Fat and Ugly Villainess Wins Back Her Five Beast Husband

Ryan remained where he stood.

However, Sora didn’t even spare him a glance, much less invite him to lunch.

She had already figured out his personality.

Someone as intelligent and rational as Ryan couldn’t be won over with a few delicious meals. He valued ability, knowledge, and results far more than simple gestures of kindness.

People like him only truly noticed others when they accomplished something impressive.

Besides, their previous meeting hadn’t exactly ended on friendly terms.

Without another thought, Sora turned and walked away.

Ryan watched her leave, noticing that she hadn’t even looked in his direction.

He gave a quiet scoff.

How petty.

It had only been a single disagreement, yet she completely ignored him now, as though he didn’t even exist.

After leaving the tribe, Sora returned to her outdoor kitchen.

That morning everyone had simply eaten wild fruit because there hadn’t been enough time to cook properly. Since breakfast had been so unsatisfying, she fully intended to prepare a proper feast for lunch.

Her newly fired pottery was already waiting on the wooden table.

The more she looked at it, the happier she became.

Although the pieces were rough around the edges, every bowl, pot, kettle, cup, and jar had survived the firing process. Considering it had been her very first attempt at making pottery, she couldn’t have been more satisfied.

One by one, she carefully arranged the finished pottery inside her wooden cabinet according to size.

The large cooking pots went on the bottom shelf.

The medium pots were placed neatly above them.

Beside those, she lined up the bowls, cups, jars, and spoons, making sure each piece had its own place.

When she finished, she stepped back to admire her work.

The once-empty cabinet suddenly looked like a proper kitchen.

For the first time since arriving in this primitive world, it truly felt like home.

* * * * * *

The pottery Sora had made sat neatly on the table, and the more she looked at it, the more she liked it. She carefully arranged each piece inside the cabinet according to its size before gathering another batch of clay to build a proper clay stove.

The fruit-shell pot she had used before had been far too soft to sit on a clay stove, forcing her to cook over a crude stone hearth instead. While it worked well enough, it was built too low to the ground, leaving her squatting for long periods until her legs ached. Now that she finally had sturdy clay pots, she could redesign her cooking area properly.

After shaping the clay stove, she left it in the sun to dry.

While waiting, Sora headed toward her little ”treasure trove” to gather ingredients.

There would be more people joining lunch today, so she’d need to prepare a larger meal.

She had also noticed that Lukan seemed troubled after seeing how close she had become to the other three beastmen. She couldn’t allow that misunderstanding to continue. What if someone took advantage of the situation before she could clear things up?

No.

She intended to win Lukan over before anyone else could.

With several different pots now available, cooking had become much easier, giving her plenty of room to experiment.

After thinking for a while, she decided that today’s gathering was perfect for hot pot.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have any ready-made hot pot seasoning. Making a spicy broth from scratch would require another stove just to fry the aromatics, and there simply wasn’t enough time.

Instead, she chose two lighter broths.

One would be a refreshing sour soup.

The other would be a fragrant mushroom broth.

The forest around her was overflowing with ingredients, making it the perfect place for hot pot.

Her animal-skin skirt had become much looser after her recent weight loss, making it impractical for carrying things. She tied it securely around her waist before snapping off several willow branches and weaving two simple baskets.

With the baskets finished, she began gathering ingredients.

Fresh mushrooms.

Young ears of corn.

Chrysanthemum greens.

Wild onions.

Tender rhizomes.

Fern shoots.

Everything was sorted neatly into the woven baskets.

For the sour soup, she crushed several tart wild fruits she’d discovered earlier and simmered them together with wild boar meat to make a rich broth. She also fried a fish until golden before adding it to deepen the flavor.

Worried the soup might become too sour, she tossed in several red peppers to balance the taste with a gentle heat.

Afterward, she sliced the wild boar into thin, even pieces for cooking at the table.

There was plenty of meat and vegetables.

The only thing missing was starch.

She wished she had noodles or some kind of flour product, but making them from scratch would take far too long today.

Next time, she silently promised herself.

As the sour broth and mushroom soup slowly simmered, their rich aromas drifted through the forest.

The first person lured over by the smell was Xavier.

As for Ace...

He didn’t even need an invitation.

He had already arrived early, carrying his own bowl and waiting patiently.

Lucas showed up a little later than usual, but he still arrived around the same time as Xavier.

Both hot pots bubbled invitingly.

The sour broth glowed a rich reddish-gold, while the mushroom soup shimmered with a clear, pale green color from the fresh vegetables.

No matter which pot they looked at, both appeared irresistibly delicious.

Xavier rubbed his hands eagerly.

”Can we eat from both pots?”

Sora nodded with a smile.

”The one on the left is the sour soup hot pot.”

She pointed to the second pot.

”The one on the right is mushroom broth. If you don’t like sour flavors, you can stick with that one.”

As she spoke, she prepared several small bowls of dipping sauce before looking at the three beastmen.

”Hold out your bowls.”

Without hesitation, all three obediently extended their newly made pottery bowls.

Sora filled each one with dipping sauce before finally taking her own seat.

However, instead of picking up her chopsticks, she simply waited.

Lucas inhaled the delicious aroma, swallowed hard, and licked his lips.

”Aren’t we eating yet?”

Then he looked around.

”Are we waiting for someone?”

Sora smiled.

”Yes.”

”Who?”

Lucas asked curiously.

”Lukan.”

She answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

”He should be here soon. He’s very punctual, especially when he agrees to something.”

Almost as soon as she finished speaking, Lukan appeared at the entrance to the outdoor kitchen, carrying his pottery bowl.

Xavier, Ace, and Lucas were all caught off guard.

None of them had expected the mysterious guest Kaelira mentioned to be Lukan.

It wasn’t that they disliked his presence.

The problem was much simpler.

One more person meant another mouth to feed.

Which also meant...

Each of them would get a little less food.

The ones who felt the loss most keenly were Xavier and Lucas, whose eyes immediately drifted toward the steaming hot pots with expressions of silent regret.