Fat and Ugly Villainess Wins Back Her Five Beast Husband

Sora had absolutely no intention of sharing a fur blanket with Ryan.

One wrong move and that man would probably convince himself she was trying to seduce him again.

No, thank you.

Besides...

Ryan disliked her enough already.

Why on earth would he want to sleep under the same blanket as her?

So she remained perfectly silent.

She wasn’t worried.

She simply waited for Ryan to reject the suggestion himself.

Across the camp, Xavier lazily cracked open one eye after hearing Clare’s proposal.

A slow grin spread across his face.

Well...

This was entertainment.

Ryan had been his sworn rival for years. Opportunities to watch the stoic merman squirm didn’t come often.

He certainly wasn’t going to miss this one.

Lucas, meanwhile, quietly hugged his own fur blanket a little tighter.

Good thing I packed mine.

If he hadn’t, he’d probably be the one everyone was trying to shove under Sora’s blanket.

The last time they’d shared one, there had been three of them squeezed together around the fire.

Tonight?

It would’ve been just the two of them.

In the middle of the night.

Alone.

Lucas wasn’t saying Sora would do anything...

...but he also wasn’t brave enough to test the theory.

Ace stretched comfortably across his blanket, one arm behind his head, his amber eyes flicking between Sora and Ryan with obvious amusement.

He looked less like someone preparing to sleep...

...and more like a spectator waiting for the next act of a play.

Lukan quietly smoothed the wrinkles from his blanket before lifting his calm, glass-like eyes toward Sora.

Unlike the others, he wasn’t laughing.

He simply wondered what choice she would make.

Ryan’s usually expressionless face finally showed the tiniest crack.

Share a blanket...

...with Sora?

Impossible.

This was the same woman who, according to every rumor in the tribe, had climbed into his bed after eating that mysterious love fruit.

The same woman who’d accidentally smeared blood on his tail.

The same woman who’d spent the entire afternoon making everyone believe they’d become lovers.

And now...

People wanted them to sleep together?

Absolutely not.

His first instinct was to refuse.

Immediately.

Then reality caught up with him.

If he refused...

Where exactly was he supposed to sleep?

He slowly glanced around.

Bushes.

More bushes.

A few termite mounds.

Not a single tree with sturdy branches.

No cave.

No rocky shelter.

Certainly no comfortable patch of ground.

"..."

Even Ryan had to admit...

Sleeping face-first in the dirt wasn’t an attractive alternative.

The camp fell strangely quiet.

Sora waited patiently for Ryan to say no.

Ryan silently searched for another solution that didn’t involve becoming one with the African savannah.

Neither of them spoke.

Clare blinked in confusion.

"Huh?"

"They were getting along just fine on the way here."

"He even let you ride on his back."

"They didn’t argue once."

"So why are you both acting shy now?"

She suddenly gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.

"Oh!"

"I get it!"

"There are too many people watching!"

She beamed at them.

"You’ve already exchanged skirts."

"Why be embarrassed now?"

Sora nearly choked on air.

Not the skirt story again...

Was that rumor never going to die?

Even Ryan’s eyebrow twitched.

For the past few days, he’d been haunted by whispers every time he walked through the village.

No one dared ask him directly.

They all knew his temper.

Instead, they whispered behind bushes, beside cooking fires, and while fetching water.

Unfortunately...

Ryan had excellent hearing.

He’d heard every ridiculous version of the story.

The silence stretched on.

Sora frowned.

Why hasn’t he refused yet?

Could Ryan actually be considering this?

If it really came down to it...

She supposed she could tear her blanket in half.

He was a merman, after all.

Surely half would be enough.

Then another thought hit her.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Sora hesitated.

If she simply let Ryan sleep somewhere else, Clare and Zainabu would definitely carry the story back to the village.

By sunrise, everyone would be saying the five beast husbands couldn’t even stand sharing a blanket with her.

And if that rumor reached Martin...

He’d probably clap his hands, declare that "a wife who can’t keep her husbands happy belongs in the communal kitchens," and assign her right back to stirring giant pots all day.

Absolutely not.

Meanwhile, Ryan calmly surveyed the campsite.

There wasn’t a single decent place to sleep.

