"What did he say?" Kael rumbled immediately. He was so close she could feel the heat radiating off his chest against her back. His nostrils flared, aggressively sniffing her hair as if he could vacuum the snake’s scent away. "Why did you freeze? Did he venom you?"

"Hm? No," Nuan said, finally snapping out of the trance Eryx’s words had left her in. "He didn’t say anything." She murmured the lie, reaching back to snatch her other elbow crutch from Kael’s grip and fitting it back onto her arm.

"But I heard him doing something... psss... psss... snake thing," Kael insisted. Before she could react, he reached down and snatched the knife right out of her other hand.

"Ah! Oi! What are you doing?" she barked. She steadied herself on both crutches, glaring up at him with professional indignation. "Give it back! It’s sharp and dangerous if you handle it carelessly! This isn’t a toy, Kael!"

"You didn’t get angry when he played with it," Kael grumbled, his tail giving a stiff, annoyed flick. "I won’t give it back yet. It has scum-snake scent on it. I’ll wash it."

Nuan’s face brightened instantly at the magic word. "Oh, wash? That reminds me—I officially smell like a rotten corpse! And I’m hungry! Kael! I need hygiene and calories, in that order."

"Where is the nearest water? A river?" she asked, already swinging herself forward with the crutches.

"It is a bit long to reach on foot," Kael said, his voice slightly muffled because he was now holding the knife between his teeth like a pirate. "Get on my back."

"Oi! That’s dangerous! And no, I am not getting a piggyback ride from you. Hard pass, thanks!"

"No piggyback ride... only ride," Kael corrected. "I will transform. We will reach faster than your two long bone-things."

With a sudden poof of white, smoke-like mist, the man was gone. In his place stood a silver-grey wolf that was—frankly—terrifyingly huge. He was the size of a grizzly bear, a 300-pound monster of fur and muscle, still comically holding the tiny knife between his massive teeth.

Nuan sighed as the giant beast sat down on all fours, waiting for her to hop on. "I guess this is better than me trying to do a swing-walk on these crutches through the brush," she muttered.

She limped over to the wall of silver fur and leaned against him. She let her elbow crutches materialize back into the System inventory to clear her hands. Grabbing a double handful of his long, thick fur, she hoisted herself onto his back.

’Hold on tight. I am fast.’

Kael’s voice echoed directly in her head via telepathy, vibrating through her skull.

"Yeah? How fast can a giant dog be—ACKKK!!"

The air was slapped out of her lungs as Kael launched himself into the woods like a fuzzy rocket. The G-force pushed her backward, and she buried her face in his neck fur to keep from flying off.

"Ahaa! Slow down! Slow down!" she cried into his mane. "I’m going to hit a tree branch! My hands are getting sweaty! This is a safety violation, Kael!"

Kael, clearly proud of his speed, ignored her frantic cries and put on even more speed, a silver blur streaking through the ancient trees.

After ten minutes of enduring an 80 km/h sprint that felt like being strapped to the hood of a racing car, the world finally stopped spinning. Kael skidded to a halt before a breathtakingly clear river.

Nuan, who had been clutching his fur for dear life with her eyes squeezed shut, finally dared to look up. "Whoa... it’s so beautiful," she murmured, her survivalist heart skipping a beat at the sight of the pristine water. She tapped his sides with her legs. "Okay, big guy, landing gear down. Let me off."

Kael lowered himself onto all fours with practiced grace. As soon as Nuan’s feet hit the grass, he shifted back into his beastman form in a puff of mist. He immediately snagged her shoulder. "Careful, meek savior. The water is dangerous and deep."

"Again with the ’meek’ thing?" she hissed, limping toward the bank. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

"Because you are meek," he stated simply, as if he were reciting a biological fact. He stopped her just before the water’s edge. "Do not go in. If the Whiteclaw Herb gets wet, it will wash away!"

Nuan looked at the flowing current and then at her leaf-wrapped ankle. "Right. I’d rather not get an infection and end up in a third world—one isekai is plenty for one lifetime."

"But I need to clean myself!" she cried, gesturing to her grime-streaked clothes.

Kael gently guided her to a flat rock. "Should I lick you clean?"

Nuan stared at him, exhausted. "I appreciate that you actually asked for consent this time, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline the tongue-bath. Forever."

He looked genuinely confused but shrugged and held up her knife. "I will wash this."

He waded into the river, his tanned, muscular back gleaming like polished bronze in the sunlight. His wolf ears twitched as he dove in.

When he surfaced, it was like a slow-motion shampoo commercial—water cascading off his silver hair, dripping down his toned chest and over his abs.

Gulp. Nuan quickly looked away, her face heating up. ’This is an illegal, live 18+ show. Focus, Nuan! Focus on the hygiene, not the scenery.’

"Hey, Blue Buddy," she whispered. "Got anything to keep my ankle dry?"

The screen flickered to life.

[ Checking inventory, Host... ]

[ Lucky you! We have a few plastic bags. ]

"Ugh, I don’t want to pollute this pristine world!"

[ You can put them back in the inventory when you’re done, Host. ]

"Oh! Right! Okay, give me the bags so I can cover my ankle. Also, my clothes are a biohazard. Do we have spares?"

[ We do! Soap, shampoo, and warm clothes are available. ]

"Oh, my messiah! My digital savior! Hand them over!"

[ Figuring cost... ]

Nuan paused. "Cost?"

[ Total cost for soap, shampoo, warm wear, and plastic bags: Three mating sessions, 5 foreplay sessions, and 2 dirty talks. ]

Nuan stared at the screen with dead, serious eyes. "Are you sure you’re a ’Mate Collecting System’ and not some shady adult film director?"

[ Gasp! Host! How can you accuse me of such things? ]

"Because you’re acting like one! Fine, whatever. What’s the cost for just the plastic bags?"

[ 2 dirty talks. ]

"And what exactly does that entail?"

[ Talk about things you would say to your mate in bed. ]

"Ahh... I see." A mischievous glint appeared in Nuan’s eyes.

"Oi, Kael!" she shouted toward the river. The Alpha, who was currently deep-diving under the guise of "washing a knife," poked his head above the surface, ears twitching.

"Go deeper, Kael! Deeper!" she yelled.

Kael, taking the instruction as high praise, proudly dove back under. Nuan turned back to the screen with a smug grin. "There. ’Go deeper.’ That’s one."

[ That’s not fair, Host! ]

"Everything is fair in love, war, and survival," she smirked.