The 'brave wolf' stepped forward with his spear in his hand, his eyes cold and cold.
"Prepare for battle! From now on, protecting His Majesty the Emperor will be our top priority."
"Yes, Mr. Cheon In-jang!"
Fifty guardsmen and mid-level warriors each took out their weapons and formed a defensive formation around me. The 'Swift Deer', who was holding a bow and preparing to provide support fire in the center, also expressed great anger as if he had been properly hit in the back of the head by the Tutello tribe.
"These guys invite people in and play a joke on them? Come in. I'll kill you all."
The 'Honest Bear', with its large size, suddenly blocked my path and struck the ground hard with its huge axe.
Phew!
Dirt scattered in all directions and the ground dug deep.
"I… am the great warrior, the honest bear! No one… can pass me by. Come! I'll… crush everything."
As I watched the warriors escorting me in an instant, I felt a strange sense of security.
'Inventory!'
'knife!'
The sword that was stored in my inventory was now tightly held in my hand. I looked at the Tutello tribe warriors who surrounded us and were terribly confused.
'What is this atmosphere?'
The Toutelo warriors did not attack us, but just stared blankly at their chief. Suddenly, I felt something was wrong, so I quickly raised my head and checked the map window.
There wasn't a single red dot. The Tudelo warriors who surrounded us and the Tudelo people who came out to greet us were all blue.
'Did we misunderstand?'
Just then, a 'heavy snowstorm' approached and spoke to me urgently.
"I should have told you earlier, I apologize. Your Majesty the Emperor! It may be a bit noisy, but this is a traditional welcoming ceremony of the Tutello tribe that has been passed down since ancient times. It usually starts with knocking on the windows to drive away any evil spirits or demons possessing the guests."
"hmm!"
The welcoming ceremony was not a little noisy, but rather very loud. I am seriously misunderstanding this. Then, from the beginning, the Toutelo tribe should explain so that there is no misunderstanding that this is how the welcoming ceremony is.
Have you looked inside me? As I was feeling embarrassed and secretly cursing the Tutello tribe, 'Heavy Snowstorm' happened to briefly explain the reason.
"Actually, I don't know the details because I just heard it vaguely from the village elders, but if you tell your guests in advance, evil spirits or demons will overhear and run away."
The Susquehannock and Tutello tribes had adjacent territories, so they were bound to interact and clash frequently.
"I wish you had told me in advance."
"I apologize, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
As the 'heavy snowstorm' receded, I naturally lowered the tip of my sword, which had been pointing straight ahead. Then he turned his head and quietly gave instructions to the 'brave wolf' next to him.
"Have you heard the whole story?"
"Yes, I will put away my weapons."
"okay."
The 'Brave Wolf' turned around and nodded to the guard warriors and mid-level warriors who were each armed and ready for battle.
"Yes, Mr. Cheon In-jang!"
The guardsmen and mid-level warriors put away their weapons, but did not disengage their battle formation. Moreover, the 'Brave Wolf' was keeping a close eye on the Tudelo tribe warriors who surrounded us, not letting down their guard just in case.
Even the 'fast-footed deer' grumbled and shook its head, as if it had heard what the 'heavy snowstorm' had to say.
"I understand, since you said it's a tradition of the Tutello tribe. But doesn't this seem a bit off?"
At that moment, the 'fast-footed deer' saw the 'stubborn bear' who had not yet put away his axe.
"What's wrong with that guy? Didn't he hear me tell him to put his weapon down?"
Suddenly, the 'fast deer' ran up to the 'stubborn bear' and started nagging him.
"It's called a welcome party. Don't embarrass people and put that axe away."
"I don't like it."
"What are you doing in front of my subordinate warriors? And this is disrespectful to the Tutello tribe who invited us."
"I am the captain of His Majesty the Emperor's guard. I will not move an inch from this position."
I couldn't help but sigh at the sight of those two bickering and arguing like a married couple right in front of me.
Phew!
At that time, seeing us with our weapons down, the warriors of the Tutelo tribe began a full-scale welcoming ceremony at the direction of the chieftain of the Tutelo tribe, perhaps thinking that the misunderstanding had been resolved.
"Get out!"
"Get out!"
The Tutello warriors who surrounded us moved forward and retreated in a large circle, striking the ground with the ends of their spears in a steady rhythm.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
And a man who appeared to be a shaman of the Tutello tribe continued to circle us, dancing in a deer-shaped mask and costume.
"Evil spirits and demons who are dyeing this world dark, get out!"
* * *
A large hut. After the grand welcoming ceremony, the chief of the Tutelo tribe guided me straight to a communal hut similar to a village hall.
As if to repay the Cherokee tribe for rescuing the Tutelo people who had been taken as slaves, a sumptuous meal was served in the communal hut.
Cornbread, venison, berries and other types of fruit, etc. To the Tutelo tribe, it was food prepared with the utmost sincerity, but to me, it was just ordinary food.
But, I didn't show it in front of them. Chief Tutelo, in his forties and with wrinkles all over his face, once again expressed his deep gratitude for 'Following the Footsteps of the Past'.
"Thank you so much for saving our people and bringing them here safely. I don't have anything to offer, but I hope you enjoy your meal."
"The cooking skills of the Tutelo tribe are so good that it suits my taste. It's delicious."
The elders of the Tutello tribe, including 'Following the Footsteps of the Past', looked at me with wonder as I spoke their language fluently.
"How did you learn the language of our tribe?"
"I learned it from the Tutello tribe when I was young."
"Honestly, I was surprised at how well you spoke our language."
