Exiled Villainess: They Threw Me Out, Now Every Beastman Wants Me novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Morning Notifications

Tera’s body felt heavy and limp when she woke up.

It was the kind of deep relaxation that came after hours of tension, finally releasing. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept so deeply—certainly not since arriving in this world, and maybe not for months before that either.

A large furry bed was rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm that had probably been rocking her gently all night.

Tera immediately remembered what had happened and where she was.

She opened her eyes.

At some point during the night, he had curled tighter around her, and she was now essentially cocooned inside a living blanket of muscle and fur. One of his massive paws rested near her hip, and his head was tucked beside hers, his breath warm against her ear.

’Oh,’ she thought. ’This is nice.’

Tera didn’t move. She was too comfortable. And also, if she was being honest, a little embarrassed.

She had cried in front of him like a child who lost her favourite toy, except the toy was her entire life, and the child was a grown woman who had been pretending she was fine for days.

A flush of heat crept up her neck that had nothing to do with Xavi’s body temperature.

She wanted to shrink into nothing.

The storm had stopped. She couldn’t hear rain anymore, just the occasional drip of water somewhere in the distance and the soft whisper of wind through the gaps in the shelter. It was still cloudy.

The light filtering through the entrance was grey and muted, which meant the flooding had already passed.

Did that mean it had worked?

[Hello, Host!]

Tera flinched so hard she nearly headbutted Xavi’s chin.

’Don’t wake him up!’ Tera chastised herself.

[This system is pleased to see Host is awake!]

[Host’s vital signs have stabilized. Body temperature is now within acceptable range]

[This system was... concerned]

[(ᵕ—ᴗ—)]

’You? Concerned? I thought I was just a task completion machine to you.’

[Host is more than a task completion machine]

[Host is... an acceptable companion]

[(◡‿◡✿)]

The system’s tone was uncharacteristically gentle, and that almost made it worse. Tera narrowed her eyes at it in suspicion. When even the floating rectangle that frequently insulted her was being careful with her, she must have really looked pitiful last night.

[How is Host this morning?]

’I am fine.’

[GOOD!]

Before Tera could say or do anything else, the screen flickered and suddenly a cascade of notifications began flooding her vision, one after another.

Tera stared at the updates with her mouth slightly open.

’Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Go back. Ermin’s favorability jumped twice? While I was asleep?’

[Correct]

’Because he felt my emotions through the mate bond?’

She had nearly forgotten this was a thing.

[Correct]

[The imprint connection allows for emotional resonance when feelings are particularly intense]

’He probably just felt sorry for me. Pity isn’t the same as—’

’Forty-five nipples? How did it jump that high?! I had only remembered—’

’This is odd...’

’Wait, did you actually try to bribe me with that? So it wasn’t even a bonus.’

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