"······"
Even for a moment, the 'Honest Bear' immediately asked with a dead look on his face.
"But, will she...like me?"
"Why aren't there any grooms like you? Be confident."
"···yes."
When the 'stubborn bear' weakly responded to the words of confidence booster, the 'swift deer' who was listening nearby said a word.
"What are you worried about? If His Majesty the Emperor brought up the story of the chief of the Iri tribe, then there must be a solution."
"Can I really marry her?"
As he said that, the 'honest bear's' gaze turned towards me.
Phew!
"I will make a wonderful opportunity for you, honest bear! The red berries will be yours.
"Make her fall in love."
The 'Honest Bear' bit his lips tightly as if making a promise, perhaps sensing that my mood was ominous.
"Hehehe! I will definitely make her fall in love with me."
"Okay, do your best."
A little later, the head of the Department of Defense, 'Brave Wolf', and his chief of staff, 'Splendid Sunset', entered the office and had an in-depth discussion about the support for the Iri tribe.
"···If you visit the Iri tribe with a small group, the warriors' fighting skills must be excellent."
'Brave Sunset' added his opinion, seemingly agreeing with 'Brave Wolf's' opinion.
"···We must prepare the best weapons and armor for our warriors in preparation for the worst. And in order to create an excuse to intervene in the war, it would be best to keep the fact that His Majesty the Emperor is visiting the Iri tribe a secret."
The meeting continued for a while. As the meeting neared finalization on how to help the Iri tribe, he again emphasized to those in attendance the need for confidentiality.
"···Everyone, prepare without a hitch."
"Understood, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
* * *
The mountains that divide the earth (Appalachian Mountains). The forest of trees began to shake and tremors were felt in the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Five guardsmen who had been scouting the area approached me on buffalo and reported.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty! We missed the buffalo herd."
I could have told you where the buffalo herd was in the map window, but I deliberately didn't tell the guardsmen in case I wasn't there.
Now, I thought, the guards and warriors should be able to track down and catch the buffalo herds without me.
"There's nothing we can do. For now, let's wait for the other guards."
"Understood, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
The guardsmen who had finished their report drove the buffalo and waited on one side. At that moment, 'Splendid Sunset', who was riding the buffalo with me, holding onto my waist, yawned with a bored expression.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! Finding a herd of buffalo is not easy."
"This isn't a plain."
"That's right. This is a forest, so bison aren't as common as they are on the plains. But, Your Majesty! Are there really no mountains on the plains? Is the land really flat all the way to the horizon?"
"···okay."
There was no need to bring her along to hunt a herd of buffalo. However, 'Splendid Sunset' strongly insisted that she should serve His Majesty the Emperor as his chief aide.
Her argument sounded quite plausible, so I had no choice but to bring her along. And he was harassing me with these useless questions.
"···If we build large farms on the plains, food will increase tremendously. I will meet with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of Construction to come up with a plan."
"······"
Now I didn't even feel like answering. At that moment, the 'Heavy Snowstorm' and several of the Royal Guard warriors who had gone out on a scout mission to rescue me approached me riding on buffaloes.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! We have found a herd of buffalo, numbering about a hundred."
"Good work. As soon as the rest of the guard warriors return, we will hunt a herd of buffalo."
"All right."
* * *
Adadadadadadadada! Adadadadadadadada!
The Royal Guard warriors riding the buffaloes with me roared and drove the buffalo herd in one direction.
"Stop the buffalo from straying onto the side road."
"Swift deer! Take the left side."
"Brave wolf on the right!"
"Don't get too close, the buffalo might get excited."
Although they were slower than horses, the buffaloes that carried the guards as cavalry were quite active. At that moment, the female buffalo, frightened, began to leave the herd with her calf.
"Splendid sunset! I'm going to pick up speed, so hold on tight to your waist so you don't fall to the ground."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
Before I knew it, 'Splendid Sunset' closed its eyes tightly and clung to my back. At that moment, the buffalo I was riding charged forward with a frightening speed.
Then the 'Honest Bear' followed me.
"Honest bear! Drive the mother towards me!"
"Understood, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
After a while, 'Straight Bear' and I quickly drove the buffalo back to join the mother and calf in the buffalo herd. 'Splendid Sunset', who was riding behind me, cheered with excitement still in her eyes.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! It's so much fun, it's like I'm flying through the sky like the wind."
Now you don't have to stick so close to my back... I felt uncomfortable because her chest kept touching my body, whether she was doing it on purpose.
"···By the way, how long are you going to be on my back?"
'Splendid Sunset' clung closer to my back than before with a playful look in its eyes.
"···I'm scared I'll fall to the ground."
I was dumbfounded by her obviously frightened behavior. At that moment, the 'Heavy Snowstorm' in the lead shouted loudly.
"The buffalo leader enters the makeshift enclosure."
Ummmmmm!
As soon as he finished speaking, the buffalo began to follow their leader into the makeshift enclosure. I gave urgent instructions to the SS soldiers waiting at the makeshift fence.
"Now! Close the entrance!"
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
After a while, a herd of buffalo entered the temporary enclosure without incident. There are currently 124 buffalo raised on the ranch, 32 of which are not yet tamed.
If you include the herd of buffalo we just caught, that's 227. Considering the cavalry, the herds, and even the use of carts for transportation, there was a dire shortage of domesticated buffalo.
