"Ah, I remember now!" Koda whispered loudly, a bulb finally lighting up in his young brain.

"Yes, tell me, what is it?!" Kael leaned in closer, his ears twisting to catch every syllable.

"It was like this... Patience is the key!" Koda said proudly, nodding his head.

Kael blinked. "What is a ’key’?"

"I don’t know what a key is!" Koda admitted, scratching his ear. "The Witch only said patience is the key, so a key must be something good, I guess."

"Okay, what else?!" Kael pressed, getting impatient.

"And... and men must be strong and cute to get a mate!" Koda said, pressing his claws against his head to force the memories out.

"I see... well, I am strong," Kael muttered. He tried to lift his injured arm to flex his massive bicep, but he immediately grimaced as a sharp cramp and a wave of pain shot through his shoulder.

"The Witch said cute too!!" Koda reminded him in a sharp whisper.

"I can act cute!" Kael hissed back, narrowing his eyes. "Tell me what else!"

"And, and... a female tests persistence and stamina! If they don’t come near you, you have to keep following them on a long walk to their territory! Show your efforts!" Koda added, practically reciting Nuan’s advice to the bear.

"Follow them to their territory... go on a long walk... show stamina... show persistence..." Kael repeated the words, his silver eyes widening as his brain connected all the dots.

A slow, deeply confident smirk spread across his face. "Now I finally get it. I know exactly how to claim Nuan!"

He looked down at his tiny informant. "Keep a close eye on Nuan and tell me if you learn anything else." With that, Kael turned to sneak back toward his cave.

"Yes, Alpha!" Koda whispered back, turning around to sneak back to his own den.

Kael slipped silently back into the darkness of his den, trying not to make a sound. But just as he approached his nest, a tired voice mumbled from beneath the heavy elephant blanket.

"Where were you, Kael?" Nuan asked, her eyes still closed.

Kael flinched, clearing his throat. He quickly forced his voice to sound incredibly sleepy and deep. "To... piss on a tree."

"I see..." Nuan mumbled, shifting under the covers as she instantly fell right back asleep.

(Next Day—Early Morning)

Nuan woke up to the crisp morning air. She stretched her arms outside the cave, immediately fetching her clay pottery and setting the pieces out on a flat stone to catch the very first rays of the morning sun.

She sat down on her usual working rock, pulling her tools together. Alright, time to start sewing some actual undergarments.

She reached into her system inventory and pulled out the beautifully washed, clean deer leather that Miss Selka had gifted her the day before.

Okay, time to sew some proper panties first.

"Blue Buddy, activate the Craftsman’s Hand ability."

[ Activating Craftsman’s Hand ability... ]

[ Cooldown timer locked at 01:59:57 ]

Using the worn-out, elastic pair of panties she had arrived in this world with as a structural reference for her waist size, Nuan began precisely cutting the soft deer leather with her sharp hunting knife.

Once the pieces were laid out, she pulled out one of the flat wooden needles she had carved yesterday. Threading a strong, flexible jungle vine through the small eye of the needle, she began meticulously stitching the leather into a comfortable boxer-brief style.

She had only made a few stitches when a sharp crack suddenly snapped through the quiet morning air.

Nuan froze, staring down at the broken wooden needle in her hand.

"Seriously?!" she hissed, holding up the two broken pieces.

She sighed, reached into her system inventory, pulled out another carved needle, and immediately continued stitching. "Fine. Round two, primitive technology. Don’t betray me this time."

The vine thread snapped halfway through the seam.

Nuan stared at the ruined piece of leather.

"You have got to be kidding me..."

She looked down at the primitive needle, the stubborn vine, and the leather that refused to cooperate.

.

.

.

After about fifteen minutes of focused, rhythmic stitching, she managed to finish the first pair. Sneaking behind the shadows of the dens where no one could see her, she carefully slid them on. Luckily, they fit beautifully! She used a thin vine tied through the waistband as a secure drawstring cord.

"Ohh, it’s perfect!" Nuan murmured proudly, taking a few tiny test steps on her good leg. "Yup, yup. Not bad at all! Definitely comfortable enough."

Time to sew some more, she thought, limping back to her working rock and immediately getting to work on the remaining leather.

An hour flew by. She had successfully made three more pairs and was currently working on her fifth when a large shadow fell over her lap. Kael had silently stepped out of the den, his silver eyes fixed completely on her as she focused entirely on her sewing.

Without a word, the giant Alpha dropped heavily to the ground right at her feet, leaning his massive chest against her shins and softly snuggling his face against her bare legs.

"Hm? What are you doing, Kael?" Nuan asked, not even looking up as her needle flew through the leather. "I’m doing something important right now. If you have nothing better to do, just wait quietly."

She glanced at her system screen.

[ Ability Duration Remaining: 00:43:12 ]

Only forty-three minutes left. Let me rush through two more pairs so I have a full week’s supply of clean panties, Nuan calculated.

But Kael wasn’t going to let it be that easy. Remembering Koda’s words about being cute, he kept nuzzling his heavy cheek against her calves, his thick silver hair rubbing against her skin until Nuan started twitching from the sheer ticklishness of it.

"Tsk, Kael, stop it!" Nuan huffed, her hands shaking slightly over the vine. "You’re going to mess up my stitches."

She didn’t give him a single glance, her eyes locked entirely on her handiwork.

But Kael, fully dedicated to his new strategy, decided to double down on the cuteness. He whined softly, circling his heavy head around her ankles and lightly bumping his nose against her shins.

Nuan’s patience finally snapped. Using her feet, she firmly but respectfully shoved his heavy head away from her legs. "Stop acting like a stray cat begging for food!"

The second those words left her mouth, Kael’s massive Alpha pride took a brutal hit. His ears flattened, and his eyes flashed with indignant anger as he barked out, "I am not acting like a cat! I am not begging! I am the Alpha! And I am being cute! Cats are not cute! The Alpha is cute!"

Nuan finally stopped her needle, blinking down at him in utter disbelief. She stared at his completely crushed, furious face.

"Being... cute?" she repeated, her eyebrow twitching.

She let out a sharp hiss, shaking her head.

"If anything, just be patient until I’m completely done with my work!" She turned her attention right back to her sewing.

Kael’s ears instantly perked up, standing straight up on his head the moment the word patient hit him.

Be patient... Patience is the key! his mind roared, instantly matching her words to Koda’s top-secret intel.

A look of sudden realization washed over his face. He instantly stopped squirming, sat down properly right beside her legs, and crossed his arms—staring intently at her hands, waiting with absolute, disciplined patience for her to finish her work.