That again!
That annoying Ding! Ding! sound echoed in Roxanna's head, and before she could even react, a glowing hologram panel popped up right in front of her eyes.
[Reminder: You need to mate with one of your husbands to gain +5 days of life.]
[Time-limit: 00:45:00]
Mate. Mate. Mate.
Roxanna stared at the panel, horrified. [My husbands literally hate me right now, how am I supposed to have sex with any of them?!]
Her words instantly sent all of her beast husbands into chaos. Even Azul, who had looked half-dead just minutes ago, shot awake with his eyes wide open.
Cyrus, who had just returned with water in a leaf, dropped it so fast it slapped against the ground with a loud splat. He panicked and rushed back out to get more.
Roxanna blinked. All of her husbands looked like they had forgotten how to breathe. Their faces were pale, their bodies stiff, and their eyes filled with pure disbelief.
"Are you all sick?" Roxanna asked quickly, panic rising. "Do you need healing too? I can share my blood!"
After everything the evil Roxanna had done to them, the least she could do now was treat them gently… pamper them even… at least until their hatred softened a little.
Honestly, after taking a few deep breaths and trying to understand the situation better, Roxanna finally stopped thinking about dying to escape all this.
She had an incredible healing ability, so it seemed like she could still survive in this hellish place.
[Don't worry, Host! Once your husbands' affection reaches 100%, they will protect you like you're the most precious diamond in the world!]
[And if you complete your side quests, you'll earn points you can use to buy survival kits in the system shop!]
[For starters, how about a detailed tutorial book on how to mate with your husbands? The system can also provide a video tutorial if you—]
Roxanna cut it off in her mind. [No, no need! I know exactly how to mate! I even had a husband before!]
A husband?!
All of them looked even more shocked, but then questioned themselves, why were they shocked? It wasn't like they had married this woman out of love.
"Here, the water!"
Cyrus finally came back, carrying a giant leaf filled with water. But the moment he stepped into the cave, the sky outside darkened and rain suddenly poured down like someone had dumped a bucket over the world.
"I don't think he needs that water anymore," Calen said. He grabbed Azul and, without hesitation, tossed him outside into the rain. "Don't come back until you stop smelling like a swamp!"
Roxanna gasped, her heart jumping. Why were they so harsh?! He had just healed from a life-threatening injury!
"Why did you throw him into the rain?!" she snapped at Calen. "He could get sick again!"
Calen froze, thinking that the evil Roxanna had returned. But after a moment's thought, he realized that was impossible; she looked angry because she was worried about Azul.
"He's a fish," Zeir answered dryly before Calen could speak. "He won't get sick just from rain."
Roxanna turned to look outside and saw Azul perched on a big rock, letting the rain wash away the mud. His blue hair already dripped with water, and he looked like he was enjoying the cool droplets.
She walked to the cave's entrance and lifted her hand, letting the raindrops fall onto her palm.
It felt soft… cold… and real.
It had been so long since she had seen rain or smelled that earthy scent when water touched the ground.
For two long years in the snowstorm apocalypse, all she ever saw were endless fields of white, and if she touched snow with her bare hands, she would begin freezing in seconds.
She missed the rain more than she realized.
"What are you doing?" Zeir suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back inside. "You'll get wet."
[The system actually wants you to get wet, but only in one very special place, Host.]
Roxanna nearly choked. [Oh, shut up!]
Zeir looked confused again because sometimes it sounded like Roxanna was having a whole conversation with someone inside her own head, and he had no idea what to make of it.
Meanwhile, the other beast husbands had already built a small campfire, the warm light flickering across their faces as they settled around it.
Fire!
Roxanna's eyes lit up the moment she saw the warm, flickering flame. She rushed toward it and asked eagerly, "Can I sit in front of the fire for a whole day?! You won't kick me away, right? Right?!"
The beast husbands stared at her, clearly confused.
Calen tilted his head. "Why would we kick you away from the fire?"
"It's just a campfire," Luan added, raising an eyebrow. "You can sit here as long as you want."
Roxanna's shoulders relaxed in relief, and her whole face brightened.
She hurried closer to the fire, crouching in front of it like a puppy seeing food for the first time. The heat brushed against her cold skin, slowly thawing the chill.
"Ahhh… warm…" she whispered, practically melting.
Back in the apocalypse, her ex-husband only allowed her to sit near the fireplace for about three hours a day.
After that, she was forced to wrap herself in thick blankets and anything else she could find just to keep from freezing.
It was ridiculous, wasn't it? She was the one who had let him stay in her shelter, yet somehow he and her ex–best friend had still betrayed her.
Every door and system in the shelter needed her fingerprint to open, so they had drugged her with sleeping pills, knocked her out, and then taken her fingers, making it impossible for her to enter her own shelter without their permission ever again.
Because of that, she had been living in hell for two years in what was supposed to be her sweet home.
The warmth of the fire felt so cozy that Roxanna couldn't help but let out a tiny giggle. None of her husbands complained, and they just watched her quietly.
A moment later, a loud sound suddenly came from her stomach.
Gurrrr~
Her stomach growled so loudly it echoed through the whole cave. Roxanna froze, too embarrassed to move or even lift her head to look at them.
[So embarrassing! Why did my stomach have to be so loud?] she scolded herself. [My husband used to starve me all the time, so why is my stomach suddenly acting up now?!]
'Her husband did what?!'
All of her beast husbands straightened their backs in shock, and the ones with animal ears had them standing straight up.
In that moment, they finally knew Roxanna also had an evil husband in her past, just like how they once had an evil wife.
As fellow survivors of a terrible spouse, there was no way they would let her go hungry!
Calen jumped to his feet first. "Are you really that hungry? I can catch a boar for you right now!"
Luan slowly stood up beside him. "Hold on, I'll go get you some fruits." Then he glanced at Zeir and Cyrus. "You two stay here."
"What?" Roxanna blinked in surprise. "But it's raining outs—"
Her eyes widened as she saw them sprint out of the cave. "IT'S RAINING OUTSIDE!"