Fiora couldn't die. And she didn't want to feel pain anymore.
She had been banished and no longer had a home. Her only choice was to find a new one.
And the handsome man beside her… he might be the key to letting her stay here.
Fiora touched the man's broad chest. He no longer breathed, yet his body was still warm.
She didn't understand what she was seeing. She didn't know the names or functions of organs.
But when the wild boar had attacked her, she had felt it: the part of her body that always healed first was the organ in her left chest that pumped blood to the other organs. After that, the rest of her wounds would follow.
So Fiora did the same thing now. She coaxed that organ back to life.
When she healed the little boy, her condition had been too poor to notice what happened.
But now she clearly felt it, an energy flowed from her body into the man's. It settled into the organ she focused on, and slowly, it began to work again.
There was another injured organ in his abdomen. The tear was severe, likely the cause of his death.
Without Fiora noticing, the man's fingers twitched. His eyes moved beneath his closed eyelids.
After Fiora repaired the damaged organs and healed the scratches on his body, she felt her own life being drained away. Exhaustion crashed over her.
"This is just like when I saved that boy… Does healing someone else make me this tired?"
Fiora's head collapsed onto the man's chest.
She could hear new voices approaching from outside.
She whispered again with her last strength, "Don't steal anything from this home. The owner isn't dead yet."
But her voice was too soft, no one heard it. Fiora finally succumbed to her fatigue. Her eyes closed.
Outside, two people had arrived and saw the mother-daughter pair.
"What are you doing here?" A tall man asked.
He had an oval head with brown hair, dark spots on his arms, tear-like markings from the corner of his eyes to his mouth, round furry ears, and a tail the same color as his hair with the same dark spots.
Before the girl could answer, the mother stepped forward.
"Rivo, we were saddened to hear that the leader died, so we came to tidy up his home."
The man beside Rivo scanned the room. He was much shorter, but stocky. His black hair was long and thick, and the dark parts of his eyes were much smaller than the whites. His black tail was short, thick, and stiff, curving upward before dropping down.
"Tidy up what?!" the short man snapped. "You made everything even messier!"
"This girl is spoiled. She still doesn't know how to clean, Brakka." The mother pointed at the young girl, who stood quietly in the corner.
Rivo and Brakka turned to her.
The girl's large, round ears drooped. Her short body hunched even smaller, and her furless tail tapped the earth anxiously. She was clearly nervous.
"Mivy, don't be afraid. Tell the truth. What were you and your mother doing here?" Rivo asked gently. Brakka beside him was already glaring fiercely.
After a moment of silence, Mivy whispered, "W-We were trying to tidy the leader's cave. I'm sorry… I was being careless!"
Rivo stroked the top of her gray hair. "It's alright. What matters is your intention."
Brakka snorted. "Intention my tail! Just leave before you make a bigger mess."
The mother and daughter hurried out.
"Good thing we arrived early. If not, Merry the rat-thief would've taken all the supplies in the leader's cave." Brakka's large nose flared with irritation.
"Don't accuse without proof," Rivo said, though he clearly shared the sentiment.
Everyone knew Merry had stolen several times in the past. Rivo only regretted that Mivy was following her mother's footsteps.
"Come on. We need to take the supplies for the leader's funeral ceremony," Rivo said.
They walked toward the deeper part of the cave behind the curtain—
but the curtain suddenly opened from the inside.
Both men froze in shock.
Standing there was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a strong chest and gleaming amber eyes catching the sunlight.
"Leader—
you're alive?!" Brakka shouted.
"Rude. Did you think I wasn't alive?" Valeo snorted.
"You… you really were dead earlier, leader," Rivo replied.
Valeo frowned, confused.
He immediately recalled the last moments of the Egleos attack. He had indeed been gravely wounded.
Then he remembered the woman in his room.
"Could my recovery be related to that human girl…?" he wondered aloud.
"The human girl who was supposed to be your sacrificial bride, leader? But she died too," Brakka blurted.
"Sacrificial bride? Died?"
Rivo proceeded to explain everything. From the moment they believed Valeo had died, to how they had begun preparing a funeral for him.
"But the female human isn't dead. She's sleeping inside," Valeo said, gesturing toward the cave's deeper part with his sharp chin.
"How is that possible…?" Brakka muttered.
"Perhaps it's a blessing brought by that female human," Rivo said thoughtfully.
"Since she slept in the same room as me, she is officially my wife. Even if we're in the middle of a crisis, I will do my best to be a proper husband to her." Valeo declared firmly.
Rivo and Brakka exchanged an uncertain look. Silence stretched. Only their eyes communicated.
In the end, they said nothing.
"Speaking of food supplies… I don't see any meat left in the cave."
"No food supplies?!" Rivo and Brakka shouted in unison.
"Calm down. For now, return to the tribe center. Tell the others I'm fine. I'll begin hunting tomorrow," Valeo ordered.
Rivo and Brakka nodded obediently.
"Please rest, leader. Your wounds must still hurt. I'll have Shaman Zelka prepare some medicine," Rivo added.
The two finally left.
After they were gone, Valeo nearly stumbled. He steadied himself by bracing a hand on his knee.
His wounds were completely healed, yet he felt weak and slightly dizzy.
He entered the cave again.
The sound of his footsteps made the female human on the earth bed stir. Valeo sat at the edge of the bed.
His eyes studied the strange creature before him—
Fiery red hair, long lashes, small nose and lips, pale skin, and no tail.
"So strange," he murmured.
His voice made the girl's eyelids flutter open. Her bright blue eyes shimmered—
and Valeo was momentarily captivated.
But then—
Hap!
"Eummhh, eummhh… berry~"
The human female suddenly latched onto Valeo's chest—
and started sucking it like a berry.
…