Once I was sure that I had secured her over my shoulders, I turned my head to look at Grandma Vivian. "Let's head back to the farm; we are already behind time than we initially planned," I said.
She nodded her head seriously in agreement. "Alright, let's get going then," she said, fully aware of the consequences we might face if we didn't reach the farm promptly. As we walked forward, she couldn't help but shoot several thick glares at Grandma Derry, who was still hanging from over my shoulders.
Although Grandma Derry had been screaming and yelling for me to put her down, I ignored her words. Instead, I tightened my arm around her waist as we passed through the farm gates, ignoring the curious gazes the other villagers, especially the warriors, were giving us.
Once we were deep enough into the farm, surrounded by thick vegetation, I gently placed Grandma Derry back on the ground, releasing my grip on her. However, I didn't want to take any chances of her running off again, so I quickly pulled her close to me, wrapped my arms securely around her waist, and kissed her.
The kiss was intense, lasting several seconds, and when it finally broke, we both looked at each other in a daze.
"It's not the same," Grandma Derry said, wiping her lips with her right arm.
I responded, "Did you really think that it would be the same?" pressing my hand against her soft curvy buttocks and burying a small piece of her tulga between her butt crack before I retracted my fingers.
"You are different. As such, the taste will never be the same," I added, gesturing for them to follow me back to the hut where I was resting first, just in case, to check if anything had happened there before we returned to the hut where Mom and the rest were staying.
Meanwhile, on the way, I witnessed the triumphant smirk that Grandma Vivian kept giving Grandma Derry every few minutes. Even without knowing the context, it was clear they were each comparing their moments with me, and it seemed that Grandma Vivian was winning, considering hers could practically count as a second proposal.
With a wild smile, I noticed how Grandma Derry's gaze shifted intently forward the moment I caught her staring at me. I made a mental note to address her jealousy before it turned into something more troublesome.
Nevetherless, I immediately shifted my focus to the path leading to the hut where I was staying. We had arrived at the huge cluster of huts, which served as homes for some of the villagers tending to the farm.
As the hut came into view, I felt a sense of relief for having taken the time to familiarize myself with its location and surroundings. It made it much easier for me to recognize it among the others.
Pushing the door open, I prepared myself to see if anyone was inside, perhaps waiting for my return before I headed to the hut where my partners were staying. I wanted to check on their health after the eventful day we had. However, my hand froze in mid-air as I saw the scene before me.
There, comfortably sitting and feasting on some Kalna fruits, were the very people I had expected to find waiting for me.
The creaking sound of the wooden door drew their attention, and all eyes turned towards us. Aunt Greta was the first to speak, a sly smile stretching across her lips as she took a bite of her Kalna fruit before setting the rest aside.
"Orion, you're finally back," she remarked.
My mother, wearing a serious expression, stood up from the floor and fixed her sharp gaze on me.
"Now that you're here," she said with a deep frown, "we can finally start the meeting with everyone."
…........
Orion couldn't help but feel a tinge of embarrassment as he settled into the middle of the hut. All around him, Celeste, Aunt Greta, Grandma Ingrid, Ayla, Fiona, Grandma Celia, Grandma Meldra, Fiona-the-well woman, Reena, Gina, Dariya, Grandma Derry, Grandma Vivian, and even Sura, surprisingly present, formed a circle, around him. Celeste continued to speak, her tone a combination of concern and incredulity.
"So you're telling us," she said, her eyes searching his for the truth, "that you risked your health and left your hut, despite being seriously injured, just because you had made a promise to this Ursa, your fifth partner, to have kushi with her this very morning, and you didn't want to break that promise?"
"Yes," Orion nodded seriously at his mother and replied, "I had already broken a promise once, and no matter how seemingly insignificant it may be, I don't want to make the mistake of breaking it again."
He then shifted his gaze towards Fiona-the-well woman, who seemed to understand his sentiment better than anyone else in the room.
'Always making it hard for me to judge you, huh!' Fiona-the-well woman thought to herself as she immediately averted her gaze from Orion's, feeling her body weaken and her heart race several times faster than usual.
Due to Orion's seated position, some of the women in the room had noticed the silent exchange and had an inkling of what Orion meant, even though they couldn't fully confirm it.
Meanwhile, Greta immediately grasped why Orion hadn't made the breast milk promise with her. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep it, so he chose not to make the promise at all, rather than risk breaking it later.
'This boy,' Greta thought, releasing a deep sigh. There was no need for her to be anxious anymore about the fact that Orion had declined to make such a promise to her.
Beside her, Celeste could feel her thoughts grinding against each other, trying to come up with the perfect response to his reply. She had prepared a response for this situation, as Overseer Dariya had already informed them beforehand.
However, how could she reprimand him after he had given such a response, in front of all his partners who might have received or would receive such promises from him? She didn't want to appear as the bad person among her new extended family.
In short, reprimanding her son wasn't an issue, but not at the expense of stirring problems within the family.
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