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

Tera stood frozen in front of the little shelter, then turned back to it, staring like it might vanish if she blinked too hard.

It was not perfect.

The frame was a bit uneven in places. Some of the knots on the support branches were chunky and slightly crooked, and the silk-leaf walls weren’t as neat as the ones she had done herself. A few edges stuck out, and one corner had an awkward overlap.

But the effort was everywhere.

Tera stepped inside, and her chest quivered when she saw that most of the floor was very soft, as if the rest of the interior served as a bed rather than just a part of the shelter.

She did not know where they had gotten so much moss for them to cover the area in a thick layer that was covered by the shadesilk leaves.

Where had they even had the time to do all this, and when? They couldn’t have done it today, could they?

Tera turned to face them.

”You two...” she whispered.

Xavi and Ermin stood a few steps behind her, both looking like they were waiting for a verdict and already bracing for criticism.

The shelter oddly looked smaller with them inside.

”When did you even do this? Today?”

Xavi’s nod shocked Tera. How could they have finished this in one day? ”We started in the morning with some of the materials still available.”

”Both of you?”

”Yes.”

Ermin’s ears flattened. ”Someone had to make sure the walls would not collapse.”

”I did the walls.”

”Exactly.”

Tera pressed her lips together, fighting the smile that was threatening to take over her entire face.

”It is...” She paused, searching for the right word. Her voice came out softer than she intended, with a crack at the edges that she couldn’t quite control. ”It is wonderful. Thank you.”

They suddenly looked very proud, and Tera envisioned these two fiddling around and doing their best to carefully build this for her.

So overcome by joy, she did the only thing that made sense in that moment.

She ran at them.

Xavi barely had time to react before she bounced up on her toes, grabbed his face with both hands, and planted a firm kiss right on his cheek.

His entire body locked up as if she had cast some kind of paralysis spell on him. His golden eyes went wide, and his mouth fell open slightly.

She pulled back, and his hand drifted up to touch the spot where her lips had been. His fingers pressed against his own cheek with the bewildered focus of someone trying to understand a sensation that had no name in his language.

”What...” He blinked. ”What was that?”

Tera turned to Ermin, and the panther had approximately half a second of warning before Tera’s hands were on his face and her lips were pressed to his cheek.

His ears shot straight up in shock.

Tera stepped back, grinning.

Ermin stared at her. His hand had not moved to his cheek, but the skin where she had kissed him was visibly flushed, the warmth spreading outward like a stain he couldn’t control.

Tera pulled back, grinning, and immediately noticed the identical dazed expressions on their faces.

”What is this? Have you never been kissed on the cheek before?”

Xavi blinked slowly, like he was rebooting.

”...No.”

Ermin still looked mildly scandalized.

Tera’s eyes widened, her own turn to be shocked. Did no one peck anyone here at all? She was certain she had seen the females pecking their cubs.

”Only cubs...” Ermin started, then stopped.

He did not expect to like the sensation so much. Now he understood why cubs demanded for more.

But before he could even ask, Xavi beat him to it.

”Do it again.”

’He likes it that much?’

”I want to experience the cheek kiss another time.”

Ermin’s head whipped towards Xavi, his eyes narrowed. ”You cannot just ask for more.”

Xavi lightly frowned. ”I—”

Tera laughed. ”So greedy.”

She cupped Xavi’s face again, pressing kisses all over his face. First to both cheeks, then his forehead for good measure.

Xavi’s eyes closed with each one. A deep, rumbling sound started in his chest.

When she pulled back, his expression was dazed, like she had just handed him the sun and he didn’t know where to put it.

Then she turned to Ermin and gave him the same treatment.

His face was softer and cooler than Xavi’s, but she still loved it all the same.

When she stepped back, Ermin’s face was slowly going red, which surprised her as she wasn’t sure she had ever seen that before.

’Oh, wow.’

Tera stepped back, smiling at their matching stunned expressions.

”Payment received. You two did wonderfully. Thank you so much.”

Xavi touched his face. ”...Soft.”

Unable to hold it back, Tera started laughing.

It was the first real laugh she’d managed since the wreckage, and it felt like breathing after holding her breath for too long.

”Thank you,” she said, her voice softening. ”Both of you. For this.”

Xavi ducked his head, a pleased rumble vibrating in his chest. ”You needed somewhere to rest that was yours.”

”It is not as good as what you usually build,” Ermin added, his voice gruff but genuine. ”The walls are not even, and—”

”It’s perfect,” Tera interrupted. ”It’s the best shelter I’ve ever seen.”

And she meant it.

She looked around the small space again.

”I cannot believe you finished this in one day,” she whispered, shaking her head in amazement.

Xavi puffed out his chest. ”We are very capable.”

Tera chuckled. ”Yes.”

A warm, fuzzy feeling settled in her chest for the rest of that evening. But she also had a strange feeling like she was forgetting something important.

It was especially strange how she felt sleepy again after having slept for nearly the whole day earlier.

’System, I feel like I am forgetting something important.’

[Host’s query is unclear]

[This system cannot provide a reminder without a specific request]

’I don’t know what the request is. That’s the problem. I just feel like I’m forgetting something.’

[Host has experienced significant emotional and physical stress today]

[It is possible that this feeling is a result of exhaustion]

’Maybe.’

As Xavi and Ermin entertained Tera and made her feel comfortable, that feeling still lingered.

She was forgetting something.