Chapter 260: The Little Birdie is Unwell (1)

Roxanna waited at the top of the cliff for almost half an hour. Her eyes stayed fixed on Luan as he carefully climbed down. He was a skilled climber, but the cliff was steep and a little slippery, so every step had to be slow and careful.

"I got the mushrooms!" Luan called out from below.

Roxanna quickly shouted back, "Good! Now come back up!"

"Give me a minute!" he replied. "I’ll grab a few more!"

She frowned. Honestly, she didn’t understand why he wanted more. She had only asked for one mushroom, and the system hadn’t said anything about needing extra.

Getting even one was already hard because the mushrooms grew deep in the cracks between sharp rocks, forcing Luan to carefully slide his hand into narrow gaps just to reach them.

"No, you don’t have to take too many mushrooms!" Roxanna said. "Just climb back up now!"

But Luan didn’t listen to her. He kept picking more, placing them one by one into the animal-skin pouch hanging at his waist. Time passed, and Roxanna’s worry only grew even more.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Luan started climbing back up.

The moment he got close to the edge, Roxanna quickly reached out and pulled him the rest of the way up.

"Luan! Why didn’t you listen to me?!" she scolded, lightly hitting his arm. "I told you to take just one mushroom! Not..." She stopped and glanced at the pouch on his waist. It looked quite full, and even though the mushrooms were transparent, she could still see them faintly. "Not this many!"

Instead of looking guilty, Luan just laughed softly. "It’s not that I didn’t want to listen," he said. "I just thought we could use them for our meal later."

Roxanna blinked in surprise. "Our meal? We can eat these?"

[I thought they were only used for medicine.]

Luan shook his head. "No, you can eat them too. I’ve tried them before, and they taste really good. Maybe they’ll be even better if we roast them."

In her old world, some types of mushrooms could also be eaten, so maybe the taste of these transparent mushrooms wouldn’t be much different.

"That’s why I picked more," Luan added with a small smile. "So you can eat as much as you want without worrying about others not getting any."

At that moment, Roxanna fell silent. She looked at the pouch, then at Luan. [Even in a situation like this, he’s still thinking about me.]

"Of course I am," Luan said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He reached out and gently patted her head. "You’re my wife, so you’ll always be the first person I think about."

Roxanna pressed her lips together, trying to hide her feelings. [Why is he getting sweeter and sweeter these days? I swear he used to feel so cold.]

"I wasn’t cold," Luan said calmly. "I was just being careful. But now that I know you better, I don’t need to be like that anymore."

Roxanna puffed her cheeks and shouted, "You can’t keep reading my mind like that!"

Luan only shrugged, looking completely relaxed. "But I can’t stop it." He leaned forward and suddenly kissed her temple. "Your mind is too interesting."

Roxanna froze for a second. Her breath caught, and her fingers curled slightly at her sides as warmth rushed to her face.

"W-What do you mean by that?!" she stammered, quickly stepping back, one hand flying up to cover the spot he had just kissed.

Roxanna still didn’t understand what he meant, but she knew they couldn’t waste too much time here while Cyrus was struggling to keep his sanity.

"J-Just don’t make it obvious that you can read my mind!" she said.

After all, it felt strange every time she remembered that her husbands could peek into her thoughts.

Luan let out a soft laugh. "I’ll try," he said, though the small smile on his face made it clear that it wouldn’t be easy.

Roxanna narrowed her eyes at him. "I’m serious."

"I know," he replied, raising both hands as if surrendering. "But it’s not like I can turn it off whenever I want."

She huffed, then turned away from him. "Then at least pretend you didn’t hear anything."

Luan nodded. "Alright. I’ll pretend."

She was sure he was just teasing her, but the sun was already climbing higher in the sky, and she didn’t want to waste any more time.

"We should head back to the settlement now," Roxanna said.

Luan nodded. "Yeah, we should. The demon beasts will probably start coming out soon... it’s almost time for them to look for food."

Without wasting any more time, the two of them left the forest. Along the way, they picked many water pouch plants, carrying them carefully so the liquid inside wouldn’t spill.

The moment they reached the settlement, Calen was already waiting in front of the gate. His face looked tense and uneasy, as if something bad had just happened.

"Wife! Wife! Hurry!" Calen rushed toward them. He quickly took the plants from Roxanna’s hands before speaking again in a panic. "Cyrus lost control yesterday! He even tried to sneak out of the settlement a few times! If you can make something to calm him down, then please, do it quickly!"

Roxanna’s heart tightened in fear. She looked at Calen with worry and her mind already racing. But before she could say anything, the system suddenly spoke.

[Ding! Ding!]

[Side Mission Activated: Be the Cure of the Sick Mind!]

[Goal: Help Cyrus calm down and make him believe that he will be okay staying in the Vixeria Tribe.]

[Reward: Unlimited Fun-Fun Gel — Increases sexual arousal by 50%]

Roxanna twitched at the corner of her eye when she saw the reward the system was offering. [My husband is mentally unwell, and you’re giving me an aphrodisiac as a reward?! Are you out of your mind?!]

[What’s wrong with that, Host? A troubled mind also needs entertainment like sex!]

Roxanna was completely speechless [You could’ve at least given me an emotional support plushie! Do you really think I’m that much of a pervert?!]

[Yes.]

The system’s simple answer almost made Roxanna choke on her own saliva.