When I came to the 'Big Turtle' village, I thought that I would naturally go through the procedures smoothly and marry 'The Moon Rises'.
However, when I was talking to 'Moon Rises' a little while ago, I noticed that she kept getting conscious of the big white person.
If she didn't care about him, she couldn't have been cold to me. And I could never forget the mocking laughter he gave me when I entered the communal hut.
'I'll have to make sure I get it right in front of her.'
'Red Face' twitched the corners of his mouth as if he was vowing revenge. At that time, the 'Strong Soul Warrior' naturally changed the topic, perhaps because he didn't like the awkward atmosphere.
"Forest Hunter! I saw someone who caught my eye earlier. He looks different from us, is tall, and has very white skin."
'The Forest Hunter' knew immediately who he was talking about.
"A very big two thousand days."
"The name is very big, Lee Cheon-il?"
"huh."
"Why is the name so difficult? Isn't that person from our tribe?"
The 'Forest Hunter' nodded and answered.
"Yes. He was a great help to us when the village was in danger."
"I see. So, you're leaving soon?"
"I don't know when I will leave. For now, I plan to provide him with as much convenience as possible and treat my benefactor well until he leaves."
As the 'Hunter of the Forest' was secretly keeping quiet about the two thousand days, the 'Warrior of the Strong Soul' tilted his head in puzzlement and asked again.
"Do you know which tribe that white person is from?"
The 'Forest Hunter' was going to ask about it anyway.
"Dae··Han··Republic of Korea, Korea··Ria? Have you ever heard of that tribe?"
"···hmm!"
The 'Strong Soul Warrior' frowned thoughtfully, then shook his head.
"I've never heard of it before. Where is the tribe?"
"I don't know, so I'm asking you."
"Is that so? Hahaha!"
The 'Forest Hunter' laughed loudly as if the 'Strong Soul Warrior' was embarrassed by the blow. For a while, the Lenape people from the two villages laughed and talked about this and that.
"You worked hard getting here, so get some rest today. Help us out tomorrow."
"Isn't that why you came here? Our children are really good at their jobs. Let them do whatever they want. Then, won't the girls in this village be interested in choosing husbands?"
"Hahaha! I see. Then I'll make you do your job properly."
* * *
A forest quite far from the 'Big Turtle' village. There was a large forest of maple trees that were hundreds of years old and had formed colonies so numerous that it was impossible to count them.
Stretching in the spring sunshine, the maple trees began to sprout green leaves little by little. I came here with the villagers and was speechless at the beautiful sight for a while.
'Wow! There's a place like this?'
If I had a phone, I would have taken a picture right here and there to leave a proof photo. At that moment, the female elder of the tribe, in place of the chief, looked around and shouted loudly.
"This would be good. Okay! Five trees for each group."
"yes."
About thirty tribesmen answered loudly in unison. I moved in groups of two, a man and a woman, with the 'fast-footed deer' and the 'kind rabbit'.
First, the 'fast-footed deer' stepped forward and demonstrated. He made a small mark by lightly striking a part of the maple tree's bark with a stone knife in his hand.
Phuuk! Phuuk!
"A very big two thousand days! Surely this isn't your first time doing this? What's with that unfamiliar look in your eyes?"
"······."
He didn't say anything and just stayed quiet.
"Surely you've never tried collecting maple tree water?"
The 'swift deer' stuck out its tongue and shook its head.
"What on earth did you learn from your tribe? What good is it to be only good at fighting? Phew! Watch what I do. Don't ask me later. After digging a small hole like this…"
The 'fast deer', who had tucked his stone knife into his waistband, took out his new equipment, a small bow. Then, he twisted an arrow without a feather around the bowstring once and fixed it in the groove he had marked earlier.
"See this touch? This stone is quite precious. It's hard to get, so you have to handle it carefully so that it doesn't break."
"i get it."
Unlike other stones, the shiny tip looked quite hard at first glance. From then on, the 'fast-footed deer' began to dig a groove by moving the small bow back and forth.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
'This is a completely manual drill.'
I had no idea that you could carve a home into a maple tree like this. I watched the 'fast-footed deer' with slightly curious eyes.
"Just dig until you see the white flesh of the maple tree. See? It's done."
As I nodded as if I understood, the 'fast-footed deer' looked at the 'kind rabbit' behind him.
"Yeah. I'm ready."
The 'kind rabbit' approached the grooved maple tree carrying a reed stem about the thickness of his thumb. The hollow reed stems were carefully fitted into the grooves, and a hollowed-out log was placed underneath.
The 'swift deer' was bragging as if he had done something great.
"If you wait here for a moment, you'll see maple water flowing out through the reed stems. See?"
Strangely enough, a drop or two of sap dripped from the maple tree into the log barrel.
"But that's not all. We need to hang up a log bucket because the animals can drink the maple water on the ground."
The 'fast-footed deer' again made a groove with his small bow, inserted a stick of suitable thickness into the groove, and hung a log connected to a leather rope.
"It's really over! Now, you do it."
He nodded, accepting the small bow he handed him.
"huh."
After a while, I finished working on the three maple trees and walked to the maple tree next to it. The 'fast-footed deer', who had a satisfied expression on his face as if he had taught me well the work I had done, had been talking nonstop since a while ago.
