Transmigrating to the BeastWorld,I Picked Up an Adorable BeastHusband!-Chapter 30: I am innocent

For a while, no one spoke.

Then Runa broke the silence.

"On the way here, we passed near the wolf tribe’s territory." she said.

Numa glanced up. "Oh?"

"They are doing well," she continued.

"Better than before. The land is lively. I saw many cubs."

Ayres nodded. "Their numbers have grown."

Numa gave a soft hum of approval.

"That is good."

He leaned back slightly.

"Loki has managed them well."

Runa agreed. "The tribe looks prosperous."

The topic paused there, naturally fading.

Then Numa chuckled to himself.

"Speaking of cubs..." he said.

His eyes softened.

"Weijie is no longer a child either."

Runa smiled. "Time passes quickly."

"It does," Numa said. "When I first carried him, he was smaller than my arm. Now he stands taller than most warriors."

There was clear pride in his voice.

"This bonding ceremony is long overdue. Once it is done, he should stop wandering and focus on the tribe properly."

Ayres nodded. "A leader must settle."

"Yes," Numa agreed. "After the ceremony, he can begin preparing to take over."

His gaze moved to the doorway, thoughtful.

"And have children of his own."

Runa laughed lightly. "You are already thinking of grandchildren?"

"This old man has nothing else to look forward to," Numa replied.

Then his voice grew firmer.

"If he leads well... perhaps during his time, the tribe will return to its former glory."

The inside of the hut gradually quieted down.

After talking about winter and the conflicts in the east and west, no one spoke for a while.

Only the fire in the stone pit crackled softly.

The flames licked the dry wood and cast long shadows on the wall.

Ayres leaned back slightly, but his back never truly touched the wall.

Even while sitting, his body remained half-tensed, like a beast that could spring up at any moment.

Runa noticed it but didn’t say anything.

Bears were like this.

Once they stepped into another tribe’s territory, they never relaxed completely.

Numa poured them another bowl of warm broth and pushed it across.

"Drink," he said. "The mountain nights are colder than the lowlands."

Runa took it.

But before she could even raise the bowl—

She paused.

Her fingers froze mid-air.

Her nose twitched slightly.

Once.

Then again.

Ayres immediately noticed.

He knew that look too well.

He put his bowl down without making a sound.

"What is it?" he asked quietly.

Runa didn’t answer.

Her eyes slowly swept across the hut.

From the entrance.

To the fire pit.

To the stacked hides near the back wall.

Her expression turned colder and colder.

The air suddenly felt heavier.

Even Numa sensed something wrong.

Before he could speak—

Runa suddenly stood up.

The wooden stool scraped harshly against the ground.

The sound was sharp and unpleasant.

She didn’t bother hiding her killing intent.

"Come out immediately." she ordered, her voice low but edged with authority.

"I’ve sensed your presence for a long while now." Her eyes narrowed, scanning every shadow, every corner.

Ayres frowned, rising to his full, towering height and stepping in front of her without a word. His massive frame blocked her path as he added in a growl, "Reveal yourself, or I will fetch you out myself."

The air seemed to thrum with tension, the weight of his muscles and his presence alone enough to warn the intruder.

Moments stretched.

Then, finally, a figure emerged.

It was Deimos.

He moved with calm precision, his eyes catching the light with a dark glint that made the hut’s warmth feel colder.

Ayres’s expression hardened immediately, the relaxed confidence he had moments before vanishing as his gaze sharpened on the newcomer.

"Uncle." Ayres said, voice low but clipped, "did you bring in a stranger? He’s one of those black types—his kind are the most cunning, the most vicious of their kind. Why is one of them here, in the snake tribe?"

Deimos tilted his head, a slow, deliberate smile tugging at the corner of his lips as his sharp eyes met Ayres’s.

"And why is a bear so quick to judge? Perhaps you assume that because my scales are dark, my loyalty and intent are equally black?"

The sneer in his tone drew a tense murmur in the hut, but his movements remained measured, calm, almost taunting.

Ayres’s fists clenched, the tension in his shoulders visible as he prepared to strike, his towering frame a threat in itself.

Before his arm could move, Numa’s hand pressed against Ayres’s chest, halting him. "Wait." Numa said, voice firm and unyielding, "You shouldn’t be so quick to violence, Ayres."

He sighed "Speak, boy. Why have you come?" His eyes scanned Deimos carefully, weighing his words, judging his demeanor.

Runa hissed under her breath, clearly displeased, her tail flicking with irritation. "Weijie would never allow this." she muttered, eyes darting to Numa. "If he knew this one was roaming here, he would never have permitted it."

Numa sighed deeply, his shoulders dropping as if carrying the weight of a mountain. "Deimos is not a bad child." he said, and his voice, though calm, carried a weight that silenced the room.

Ayres let out a short, humorless laugh, disbelief clear in the lines of his jaw. "Not a bad child?" he repeated. "The black types are always the source of conflict in the East. They stick with their own kind, breed only among themselves, and bring trouble wherever they go. Why should one of them even exist among snakes that are not his tribe? He should be removed at once."

Deimos’s eyes sharpened at that, a storm simmering behind their blue irises, but his expression smoothed as he forced a careful calm over his features.

His voice was steady, controlled, yet every word dripped with careful defiance. "I have done nothing to warrant your mistrust." he said. "How can you judge me by the color of my scales, by what I am and not what I have done? I came here not to fight, not to interfere. I am innocent, and I will not hide behind false excuses."