"If they didn't look so different from us, we would have mistaken them for our tribe members."
"Haha! Is that so?"
Now, I'm used to this kind of situation, so I respond appropriately and have various conversations. We cleared up any misunderstandings about the welcome party, and the fruit wine we brought made the atmosphere even more cheerful.
"It's a little bitter, but it's delicious."
"It feels so good to be ticklish."
After a while, the chief of the Tutelo tribe, 'Following the Footsteps of the Past', expressed regret.
"I thought you were going to stay a few more days, but I'm so sad that you're leaving tomorrow. Since you said your schedule is busy, I can't ask for more. Okay."
"Thank you for your understanding. Next time, I will formally invite you to 'Sun of the Sky'."
"We would appreciate it if you would do so. We look forward to hearing good news."
When I politely apologized, 'Following the Footsteps of the Past' repeatedly expressed their gratitude. And after hesitating for a moment, he carefully brought up the main topic with an anxious expression.
"In fact, the reason I invited His Majesty the Emperor was to promote friendship between the 'Sun in the Sky' and our tribe."
"okay."
It was somewhat expected.
"I have heard that the 'Sun in the Sky' has many wonderful and rare items. So, I would like our tribe to trade with the 'Sun in the Sky' on a regular basis."
In fact, I heard that the Tudelo tribe was a very small tribe compared to the large territory, and was frequently invaded and plundered by the surrounding savage tribes (the Powhatan tribe) and the Cherokee tribe.
Is that why? For the safety of the tribe, the Tutello tribe would have needed strong allies to support them from the rear.
'That ally is the 'sun of the sky.'
The intention of the Toutelo tribe to promote friendly relations with the 'Sun in the Sky' through trade was clear. But from my perspective, I was so grateful that the Tutello tribe made the offer first.
No, it was very welcome.
"Understood. After consulting with the delegates, we will move forward with trade with the Tutello tribe as quickly as possible."
"thank you."
My plan was simple. Although there are no specific items that this tribe needs, the plan is to make the Tutelo tribe an economic subordinate tribe through trade in the long term.
So that we can safely absorb the Tutello tribe later.
"Do you have anything else to say?"
"that is…"
"You can speak comfortably."
'Following the footsteps of the past' met the eyes of the elders and spoke with courage.
"Yes. To be honest, there are some parts that I am cautious about. In fact, the Cherokee tribe has been hunting slaves for more than a few years. Even now, there are quite a few of our tribe members who are being held as slaves by the Cherokee tribe."
The more I listened to the story, the stranger the story seemed to be going.
"We plan to negotiate with the Cherokee even if it means going to war with them this time. And I heard from our people who were released this time that many Shawnee and Savage people belonging to the 'Sun in the Sky' were taken as slaves by the Cherokee."
"is it so?"
"yes."
"I don't know for sure whether that's true or not, but I'll look into it later."
"No matter how much you investigate, it will be true."
After that, I just listened to the words 'Following the traces of the past' with a cautious attitude. No, I had a rough idea of what the chief of the Tutelo tribe would ask for, so I was mentally organizing how I would refuse.
"So what I'm saying is, I want our people and the Sun in the Sky to work together to resolve the slavery issue against the Cherokee."
As my thoughts became somewhat organized, I just laughed inside.
'So this is why you wanted to invite me.'
However, the Tutello tribe was too hasty. Neutral now. Since we were going to meet the Cherokee tribe separately anyway, there was no need to get caught up in the problems between the two tribes.
I said it as if I was very serious.
"I understand what you are saying. However, I don't think I can make this decision on my own. As I said earlier, I would like to discuss it with the delegates and then discuss it again once we have decided what to do."
He looked very disappointed at my answer, 'Following the traces of the past.'
"Can't you decide on your own?"
"yes."
"But, you've been saying delegate, delegate, but what exactly is a delegate?"
Perhaps because he still had some regrets, 'Following the Traces of the Past' suddenly asked about the delegates.
"To put it simply, I think it would be easier to understand if you think of them as the chiefs and elders of the tribes that belong to the 'Sun in the Sky'."
"Ah! If the chiefs and elders are the representatives… I guess there's nothing I can do."
"yes."
In fact, it was a matter I could have decided on my own, but I deliberately sent a representative to reject the Tutello tribe's proposal.
However, Chief Tutelo and the elders were completely unaware of this fact. After a while, as the night deepened, I got up from my seat.
"I think it would be better to wrap things up here since we have to leave early tomorrow morning."
"We were too inconsiderate of our guests. We will show you a place to rest."
* * *
The capital of the 'sun in the sky', a 'very big' city. In the office of the chief secretary set up in the government office, 'Splendid Sunset' and 'Wide Earth', the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were having a serious conversation while looking at documents sent by His Majesty the Emperor.
"The Cherokee people are coming to visit soon… I've never heard of negotiations like this before."
Even the 'splendid sunset' seemed to be greatly shocked by the words 'vast land', with a bewildered smile on its lips.
"Trading land? I don't think I've ever thought about it either."
* * *
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Cherokee (Cherokee: ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ Aniwiyya, English: Cherokee) – lived in the Mississippi River basin from the eastern to southeastern part of the North American continent. The name Cherokee means cave people. One of the five tribes that were considered civilized by European standards. Later, the Cherokee alphabet was created using the alphabet as a reference. In fact, even before the arrival of Europeans, the Cherokee tribe attacked and enslaved people from neighboring tribes.
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Tutelo tribe - A tribe that lived in West Virginia and Kentucky Virginia. Later, they were driven out by Europeans and joined other Native American tribes, but almost became extinct as an independent tribe.