"······They came to find a bride. We have to choose well the ones who will become our competitors or family members, for the sake of the village. So don't act ignorant in front of them. Even if you don't know, act like you know. Don't give in to the fight for power. Okay? Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"okay."
I learned something new thanks to 'The Swift Deer'. The Lenape tribe was a strictly matriarchal clan society. All children belong to the matrilineal clan.
The Lenape matriarchy consisted of three major clans: the Wolf, the Turtle, and the Turkey. 'The moon rises' belongs to the 'turtle' clan, which is the clan of 'flowers on a tree'.
It is common for a husband to be brought into the village from another clan or from outside, like a son-in-law. If a 'swift deer' belonging to the rare 'turkey' clan could not get married in this village, he had no choice but to leave for a neighboring tribal village in search of a bride.
And in that village, he begins to live as the bride's family.
'I see. Maybe it could be a good system to prevent incest.'
As soon as our group finished the maple tree work assigned to us, the village elder gave the order to withdraw.
"I have to come back tomorrow and get some maple water, so check again to make sure the bucket is covered with leaves."
"It's covered well."
"It's covered neatly."
"No problem."
"Go back to the village."
When the maple tree work was finished, the villagers walked towards the village with excited expressions.
* * *
"Keep your eyes on the target until the end, without wavering."
Instead of going straight back to the village, I took the advice of the 'brave wolf' and shot my arrow with a cautious look.
Swish!
The arrow I shot flew quickly with a sound of cutting through the air.
Phew!
The 'brave wolf' smiled as he saw the arrow hit the target accurately.
"Well done. This feeling, one more time!"
Before I knew it, I had put an arrow on the bowstring and shot the arrows one after another with a cold glare in my eyes.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
His advice was very helpful, as all three shots hit the target without missing a single one.
"It's a little less accurate, but it's not bad."
The 'Brave Wolf', who was stingy with praise, was secretly amazed at Lee Cheon-il's quick learning ability even though he had only been teaching archery for a short time.
"It's all because of you. Thank you."
I expressed my sincere gratitude and looked at the message floating above my head.
[Tiring!]
[Congratulations! You have acquired a new skill, Beginner Archery.]
I was hesitant, but I was able to acquire skills in real life as well. Filled with joy and elation, I swallowed hard and tried my best to calm my excitement.
Moreover, there was a 'brave wolf' next to him.
[Beginner Archery (0/20)]
"The brave wolf" said with a sly grin, as if he knew the joy.
"That's it for today. Let's go back to the village."
He nodded immediately as if he had been waiting for those words.
"okay."
* * *
After cleaning up the area, 'Brave Wolf' and I returned to the village.
"···If you don't want to forget that feeling, you have to keep practicing."
"i get it."
After breaking up with him, I walked towards the shack where I was staying. Just then, a mother dog raised in the village noticed me and came towards me, wagging her tail.
I knelt down and stroked the mother dog's head, and she licked my face with her tongue and acted cute.
"You want something to eat? Okay."
I secretly fed the mother dog meat from her inventory a few times, and she was very happy to see me. I looked around and secretly took out a bone with flesh still attached from my inventory.
"Okay, eat."
[Quest: Feed the Mother Dog (9/10)]
As the mother dog quickly finished the bone, fearing that other dogs would come, a welcome notification sound was heard indicating that the quest was complete.
[Tiring!]
[Quest completed.]
[You will receive 80 experience points as a reward.]
The mother dog, whose belly was somewhat full, walked forward with brisk strides and glanced at me.
"Why? You want me to follow you?"
I followed the mother dog, who was looking at me with eyes as if she wanted to introduce her puppies. Not far from my hut, a mother dog gave birth to three puppies and immediately started nursing her puppies, whose eyes were still unopened, as soon as she lay down on the ground.
The puppies whining and trying to drink more of their mother's milk were so cute. Then, I noticed the youngest one who couldn't find his seat and was being pushed around by his brothers.
He carefully lifted the puppy and let it suckle from its mother's breast. The mother dog did not show her sharp teeth or growl when her pup was touched.
"It's cute. I'll give you a puppy that follows me around later."
It was a bit lonely for me to be alone in the shack. I got up from my seat and petted the mother dog again.
* * *
Two rich men were having a long conversation in a hut provided by the village of the 'Big Turtle'.
"···Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned, but if you want to become a chief, you must take 'The Moon Rises' as your wife."
To become a chief, one's wife's bloodline was of utmost importance. In particular, 'The Moon Rises' means that if you become the husband of a direct descendant of the turtle clan, you will gain many rights as well as the title of chief.
Moreover, after a year, the population of the 'Big Turtle' had grown so much that it had no choice but to build a new village and branch off.
'Red Face' also knew that fact well and answered with a determined expression.
"I will never disappoint you, father."
"Yes, that's right. You should be on my side and help me get to the top."
The two rich men were each consumed by their own ambition and greed.
"And I found out that 'Moon Rises' seems to be interested in the white guy. Show me your hunting skills, or take him down in a duel, or whatever you want."
"Can I kill you?"
"If you pretend to be a mistake."
"Okay, Father!"
* * *
Eastern part of the upper reaches of the Muhekunnetuk River (Hudson River). Pequot tribe village. In front of over a hundred warriors, the 'Brave Snake' shouted loudly with his eyes shining coldly.
"The time is ripe."