Chapter 58: Step 58 to Greatness: A Home Worth Joining
After salvaging the boars and securing the area, Adrian gathered everyone. Since they couldn’t repair the fence before sunset, they decided to take Hannah with him.
Obviously, he would have taken her even without the excuse. After all, he was her master. It wasn’t like she could ignore his orders, but it felt nice to have an excuse.
"Time to head back," he said, stepping on the teleportation crystal again.
He activated it, and the familiar blue light enveloped the group, and in a flash, they reappeared inside their own settlement, right near the pond.
The other women, who had been sitting around the pond, saw them and came over. Their eyes landed on the short figure standing beside Adrian.
"Another male?" Rixxa asked, tilting her head.
"No. We don’t need another male here," Nixa said and crossed her arms, studying Hannah. "He looks weak. Male, why did you bring another male here?"
Amika also looked confused but stayed quiet.
Adrian realized they were confused and chuckled, shaking his head.
"Not a male," he said. "Hannah is a girl."
The women stared at him, then at Hannah, then back at Adrian. Their expressions clearly said they didn’t believe him. Seraphine, standing beside him, covered her mouth and started giggling softly.
They didn’t question her when she joined but were questioning Hannah. Wasn’t the reason obvious?
"Not a male?" Amiya asked, shaking her head.
How could it not be a male?
As if trying to make Adrian understand, Nixa pointed at Hannah’s flat chest, then at her own ample bosom, and then at Rixxa’s even larger ones.
She made a clear gesture as if saying, "How can this be a woman without the proper goods?"
"Exactly. Look at him," Rixxa nodded in agreement. "No chest at all. He must be a young male, unlike Male, who is strong and ample..."
As she said that, Rixxa’s gaze traveled all over Adrian’s body. Now that she knew Adrian possessed a god’s gift to plant seeds in their barren lands, she had been feeling strange around him.
It wasn’t just her, Nixa was the same. Although she had been called mother before, she too wanted to experience true motherhood, and knew Adrian could make it possible.
But none of them were making any moves on him for Amika’s sake.
Meanwhile, seeing the tribe’s reaction to Hannah’s lack of assets in the front, Seraphine couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.
"I’m telling you, she’s a girl..." Adrian just sighed, rubbing his temples.
He could understand their confusion to some extent. From what he had seen, all the tribeswomen there had big chests. Maybe that was all they had seen, and that’s why they were confused after seeing Hannah’s chest.
Meanwhile, Hannah didn’t pay any attention to their obvious gestures and instead was staring at the pond in front.
"You have a pond!?" she exclaimed. "An actual pond inside the settlement!?"
She turned around to ask Adrian about it, but then she saw the animal pen by the pond and the chickens that were pecking the ground.
"Chickens!? You even have chickens too!" she squealed, practically jumping in place. "This is amazing! How do you have all this?"
Hannah’s excitement kept growing as she spotted more things in the settlement.
The sentinel tower, the farmland where the leaves were already sprouting from the planted potato eyes, the entrance to the salt quarry, and even the smokehouse beside the fire pit did not go unnoticed by her.
"This place is... incredible," she whispered in awe. "I thought my settlement was the best... but this is like an entire ecosystem of its own. You even have a marketplace and a wishing well! I was worried we would have to carry them over from my place, hehe."
"Woof!"
Freki let out a gentle bark as soon as he saw Adrian. The large white direwolf trotted over quickly and rubbed his big head affectionately against Adrian’s side, showing that he missed Adrian, but still stayed by Amika’s side.
"Good boy," Adrian kneeled on one knee, and Freki rolled over for belly rubs.
Hannah noticed it and, just like the other women of the tribe, couldn’t resist his cuteness and rushed over with open arms. Freki’s head snapped toward her, and he instantly went into alert mode, seeing that a stranger was charging at his master.
He jumped to his feet and let out a growl to warn her. As soon as he did, Hannah yelped in surprise, tripped on her feet, and once again fell flat on the ground.
Seeing her fall twice like that, Adrian thought maybe that was the reason for her lack of frontal assets.
Even Freki was taken aback by the stranger’s fall and walked over to check. By the time Hannah lifted her head, Freki was right in front, looking down at her.
"H-Hi there..." she stammered, laughing nervously.
As if sensing the bond between her and his master, Freki lowered his head and gave her a quick lick on the cheek before trotting back to Adrian’s side as if seeking praise for his self-control.
"Alright, you big buffoon," Adrian chuckled, patting the good doggo.
Between getting acquainted with everyone and chatting, the sun finally dipped for the moon to take charge.
One by one, the women began removing their grass tops and pelt skirts without hesitation, tossing them aside before stepping into the cool waters of the pond.
Now that they had the pond, they didn’t need to risk getting bitten by insects or snakes to freshen up. Adrian also followed suit.
After all, he had done everything a man should and had grown used to the sight over the days. What once made him flustered now felt normal to him.
As soon as he stepped inside the pond, Amika swam over to him and pressed herself by his side, enjoying the night together.
Usually, Sera wouldn’t join them when Adrian was there, but now that Seraphine was in control, she stripped off and jumped in and even helped others wash their backs.
Even Freki didn’t stay back, nor did Huginn, as they both played around the pond’s edge.
Only Hannah remained standing on the bank, making holes in the ground with her feet. She wanted to bathe as well, since everyone was having so much fun, but she kept clutching the hem of her camo shorts. Just the thought of stripping before a man made her cheeks red.
Seraphine noticed Hannah’s conflict and swam to the edge with a grin.
"What are you waiting for?" she called out. "Come on in!"
"Eek! Wait a moment!"
Before Hannah could protest, Seraphine climbed out of the pond, yanked her shorts and bikini off, and pushed her into the water. Hannah resurfaced after a moment, still blushing as her short hairs stuck to her face.
"What were you so worried about?" Seraphine laughed, swimming around her. "Even if you flaunted your whole body in front of Master, he wouldn’t even look without your consent. He’s probably the only gentleman in this entire primitive world!"
Adrian heard it and immediately looked away, pretending he hadn’t heard anything.
After all, just because he had gotten used to the sight did not mean his mini-me wouldn’t react at all.
It was only thanks to the deep water and the constant ripples that formed with everyone moving about that he managed to protect his gentlemanly honor from being butchered.
