Reassurance

"He stayed with me... I mean, we stayed together," Dariya replied. Although Orion couldn't understand why he could almost hear Dariya's voice chuckling at her own words, even if it was just his imagination, he still felt a sense of susceptibility under Mrs Shani's scrutinizing gaze. However, he saw no reason to contradict Dariya's statement, as he didn't want anyone to discover his recent escapades involving intimate encounters with a tree nymph. Considering all the stunts and surprises he had been involved in lately, adding any more information would be overkill for him.

"So instead of returning to your hut for the night, you chose to sleep outside here with Dariya," Mrs Shani inquired, raising an eyebrow.