Why can't humans do it too?

Why did it suddenly become as if he knowingly broke the law in just a few words?

"...Instead of educating me, why don't you educate Riku first? Judging from the looks of it, Riku probably doesn't have a wife right now? And you, Ko'er, don't just talk about others, what about yourself?" Sul immediately pulled Riku to take the blame for himself, and then questioned Ko'er.

Since he came in, he has been certain of one fact: both Riku and Cole are still single, especially Cole, the head steward. He wonders how she usually persuades others.

"I have no intention of getting married until I see both of you settled down!" Ke'er said, sounding as if she'd already prepared her answer, even appearing somewhat smug. "So, for my future's sake, you two better hurry up!"

“…Don’t scare the guests, Cole,” Cole’s topic was making Riku a little uncomfortable, and he wanted to make the atmosphere more serious.

"It's alright? As for Suer's... umm~ family? I'm quite interested," Xin Ke said lightly, as if soothing a restless child beside her, pressing Jibril's raised hand back down.

"Ah!" came a very girlish scream from Ke'er, who excitedly clasped her hands together and leaned back slightly. "I'm really interested too!! Why don't we all get to know each other better? It's not too cold here, how about we take off our hoods?"

"Hey!! Xin Ke!" Su Er immediately put down his cup to remind him. He tensed up instantly, knowing that his reaction would arouse Li Ku's suspicion. Fortunately, it was something he was going to confront him about anyway—but Ke'er couldn't know!

If Jibril's wings weren't visible, she wouldn't have any particularly striking features. However, as soon as Xinke removed her hood, her incredibly long and thin ears would be clearly visible, making it impossible for her to hide her identity as a forest elf.

“Indeed, wearing a hat all the time isn’t very polite,” Xin Ke agreed with Ke’er without hesitation. She had already grabbed the edge of her hood with both hands and pulled it back forcefully—!!

Suer felt her heart pounding in her chest. Was this woman going to play with a bomb?

However, surprisingly, it did not elicit any alarming reaction.

"...So~~ beautiful!!!" After a moment of stunned silence, Ke'er excitedly grabbed Xin Ke's hand and said, "I've been imagining it in my head since I could only see her chin, but it's even more beautiful than I imagined!!"

"Huh? Really?"

"Of course it's true! Your name is Xin Ke, right? Miss Xin Ke is the most beautiful person I've ever seen!!"

"Hmm~, after all, I'm a genius~"

"Huh? A genius? Haha, is that how it is?"

Yes, that's right~

Without any unusual movement, Suer just stared blankly at the nonsensical conversation. Ke'er didn't notice anything, because apart from her exceptionally high looks, Xin Ke's two long ears had now become human-like ears, small and close to her face.

He had thought this woman was going to flip the table and enjoy the surprised expressions on Riku and Ke'er's faces when they saw the forest elves, and derive pleasure from it. Fortunately, it seemed she still knew what was important—to be honest, Suer really wanted to thank Xin Ke properly.

"Really, no wonder you haven't come back, Su'er. So that's the reason!"

Huh? What's going on? Why did I suddenly hear someone condemning me?

When Sull squinted and looked over, he only saw Koel glaring at him angrily, while Jibril was fanning the flames from the side.

"Yeah, those two are so annoying!" Jibril muttered to herself as she took off the hood from her head.

Incidentally, Jibril's halo had already disappeared before she even entered the cave.

Boom! ! !

In an instant, she slammed herself onto the table. Ke'er's eyes shone brightly, and her heavy breathing not only didn't lessen, but actually became louder.

"What are you doing?!" To be honest, this sudden reaction startled Jibril a little. Sue had already seen the pink-haired winged creature's right hand making a fist in the air.

"Oh ho ho ho~, this child is so cute!" She pressed her chin hard against the table. To be honest, if there hadn't been a table blocking her way, judging from her posture, she probably would have already pounced on Jibril and rubbed against her.

...Sul suspected that it would be a massacre.

He had already seen Jibril's disdainful look, but unfortunately, such a look did not hurt Cole at all when it was placed on her cute little girl face; on the contrary, it made him even more excited.

