It seemed like a hunter’s village, with houses hanging yak meat on strings to dry and preparing fur for tanning. Occasionally, there were even glimpses of the luxury item, mammoth ivory. In such a remote hunter’s village, it seemed unlikely there would be thieves, so they left their valuables out in the yard.
“I heard there’s a shortage of prey, but everything seems fine?”
“We had more before, sir.”
The Karacal, who had become my companion for the past few days, responded to my inquiry.
“The quality of the fur seems to be declining. Old fur and dry meat. It seems we haven’t had fresh prey for a while.”
I shrugged. The hunters who pursued mammoths, requiring several knights to barely catch one, were only the hunters of Calbain. And they traded ivory and leather with Rainberg at relatively cheap prices. It was the main commodity of Rainberg. If there were no prey, both Calbain and the Rainberg family would suffer significant losses. Since knights couldn’t be turned into hunters.
“By the way, where is everyone? Did they go hunting?”
“Judging by the open doors, they probably didn’t go hunting. Well, there’s only one place non-hunting Calbain people would go.”
The Karacal pointed to one side of the village.
It was the largest building in the village, with barrels scattered around it, looking like a tavern. Only the Karacal, his soldiers, and I headed to the tavern. Occasionally, shouts could be heard from the tavern. The sound of breaking glass, or singing loudly.
Before opening the tavern door, the Karacal apologized in advance, saying that Calbain people were not as patient as himself.
“It’s okay. If you act like shit, they’ll treat you like shit, right?”
“Pardon? Sir?”
Ignoring the puzzled Karacal, I opened the tavern door wide.
At that moment, as if on cue, the surroundings fell silent, and sharp gazes focused on me. I calmly surveyed the tavern. Dozens of Calbain people, men, women, and children, all gathered in the tavern. A boy younger than me held a wooden cup filled with a dark liquid, and I roughly guessed that he was the brewmaster of this village.
They couldn’t not know who I was.
Isn’t it obvious that I’m from Rainberg, even without the emblem stitched on my hat?
Yet, they treated me with such attitude, and I could somewhat understand the situation.
I walked confidently into the tavern.
“I am Cantavia Quilz Rainberg, here to alleviate Calbain’s grievances under the Rainberg’s banner. Who’s the chief here?”
Instead of an answer, there was the sound of tongues clicking.
“Tsk, tsk.”
I confirmed the speaker. It was ‘Grandma,’ even larger than the Karacal. Everyone knows that Calbain people are descendants of the Ain. But most of them, like the Karacal, are closer to humans than Ain. But this grandmother seemed to have a stronger connection to Ain blood.
“Hmm, are you the chief?”
“Tsk, tsk.”
Instead of an answer, she clicked her tongue again. I smiled slightly and responded, then slowly looked around. While not as extreme as the grandmother, it was clear that Calbain people were subtly different from humans. Some looked completely human, but some had sharp claws like beasts or had fangs growing long out of their mouths.
“Do I seem unwelcome?”
I asked them cheerfully.
The puzzled Karacal stepped forward to speak for himself, but I had no intention of stopping the conversation.
“Tsk, calling yourself a Libera.”
Oh? Father’s name came up.
Well, it’s not surprising even if we’re acquaintances. Even decades ago, Father trained on Ain lands, so he might have encountered Calbain people a few times.
“After pleading with all the pride, why did a brat come?”
It was quite refreshing. Such an attitude towards a Rainberg representative, bearing the Rainberg’s emblem! It was a new kind of disrespect. Clearly different, they seemed to only consider Rainberg as friendly neighbors.
It wasn’t just the grandmother’s thoughts. All the Calbain people gathered in the tavern seemed unwelcoming. Despite the Karacal’s attempt to stop the chief, she ignored it. I pretended not to hear the chief’s words and casually threw another question.
“You said there’s a shortage of prey? Since when exactly…”
“Isn’t that enough!”
Suddenly, the grandmother burst into anger.
“I’ve never had such a thing in my life! This is an omen, an omen. Something must have happened in this barbaric land! Ugh, those filthy Libera. They didn’t take this situation seriously. Hey, Karacal, you damn bastard. Send the brat back immediately and bring your master here!”
“Are you mocking us?”
“We haven’t seen any prey for days!”
As the grandmother shouted angrily, others joined in, raising their voices in agreement.
Hmm.
They are easy to understand people.
Truly kind people.
Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!
But their methods were clumsy.
So inevitably, I also wanted to use a clumsy method.
The attitude I should adopt now is not to reject and provoke those who act as if they were superior. Hasty friction only breeds nonexistent enmity. Considering my position as a representative of Rainburg and my father’s envoy, what they want from me is not the power that comes from my ‘position’ but to confirm the pure power I possess.
