A bush as tall as my waist swayed, revealing its true identity.
'The girl who gave me food?'
I felt more delighted than surprised. The girl's surprised expression was fleeting, but then she came running towards me with eyes filled with joy, just like me.
And in her hand she had a basket.
"Marakara! Ukkiri! Wakama!"
"······."
I couldn't understand what she was saying at all. But every word sounded like it was scolding me. Where the hell did you go?
Are you hurt? I've been waiting for you for so long, why are you here now? Aren't you hungry? At that moment, I felt like I was going to burst into tears when I saw her worried eyes.
Just then, she held out a basket containing water and food.
"You want me to eat it?"
"Ugh!"
Holding back tears, I took the water bowl from the basket. This time, I drank the water without any doubt. As my thirst was somewhat quenched, my eyes turned to something that looked like chicken legs.
I took the chicken leg in my hand and took a bite. It was a little chewy, but really tasty.
'It really tastes like boiled chicken.'
After a while, I finished all the food in the basket and spoke affectionately to the girl who had been watching silently without saying anything.
"Where did everyone else go? Why are you the only one left here?"
"······."
The girl tilted her head from side to side with her eyes wide open.
"It's really frustrating because we can't communicate."
"······."
This time he spoke using hand gestures and body language. Only then did the girl seem to understand what I was saying, and she answered in a language I didn't know.
"Kawata! Morti! Warm!"
"You're not saying you were waiting for me, are you?"
At that moment, several human sounds were heard from the forest on the left.
'Intruder!'
I quickly grabbed the girl's hand and ran into the forest on the other side. However, the girl who was being dragged by my hand kept saying something as if she was flustered.
"Shhh! Be quiet!"
At that moment, the girl shook my hand away and stopped, and I raised my voice without realizing it.
"What are you doing? Do you want to be killed by the intruders?"
"Maka! Come on! Makka!"
The girl gestured urgently toward the forest on the left.
"What on earth are you talking about?"
Intruders emerged from the forest, their voices tinged with annoyance.
'Those people?!'
It was a face that I felt like I had seen somewhere, but I couldn't quite remember it. As she tried to recall where she had seen them, the girl suddenly ran towards the intruders.
Men who fought against the intruders. I sighed in relief as I saw the young men chatting casually with the girl and lowered the tip of my spear.
'I'm so glad I wasn't an intruder.'
I was nervous because I thought we were going to have another fight... In an instant, the tension was released and all the strength left my body.
I looked up and glanced at the map window. I saw young men moving around in blue dots.
'I'm still not good at using maps.'
I needed to get used to using the map. I need to get really used to it from now on. At that moment, young men carrying shields, clubs, and bows approached me cautiously.
An awkward silence flowed.
"Aka!"
"······."
The shortest of the young men raised one hand and spoke. Seeing the sight of a person raising their hand lightly like a Western greeting, I naturally raised one hand and spoke.
"hi!"
"······."
And then silence came again. Perhaps because he didn't like the silence, the short man urged the other men to greet him.
"Aka!"
"Aka!"
There are five young men in total, just like we saw last time. Finally, when the man with sharp eyes greeted me with an indifferent look, I greeted him in their language too.
"Aka!"
The short man shows his yellow teeth and smirks at me as if he did a good job. And then, as if he didn't like the awkward atmosphere, a short man came up to me and pointed at my panties.
'What did you ask?'
"······."
I looked down at my panties naturally. Although they were a little dirty, there were no stains or holes in the panties. As I raised my head with a questioning look, the short man pointed to his important part.
Then, he spread the distance with both hands and successively increased and decreased the size, and said with an envious look.
"Makuna! Makuna!"
"······."
I didn't give him a thumbs up, but I almost burst out laughing because I understood what the short man was saying right away.
'You're saying you're jealous of what's big inside you.'
In this atmosphere, it was honestly funny to make such a serious joke. Meanwhile, the young men were having a serious conversation with the girl, centering around a man with sharp eyes.
When the conversation was over, the girl came to me.
"Makua! Saka! Maracanã!"
"······."
The girl spoke with a very serious tone, using her hand gestures here and there. He even pointed to the forest and described the intruders with a ferocious expression.
"Are you telling me to follow you because it's dangerous here because intruders might come? Did I understand correctly?"
"Oh!"
The girl nodded with bright eyes, grabbed my wrist, and motioned for me to follow her with the other hand.
"······."
Already, young men were walking ahead, each holding a weapon, looking around. At that moment, a short man turned around and gestured with his hand as if to scold me, saying, 'Why aren't you following me? What are you doing?'
I was conflicted for a moment.
'Is it right to follow them?'
After a moment of worry, I found myself walking while holding the girl's hand. By the way, there was no message saying the quest was completed.
* * *
A new settlement for the Great Turtle Tribe. The river was nearby and there was quite a lot of land for planting crops. As soon as they arrived at their new settlement, the tribesmen began to tamp down the land.
They cut down trees and cut them down again to secure land for building a hut. And as I worked absentmindedly, tamping the ground, night came before I knew it.
The tribesmen began to spend the night in small tents made of leather, which were temporary dwellings for families.
Dogs tied to ropes near the tent stood guard with their ears pricked up. Meanwhile, the chief of the tribe, the 'Forest Hunter', also entered the tent.
