A message popped up saying the quest was completed.
[Tiring!]
[Quest completed.]
[You will receive 300 experience points as a reward.]
[Tiring!]
[You have leveled up.]
[You will receive +1 ability and +2 ability points randomly.]
[Your leadership stat will increase by 1 based on the random ability increase.]
I even leveled up at the same time.
"······."
The chiefs looked at me with slightly bewildered eyes. I turned away from their gaze and looked deep into my mind's eye to confirm the lack of Curie Phi.
The one who appears to be the leader is a great warrior. A young man holding a newborn baby and breathing heavily is warrior-like.
And among the children, there were two geniuses. Twins at that. Besides, there was an interesting person among the old people.
'You have a lot of connections?'
Anyway, I don't know exactly what the story was, but the wandering tribe of the Quiri Pi tribe was a total hit. My greed for talent was stirring and I couldn't just send them away like this.
The 'Forest Hunter' tilted his head as if he couldn't understand my sudden attitude and let out a short sigh.
"Whew! If you take responsibility for their food, I will allow you to come along."
He asked for the consent of the other chiefs while saying that.
"If I, the very great Chieftain Lee Cheon-il, take charge of them, there won't be any problem."
"me too."
"As long as you don't have any accidents along the way, that's fine."
The chiefs looked at me and asked with their eyes if I could take responsibility for them.
"I will take responsibility."
As I spoke with a confident expression, the 'Forest Hunters' and the chieftains gave a trembling look and allowed the wandering tribe to accompany them.
"Okay."
"I will not allow you to accompany me."
I don't disagree with what you've shown so far, but we need to crack down hard on them so that there are no problems in the future.
He turned his gaze and instructed the warrior to interpret.
"I will take you away."
The leader of the wandering tribe bowed his head and expressed his gratitude again and again.
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
"However, if you interfere with the movement or cause an accident in the middle of it, I will throw you away without mercy."
"······."
The leader of the wandering tribe paused for a moment at my warning, then nodded with a determined expression.
"Thank you, I hope there won't be any accidents."
After a while, the battlefield was cleared and the group prepared to move. This time again, he took the lead with 'The Hunter of the Forest'.
The 'Fast Deer' glanced at the wandering tribe at the end of the group and tilted his head as if he didn't understand my decision.
"I don't know why you're accepting them… but anyway, I'll watch them as you instructed."
"Don't do anything else and keep a close eye on me."
The 'fast-footed deer', who had been looking back, could no longer contain his curiosity and came back to whisper.
"Chief! You're not interested in that wandering tribe's woman, are you?"
"······."
I thought you were going to tell me some big secret... I was dumbfounded by the nonsense of the 'swift deer'. I wanted to swear a lot, but I held it back.
"no."
"Well, that's fortunate."
A small smile appeared on the face of the 'fast-moving deer' as he turned around and walked away.
'No way? No way.'
At that moment, the 'Forest Hunter' shouted loudly to his companions.
"We've lost a lot of time, so let's move quickly."
And so the movement began again.
* * *
As night fell, the group skillfully built a portable hut. A late dinner was served among the portable huts gathered around a campfire.
I and the 'very big' warriors went off to eat with the Quiri Pi tribesmen. Of course, there were so many mouths to feed that the meat we hunted wasn't enough.
However, I had some meat stored in my inventory.
'I guess I'll have to hunt occasionally to fill my inventory with meat.'
"Okay, I'm good at grilling meat. Try this too."
The 'fast-footed deer' was so excited that he brought some golden roasted meat to the girl of the Curie Pi tribe. The girl felt the gaze of the family around her and bowed her head in shame as she accepted the meat offered by the 'swift deer'.
Then, when she was about to tear the meat and share it with her younger siblings, the 'fast-footed deer' quickly stopped her.
"Leave it. I already cooked some meat for the kids to eat."
"······."
The 'fast deer' soon shared the roasted meat between the twins.
"Hahaha! I'm pretty good at hunting. Of course, our chief is good at it too. Yes, yes. You must have starved a lot, right? Eat a lot. I can hunt again."