However, as they say, starting is half the battle, and I plan to gradually increase the number of buffalo I have captured.
"But since we're hunting a herd of buffalo with cavalry, we can definitely catch them faster than before."
And then, just as it happened, a welcome notification sounded in my head.
[Tiring!]
[You have leveled up.]
After clearing various quests, I reached level 54. It took quite some time, but now you're just one level away from unlocking the 'Celestial Library' and its special abilities.
"I guess I'll have to distribute the remaining points when I have time."
*
Temporary fence. Between the mountain that split the land and the 'very large' village, several temporary fences were built to accommodate the daily movement of the buffalo.
It's been five days since I led the herd of buffalo on the move. The guards, having safely enclosed the herd of buffalo in a makeshift pen, were preparing a late dinner.
"I think it would be better to feed the buffalo first."
"These days, packs of hungry wolves appear frequently, so keep a close watch on the surrounding area."
Under the orders of 'Brave Wolf' and 'Heavy Snowstorm', the guardsmen moved busily. I quietly left my makeshift shelter and found a quiet place while dinner was being prepared.
After making sure there was no one around in the map window, I turned on the status window.
[Lv 54. Lee Cheon-il]
[Affiliation: Sky Sun, Emperor, Great Warrior]
[Attributes (6/8): Map, Cartography, Mind's Eye, Language Magician, Teleportation, Healing]
[Ability]
Strength: 43
Agility: 43
Stamina: 43
Wisdom: 59
Command: 42
[Remaining points: 8]
[Beginner combat skills]
– Archery (20/20), Blunt Skills (19/20), Throwing Skills (18/20), Fencing Skills (17/20), Survival Skills (15/20), Shield Skills (16/20)
[Intermediate Combat Skill]
– Martial Arts (12/20), Spear Arts (5/20)
[Beginner Non-Combat Skills]
– Weapon Crafting (20/20), Architecture (16/20), Military Strategy (17/20), Farming (15/20), Stonework (13/20), Crafting (19/20), Herbalism (15/20), Mining (14/20), Pottery (17/20), Animal Science (12/20), Cooking (10/20), Shipbuilding (15/20), Military Science (13/20), Mathematics (8/20), Administration (14/20), Law (8/20), Chemistry (4/20), Animal Husbandry (6/20), Medicine (2/20).
[Intermediate Non-Combat Skills]
-Intermediate Metal Refining Technology (8/20)
[Advanced Non-Combat Skills]
-Lenapair (20/20)
I occasionally check the status window when I have time, and the proficiency of all skills is increasing evenly across the board, regardless of whether they are beginner or intermediate level.
And with the random ability increase, each of strength, stamina, agility, and wisdom increased by one. Map radius is 240m, total 480m.
"Hmm! I'm wondering where to invest my remaining points."
Before visiting the Iri tribe, it was necessary to allocate the remaining points in advance and adapt to the increased abilities.
After much thought, I made a decision and immediately distributed the remaining points.
[Tiring!]
[1 remaining point invested in Strength.]
[Tiring!]
[2 remaining points invested in Leadership.]
···
In a moment, the distribution was over.
[Ability]
Strength: 44
Agility: 44
Stamina: 44
Wisdom: 62
Command: 44
[Points remaining: 0]
Except for Wisdom, all other abilities were set to 44. And the radius of the map window has increased to 255m, a total of 510m, depending on the increased wisdom ability.
"Okay."
At that moment, the voice of 'Splendid Sunset' was heard from afar.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! Dinner is ready."
"Okay. I'll be right there."
* * *
Awwww!
While I was sleeping in my temporary shelter, I heard the howling of wolves from time to time. And at some point, it became quiet and I was finally able to close my eyes with difficulty.
At that moment, the sound of the 'Honest Bear' was heard from outside.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! I apologize for waking you up while you were ignoring me. There is a problem with the temporary ward."
I woke up with a sleepy look on my face.
"Okay. I'll be out soon."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
I raised my head and checked the map window that was open. The SS soldiers, marked with blue dots, were gathered around a makeshift fence.
"I hope I'm wrong."
After a while, I moved to the spot where the accident happened and couldn't help but frown. A baby buffalo was found brutally killed by a pack of wolves, its flesh torn to pieces.
'Heavy snowstorm' he reported with a stern expression.
"···Despite the heightened security at night, a pack of wolves managed to sneak in and take away a baby buffalo. It seems likely that the pack will continue to appear now that they have found easy prey."
He sighed briefly and asked again.
"The hunt won't end with just this one?"
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
When the buffalo that were meant to be domesticated were attacked by a pack of wolves, both the 'brave wolves' and the warriors took it seriously.
"···Your Majesty the Emperor! I think it would be a good idea to kill the wolf pack."
"···The buffalo herd is shaking with anxiety because of the dead calf.
"···It is obvious that it will be difficult to tame a buffalo because of the wolf."
Everyone was leaning towards dealing with the wolf pack. And then, just then, a notification sound was heard and a quest appeared.
[Tiring!]
[Quest has been activated.]
[Quest: Kill the wolf pack that killed the baby buffalo.]
[Reward: A large amount of experience points.]
After confirming the quest, I gave instructions to the great warriors and the royal guard warriors.
"As soon as the dawn breaks, we hunt the wolf pack."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"