"Alright, Ace. Don’t be like that."

Lukan glanced at Sora.

"Kaelira might really not know. Perhaps the Chief’s Wife never mentioned it to her."

The moment the Chief’s Wife was mentioned, the others fell silent.

They remembered Lyra’s attitude toward Sora.

Everyone had seen it.

Lyra had never been particularly close to Sora. She had allowed Sora to fend for herself and had rarely taught her anything.

Over the years, Sora had essentially grown up like a wild weed—surviving on her own without anyone properly guiding her.

Therefore, it was entirely possible that Lyra had never told her about something as important as the Deep Contract.

Ace rubbed his nose awkwardly.

"I just didn’t expect Lyra wouldn’t even teach her something like this."

Lukan paused before explaining it to Sora.

"A Deep Contract is a Contract relationship in which a Female and her Beast Husband confirm that they will remain together forever."

Sora’s expression slowly became serious.

"Forever?"

Lukan nodded.

"Once a permanent Contract is formed, the relationship can no longer be dissolved."

Sora’s heart sank.

Lukan continued.

"The crystal stones a Beastman obtains can then be given to his Female at will."

Sora stared at him.

A permanent Contract?

Unable to dissolve it?

That meant that once a Female and Beastman entered such a relationship, they would be deeply bound together for the rest of their lives.

Sora hadn’t expected the rules of the Beast World to be like this.

She had always assumed that the relationships between Females and Beast Husbands could be changed if one side no longer wanted to continue.

But apparently, a Deep Contract was completely different.

She couldn’t help thinking about Clare.

Clare had several Beast Husbands.

So she had actually entered such a deep bond with all of them?

If one day she stopped liking one of them, wouldn’t she be unable to leave?

The more Sora thought about it, the more uncomfortable she became.

She suddenly regretted mentioning crystal stones so casually.

If she had known that obtaining them required something like this, she would have found another way.

She glanced toward the others.

Clare didn’t seem to have any objections to such a relationship.

Perhaps this was completely normal in the Tribe.

Was this something every Female did?

If so, maybe the reason Lucas and the others had never mentioned it before was because they simply hadn’t wanted to.

Sora looked at Ace.

"Then why haven’t I heard any of you mention this before?"

The question immediately silenced everyone.

The reason was simple.

This kind of thing was normally discussed around the time of the Contract Totem.

Back then, however, the several Beastmen had looked down on Sora.

They had disliked her and wanted nothing to do with her.

How could they possibly have proposed something as serious as a Deep Contract?

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then Damien suddenly stepped forward with a bright smile.

"If Kaelira forms a Contract Totem with me, we can enter a Deep Contract immediately."

Sora stared at him.

No.

Absolutely not.

After hearing what a Deep Contract actually meant, she suddenly didn’t want crystal stones that badly anymore.

What if she eventually stopped liking these Beast Husbands?

What if one of them betrayed her?

What if something happened between them?

If she couldn’t dissolve the relationship afterward, wouldn’t she be trapped?

That was far too dangerous.

At worst, she could simply find something else to trade with other Tribes for crystal stones.

She didn’t need to risk binding herself permanently just for some currency.

With that thought, Sora calmly said,

"We’ll talk about it after I give birth to the little cub."

Ace and Lucas were still somewhat reluctant.

They clearly wanted to continue persuading her.

But when they looked at Sora’s large belly, they eventually remained silent.

After all, the little cub was the most important thing.

With Sora’s belly becoming larger every day, it was indeed becoming inconvenient for her to do many things.

And according to what they knew, forming a Deep Contract wasn’t something that could be completed casually.

The ritual required three continuous days and three nights.

In Sora’s current condition, her body might not be able to withstand it.

Now that she knew crystal stones weren’t as easy to obtain as she had originally imagined, Sora immediately pointed toward the stove.

"The clay pot rice is over there."

She looked at them.

"If you want to eat, go get it yourselves."

The moment the words left her mouth, all of them forgot about the Deep Contract.

They immediately rushed toward the stove.

The aroma of the clay pot rice had already been tormenting them while Sora ate her own portion.

The moment they received permission to eat, none of them was willing to wait any longer.

They picked up the clay pots and returned to the round table.

Soon, the delicious food disappeared.

The crispy rice crust at the bottom was especially popular.

The fragrant rice, wild vegetables, sausages, and cured meat combined together into a rich and satisfying meal.

The Beastmen ate enthusiastically, barely stopping to speak.

