Ghoul Evolution

Chapter 31: Shameless woman

As soon as Oliver and Theo returned to the camp, they immediately got back to helping with the boat.

The work continued until late into the evening and by the time the sun disappeared, the boat was almost complete.

Everyone seemed relieved as if things continued at this pace, they would finally be able to cross the river soon.

That night they slept as usual, but when Oliver woke up the next morning, he was greeted by a shocking sight.

A huge part of the boat had been damaged.

One end had cracked apart, and several wooden sections had come loose. It wasn’t completely destroyed, but the damage was enough that it would take some more days to repair.

Ahreum looked completely devastated from the event. Seeing her he couldn’t help but think,

’So much for helping her deal with her past.’

"But how could this..." she kept muttering. "I made it perfectly... it shouldn’t break on its own, like this."

Korre who was nearby immediately moved beside her and gently pulled her closer into a hug.

"It’s fine," she said while patting her back. "We’ll just repair it. It’s not completely ruined."

Even Theo tried to comfort her.

Oliver meanwhile just stared at the damaged boat.

Then he quickly looked away before anyone noticed the slight smile threatening to appear on his face.

’This was some perfect timing.’

’Now I can easily get that pear.’

Naturally, he still offered a few comforting words to Ahreum before leaving with Goldie shortly afterward.

A few hours later, he arrived near the golden pear once again.

The fruit was still there but unfortunately, so were the beasts.

Actually, there were even more of them now. Seeing so many of them, Oliver immediately began counting.

’One... two... three.’

His expression worsened each time he increased the count.

In the end, there were twelve beasts surrounding the tree and each occupied a different place near the pear tree. None of them seemed interested in him as their entire attention remained fixed on the golden pear.

Oliver stared at the terrifying gathering and his heart broke.

"How the heck am I supposed to get this fruit now?"

After observing the area for a while longer, he eventually returned to camp, and the rest of the day was spent repairing the boat. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

Eventually night arrived and then morning came again.

As soon as he found an opportunity, Oliver once more headed toward the golden pear.

"Fuck...There are even more beasts than yesterday."

As soon as, he had said that, a sweet voice suddenly whispered near his ear.

"So..."

Oliver nearly jumped out of his skin as a shiver ran down his spine due to which he quickly span around.

Standing there was Korre.

The beautiful girl smiled mischievously as she looked at him and before saying anything else, she reached over and began rubbing Goldie’s head.

The squirrel immediately pouted and yet at the same time, it visibly leaned into her hand.

’Traitor.’

Oliver silently cursed.

’Now is not the time to fall for womanly charms, you idiot.’

Korre finally looked away from Goldie and toward Oliver.

Her dark green eyes met his own hazel as she stared intensely at him.

"Ahem..." Oliver coughed awkwardly. "So...What are you doing here?"

Korre laughed softly as she tilted her head.

"Oh? That’s funny. I was just about to ask you the same thing."

Oliver immediately felt a bad feeling forming in his stomach as Korre’s smile widened and became a bit more dangerous.

"Do you think I’m an idiot?"

Oliver didn’t answer and remained silent.

"It wasn’t very hard to figure out that you were the one who damaged the boat."

"..."

"I simply didn’t follow you yesterday because I assumed you’d be more careful after doing it."

Oliver sighed internally.

’Well... there goes that.’

Korre then looked toward the golden pear and the numerous beasts surrounding it and understanding immediately appeared on her face.

"So this is why you did all that, huh, Oliver?"

At this point there wasn’t much point denying it and so he simply nodded.

Korre stared at him for a few moments before speaking.

"We’ll split it."

Oliver blinked as he questioned,

"What?"

"We each get half."

She pointed toward the pear.

"In return, I’ll help you get it and I won’t tell Theo or Ahreum about you breaking the boat."

Oliver couldn’t hide his surprise.

With how friendly and kind Korre usually acted, he had genuinely expected a lecture. Instead, she had almost immediately proposed a deal.

Looking at the situation, he could only laugh.

"As they say... the most beautiful flowers are also the thorniest."

Korre’s expression didn’t change in the slightest at the obvious shot at her.

Instead, she shamelessly smiled once again, then she reached out and cupped his cheek.

Oliver froze as he felt her soft hands touch his face.

"Ah..."

A playful smile appeared on her lips.

"So you’re calling me a beautiful flower."

Her dark green eyes sparkled with amusement as she leaned slightly closer.

"I guess you really do think I’m beautiful."

"Is that why you proposed to me the other day?" she asked.

Oliver had not anticipated that attack at all and for a moment all he could do was stare at her.

In the end he just looked away.

Korre’s smile widened as she pouted.

"Oh? Why are you looking away?"

"I am not."

"You are."

"I am thinking."

"Thinking about how beautiful I am?"

Oliver felt a headache coming at Korre’s antics.

’This woman is impossible.’

Seeing his expression, Korre finally laughed.

The sound was light and pleasant, causing even Goldie to look toward her curiously.

Only after laughing for several seconds did she finally stop.

"Relax. I am just teasing you."

Oliver immediately felt suspicious as the fact that she said that made him even less relaxed.

Korre eventually turned her attention back toward the golden pear and her expression became serious for the first time.

"You said that there are more beasts than yesterday."

Oliver nodded as he spoke,

"There were only twelve of them yesterday...Now there are at least fifteen that I can see."

"Which means there are probably more."

The two fell silent as both understood the problem.

The pear was clearly valuable.

Valuable enough that even so many beasts were willing to wait around for it.

The issue was that neither of them had any idea how they were supposed to steal it from under the noses of all those creatures.

After several moments, Korre finally spoke.

"When does it ripen?"

Oliver glanced at Goldie and the squirrel immediately held up a single paw.

"One day."

Korre’s eyes widened slightly.

"So tomorrow."

Oliver nodded.

Tomorrow would decide everything.

Either they obtained the fruit or one of those beasts would.

And somehow, Oliver had a feeling that if he let the opportunity slip away, he would regret it for a very long time.