I stare at the group of ruffians, slightly intimidated to see no women resides with them. I raise an eyebrow, "Is this an all-male village? I have been sent to find the Emperor, but you are Emperor of Tiger Bandits? This is a village of thieves?"
"Is there another definition of 'bandit' that I do not know of?" The brawny leader of the male village strokes his bearded chin, his muscles rippling to stretch his tattoos. Black ink snaked around his large arms and I see that he is the only man wearing a sleeve tattoo. "Do not worry, we do not kill anyone unless you are here to attack us."
I shudder when his large hand grasped my fingers, giving my cold and numb digits some warmth. I have had my hand held like this many times, half of the time was with North Demon Lord. I try to pull away from the beefy mortal, not appreciating how his eyes gleam as they roamed over my body.
He notices I am retaliating, tightening his grip on me. Then, he kicked out with his leg and a whimper tore through the still air. The mortal had thrust his feet into the enchanted deer's side to throw her off her feet. The village chief grabs hold of my chin, sneering at me. "Is that your pet? It has been a long time since we've had deer for supper."
"Big Tiger, give her an ultimatum! Have the deer become our food or she can peacefully stay with us as the matriarch. Haven't you been sailing around the nation to find a wife for yourself?" A short and stout man raises his pudgy fingers in the air, begging for attention. He beams proudly when his suggestion was received well by the community.
"That's a good idea, we have been here for so long nothing good has happened. A nice wedding will be beneficial and we do need more women. We can't keep plucking babies off the streets to keep our family growing." An elderly man vigorously waves his cane in the air, full of excitement.
The community of human men suddenly erupts into noises and claps. Not one man or boy rejected the previous men's suggestions. Humans are vulgar creatures, I have come to a realization.
"I do not think this is a good idea, I am betrothed to someone else. If he finds me here, how will he react?" I hiss when the fingers clutching my jaw tighten. I do not feel pain, but the chief did look like he is using a large amount of force. The longer I look at him, the more constipated he looks.
"What is his name? What is your name?" Big Tiger releases my chin. He turned to his people, pointing at the tubby man. "Little Pig gave me a great idea and although I do want to eat deer meat, I would rather have a woman by my side."
"Any woman would rather die before marrying someone like you," I mutter beneath my breath. I wrench my hand out of his, catching my breath when he startles me by suddenly whipping around. I moved my head back to avoid his hard stare. "I cannot tell you who I am."
"Are you the goddess of love? I do like strong women because they can do more work. I would like to have at least a dozen children before I die." The brawny man grins. He grabs the enchanted deer by her neck, holding her above the ground and shaking her in front of my eyes. "Choose what you want. Marry me or eat your pet."
I hold a hand to my heart, feeling it race after being asked whether I am the goddess of love. His words tore my heart because I was the goddess of love and I do not want to marry anyone except my North. Marrying a mortal is already degrading and this man is also a bandit. Then, I find a burn mark on his chest.
"This village is one that takes in escaped inmates? Who made you think the leader of this lot would be able to marry a woman?" I shake my head, then forgot I am parading as a mortal. Since it is still ancient times on Earth, I believe mortal women are expected to be submissive and dependent? I need to study mortal women to fit into Earth's societies.
"Ah, I stepped out of my place. Don't hurt me!" I hold my hands to my face, feigning fear when a thick arm raises above my head. I hear the men behind Big Tiger gasp. "If you promise to let my pet live with us, I will stay by your side but I will not marry you."
Big Tiger flinches before threatening to bring his hand down from the sky. He did and startled me by stiffly patting my cheek, realizing we were strangers. He attempts to flash a warm smile which looked more like a sneer. "That's good enough for me. I will protect you from those perverts and your pet will eat the best vegetables."
The enchanted deer narrows her eyes like a cat, still suspicious of the man who had held her by the neck. When he let her down, I did not recall. The deer bit her cheek, tempted to speak but she knows she should not. Talking animals are more absurd than meeting goddesses.
"Big Tiger, why do you bully us like this? We are not perverted men if you will be her only partner." A skeletal man wearing wooden leg braces hobbles over to us with a wide grin on his face. His matted hair looks disgusting and he stuck his small finger into his ear. "She would look like a goddess if she takes a bath."
"We do not have clothes for women," Little Pig piped up from the crowd. Of course, this also weighed on my mind.
"I have clothing for her." Big Tiger says enthusiastically. His shining eyes stare into mine and his hand falls to his side. "Women should not look like that! Smile for me."
"What?" I stutter, eyes widening the more we stare at each other. I did not expect the beefy man to speak about smiling. I cannot smile for a man who leads a village of animals. "I do not smile for strangers. I do not smile for anyone either."
Big Tiger shrugs as if he did not care. He waves a hand to his men, allowing them to advance toward me like wolves. "You can run around during the day, come to my house when the sun sets. I will provide you with female clothing and food."
"Is Big Tiger leaving us with her?" A man wearing an old soldier uniform eyes me longingly. "We should tame her for our leader."
"Old Bear, don't even think about it!" Big Tiger shouts over his shoulders as he enters the village. His men cower against each other, not daring to offend their chief. "Let the woman do what she wants, she will come running during the night."
I wrinkle my nose, wondering why they address each other as animals. I sprint after Big Tiger to ask him the question. I look over my shoulder to see a dozen men swoon and my enchanted companion trots after us. I grab the chief's arm. "Wait, can I ask you a question?"
The burly man turns around so that our chests almost touched. He looks down at me, a smile slowly spreading across his face. Cautiously, he removed my hand from his arm and nods. "What is it? It is almost time for me to teach the younger boys how to write."
"If you call yourselves by using animals, what about me? I cannot walk around with my current name." I looked up at the sky, searching for a sign of golden scrolls but nothing was in the air. When will I receive my tasks?
"You are not one of us -yet." Big Tiger moves his hand to gently grip my forearms before letting go. He looks disappointed for a moment. "If you choose to meet me at the expected time, I will accept you and give you a new identity. Imagine that, we will become a family. I should gather writing utensils, go run along now. Call my name if my men threaten your safety."
I watch him walk off towards a large house I assume is the town hall, his home. I sigh and wander around the town to acquaint myself with its inhabitants and layout. I realize that I could be the first female to step foot in this village full of hooligans.
These outlaws stare at me intently as I speak to them and I do not think I will be able to remember all their names. I recall a Black Rabbit, Big Rabbit, Red Dog, Ugly Tiger, Blue Fish and was there a Lucky Cow? The smaller children are associated with baby animals. Bear Cub, Puppy, Brave Piglet and Baby Duck are a few names I remember.
After introducing myself to about fifty men, I shuffle to an old tree marking the village's back entrance. A group of men wave at me when they leave the village with weapons in their hands. One man informed me that they are hunting for their next raid victims and another man suggested I do not wander outside the village while they work.
As soon as the men leave, I feel a rock hard object crash onto my head. Excited, I expect to see a golden scroll to find a thick piece of wood had dropped from the tree. I hear the leaves rustle and a faint laugh chimes above my head.
I clutch the branch and look up, furious for being tricked. "Who is up there? Come down if you are brave enough!"