I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!-Chapter 39: Proving She’s Not the Evil Fox

Besides, their hygiene would improve greatly if they had a toilet!

"Also, I have a magic box that can get rid of all our waste in a second! So please, trust me with this," Roxanna pleaded.

Since his wife asked with such adorable eyes, Azul had no reason to refuse.

"Alright... I’ll do my best," Azul said, then asked again, "Then what will they do?"

He pointed at Luan and Calen, who still didn’t have any tasks. Calen even wondered if Roxanna might ask him to build a place they could use for mating.

"Oh, them?" Roxanna said brightly. "Luan and Calen will help gather people to dig a well!"

"A... well?" Calen tilted his head to the side, and so did Luan. "What is that?"

The system hadn’t told Roxanna to build a well, but going back and forth to the river every time was tiring and wasted a lot of time. It was also troublesome when she suddenly needed water right away.

That was why she wanted to build a well, something close, simple, and useful. It wasn’t just for herself, but for all the beastkin in the Vixeria Tribe. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

It was a small step, but one that could make their lives much easier.

"A well," Roxanna said slowly, trying to find the simplest words, "is a hole we dig in the ground to get water."

Calen blinked. "Water... from the ground?"

"Yes." Roxanna nodded. "There is water under the ground. If we dig deep enough, the water will come up on its own."

Luan crossed his arms, clearly doubtful. "If there’s water there, why haven’t we seen it before?"

"Because it’s hidden," Roxanna replied gently. "Just like roots under a tree. You don’t see them, but they’re there."

She knelt down and used the stick again, drawing a circle on the dirt. "We dig here. When the soil becomes wet, we stop. Then we can use buckets to take the water."

They didn’t understand what buckets were either, but it sounded like something they could use to fetch water.

Calen’s eyes slowly lit up. "So... we don’t have to run to the river every time?"

"Exactly," Roxanna said with a smile. "If someone is sick, tired, or if it’s raining, we can still get water."

Luan scratched his cheek, thinking. "That does sound useful."

"And everyone in the tribe can use it," Roxanna added. "Not just us."

The two beastmen looked at each other, then back at her.

"...Alright," Calen said at last. "Let’s try it."

They finally began carrying out their respective tasks. Roxanna gave Azul instructions to build the toilet and bathroom at the back of the hut. She also asked Calen and Luan to call Commander Marlow and the other warriors to help dig the ground.

Meanwhile, she went to the river with Zeir and Cyrus. No, they weren’t going to bathe or fetch water, but because Roxanna wanted to find clay.

Yes, clay!

Last night, when she and Azul did something she didn’t want to explain, her eyes had noticed some soil by the riverbank that looked different from normal soil. It wasn’t sandy, and it wasn’t hard like ordinary ground either.

She hadn’t been completely sure yesterday, but this morning, when she returned to the river with Calen, she finally became certain it was clay. When she poured river water over it, the soil could be shaped and didn’t crumble.

It was truly an amazing discovery, because she had never seen wild clay before.

"Why do you want to collect soil?" Cyrus asked in confusion. "We have plenty of soil near the hut."

"Because this isn’t ordinary soil." Roxanna took a bit of dried clay and splashed river water onto it. She slowly shaped it into a ball, then showed it to Cyrus and Zeir. "See? This is clay! It’s magic soil we can use to make a chimney!"

There were many things they didn’t understand, but for now, they chose to listen to their wife’s instructions first.

"We need to collect clay first, and then we also have to gather river stones to make the fire stove later," Roxanna said as she spread an animal-skin cloth on the ground. "Here, we can put the clay here first."

Good river stones were more commonly found at the bottom of the river, but since the water looked deep, it seemed better to use the stones along the riverbank instead.

The sun was blazing hot above their heads, but Roxanna didn’t feel too hot because the river water was cool and refreshing. Every time she splashed water onto her face, it felt really nice, and she slowly started to grow fond of the river.

"Be careful not to fall," Zeir pulled her back slightly when she sat at the edge of the river. "The current can suddenly become strong, and sometimes people get swept away."

