[Ding! Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host! Side Mission Complete: Strengthen the Bond of Sisterhood]

[Reward:

Passive Skill: Sister’s Trust (Increases trust gain with female allies by +20%)

Herbal Knowledge Pack (Advanced Poison & Medicine Recipes)]

[Reward: +29,000 Spirit Points (SP)]

[Remaining Spirit Points (SP): 346,950]

"Miss Aelin, I think we should go now," Cyrus said at last. He then looked at Roxanna. "Take care of yourself. We’ll come back as soon as we can."

Calen quickly added, "Wife! If I find anything interesting on the way, I’ll bring it back for you!"

Roxanna let out a small laugh. "That sounds nice, but I’ll be happier if all of you come back safe."

Calen patted his chest with confidence. "Don’t worry, wife! I’ll return in one piece, no injuries at all!"

When they were about to leave the Vixeria Tribe, Roxanna gently squeezed Aelin’s hand a few times without saying anything because somehow, saying goodbye felt harder than staying silent.

Aelin did the same. She kept smiling as she slowly walked backward. On the other side, Roxanna waved her hand until she could no longer see Aelin and her husbands.

"You good?" Luan asked as Roxanna slowly lowered her hand. The smile on her face had already faded.

It took her a few seconds before she could respond. "I’m fin—"

She stopped mid-sentence because she suddenly couldn’t hold back her tears anymore. She let out a soft sob and crouched down, burying her face in her knees.

Beside her, Skiv did the same, but he cried even harder than she did. Their sadness spread to the people around them, and soon, a few others began to wipe their eyes too.

A moment later, Zeir crouched down next to her. He didn’t say anything and he didn’t try to comfort her with words either. He simply rested his hand on her back and gently patted her, letting her cry as much as she needed.

"I’m sorry," Roxanna said between sobs. "I’m just... being emotional."

"Mhm." Zeir nodded, then said calmly, "Take your time."

Roxanna cried for a long time, until her eyelids became slightly swollen. One by one, the people around her returned to the settlement to continue their work, and Skiv also decided to go back to learning how to read.

The only ones who stayed by her side were her husbands. They didn’t try to stop her from crying, because as far as they knew, Roxanna had been holding back her emotions ever since she lived in her old world.

When the sun was almost overhead, Roxanna finally wiped her tears and stood up. "I’m sorry," she said to her husbands. "I lost track of time."

Luan reached out and patted her head a few times. "It wasn’t that long."

Roxanna pouted a little. [Not long? I’ve been crying for almost half a day!]

[What am I even doing? I’ll see Aelin again someday. I should get myself together and focus on building this place properly because I don’t want to disappoint her.]

She then lightly slapped her cheeks—or maybe a bit too hard—to snap herself out of her thoughts.

"Alright!" Roxanna said after taking a deep breath. "Since everyone is back to work, we should join them too!"

Luan smiled faintly at her sudden burst of energy, while Zeir gave a small nod, already turning his gaze toward the settlement.

"That’s better," Azul said with a soft chuckle.

Roxanna rolled her shoulders, as if trying to shake off the last bit of sadness clinging to her chest. Then she clapped her hands lightly.

"Okay! First, we need to check the crops," she said, trying to sound more cheerful. "If the soil is really as good as Aelin said, then we can definitely grow more vegetables!"

The group began walking toward the farming area. Along the way, some tribe members greeted Roxanna with warm smiles, as if nothing had happened earlier. A few of them still had slightly red eyes, but they were already back to their usual routines.

It made Roxanna feel a little embarrassed, but also relieved.

When they reached the fields, Roxanna quickly crouched beside the young sprouts. The small green leaves looked fresh and full of life, gently moving with the wind.

She reached out and lightly touched one of them.

[System, check the condition of the soil.]

A soft glow appeared for a moment.

[Soil Quality: High Fertility]

[Growth Rate: +35% faster than standard]

[Water Retention: Excellent]

"It looks like after we harvested some vegetables a few days ago, the soil has become even better," Roxanna said to her husbands.