I couldn't help but laugh at the 'fast-footed deer's' act of sharing its meat as if it were a charity. Still, the 'fast-footed deer' seemed to notice and squinted one eye at me, asking for my understanding.
Anyone could see that it was work. So I just pretended I didn't know. but.
"This meat is mine. Don't take it away."
"Honest bear! You ate a lot."
"Still, I'm hungry."
"I'll catch the big one later."
"I don't believe it.
I found myself shaking my head involuntarily at the bickering between the 'fast-footed deer' and the 'stubborn bear'.
"Whew! They're not even kids."
At that moment, my eyes met with the leader of the Curie Pi people. He also smiled and bowed his head deeply to me as if thanking me, perhaps because he found our warriors' behavior funny.
'Even though he's a great warrior... why did he hide his skills?'
Of course, you won't be able to deal with all the Pequots chasing you alone. Moreover, in a situation where there are children, women, and the elderly, it would be impossible to escape alone.
If it weren't for our help, someone in the family would have probably died. Anyway, it was clear that he had feelings for me.
And so far, I've been following the group well without any accidents.
'He's quick and perceptive.'
He had his own purpose, but the more I looked at him, the more I liked him.
* * *
A few days passed quickly. Today we finally meet a friendly tribe. At a prearranged location we waited for the Mohegan tribe.
"You're late."
"What's the problem? If it were before, they would have come out before us."
"I hear the Mohegan tribe and the Pequot tribe aren't on good terms these days."
"okay?"
"huh."
"Then, did a war really break out?"
While the chieftains talked and shared what they knew, the 'Forest Hunter' looked ahead.
'He's coming.'
I knew the Mohegan tribe was coming to the map window a long time ago. But, without telling anyone else, I waited silently.
Just then the Mohegan tribe showed up.
"It's been a while. Hunter of the Forest!"
"Yes. Guardian of the tribe!"
"How have you been?
"Me, well, that's it."
For a while, the two tribes exchanged greetings, each with an interpreter serving as their intermediary. Since I didn't know anyone, I just gave my name and exchanged greetings.
However, I checked each one carefully to see if there was anyone worth keeping an eye on. Warriors, craftsmen, merchants, etc.
A few caught my eye, but most of the Mohegans were ordinary.
* * *
A market was opened right there along the river. The Lenape and Mohegan tribes also brought items from their respective villages.
Transactions were conducted in the form of barter, based on value. Weapons, grain, leather, clothing, ornaments, pottery, etc.
As expected, the quantity was not that much. What should I say? The purpose seemed to be to promote friendship among tribes rather than trade.
We didn't stay still either, but took a seat on one side and took out candles and soap.
"Come here, everyone. I have something amazing for you. You'll probably be surprised when you see it. What is it?"
While the 'fast-footed deer' was busy soliciting customers, the 'stubborn bear' was lighting a fire with a small bow nearby.
Soon, the Mohegan tribesmen began to gather one by one. Even our fellow Lenape people looked at our things with curiosity.
The 'Forest Hunter' came up to me and asked with a curious look.
"It doesn't seem like something you can eat. It doesn't seem like it's a decoration either… What is that?"
"You will know when you see it."
I answered him with a meaningful smile and then winked at the 'swift deer'. We were in sync as the 'fast-footed deer' demonstrated by holding a single candle.
"Now, what is this? It's something that lights up the inside of the hut instead of a wood fire."
"Does that make sense?"
"How do you make a fire?"
People asked with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.
"Honest bear! Bring me some fire."
"huh."
When the 'stubborn bear' approached carrying a log and the 'quick-footed deer' lit the candle in his hand, people made amazed expressions and exclaimed in admiration here and there.
"You said it was early?"
"It's already hot in the summer and it's hard to light a fire, so I can use that to light up the inside of the hut at night."
"I think it would be okay to leave it in the food storage."
As the price of the grass suddenly increased, the Mohegans rushed to trade it.
"I'll give you all the weapons our village makes, so just give me ten."