This situation suddenly gave Jibril a sense of déjà vu, and a question arose in her mind—does everyone who calls themselves an older sister like this?

"Ah! That's right!" Suddenly remembering something, Ke'er sat up abruptly, her terrifying eyes gleaming as she stared at Suer and asked, "So, what is your relationship with these two beautiful children, Suer...?"

“They were people from other destroyed settlements that I met by chance while I was wandering outside,” Sue answered without hesitation.

"Huh? That's not what I was asking, is it?" Ke'er clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.

"Ah~, Ke'er, what you really wanted to ask about is that, right?" Suddenly realizing something, Xin Ke smiled and pulled Jibril, who was sitting next to her, to her side, even patting the hair of the Skywing girl in a very friendly manner with her right hand.

"We're actually mother and daughter~~~"

Chapter 174 Confession

thump.

thump.

thump.

He banged his forehead against the table in front of him again and again. After Xin Ke spoke, Su Er looked ashen-faced.

mother and daughter.

Return the mother and daughter.

Mother and daughter? What a load of rubbish! They don't even have the same hair color. How is that hereditary?

Relying on mutation?

Such a big change, and all you're doing is changing your hair?

Oh, Riku and the others don't know about genetics...

Given your relationship with Jibril, wouldn't adding another generation to your life like this cause a major war?

With one last slam of his forehead against the table, Sulmu slumped onto the cold surface, letting it clear his mind. From this position, he could see Xin Ke and Jibril sitting together with smiles on the other side. He wondered what the two of them had been talking about in private, but what was most amazing was that they didn't seem to be arguing at all.

"Here, have some more water," Riku said calmly, pushing the water glass in front of Suer to block his view.

This man had already discerned a great deal from Suer's reaction alone.

Meanwhile, Ke'er was still speechless, muttering "Aba aba" for a long time without uttering a single word, only able to wave her arms wildly in the air.

"Hey hey hey eh hey hey? Mother, mother and daughter?" Ke'er finally managed to squeeze out a few words through her teeth, her fingers trembling as she looked back and forth between Suer, Xinke, and Jibril.

"Really?! Is it that fast?!"

Ke'er had begun to doubt the limits of human growth, constantly counting on her fingers as if she were calculating something.

Or perhaps...?

"Ah~, this one... cough cough, it really is mother and daughter~", Jibril said with a smile, putting her arm around Xin Ke's arm and leaning close to it.

Suer saw that Xinke's expression stiffened visibly; Jibril was exerting force!

"Ah, Jibril is indeed a very well-behaved child, isn't she? Want me to pat her head? She's so cute~" Xin Ke said through gritted teeth and a smile, while vigorously rubbing Jibril's hair with her other hand, and even turned to invite Ke'er.

"Ah, hahaha, let's... let's not use it for now?" A sense of foreboding flashed through Ke'er's mind, and she quietly swallowed and refused with a dry laugh.

What's going on with this mother and daughter? It all seems so confusing...

"Don't listen to her nonsense. She usually loves to joke around and see how people don't react," Su Er kept rubbing his temples. So why did these two have to come with him? Wouldn't it have been better to just wait outside?

If you want to fight, you can find a place to fight anytime. It's much more refreshing than acting here.

"Speaking of which, do you remember when we discovered this safe spot?" Riku suddenly turned to ask Suer, observing the strange atmosphere over there.

"Of course I remember. The temperature inside the cave should have been cold and gloomy. We were wondering why it felt so warm when we came in," Suer recalled.

“Yes, your guess was correct,” Riku nodded in agreement. “There are indeed hot springs here. They were accidentally dug out when the people were expanding the cave after they moved here. Would you like to take a look?”

The last question was directed at Xin Ke and Jibril.

"Oh! Right, hot springs have become a unique feature of our settlement. Before, we had to boil water separately to take a bath, but now we don't have to waste any water at all!" Ke'er said with a hint of pride. "Girls would probably love hot springs. Shall I take you to see one?"

"Hmm~~~ Hmph~~~", she drawled, tilting her head to look at Suer, then at Riku, "Alright then~, I'll wait for your news, Suer~"

"Okay, be careful."

