Chapter 322: Just Passing By.

Chapter 322: 322: Just Passing By.

Sun and Ally arrived at the waterside.

"Wow, this is bigger and cleaner than ours!" Sun exclaimed as he stood there, taking his time to admire the place.

Ally smiled. "That’s because Mama made it possible. She used some strange materials to make the water clean."

"Wow!" Sun was impressed.

Ally handed him a bar of soap. "Here, use this."

"Huh? And what’s this?" he asked curiously.

Ally smiled. "It’s soap. You use it to wash yourself clean and give yourself a nice smell, too," she explained, going into detail about how to use it properly.

Sun stared at the soap in his hand. "Oh! Is that why you smell so nice?"

Ally laughed and shook her head. "Not necessarily. I’m an S-rank, and my scent is naturally pretty strong." She shrugged.

"Oh..."

Sun suddenly looked sad as he nodded and lowered his head.

"What’s wrong?" Ally asked.

Sun hesitated before speaking. "It’s just... I’m only an F-rank, while you’re an S-rank. Maybe once I’ve recovered, you won’t want to stay close to me or be my friend anymore. That’s all..."

Ally laughed at his words and gently rubbed her hand over his hair. "Silly bunny! And why would that even be a problem? We’re already friends, and we’ll always be friends. I don’t care about ranks at all."

Sun smiled at her. "Is that so?"

"Yes! Now, off you go and take your bath. I’ll wait over here so you can have your privacy," she assured him after explaining how to take a proper bath.

"Oh... okay..." Sun accepted her detailed instructions shyly, his ears twitching.

Ally was about to move to the side while Sun prepared to bathe when, suddenly, Lord Ash dramatically rushed into the scene.

"What is happening here?!" he snapped, charging between them and pulling the two apart. He stood in the middle, his eyes and ears raised in high alert.

"..."

The two stared at him in surprise.

"Oh, Ally’s father. What are you doing here?" Sun asked.

Lord Ash looked between them before speaking. "What are you two doing here? Why are you here with him while he’s taking a bath? That’s inappropriate!"

He then turned to Sun. "And you! Why would you allow her to stay here?"

Sun blinked, trying to explain himself, but Ally spoke first.

"I’m already leaving! I wasn’t going to stay here while he bathed. Do you think I’m a child or something? Or that I’m stupid?" Ally retorted, folding her arms.

"And why are you even here? Have you been spying on me or following us?"

At her question, Lord Ash fell silent, standing there and staring at her for a while before struggling to find an excuse.

"What do you mean by that? I... I was just passing by. Yes, that’s right!" he insisted.

But Ally shook her head. "As if I’d believe that."

Lord Ash stubbornly took her by the hand. "Come on, let’s leave. You can’t stay here with him!"

But Ally refused to budge. "I want to wait for him to finish. So don’t worry about me."

Lord Ash sighed before turning towards Sun, who was watching them with a guilty and awkward expression.

"Fine, then. He can go ahead and take his bath. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on him."

"..."

Sun and Ally stared at him in surprise as Lord Ash stubbornly insisted on his decision.

He didn’t budge. Instead, he sat down comfortably and remained there until they finally gave in. Ally stepped away to give Sun some privacy, while Sun proceeded to take his bath.

As Sun washed himself, Lord Ash sat at a distance, staring at him coldly as though he wanted to kill him with his eyes alone.

Sun occasionally glanced at him, only to meet those chilling eyes and immediately look away in panic.

From time to time, Sun couldn’t help asking, "Tribe Lord, did I do something wrong?"

"Why do you seem to hate me so much?"

"You can tell me, you know. Whatever it is, I’ll change and do better."

But Lord Ash didn’t respond. He continued watching Sun as though he were a spy who might disappear the moment he looked away.

With no other choice, Sun quietly continued his bath under the tribe leader’s watchful gaze.

---

Within just a couple of days, Sun and Ally had become inseparable. The two were always moving around the tribe together, rarely seen apart.

Ally usually led the way, while Sun followed closely behind like a devoted fan.

She was always showing him around and introducing him to new things about the tribe, which never failed to impress him and put a smile on his face.

By now, everyone in the tribe had noticed how close the two had become. Most found their relationship cute and sweet, and some were even hoping the pair would get married in the future.

However, Lord Ash was the only one fuming about it.

One afternoon, he sat at a distance with Ayra and a few others nearby. They were all watching the same scene ahead of them: Sun and Ally surrounded by several tribe members.

Sun had quickly become popular for telling fascinating stories he’d learned from his grandfather about different places and events across the beast world. Whenever he began sharing one of his stories, people would gather around to listen, and they had grown quite fond of him because of it.

"Look at him, probably making things up just to show off. All lies!" Lord Ash muttered coldly as he watched from where he sat.

He furiously squeezed the flower in his hand as he spoke.

Lord Vale glanced at the crushed flower and smiled. "I don’t think the poor flower did anything wrong to deserve that."

Lord Ash scoffed and tossed the flower aside. "How convincing must his lies be for everyone to sit there listening to him, huh? I mean, he’s always sticking so close to my daughter, following her around like some bug!"

He folded his arms and continued grumbling. "My poor daughter can’t see through him and keeps him so close. Now everyone is hoping they’ll get married or something. Nonsense!"

Ayra smiled as she listened to his complaints. "And everyone is also beginning to like the little rabbit. Everyone except you, that is. He’s actually a nice young boy who cares about others and is quite lovable. So I don’t understand why you still dislike him."

Lord Ash turned towards her, his expression growing serious.

"It’s because he’s..."