Honestly, she didn’t really understand why all of them were following her. As far as she knew, each of them usually had their own tasks.

But... she didn’t mind.

She had just said goodbye to her friend, so the last thing she wanted right now was to be left alone by her husbands too.

"Should we plant more seeds?" Roxanna asked. "We still have a lot of tomato seeds left."

She then stood up and was about to get the tomatoes from the storage, but Luan suddenly stopped her.

"Why don’t you sit down?" he said gently. "I’ll do it."

Roxanna blinked in confusion. "But I’m fine."

"You look a little pale," Azul said softly. "Maybe your body is tired after crying for so long."

He gently wiped the corner of her eyes, where faint tear marks were still there, then guided her to sit on a nearby rock. "Don’t worry," he said. "Just watch us do the work."

Roxanna frowned slightly. Ever since a few days ago—right after Aelin told them that the baby would take more energy from her as it grew—they had become much more protective of her.

Aelin told her to keep a close eye on their wife, especially once the pregnancy entered the second month and beyond.

Her healing ability was still strong, but they couldn’t predict how much nutrition and energy their baby would absorb from her until she was due.

Actually... her health could recover twice as fast, but the condition was... she had to reach orgasm.

[I haven’t told them about my new skill yet,] Roxanna thought as they worked together. [But the condition is kind of weird to explain.]

[Besides, there’s no way they would want to have sex with me every day.]

In fact, her husbands already knew about her new skill. And more than that, they didn’t mind taking turns being with her, as long as their wife and baby would be okay.

But the question was... would Roxanna be willing to tell them directly?

Roxanna bit her lower lip as she watched them work.

Luan was already carrying a basket of seeds, moving with calm ease. Azul was preparing the soil, his hands steady and careful, while Zeir stood nearby, quietly observing everything like usual.

They looked... normal, maybe too normal and it made the thought in her head feel even more awkward.

[How am I even supposed to say it? "Hey, by the way, I need to... do that... every day to recover faster?"] Roxanna internally screamed.

Her face slowly heated up. [No, no, that sounds so weird!]

She quickly shook her head, trying to push the thought away. But then, her body still felt a little weak.

It wasn’t obvious, but she could tell. Aelin’s warning kept echoing in her mind, making her more aware of every small change.

If her condition got worse, it wouldn’t just affect her, but it would affect the baby too.

Roxanna clenched her fists slightly. [This isn’t something I can just ignore.]

"You’re thinking too much," he said calmly.

Roxanna froze. "Huh?"

Zeir walked closer and stopped in front of her. His crimson eyes quietly observed her face. "You’ve been frowning for a while," he added.

"Like this." He copied what Roxanna had been doing earlier, then said, "You usually do that when you’re thinking too much."

Roxanna blinked, tilting her head to the side. "How... do you know that?"

[How could he know I was overthinking? Unless... he can read my mind!]

[Ha! I finally caught—]

"I just guessed," Zeir said. "Calen does the same thing when his little mind is trying to figure something out."

Roxanna couldn’t help but laugh. "He’ll be mad at you if he hears what you just said."

Unexpectedly, Zeir smiled. "But he’s not here."

Roxanna was caught off guard. Who on earth taught Zeir to act like this?

Wait... was it Luan? Yes, it was definitely Luan.

Roxanna let out another small laugh, shaking her head. "That makes sense," she said, glancing toward Luan, who was busy a few steps away.

As if he could feel her gaze, Luan looked up for a moment. Their eyes met, and he gave her a calm, unreadable look before returning to his work.

"So... do you mind telling me what you’re thinking about?" Zeir asked.

Roxanna froze for a moment. Her fingers tightened slightly on her lap as she looked away. "It’s nothing," she said softly.

Zeir didn’t say anything right away, but he suddenly placed his hand on her forehead and gently pulled the skin upward so she wouldn’t wrinkle it.

"Don’t do that too often," he said calmly. "You’ll leave a mark if you keep frowning like that."