Sora watched them silently.

Freeloaders.

Once they had finished eating, the dishes were naturally left for the Beast Husbands to wash.

Sora stood up and began walking toward the Wooden Hut.

She had only taken a few steps when Lukan’s voice sounded behind her.

"Kaelira."

She turned around.

Lukan was holding something in his hand.

"Take this purple crystal."

Sora froze.

She looked at the object he was offering.

A purple crystal stone.

Her expression became complicated.

Did Lukan want a Deep Contract with her?

Seeing her stunned expression, Lukan gave a gentle laugh.

He walked over and pressed the purple crystal into her hand.

"Don’t worry. There’s no other meaning."

His voice was calm.

"I just wanted to give it to you."

Before Sora could respond, Lukan turned away.

"I’m going to wash the clay pots."

Sora remained where she was.

She looked down at the purple crystal in her palm.

For some reason, it suddenly felt much heavier than it should have.

She eventually returned to her room.

After sitting down, she looked at the purple crystal for a long time.

Then she finally put it away.

"It’s just a purple crystal stone. Why am I looking at it for so long?"

Just as Sora’s emotions had finally settled, a cold, mocking voice came from outside the door.

"It’s just a purple crystal stone. Why look at it for so long?"

Sora looked up.

It was Xavier.

Before she could say anything, Xavier walked over and shoved an Animal Skin Pouch into her hands.

The pouch was heavy.

Sora looked at him suspiciously.

"I still have more."

Xavier’s tone was casual.

"Use these crystal stones however you like."

He looked at her with a faint smile.

"Just wait until you’ve given birth to the cub before forming a Deep Contract with me."

Sora stared at him.

She opened the Animal Skin Pouch.

Her eyes widened.

Inside were crystal stones of different colors.

Red.

Green.

Blue.

Purple.

There were so many that the colors almost dazzled her eyes.

At a glance, there seemed to be more than a hundred.

Sora stared at the pouch in disbelief.

"How do you have so many crystal stones?"

Weren’t crystal stones supposed to be precious?

Why did Xavier have them as if someone had sold them to him wholesale?

Xavier shrugged.

"Is it a lot?"

His expression remained completely indifferent.

"Maybe it’s because I’ve been to many places, so I have more crystal stones."

Sora stared at him.

His casual tone made her suspect that he was humblebragging.

He had more than a hundred precious crystal stones sitting inside an Animal Skin Pouch, yet he spoke about them as though they were ordinary pebbles.

Sora looked at him suspiciously.

"The others don’t have as many as you."

"They were raised in luxury."

Xavier’s lips curled slightly.

"Unlike me, who has been wandering around since birth."

He casually explained,

"I’ve been to dangerous places like the Endless Abyss and the Four Abyss Seas, so naturally, I have more crystal stones."

He paused.

"They’ve traveled less than I have, so it’s normal for them to have fewer."

Sora listened quietly.

Perhaps because Xavier had so many crystal stones, she no longer felt as uncomfortable accepting them.

At least she wasn’t taking everything he possessed.

After thinking about it, she said,

"Then, thank you."

Xavier curled his lips.

"You are my Female."

His expression was natural.

"What’s mine is yours. There’s no need to thank me."

Sora glanced at the crystal stones again.

She noticed that Xavier’s crystal stones and Lukan’s purple crystal both looked extremely pure.

Could that mean they were more powerful?

She didn’t know enough about crystal stones yet.

However, she remembered that sending messages required crystal stones.

Clare could afford the cost, which meant the purity required for communication probably wasn’t particularly high.

So Sora picked out several crystal stones with lower purity.

The next day, she went to find Clare.

She asked her to help locate a marmot that could deliver a message.

Clare readily agreed.

But when she saw the crystal stones Sora handed over, she immediately smiled.

"Your Beast Husbands gave you crystal stones?"

Sora nodded.

Clare’s expression became teasing.

"I knew they would give them to you."

She looked at Sora’s large belly.

"However, you’re still carrying a little cub, so you should be careful."

Sora was speechless.

She looked at Clare.

Clare was good in almost every way.

But there was one problem.

She simply loved teasing people.

Sora sighed inwardly.

She had only wanted to send a letter.

How had crystal stones somehow turned into a discussion about her Beast Husbands and Deep Contracts?

Still, with the crystal stones now in her possession, she could finally send the letter she needed.

And perhaps, once the letter reached its destination, she would finally be one step closer to finding the truth she had been searching for.