Chapter 267: Dotting On Pregnant Female[ii]

Before she could reach for the quill, Ace arrived carrying a large pile of wild fruits.

He looked rather pleased with himself.

"Kaelira, look at what I brought you!"

He placed the fruits in front of her, separating them into several groups.

"The ones on the left are sour, the ones on the right are bitter, and the ones in the middle are sweet. Whatever you want to eat, I’ve prepared it."

Sora stared at the fruits.

For the past few days, her appetite had become unpredictable.

One day, she wanted sour food.

The next day, she craved something sweet.

On another day, she had developed an inexplicable fondness for bitter wild fruits.

The problem was that her preferences changed almost as quickly as they appeared.

Ace had suffered particularly badly because of this.

Yesterday, when Sora had wanted something bitter, he had gone out searching for wild fruits that matched her craving.

He hadn’t known which fruits were bitter, so he had tasted them one by one.

The result had nearly sent him to the afterlife.

The bitterness had shot straight to his head, leaving his face twisted and his tongue almost numb.

Even so, he had stubbornly continued searching until he had gathered a large collection for Sora.

He had returned feeling rather accomplished, believing that he had finally found something she would enjoy.

But the next day, Sora had glanced at the fruits and announced that she no longer liked bitter food.

Ace had been left staring at the pile he had worked so hard to collect.

He had practically turned green while identifying those fruits, only for Sora to abandon the entire collection without a second thought.

What could he do?

The little cubs in her belly clearly had very particular tastes.

Ace had secretly decided that once the cubs were born, he would find ten or even eight bitter fruits for them to try.

Then they could experience the suffering he had endured while collecting them!

Of course, he wouldn’t actually let the little cubs suffer.

It was simply a private complaint born from his frustration.

As long as Sora wanted to eat something, he would continue searching for it.

This time, he had learned from experience and prepared several different kinds of fruit.

Surely, one of them would satisfy her cravings.

Unfortunately, Ace had underestimated the unpredictability of a pregnant Sora.

She glanced over his carefully arranged collection and gave him an apologetic smile.

"Ace, I’m sorry."

His expression changed slightly.

"What’s wrong?"

Sora looked at him sincerely.

"I want something spicy today."

Ace froze.

"..."

For several seconds, he simply stared at her.

All that effort.

All those wild fruits.

All that suffering from tasting the bitter ones.

And now she wanted something spicy?

Still, he quickly recovered his composure.

He forced a smile and nodded.

"It’s fine. I’ll go find something spicy for you right now."

With that, Ace hurried out again.

Sora watched him leave, feeling a little guilty.

Only a little.

After all, she couldn’t control what her appetite wanted.

Before she could return to her letter, another figure appeared.

Lucas entered carrying a pile of magnificent furs and feather garments.

Unlike Ace, who had been defeated by Sora’s constantly changing cravings, Lucas looked enthusiastic and proud of what he had brought.

"Kaelira, come and look at these!"

He spread out the furs for her to inspect.

"These are all top-quality animal hides. Feel how soft they are. They’re so smooth that they almost feel like water."

He then lifted several feather garments.

"And these are waterproof. Even if you go outside on a rainy day, they won’t become soaked easily."

Lucas continued presenting his treasures, clearly delighted by the opportunity to provide for her.

"I also brought some smaller animal hides and had someone cut them into little belly warmers for the cubs. Once they’re born, they’ll be able to wear them to keep warm."

Sora couldn’t deny that Lucas had excellent taste.

The furs he had selected for her were beautiful, soft, and of remarkably good quality.

His choices showed that he had paid attention to what she liked.

The feather garments were also practical, especially in a world where the weather could be unpredictable.

However, when Sora turned her attention to the little garments intended for the cubs, her expression gradually changed.

Something seemed... wrong.

There were circular pieces with holes in the middle.

There were long strips of animal hide.

And there were even several triangular pieces that looked suspiciously like tiny underwear.

Sora stared at them.

Then she stared at Lucas.

Her face began turning red.

What kind of design was this?

She recognized the style immediately.

It resembled the leopard-print underwear she had once worn!

Lucas had apparently observed her clothing closely enough to imitate its design and create miniature versions for the little cubs.

The thought alone made Sora want to cover her face.

The little garments might technically serve their purpose, but why had Lucas chosen such a revealing design?

And why had he made so many different shapes?

The Beastmen present had clearly noticed the strange little garments as well.

Xavier’s expression darkened.

He picked up one of the animal-hide pieces and examined it with obvious displeasure.

"Lucas, why did you make clothes full of holes?"

His tone was serious.

"They won’t keep the wind out, and they aren’t airtight. How are the little cubs supposed to stay warm wearing something like this?"

Lucas looked at him calmly.

Then he nodded as though he had just remembered something important.

"Oh, those?"

He pointed toward the little garments.

"Don’t mention it. I made those for your snake eggs."

Xavier’s expression stiffened.

Lucas continued explaining with complete sincerity.

"One hole fits one egg perfectly. That way, we won’t have to worry about the eggs getting cold."

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then Sora burst out laughing.

She laughed so hard that she had to hold her belly.

Xavier’s eyes turned icy.

His jaw tightened as he glared at Lucas.

"Thank you for your consideration," he said through gritted teeth. "But snake eggs already have shells. They don’t need to wear animal hides!"

Lucas blinked innocently.

He seemed completely unable to understand why Xavier was so upset.

Sora laughed even harder.

For a moment, the room was filled with the sounds of her laughter and Xavier’s increasingly irritated complaints.

And just like that, her plans to write a letter to Tashia were forgotten once again.