His wife, 'Flower on the Tree', was sleeping in a corner of the tent with a very tired look on her face. Next to him, his two young sons, who were not yet adults, were sleeping soundly.
The 'hunter of the forest', who had briefly cast a warm glance at his two sons, quietly got up from his seat and threw some firewood into the campfire, worried that the warmth in the house would go down during the night.
And then, unable to sleep, he went out to the tent and stood in the open air, deep in thought with eyes full of worry. At that moment, the leather door of the tent opened and a noise was heard.
"Can't sleep?"
As if he knew who it was just by hearing the voice, 'The Forest is a Hunter' nodded with a comfortable smile.
"That's kind of true."
'Flowers on the Tree' also stood side by side with 'The Hunter in the Forest' without saying a word and looked toward the river.
"Because of the daughter I left behind in the previous settlement?"
"huh."
"······."
'Flowers on the Tree' said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I told you, Big Mouth. It has a strong connection to the spirit of the White Man. And with the warriors of the tribe with you, the things you're worried about won't happen."
"I guess so?"
"okay."
Although he didn't show it on the outside, 'Flowers on the Tree' was also secretly very worried about 'The Moon Rises'.
However, now we need to build a village in the new settlement as soon as possible. 'Flowers on the Tree' kept her words to herself for her husband who would lead his people as a chief.
"When the morning comes, people will be busy building huts here and there. Let's go in."
The 'Hunter of the Forest' nodded.
"okay."
* * *
Nearly sixty Pequot warriors appeared in the village where the Big Turtle tribe lived. At that moment, the 'Horned Toad', with large and small scars all over his face and body, looked around the empty space and gave instructions to the warriors with sharp eyes.
"You over there! You over here! This is your place! If you find even the slightest trace, report it immediately."
"All right."
The Pequot warriors quickly dispersed in groups of three or five. The 'Horned Toad' swallowed his anger and stood there, chewing his regretful mouth.
'Unfortunately, the prey has already escaped.'
It was the summer of last year when I first discovered a Lenape village while scouting the surrounding area. The reason they didn't plunder them right then was because they were waiting for the perfect moment to surprise them.
And just as a plump turkey has plenty to eat, he kept sending out warriors to spy on more women and children to be used as slaves.
However, the young warriors were blinded by the ball and became complacent. While the Lenape men were out hunting, the energetic young warriors forgot their mission and raided the village without the chief's permission.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Those kids don't even understand the situation and are acting up."
The 'Horned Toad' clicked his tongue and cursed the young warriors who had died in vain. However, they are also clearly part of the tribe.
'Blood is paid with blood.'
Vowing revenge, at the chief's angry command, the Horned Toad led all of the tribe's warriors and invaded the Lenape village.
But, there was nothing.
"You idiots!"
The Horned Toad once again growled in anger at the reckless actions of the young warriors who had died. At that moment, a warrior holding a spear approached the 'Horned Toad'.
"Great Warrior! I found a trace that was left recently. I think you should check it out, Grand Warrior."
The 'Horned Toad' nodded and said.
"Take the lead!"
"yes."
After a while, the 'Horned Toad' knelt down and looked down at the many footprints left on the ground. A warrior skilled in tracking spoke up from the side.
"At most, it seems like he left two days ago."
"······."
The 'Horned Toad' said nothing, but carefully looked at the dirt around the footprints and sniffed it.
"No, we left exactly one day ago. There were seven of us, just as you guessed."
"okay."
The 'horned toad' raised its head and looked in the direction of the footprints, then turned its gaze down again. A footprint that is unusually large compared to other footprints.
'It's him.'
The 'Horned Toad' looked for someone with chilling eyes as if he knew who it was.
"Bring me 'The Wind Blows Through the Cracks'."
"All right."
The warrior who received the order ran quickly and brought 'The Wind Blows Through the Cracks', the only survivor from the battle with the Lenape tribe.
"Oh, Grand Master! You, you found me?"
Was it a stab to be the only warrior who abandoned his fellow warriors and ran away? He was standing there with a very tense expression, unable to properly look at the great warrior, the 'Horned Toad', who said, 'The wind blows through the gaps'.
"Okay, tell me again about the white person you saw."
"Huh? Oh! Yes."
He started talking nonsense about 'white people' while saying 'the wind blows through the gaps'.
"The white man was muscular all over. He was about two heads taller than me. He also wielded a spear almost as well as a swordsman. And although we surrounded him and pushed him back, his fighting skills were as good as a great warrior. If that guy hadn't interfered, we could have subdued the Lenape tribe…"
"stop!"
The 'Horned Toad' raised his hand as if he didn't want to hear that anymore.
"Ah! Yes."
"······."
The 'Horned Toad' looked at the footprints left by the white man without saying anything, and his face turned red enough to furrow his brows.
Although they failed to destroy the Lenape tribe's village... If we could find and kill the mastermind who killed the young warriors, we could at least get some revenge.
'I really want to have a competition to see how good a fighter you are.'
Once the decision was made, the Horned Toad immediately gathered his warriors.
"It's hunting time! We're going after the Lenape tribe now! Move quickly!"
"Understood, Grand Master!"
At the direction of the Horned Toad, the Pequot warriors formed a pursuit formation and began to run toward the forest.