No cave.

No sturdy tree.

No dry rock.

Only tall grass, thorny bushes, and enough insects to host their own festival.

Then his eyes drifted toward the nearby river.

Problem solved.

Without another word, he stepped forward, transformed with a shimmer of silver scales, and slipped into the water in one graceful motion.

His tail flicked once, sending a spray of droplets sparkling through the firelight.

"I’ll sleep in the river."

His voice remained as cool as ever.

"No need to worry about me."

The camp fell silent.

Then everyone slapped their own foreheads.

"Right..."

"He’s a merman."

"Of course he’d sleep in the water."

Lucas burst out laughing.

"We’ve been arguing over blankets while the fish has his own bedroom."

Even Ace chuckled.

Ryan disappeared beneath the surface until only the tip of his silver tail lazily swayed above the water.

Comfortable.

Cool.

Problem solved.

Sora quietly let out the breath she’d been holding.

Crisis avoided.

No shared blanket.

No awkward explanations.

No fresh gossip.

Perfect.

...Or so she thought.

When she turned back toward her blanket, Clare and Zainabu were both smiling at her with suspiciously knowing expressions.

The kind older sisters wore when they believed they had discovered a young couple’s secret.

Sora suddenly had a terrible feeling.

They’re definitely misunderstanding something.

Again.

She considered explaining...

Then looked at the stars overhead.

She’d spent the entire day making pottery, cooking, hauling clay, and surviving at least three separate marriage rumors.

She simply didn’t have the energy left to fight a fourth.

"If you want to imagine things," she muttered under her breath as she lay down, "at least let me sleep first."

Curling beneath her fur blanket, she closed her eyes almost instantly.

Before long, the campsite settled into silence.

The fire crackled softly.

Crickets chirped across the savannah.

Somewhere in the distance, a hyena laughed at absolutely nothing.

From the river came the occasional splash of Ryan’s tail as he shifted in his watery "bed."

By the time the moon climbed overhead, everyone was fast asleep.

Just before dawn...

Pop!

Crack!

Tick!

A rapid series of sharp sounds echoed from the fire pit.

Sora’s eyes snapped open.

"My pottery!"

She bolted upright so fast that Lucas nearly rolled off his blanket.

"Wha—?"

"Are we under attack?"

Ace yawned.

"If breakfast is attacking us, tell it to wait five more minutes."

Ignoring them, Sora rushed to the kiln.

The others scrambled after her.

She crouched beside the ashes, listening carefully.

Another sharp crack echoed from inside.

Her heart skipped a beat.

The first batch she’d ever fired had come out almost perfectly.

Hearing pottery crack now was enough to make any potter sweat.

She carefully brushed away the ash with a long stick and inspected each piece one by one.

A moment later, she exhaled in relief.

"Only a few."

The damaged pots sat near the edge of the fire, each split by long hairline cracks.

She examined them briefly before nodding.

"The clay walls were uneven."

"When one side heats faster than the other, the stress causes it to crack."

Clare and Zainabu immediately looked guilty.

"...Those were ours."

Sora smiled reassuringly.

"That’s completely normal."

"Everyone ruins their first few pots."

"If nobody broke pottery while learning, potters wouldn’t exist."

The two women visibly relaxed.

"So... the rest survived?"

Sora grinned.

"They survived."

"And they’re ready."

Clare blinked.

"Ready?"

"What do you mean?"

Sora picked up a sturdy branch and poked at the glowing ash.

"It means..."

"...it’s time to open the kiln."

Neither Clare nor Zainabu had any idea what "opening the kiln" meant.

But seeing Sora confidently digging through the warm ashes with a stick, they immediately grabbed branches of their own.

"If Luo’s doing it..."

"...we’re doing it too."

Within moments, half the camp was enthusiastically poking at the ashes.

Lucas laughed.

"Look at us."

"A bunch of grown hunters digging in dirt with sticks."

Ace smirked.

"Yesterday we were chasing antelope."

"Today we’re chasing pots."

Xavier folded his arms.

"At this rate, the village is going to think we’ve all become apprentice potters."

Lukan smiled faintly.

"Considering how useful these pots are..."

"...I don’t think that’s anything to be ashamed of."

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