So if I simply prove my strength, their dissatisfaction will surely fade away.
Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!
“No, Dalbi. Tone it down. Just enough to break the roof.”
Crazy?
“Even if it’s Crazy.”
Dah.
Dalbi’s body faintly glowed.
I chuckled and said to Karacal.
“Karacal, will you bring the children to my side?”
“Master?”
“Not a request.”
“…Understood.”
When Karacal tried to bring the children, the Calbain people became excited and blocked him. As long as they were around, the children wouldn’t get hurt. Some people who sensed a change emerged just as a conflict was about to arise.
Karacal, the grandmother, and a few others simultaneously looked up at the roof.
“We were touched by your welcoming gesture, so we prepared a gift.”
Dah!
“Let’s see, three, two.”
Ten more seconds passed.
“…one.”
Crack!
At that moment, with a deafening roar, the sturdy roof of the tavern, built with thick logs stacked layer upon layer, began to collapse. Chaos ensued. In an instant, the shattered debris covered the people. However, there were no injuries. Indeed, the Calbain, the falling timber over my head, easily avoided it. The children, too, were protected by the soldiers and hunters nearby and suffered no harm.
After the storm passed and the dust settled, I picked up a small stone embedded in the wooden floor.
Reveal your strength.
“If you show your teeth, they won’t dare to act recklessly.
It’s a lesson I learned from twins, but it might be a bit too much.
“Here’s a gift, lady.”
The grandmother, who had been quick to anger until now, became as quiet as a mouse and just stared at me blankly.
“Oh! Our tavern!”
At that moment, the dusty brute swung his arm and attacked. I stepped back slightly to dodge the punch and countered with a blow to his abdomen. Compared to the monstrous strength of Lanista, even Calbain’s brute seemed like a child’s play. The brute, who was easily twice my size, doubled over with one blow and collapsed.
Hahaha!
The village chief suddenly burst into laughter.
He laughed so heartily that I thought he might pass out.
“Hahaha, you’re just like your father.”
Despite smashing the tavern and pinning down Calbain’s men, the village chief’s attitude softened.
“I apologize. It couldn’t be helped. Haha.”
“You tried to scare us away.”
“To prevent unnecessary trouble. But look at this! He took a big hit! Haha!”
While Calbain’s village chief was rudely aggressive, his method was clumsy, but understandable. If Rainburg’s youngest son caused a commotion in such a remote hunter’s village, Calbain would be in a difficult position. So, he must have wanted to see if I could survive Calbain. Since he seemed to have known my father for a long time, it wouldn’t strain their relationship too much.
If I really had been weak, it would have been better for Calbain if I had fled at our first meeting.
But I went beyond their expectations and did something truly ‘Father and son like.’
It could have strained our relationship, but fortunately, the village chief had a hearty personality.
Taking the green stone my grandmother offered, I said, “Lady, huh? Haha. Libera used to call me that too. I was so captivated by you when I first saw you, but there were times when I found you annoying.”
“Do you know my father?”
“He briefly guided him on the way to the land of savages.”
“Hmm, hard to believe my father would be smitten with the village chief.”
“Want me to tell you?”
“I’m looking forward to it, lady.”
“Haha. Alright. Let’s go home.”
As the village chief left, he gave a strong blow to the head of the brute who had attacked me.
“Karacal, will you distribute the gifts you brought to everyone here?”
“Master…”
Whenever the Siblings did something strange, they got involved and were called ‘children of the moon.’
But now, there shouldn’t be anything unfair, I thought.
* * *
After the conversation with the village chief.
I left the inn and explored the area around the village.
There were many hunters, perhaps because it was close to the land of savages.
There were even some hunters close to the power of the land gods, which I hadn’t seen in the Quilz Forest.
“Where could she be.”
She wasn’t in the tavern.
When I asked the village chief,
“She roams around even during hunting season. Nasty woman.”
I heard.
Since she didn’t come to the village and sometimes left for days, it seemed faster to go look for her myself. I headed quite far from Calbain. The closer to the land of savages, the more hunters there were. Hunters usually disliked me, but with Dalbi by my side, they couldn’t do much.
Dalbi played happily, and whenever she spotted a hunter, she would dash over and play with them. A squirrel hunter would climb onto her back, and a wolf hunter would lick her head. Whether it was a tree hunter or a pond hunter, they were all friendly to Dalbi.
“It’s strange.”
Despite walking for an hour, I only saw hunters, not ‘beasts.’
I didn’t even see any tracks. There weren’t even any small footprints in the deep snowdrifts.
