Mira pondered over her father's words, she rubbed her forehead slowly. Not knowing what to even do with this information.
She didn't have much memory or impression of that man.
Actually—
Wait.
Her brows twitched.
Suddenly, a memory flashed in her mind.
Hold on.
She did have a memory of him.
And not just any memory.
A bad one.
A very, very stupidly embarrassing one.
"Oh God…" she whispered as her stomach did a flip. "This can't be real."
The original Mira had met Beast King Kade once… and that one meeting alone was enough to ruin ten lifetimes.
It happened during a Gathering, a formal ceremony where every tribe came forward to offer gifts to one of the three beast kings —Kade. Her family had attended, standing among the middle-lower ranked tribes. The whole hall had been filled with powerful beasts shifting easily between their forms.
Everyone looked elegant.
Everyone looked dignified.
And then there was the original Mira— nervous, shaky-legged, with her weak scent that barely existed.
She had been standing beside her parents, clutching the tray of gifts with both hands, trying so hard not to draw attention.
But her stomach…
Ah.
Her traitor stomach.
The original Mira had eaten something before leaving home, something she shouldn't have eaten at all.
And right there, in the middle of the long ceremonial pathway, surrounded by noble beastmen watching, her stomach twisted in agony.
Her tray rattled.
Her legs trembled.
She tried to hold it in.
But Kade — the Dragon Beast King — had turned to look at her at that exact moment, green eyes sharp cold and teasing.
"Step forward," he had ordered.
The original Mira took one step.
One.
And that was when she lost the battle.
A soft splrrrrt escaped, barely audible but enough for the closest people to hear.
The smell followed.
Her father's eyes widened.
Her mother almost fainted.
And Mira…
She had simply frozen there, mortified, wishing lightning would strike her dead on the spot.
Beast King Kade stared at her with a blank face for three seconds.
Then he arched a brow and said in the most casual, mildly amused tone:
"Should I help you clean that up?"
The entire hall had gone silent.
She was sure they had tried their best to keep a straight face.
Her cheeks had burned so hot she could have melted an ice cube.
She had dropped the tray and run out of the gathering with her mother chasing after her, hissing curses under her breath.
That shameful scene had followed her for years.
And now—
Mira buried her face in her palms.
"Fuck fuck fuck… oh my God…"
She wanted to drown herself. She wanted to disappear. She wanted to crawl under a rock and hibernate till next century.
So she was going to face him?
With his memory of her being… that?
No matter how thick-skinned she was, this one was too much.
Stella's tiny voice chirped inside her head,
[Host, you could just not go, right?]
Mira paused.
Yes… she could just not go.
…Could she?
…Maybe?
…Hopefully?
Well. She had to find out.
She slowly lifted her head and turned toward her parents, who were already deep in a loud discussion.
She cleared her throat.
"Dad, Mom," she began, choosing her words carefully. "We all know my last encounter with Beast King Kade didn't exactly… go well—"
Her mother cut her off immediately.
"And that's why your father is telling you ahead of time. Prepare yourself. Behave well. Don't disgrace this family."
Mira blinked.
Herod nodded firmly beside his wife, agreeing with every word.
Mira frowned.
That was not the direction she was going with this conversation at all.
"I was suggesting…" she said slowly. "Me not going? Honestly it would be better for all of us—"
Her father didn't even let her finish.
"Don't you dare! We go as a family because we were invited as one. And who are we to disobey any of the Beast Kings?"
Before Mira could reply, her mother added sharply, "You should know we wouldn't bother bringing you if it weren't for that you're already much of an embarrassment."
Mira stared at her mother, her jaw tightening.
What a bitch.
Well. Fine.
If she couldn't ditch the event, then she had one mission:
Fix the humiliating image Kade had of her.
Not because she cared about him.
But because she cared about her dignity.
She spun around and headed to her small room, her mind racing. She flopped onto her not-so-comfortable bed and stared at the wooden ceiling.
First thing first:
She needed a makeover.
Hair, skin, scent — anything that could help her look less like "the girl who shit herself in front of Kade."
But she wasn't sure this world even had proper skincare.
And that alone stressed her.
She groaned loudly.
But then—
Stella's cheerful voice chimed in,
[Host! This is where I can help! You can retrieve items from your original world — if you've touched them before AND you remember the correct name.]
Mira shot up, smiling brightly.
"Now that's what I'm talking about! I remember most of my skincare names, so let's go ahead—"
She waited, expecting Stella to continue.
But Stella suddenly paused.
[…Well Host, you didn't let me finish.]
Mira's smile froze.
[I meant to add: correct name and system points.]
Mira's eye twitched.
Her smile dropped immediately.
"System points?"
[Yes, Host! Like I explained earlier in your father's chamber. You would have earned 25 points if you completed the task I gave you — but you didn't. So you currently have zero.]
Mira let out a long sigh.
"So I need to complete tasks to earn system points before I can do anything?"
Stella answered cheerfully, too cheerfully.
[Correct, Host! And not only that, system points can help you in other ways. Completing tasks can earn you special rewards too!]
Mira groaned.
Tasks?
She hated the sound already.
But clearly she had no choice.
"I thought you were supposed to be helpful, Stella. Why are you giving me tasks? Fine, whatever. Just assign a task that will give me enough points to get what I need for my makeover."