Exiled Villainess: They Threw Me Out, Now Every Beastman Wants Me

The first was a strange tree whose soft bark, when carefully peeled, revealed fine, strong threads beneath. They reminded her of plantain and banana stalks, and when she tested them with her needles, they held beautifully. She could sew with these. Proper sewing, not the crude tying she had been doing with vines.

The second was a plant she had almost walked past entirely. It grew in clusters at the base of certain monstrous trees. They were large, umbrella-shaped leaves with a surface so smooth and lustrous it looked almost like fabric. They were lilac in colour, and when Tera touched one, her fingers slid across it like silk.

Having the system scan it immediately had made her realise how safe it was to use, and it had water-resistant qualities.

The fast regeneration had been the most fascinating thing because when she had climbed and used her scissors to cut it, she had come back in nearly two days to discover that the whole part she had cut had fully grown again.

Tera had nearly cried. A renewable, non-toxic, water-resistant material that regrows in two days? She could use this for everything. Bedding, roofing, and even clothing, if she could figure out how to preserve the texture, as she didn’t know how long the organic material would last, taken off the plant.

These two things she had discovered while foraging had completely steered the direction of the shelters Tera had already started building up.

Her initial plan had been to set and use sticks as the foundation while using layers of broad leaves that were interlocked between the sticks with vines. The system had told her to construct shelters for the clan after all, and hadn’t restricted her to use a specific method.

So she was going to make do with what she had, but there were several problems. One being the climate.

Tera felt they needed time to know how the environment worked so they could build structures that would not work against them, but they did not have that time for trial and error. And she had decided that if, for whatever reason, some natural disaster had thrashed the shelters, they would build them up again.

Another problem was using leaves as materials. They would eventually dry out, and the walls and roof would need replacing.

Tera would have loved to use mud and clay, but that would be more time-consuming. They hadn’t even come across clay, and digging various spots in the woods would also take time they did not have.

But those silk leaves, along with the sinew threads, had been a game changer. Layers of them had been woven together using the threads and had served as the covering of the stick frame of the shelter. Lastly, the threads had been used to secure the woven silk leaves to the stick foundations.

This had resulted in the first tent-like shelter, which had taken roughly two days to make while also farming.

When a layer of broad leaves and silk had been placed as the flooring for the tent, the system had finally accepted and registered it as a completed structure.

This milestone had nearly sent Tera to tears, and three clan members had already fought over who would sleep in it first.

They loved the shelter. Aside from keeping the sun out, the cool air circulating through the woven walls was apparently a revelation after years of stuffy caves and damp holes.

The next thing on the list was using the silk as actual clothing. She had stitched together a set of wider, better-fitting clothes for herself, which had been less bulky than the hides.

What was best about this material was how comfortable it felt on the skin after drying directly under the sun for days. This had led to the beast folk staring at her new airy and beautiful outfit.

”How is the cloth so smooth?”

”Can you make me one?”

Through all of this, Ermin had been a quiet, confusing presence.

He didn’t speak to her often, and he sometimes avoided her entirely, but multiple times during the week, Tera had turned around to find that something heavy had been moved, or a pile of branches she needed had appeared where she was working, or the water she had been about to fetch was already sitting by her workstation.

And she had noticed him do some of these things, only for the system to further confirm it.

Just like that, his favourability had finally reached 0% and was no longer in the negatives.

Xavi had been relentless. He hunted whenever he could with some others, carried logs and sticks and other things she pointed out without being asked twice. And he had also continued to poke her cheeks every morning, frown at her body, and tell her she needed to eat more.

[Xavi’s Favourability: 51% → 55%]

[He is courting you with meat and unsolicited dietary advice]

Tera had oddly been noticing some of the females sneaking off during breaks, but she hadn’t given it much thought until the second day of the second week.

A commotion from the farm had gotten Tera’s attention while working on the second shelter with other beast males.

Two clan members were carrying Yara between them, her face pale and her deer ears drooping. Tera’s stomach dropped.

”What happened?!”

”She collapsed,” one of the males said, his voice tight with worry. ”She was pulling roots and then just... fell.”

Tera was already moving, her exhaustion forgotten. ”Lay her down. Go and get water for her now.”

They settled Yara on a patch of soft grass. Tera knelt beside her, pressing a hand to her forehead. She had no fever, and there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Someone appeared at her side.

”She has not been eating well,” he admitted, wringing his hands. ”Everything makes her stomach turn. Even the roasted meat.”

Tera paused, confused. It could be anything, and she hoped it was not poison.

’System. Scan her.’

[Scanning...]

[Result: Pregnancy detected. Gestation: approximately 3 weeks.]