Fat and Ugly Villainess Wins Back Her Five Beast Husband

In the end, Sora pointed at Lucas.

”You.”

”I’ve never flown before.”

Lucas immediately beamed with satisfaction.

”Don’t worry.”

”The view from the sky is incredible.”

Both Ace and Xavier looked disappointed at being passed over.

Ace folded his arms and muttered sarcastically,

”Let’s just hope there isn’t any wind tomorrow.”

”Otherwise, who knows if your wings will even stay in the air.”

Sora shot him a warning look.

”Don’t jinx it.”

”We still have a trip tomorrow.”

Ace immediately closed his mouth.

Before dawn the next morning, Sora woke up early.

She carried her bamboo water bottle to the outdoor kitchen, lit a fire for light, and took out the cornmeal she had ground the previous day.

Then she opened the fruit-shell container that held their eggs.

The eggs had all been brought back by Xavier and Lucas.

She wasn’t sure whether the two of them simply enjoyed collecting eggs or deliberately saved them for her, but whenever they found a nest while hunting, they always brought the eggs home.

Since she rarely used them, she had been saving them for today.

She mixed the cornmeal with cool water into a smooth batter.

After brushing a thin layer of oil across the pan, she poured in the batter to make a flat pancake.

Before it finished cooking, she cracked an egg over the top, spread it evenly, and sprinkled chopped wild onions across the surface.

Soon, a fragrant golden egg pancake was ready.

Just then, Lucas, Ace, and Xavier arrived.

The rich aroma of fried onions drifted through the air.

The three of them had expected breakfast to be nothing more than wild fruit.

Instead, Sora had prepared another delicious meal.

Without realizing it, their opinion of her improved yet again.

After making several pancakes, Sora wrapped each one in clean leaves and handed them over.

”We’re in a hurry today.”

”We’ll have to make do with these for breakfast.”

The three beastmen stared at the pancakes.

Make do?

If this counted as making do, then every meal should be like this.

They quickly finished eating.

Once breakfast was over, Sora packed the cooking supplies.

”You two split these between yourselves.”

”We’ll need them later.”

Ace obediently picked up the pots and pans.

Meanwhile, Xavier wrapped his long snake tail around a basin filled with rendered pork fat.

Everything was finally ready.

Sora climbed onto Lucas’s broad feathered back.

”Let’s go!”

This was her first time flying.

Even though she’d ridden airplanes in her previous life, this felt completely different.

Unable to hide her nervousness, she flattened herself against Lucas’s back and wrapped both arms tightly around his neck.

Lucas usually flew effortlessly.

But today...

Having someone riding on his back felt entirely different.

Although Sora had already lost some weight, she was still much heavier than the loads he normally carried.

Her soft stomach rested against his feathers, making him feel as though something warm and squishy was clinging to him.

What bothered him even more was that she had begun sweating slightly from nervousness.

As someone who loved cleanliness, he found it rather difficult to endure.

Still...

This had been his own idea.

He couldn’t exactly complain now.

All this...for a bite of delicious food.

Along the way, Sora suddenly spotted a cluster of yellow mushrooms.

”Lucas!”

”Stop for a moment!”

She quickly climbed down and gathered every mushroom she could find.

These mushrooms were a valuable ingredient that she hadn’t found near her own territory.

Naturally, she wasn’t about to leave them behind.

After storing the mushrooms, they continued their journey.

Since Xavier had originally spotted the mountain goats near his cave, he led the search.

Sora remained seated on Lucas’s back, scanning the landscape from above.

Xavier slithered swiftly through the trees, watching the distant mountains.

Ace used his agile panther form to leap effortlessly across steep cliffs, searching for fresh tracks.

Working together, the four of them finally spotted several mountain goats.

The goats were gathered beside a rocky cliff, repeatedly licking the surface of a large stone.

Seeing this, Sora’s eyes lit up.

”Lucas!”

”Put me down!”

Lucas frowned as he looked at the rocks.

”Are these stones the salt you were talking about?”

Sora smiled and shook her head.

”You’ll understand in a moment.”

Just then, the goats suddenly bounded up the cliff and disappeared into a nearby cave.

Sora immediately shouted,

”Quick!”

”Follow them!”

”That’s the place!”

Although the three beastmen had no idea what she was talking about, they trusted her judgment.

Following the goats’ scent, the four hurried into the cave.

The moment they stepped inside...

They discovered something far beyond what any of them had expected.

The three followed Sora’s lead despite their confusion. After tracking the mountain goats for a while, the animals disappeared into a cave. The four of them hurried inside, only to be stunned by what they found.

Inside the cave lay a vast natural salt spring.

White salt deposits surrounded several shallow wells filled with yellowish-brown brine. Because no one had discovered or mined the place before, thick layers of crystallized salt had formed around the edges.

Lucas stared in disbelief.

”So this... is salt?”

”Yes!” Sora replied excitedly. ”Natural salt!”

She had only hoped the goats would lead them to a salt source. She never expected to discover an entire natural salt spring.

The primitive tribes had barely touched the place. Compared to the city’s controlled salt production, this cave contained an enormous reserve—enough to supply hundreds of nearby tribes for generations.

Ace scratched his head in amazement.

”I honestly thought you were just chasing food again.”

Even Xavier couldn’t hide his surprise. He couldn’t understand how Sora had guessed that following a few mountain goats would lead them straight to salt.

Ignoring their stunned expressions, Sora quickly jumped off Lucas’s back and ran to one of the wells.

She crouched beside it, scooped up a small chunk of crystallized salt, and cautiously tasted it.

A salty flavor mixed with a faint bitterness spread across her tongue.

”It really is salt!”

She couldn’t contain her excitement.

Lucas looked at her strangely.

”It’s just salt. Why are you so happy?”

Sora grinned.

”With this, I can make salt-baked chicken and salt-baked eggs for you.”

The moment Ace heard those words, his eyes sparkled.

”Salt-baked chicken? Salt-baked eggs?”

”Those already sound delicious! I’ll go catch some chickens and collect eggs right now!”

Sora waved him off with a smile.

”No rush. We just finished breakfast. Let’s collect the salt first.”

Xavier examined the deep salt well.

”The well is pretty deep. Getting the salt out won’t be easy.”

Lucas nodded.

”We’ll probably have to chip it out little by little.”

Sora smiled confidently.

”It doesn’t have to be that difficult.”

”Dig a large pit beside the well and build a shallow pool. I’ll move the brine into it.”

Although they didn’t fully understand her plan, the three immediately got to work.

Ace’s sharp claws quickly dug a large pit.

Xavier used his powerful snake tail to sweep away the loose soil.

Lucas carried over several large rocks to reinforce the edges.

Before long, they had constructed a simple collection pool.

Once it was finished, Sora activated her water ability.

Stretching out her hand toward the salt well, she manipulated the yellow-brown brine, drawing it out in a powerful stream before directing it into the newly dug pool.

Wave after wave of brine flowed into the pit until it was nearly full.

Next, she instructed them to dig a narrow drainage trench.

As excess water slowly flowed away, thick white salt crystals remained behind.

Sora nodded with satisfaction.

”This is much more efficient.”

However, she knew the raw salt couldn’t be eaten immediately.

”It still contains impurities. We’ll need to purify it after we get home.”

Fortunately, she had anticipated needing to transport a large amount.

Before leaving the tribe that morning, she had everyone bring large animal skins.

Now those skins became perfect sacks for carrying the heavy salt back to camp.