Roxanna followed the flow of the river with her eyes and noticed that the current really was strong. "But... there aren’t any crocodiles here, right?"

"Crocodiles? Of course there are crocodiles," Cyrus said casually. He didn’t look bothered at all when talking about those creepy creatures. "But don’t worry, the crocodiles in this river aren’t as bad as the ones in Mushy Lake."

"W-what do you mean? Crocodiles are dangerous no matter where they are!" Roxanna immediately pulled her feet out of the water. She still couldn’t believe Azul had let her stay in the river for so long when there were crocodiles nearby!

"Ah, but the crocodiles in this river are very friendly since they aren’t demon beasts," Cyrus said, pausing his clay collection and turning toward the river. "Azul is friends with them."

[How can Azul suddenly be friends with crocodiles?!] Roxanna screamed in her mind. [Isn’t he a fish?!]

"See that?" Zeir squatted beside the river and pointed at a piece of wood floating on the water. "That’s Zoey, one of Azul’s friends."

The moment Zeir said "Zoey," the floating log suddenly changed direction and headed straight toward Roxanna. Before she could move away, the crocodile—Zoey—opened its mouth and crawled onto the shore.

"It’s chasing me!" Roxanna screamed as she ran toward Zeir, hiding right behind his back.

===

"No, she’s not chasing you," Zeir said calmly. He reached out and patted Zoey’s head a few times. The crocodile let out a low sound, almost like a dog’s growl. "Zoey just wants to greet you, that’s all."

Roxanna stayed hidden behind Zeir, but she slowly peeked at the crocodile from behind his shoulder. In the memories of the evil Roxanna, she had never seen Zoey, or any crocodiles in this river. Most likely, Azul had ordered them to stay far away from her back then.

After all, the evil Roxanna would probably have asked her father to hunt them down without hesitation.

[But... if Azul really asked the crocodiles to stay away from that evil woman, why did Zoey suddenly appear in front of me without hesitation?] Roxanna wondered in her heart. [Shouldn’t they be afraid that I might hunt them?]

"They say animals, including crocodiles, can sense what’s inside people’s hearts," Zeir suddenly spoke, sounding almost like a philosopher. Even though Roxanna didn’t understand why he said that all of a sudden, she still listened to him.

"Back then, these crocodiles never came up to see you," Zeir said softly as he patted Zoey’s head again. "But... now that you’re trying to be a better person, Zoey wanted to greet you."

[Really?] Roxanna still felt unsure.

[I’ve heard people say animals can sense what’s in someone’s heart... but I always thought it was because they watch how we act.]

Since Roxanna wasn’t making any movements that looked threatening, Zoey didn’t feel threatened either.

"Here." Zeir reached for Roxanna’s wrist and tried to guide her closer to Zoey. "You can try petting her."

"P-Pet her?" Roxanna immediately pulled her hand back when Zeir tried to place it on top of the crocodile’s head. "I-I can’t do that! What if she suddenly opens her mouth and bites my hand?!"

Technically, Roxanna would be able to regrow her limbs, including her hands, but the thought of being bitten by a crocodile was still terrifying.

Please don’t blame her. After all, she often watched animal documentaries, and crocodiles were one of the animals she feared the most.

Zeir didn’t force her. He simply withdrew his hand and looked at her with calm eyes.

"She won’t bite you," he said. "Zoey is gentle. At least... with kind people."

The crocodile growled briefly, as if to show that what Zeir had said was true.

[If I can pet the crocodile’s head without getting bitten... maybe Zeir and Cyrus will believe that I will never turn into the evil fox again,] Roxanna thought.

[Yes! I’ll risk my hand so they can trust me completely!]

With that thought in mind, Roxanna slowly reached out again.

Her hand trembled slightly, but she didn’t pull back this time.

She placed her palm on Zoey’s head and gently stroked it, just like Zeir had done earlier. "I-I’m not a bad person, please... don’t bite me," she said softly.

But after she said that, she suddenly saw more crocodiles rising to the surface.