"One candle per decoration. How about that?"
"Trade us for three pieces of leather and one candle."
The 'swift deer' calmed the people down.
"Okay! Everyone, calm down. There are other items, so we'll trade them later."
This time, soap was introduced. He called in the dirtiest of the Mohegans and demonstrated it in front of everyone. The voice of the 'fast deer' grew louder as the crowd cheered.
"Now, your dirty hands are clean. It's simple to use. Just wet your hands and feet with water, rub them with soap, and then wash them again with water. Done."
"Trade that soap too."
"Women will like it."
Boom boom!
* * *
The soap and candles assigned to the Mohegan tribe were exchanged for grains such as corn and beans at fairly high prices.
The quantity was so small that the Mohegan tribe was very sorry.
"If you need soap or flour, please come to our 'Big Turtle' village with grain at any time. You are always welcome."
"Okay."
"I'll be there soon."
"If you want to take candles and soap, you'll need to take a lot of grain."
"Make plenty before we leave."
The reaction from the Mohegans was very positive. I took a step back, watched the scene, and nodded.
'Anyway, the primary objective has been achieved.'
There are three reasons why I go to such lengths to invest in this trade that yields little return on investment. Solving the food problem.
Grow into a trading city. Finally, to find out about crops that can help with food, such as potatoes and sweet potatoes. But, unfortunately, the Mohegan tribe said they had never heard of crops like potatoes or sweet potatoes.
[Tiring!]
[Quest completed.]
Finally, one of the linked quests, the trade quest, has been completed.
'The next tribe was the Wampanoag tribe,' he said.
* * *
We parted ways with the Mohegan tribe, promising to meet again. We also set out immediately to trade with the Wampanoag tribe.
The chiefs gathered around me and looked upset.
"We are of the same tribe···"
"I didn't even know there were candles and soap until now."
"I didn't see it that way, but you're going too far."
In particular, the 'Forest Hunter' seemed to be very upset and had been silently protesting to me since a while ago without speaking to me.
Anyway, I had to appease them so that I wouldn't have any more headaches in the future. And in order to become the chief in the future, he needed to build trust from now on.
"It's inconvenient to carry around. Also, there's a chance that you'll lose the candles and soap along the way. Later, after trading with other tribes, I was planning to return to our village and give you the candles and soap as gifts."
"Is that so? Hahaha!"
"I didn't even know that. I misunderstood you."
"Haha! Then that's right. I believed in you from the beginning."
The heavy atmosphere brightened in an instant. After a while, the 'Forest Hunter', who had been consistently silent, coughed in vain and spoke to me.
"Don't forget who gave you your daughter."
"I know."
* * *
A fortnight has passed. After a long trek through much of Pequot territory, they came across the Wampanoag tribe.
"It's been a while."
"How have you been?"
The Wampanoag tribe was not much different from the Mohegan tribe. Appearance, clothing, hairstyle, etc. It was almost like the Lenape tribe.
However, the tattoos on the face and body were slightly different for each tribe. The transaction began in a friendly atmosphere and with friendly relations being strengthened.
As the 'Swift Deer' had said, the Wampanoag people brought with them colorful ornaments made from shells.
"Look. You did it right this time."
"The ladies will love it."
"I hope you give me my fair value."
It was said that the Wampanoag tribe's ornaments were so famous that they traded the price of goods in terms of those ornaments.
After a while, the tables were turned. Like the Mohegans, the Wampanoag tribe also had a keen interest in candles and soap.
They even tried to negotiate a deal by setting the value higher than their jewelry.
"I will give you all the trinkets in our village."
"You want corn or beans?"
"Hmm. How about this? This is probably the first time you've seen this fruit."
One of the Wampanoag chiefs took something out of his leather pouch. At that moment, my eyes widened without me knowing.
'What's that?!'
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Quiri Phi Tribe – A collective term for several Native American tribes living in Connecticut.
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Wampanoag Tribe – Native American people who lived in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The tribe that brought corn and turkey for the first Thanksgiving to American settlers.