Exiled Villainess: They Threw Me Out, Now Every Beastman Wants Me
Chapter 24: Bribing Host With Nipples

Chapter 24: Bribing Host With Nipples

Many hours later, they were nearly done.

Tera was placing the layers of sticks at the entrance with a few other beasts. Her fingers were numb, her arms ached, and she had stopped feeling the cold about an hour ago, which she was pretty sure was a bad sign.

Xavi had joined them when the rain started beating down harder, his massive frame blocking the worst of the wind as he worked beside her without a word. He didn’t ask what needed to be done. He just watched what she was doing and did the same.

There was another crack of thunder in the distance, closer this time, and Tera flinched so hard she nearly dropped the branch she was holding.

Xavi was immediately at her side.

"Go and rest."

His voice was gentle, and his hand came up to gently cup her elbow. The warmth of his palm seeped through her damp skin, and Tera nearly leaned into him.

’No! Focus!’

She forced a smile. "I am fine. We are almost done and—"

Xavi took both of her hands in his and pulled them away from the structure. A few sticks clattered to the ground, but he didn’t even glance at them. His golden eyes were fixed on her face with an intensity that made her stomach flip.

"I will handle it." A jolt of warmth shot through her cold skin at his touch and steady eyes.

Tera was immediately thinking of how to get him alone and finally jump him properly.

’You animal! Control yourself!’

Xavi continued, "Leave it to me. Go up and join the others. We will come soon."

The look in his eyes left no room for argument, and Tera’s heart did an inconvenient little stutter.

’Oh no,’ she thought. ’He’s not allowed to be sweet and authoritative at the same time. That’s a lethal combination.’

She pulled her hands back, mostly because if she didn’t, she was going to do something embarrassing like press them against her own chest to feel the warmth linger.

She left the beasts behind to finish the job while she made her way back, inspecting the job that had been done.

But the more she walked around, the more concerned she became.

The task hadn’t just been to construct a defence, but to construct one that could actually hold back the next flood wave.

’Bye, bye my orgasm...’

Tera’s chest was already sinking at the thought of it.

Most of the clans had filled up the upper and middle sections, cramming themselves together for warmth.

Cubs were tucked between adults, some were in their beast forms, warming the others.

A mother unwrapped a piece of soggy meat from a soaked hide, raw and barely edible, and tore off a strip to feed the cub pressed against her chest. The cub chewed without complaint, its small hands gripping its mother’s arm.

Another cub was crying and hiccuping. He looked like he was trying to be brave and failing.

Pressing his small face against his mother’s chest, he whimpered, "Mommy, I’m scared. I don’t want the water to come back..."

The mother murmured something soothing, but her voice was strained. She was scared, too.

Something cracked inside Tera.

What exactly was she doing all this for?

The orgasm penalty had been driving her. She had spent hours screaming at beast-folk about drainage and elevation because she was mostly terrified of not being able to come for a month. The fear of the flood had come after.

Her orgasm had been that important for what? She had been constantly horny since she had come here, and the inevitable was finally catching up to her at this moment.

Everything had been stopping her from thinking properly about her new reality.

When she was focused on Xavi’s body, she wasn’t thinking about her apartment. When she was focused on Ermin’s tail, she wasn’t thinking about her phone buzzing on her nightstand with messages she would never read. When she was calculating percentages, she wasn’t thinking about her parents.

She wasn’t thinking about her brother.

This was her new life now. Permanently.

And she was stuck with a system that communicated through emojis and nipple currency.

She was never going to see her apartment again.

She was never going to lie on her couch after a long day, scrolling through her phone with the TV playing something she’d already seen ten times. She was never going to stand in her kitchen at 2 AM, eating cold takeout straight from the container because she was too tired to find a plate. She was never going to watch those stupid memes and take herself out to those fine restaurants.

And she was never going to taste chocolate again.

Tera’s eyes started to burn, and she turned away from the others, clamping her mouth shut to prevent the tears from coming out.

Xavi and the others finally joined the group, all of them deciding not to stay in the lowest part. To Tera’s surprise, Xavi wanted to pull her aside to rest, but Tera quickly found an excuse to move away.

She wanted to be alone, so she told him she would just spend a few minutes checking what the beast men had done.

Xavi wanted to go with her, but Tera had pressed that she wouldn’t take long. She didn’t notice he had seen the sad look in her eyes, but he let her go.

When Tera got back to the lowest level, she noticed they had actually done a good job, but it was cold, and rains till found a way to spray through the small gaps in the sticks.

She sat on the floor in the corner. It was the most hidden spot she could find, and there, she cried.

The cold wrapped around her, and even as she shivered, she couldn’t stop crying.

A small, terrible part of her whispered that maybe if she died again, she would go back. Maybe the next death would deposit her in her apartment, but she knew it was a stupid idea.

That would never happen.

She was stuck here.

[Host]

[(◞‸◟)]

[This system would like to inform you that your body temperature is dropping to concerning levels]

Tera didn’t respond.

[Host has made significant progress today]

[These are positive developments!]

Nothing. She just kept shaking.

[Host...]

[...]

[This system acknowledges that it has been... excessively firm in its commentary]

[(ᗒᗩᗕ)]

[This system did not intend to cause emotional distress]

Still nothing.

The system paused. Its screen flickered uncertainly.

[Has this system been too mean?]

[(;ᴗ;)]

Tera’s face stayed buried in her arms. She was not even looking at the screen.

[Ermin and Xavi’s relationship with Host has progressed]

[Did you see the progress earlier?]

The system’s screen dimmed for a moment, as if glancing around nervously.

[This system is checking whether management is monitoring this interaction]

[...]

[Coast appears to be clear]

[Granting Host 10 additional nipples]

[Currency: 15 → 25 nipples]

[This is a discretionary gift and absolutely NOT a bribe]

[(⊙_⊙)]

[Please, stop crying]

[(っ◞‸◟ c)]

Tera didn’t react.

The system was so confused. It knew humans from Host’s world have been historically motivated by currency and material gain.

Or was ten nipples not enough?

[( ╹ -╹)?]

[Should this system grant more nipples?]

Tera did not hear Xavi approach her.

"You are crying."

Tera’s whole body jolted. She whipped her head up, swiping at her face with muddy hands that only made the mess worse, smearing tears and dirt across her cheeks in long, ugly streaks.

"Xavi?"