Chapter 356: Go Hunting!
After comforting Skiv, who simply wouldn’t stop crying, Roxanna finally headed to the public hut to talk about the situation with her husbands.
The building was much larger than their private hut, giving them enough space to close the doors and windows before gathering in the middle of the room, away from everyone’s ears.
"Azul has finally found his family," Roxanna said with a gentle smile, though the sadness in her eyes was impossible to hide.
She went on to explain everything that had happened in the Aquillian Kingdom. She told them how almost all of Azul’s family had died, why he had lost his memories, what Mera had done, and how his own sister had turned out to be a traitor.
"For now, Azul has to stay behind and take care of his kingdom. He also wants to make sure Azura receives the best care from his mother," Roxanna said with a soft sigh, lowering her head. "That’s why... we have to be apart for at least three months."
The moment she said those words, her fox ears and fluffy tail drooped. It was clear that this separation was breaking her heart.
"I’ll probably have to tell his crocodile friends about this later too," Roxanna murmured, her ears still hanging low.
[I just want to turn into a little fox and curl up into a ball,] Roxanna thought sadly. [I can’t get rid of this heavy feeling every time I think about Azul.]
"But he’s alright, isn’t he?" Cyrus asked.
Roxanna looked up at him. "Yes. He and Azura are both alright."
"Then that’s all that matters right now." Cyrus gently patted her head before softly stroking her hair, hoping to ease her sadness. "It’s alright to feel sad, but don’t forget that these three months are the price we have to pay so our daughter can grow up healthier, and so Azul won’t have to leave behind anything he’ll regret."
Azul didn’t want to stay in the Aquillian Kingdom forever. That much was certain.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t leave until he made sure his kingdom would be able to stand on its own even without him there. At the very least, he had to stay until he found a way to travel easily between the Aquillian Kingdom and the Vixeria Settlement.
Three months would probably be enough time for him to figure out a solution.
"I know... but it still makes me sad," Roxanna said softly. "I already felt sad when I had to leave you and Luan for just a few weeks, let alone three whole months."
"It’ll be alright," Luan said with a soft sigh. "As much as I hate to admit it, sometimes being apart can bring people even closer."
Seeing that Roxanna was still feeling down, he gently held out his arms. "Come here," he said. "Just turn into a fox. It’s okay."
Without saying another word, Roxanna immediately transformed into a little fox. She didn’t hesitate for even a second before hopping onto Luan’s lap and curling herself into a tiny ball.
Luan smiled faintly as he gently stroked her soft fur. "Three months will be over before you know it," he reassured her.
===
As it turned out, three months did not pass as quickly as the blink of an eye.
Only a week had passed, yet Roxanna had already lost the energy to keep going with her daily life.
Most of the time, she simply lay inside the hut, letting out soft sighs while staring at the stars at night.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to get up, but being separated from her own child was just much harder than she had expected.
"Leader!"
A familiar voice came from outside the hut. It was Carla, who had come to visit Roxanna with several other females.
"Leader, we’re going tiger hunting! Do you want to come with us?" Carla shouted.
Roxanna, who had been lying around without any energy just moments ago, quickly sat up.
This was the first time the females had invited her to go hunting with them.
In truth, hunting had never been a job meant only for males. In the past, however, the males usually went hunting while the females stayed in the settlement to serve the evil Roxanna.
But now that the evil Roxanna was gone and females from the Sky Tribe, like Carla, were living here, more and more females had started leaving the settlement to hunt.
In less than a minute, Roxanna had already opened the door. "Can I really come?" she asked with a bright smile.
[I usually only hunt with my husbands,] Roxanna thought with a sigh. [But they almost never let me hunt the big animals. They only bring me along when they want to hunt rabbits.]
She appreciated their willingness to hunt the bigger animals for her, but sometimes Roxanna wanted to hunt like everyone else so she could improve her hunting skills.
"Of course!" Carla replied with a wide grin. She rested a large axe on her shoulder, looking strong and confident. "You’ve been staying inside for days. Maybe you need some exercise!"
"Besides, your people asked me to bring you with us!"
Roxanna looked at the females standing behind Carla. Aside from the females from the Sky Tribe, there were also four females from the Vixeria Tribe.
After watching them for a moment, Roxanna finally realized that they were the same females who had taken part in the tournament to choose the new commander of the Vixeria Tribe.
"Leader, we’ve been worried about you," one of them said. She had red hair and freckles. Roxanna remembered that her name was Sonya.
The round-faced female standing beside her, Darla, nodded in agreement. "That’s right! It’s really bad for you to stay inside for too long! Your bones might become weak if you don’t get enough sunlight for a long time!"
Roxanna raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t expected them to know about the connection between sunlight and healthy bones.
Before she could say anything, the system’s voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
[Ding! Ding!]
[Side Mission Activated: Hunt with the Fellow Females!]
[Goal: Catch 5 Tigers!]
[Reward:
- 18,000 Spirit Points
- Pack Hunt — Effect: Whenever Host hunts together with at least three allies, everyone’s hunting efficiency increases by 20%, and the chance of successfully surrounding prey is greatly improved.]