"Huh? What's there to be careful about in the settlement? Sul, really, have you been living in fear for too long?" Without saying a word, Ko'er stood up excitedly. She wanted to pick Jibril up from the chair, but she was easily dodged in the next second.

"Anyway, you two haven't seen each other for so long, so chat for a bit! We'll be back in a bit!" Cole said, waving her hand as she poked half her body out from behind the wooden door. "Oh, right, Xin Ke and Jibril, right? I'll just call you guys directly. Let me show you around first."

“Although Suer has never been in the settlement, we’ve always kept his room available. Shall we go take a look? Or is there anything we need…”

"Oh? Let's go take a look over there first..."

The wooden door wasn't very soundproof, and Suer and Riku could hear the sounds outside gradually fading away.

Both Sull and Riku let out a long sigh of relief.

He wasn't too worried that the two of them would do anything outrageous... well, probably. Sull still trusted that they knew what was important. If he stayed here, it wouldn't be convenient for him to talk to Riku about some private things.

"They're not human, are they?" After a long while, Riku suddenly whispered, staring silently at the closed wooden door.

It wasn't a guess or a tentative tone, but a direct affirmation.

“Yes, the blonde one is a Forest Elf, and the pink-haired one is a Skywing,” knowing that Riku must have noticed something amiss, Sull answered straightforwardly, “So? Were you scared?”

As he spoke, he suddenly chuckled softly. Sull turned his head to carefully observe Riku's expression—no expression, or rather, unusually calm.

“You still have that same twisted sense of humor… but it’s much better than before.” Riku could tell at a glance what Sull was expecting, and he couldn’t help but smile wryly. “You used to make jokes too, but they weren’t nearly as lighthearted as they are now. Looks like you’ve been through a lot these past two years.”

"Well, that's about right," he sighed deeply. Meeting again after two years, he felt like he had so much to say that he didn't even know where to begin.

"I'm already very satisfied to see everyone in the settlement like this," Suer said slowly, propping his head up with a hint of melancholy and tapping the table with his fingers. "That kind of mental state can't be forced. It's not the numbness we had before. That vibrant energy... You and Ke'er have really had a tough two years."

"Everyone worked very hard," Liku said without denying it, simply refilling Suer's cup with hot water. "Tell me about your business. Those food and warm clothes must have been your doing?"

Chapter 175 Riku's Dilemma

“Well, to be precise, it should be thanks to that forest elf,” Suer nodded and said. “I knew you could guess that.”

“After all, how could such a windfall happen one after another?” Riku chuckled self-deprecatingly. “And it just so happened that the first batch of supplies we found were almost used up when we discovered the second batch of things that other races hadn’t had time to take with them when they evacuated. There are definitely not that many coincidences in this world.”

"Ah, is that guy so abrupt in his actions?" Su Er couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. The image of the seemingly trusted subordinate of Xin Ke appearing in front of him and speaking haltingly flashed through his mind.

“Actually, it’s already done very well. They even went so far as to disguise the traces of battle between different races, and no one else in the settlement noticed anything,” Riku continued with a smile, seeing Sul’s embarrassed look. “It’s just that people like you and me don’t really need too many reasons.”

“Yes…”, Suer sighed deeply.

Two years have allowed Liku to mature more, not only in appearance but also in his composed demeanor.

To be honest, Sull was a little bored that he didn't see the man's eyes widen in shock at his words, but then he thought about it and felt relieved—if he could express his emotions so uncontrollably, he wouldn't be Riku.

"No more constant risky expeditions to find food. We just need to periodically gather the latest intelligence on the war. Although we will still inevitably encounter danger, Su'er, do you know what?" Riku smiled contentedly as he spoke of this. "In the past two years, not a single person has sacrificed their life. I think that's probably why everyone is as vibrant as you described."

The fact that people don't have to worry about survival or live in a fearful environment is the root of the thriving scene in the settlement today.

“So, tell me a little about your story over the past two years,” Riku said with a smile, propping his cheek up with one hand. “It will definitely be more exciting than I imagined.”

"Ah, really?" Suer couldn't help but chuckle. "Then you'd better remember this well and pass my story down to future generations. Let me think... where should I begin?"