New World with Four Husbands

"Good morning, Mrs. Hughes!"

Coco stopped walking and blinked, her head turning to look at the guards who were lined up beside the wagons, bowing down as they all greeted her simultaneously.

"What the? What are you guys doing?" Coco voiced out her confusion, eyeing each guard skeptically.

It has been a good thirty six hours since they got back from their rescuing mission, but they have never stopped to look at her or greet her, opting to scramble out of her way and just send a glance her way.

None of them stopped so it gave Coco the chills seeing them lowering their heads at her.

"Isn't it obvious?" Alithe spoke up, making Coco look away from the guards and snap her attention to the approaching hybrid, "They're paying their respects towards their beloved savior."

"Savior?" Coco raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms in her chest.

Now that she is looking directly at Alithe, she realized that the village chief was trailing not too far from him, the usual composed and confident air around her.

"Chief." Coco nodded her head towards Chief Salamandara, smiling softly.

Hearing this, the guards and Alithe turned to look at the approaching woman, before all of them scurried off to do something else, leaving Coco and Chief Salamandara alone.

"Coco." Chief Salamandara returned the smile with a warm smile of her own, "I heard from Alithe and Sinclair that you did an amazing job regarding the mission. You even saved the guards from that monster— the one that has been lurking around the forest for a couple of years now."

"Monster.. You mean the sludge haunter?" Coco blinked, turning her whole body to face the village chief, "What do you mean that it was lurking around the forest?"

"I mean what I mean, it's always somewhere after the sun sets. It's the reason why I kept the guards at the gate to refrain other villagers from leaving." Chief Salamandara said, shooting Coco a teasing glint.

"You're the only one who I let out on that one night." She hummed out, "Along with Jonathan."

Coco nodded her head in understanding.

After all, the village chief is an owl hybrid, a nocturnal bird with amazing eyesight in the dark so it's not surprising that she knows who comes in and out of the village at night.

In fact, Coco would be surprised if she finds out that the village chief doesn't know what happens at night.

"You're not surprised?" The village chief asked, raising an eyebrow, "I literally just said that I was keeping an eye on you and your little friend."

Coco shrugged. "Yes, and? You were only doing your job as this village's chief."

Chief Salamandara blinked owlishly, not expecting that kind of response from someone like Coco— someone who was not born in this world, someone who doesn't know anything about her kind's existence.

Slowly, a fond smile made its way to Chief Salamandara's lips. "Coco Coison was it? I really like you—"

"Please don't make me your master, too." Coco blurted out, her senses telling her to be on guard the moment the smile emerged in the village chief's face, "Sin did it and now I'm stuck as his master. I don't want another responsibility, please."

The hybrid woman paused, her expression initially one of surprise at what Coco said to her. However, as the moment registered, she burst into laughter, her amusement clear and unrestrained.

"I was about to, actually." She chuckled heartily, her eyes sparkling with mirth, the sound of her laughter filling the air with a warm and infectious energy.

"But I guess you don't want to have more responsibility. I respect that." Despite the unexpectedness of the situation, the village chief seemed to find it highly entertaining and amusing, making her laugh even more.

Coco visibly relaxed, her senses finally quieting down.

"Thanks." Coco mumbled, "Sorry, I won't refuse you if I didn't know that it would bind your soul to mine, but guess what? I know, and no one like you or Sinclair would be able to pull something like that again."

"Don't be sorry." Chief Salamandara chuckled, "Though, it is a bit disheartening to know that Sinclair is yours. I want to be yours, too."

"Too bad, my master is not looking for someone else then." A man's voice broke through the air, the deep timbre drawing their attention. "What would happen to my master if she were to have someone like you first? Oh, the horror."

The hybrid stepped closer to Coco, his steps soft and deliberate, his eyes fixed on the chief, his expression blank and unamused.

"It's nice to see the person who skipped the morning briefing so well with a basket on his arms." Chief Salamandara merely rolled her eyes as she let out a playful scoff, "Was the basket worth skipping the briefing?"

"Yes, it's what my master wanted me to get." Sinclair huffed and handed Coco a basket that was roughly equal in size to her own, the handle fitted with sturdy straps designed to be worn over the shoulders like a backpack— the same basket that she has been filling with fruits.

"Thanks." Coco thanked Sinclair and accepted the basket, "I'll be leaving now. I have fruits to harvest and monsters to hunt. Good luck on the preparations."

The village chief grew quiet, but her eyes narrowed towards Sinclair.

After bidding them a farewell, Coco immediately slipped herself between the hybrids and slipped the straps up to her shoulders, making her way towards the village gate.

Just because she will be leaving for the main city that afternoon does not mean that she would not be giving anything to Mrs. Tani or Jacques and Renaldo to sell before she leaves.

Oh, no, her leaving for the city only fuels her drive to bring something back so she can get extra money that she could use.

"Once I get back, I'll go straight to the house and pick up the husbands." Coco said to herself, exiting the village.