TL: Zimmings
The chief who was staring at me smirked.
âWhat value is the wealth of humanity to me, child of God?â
Why did he keep talking about God?
I said, skillfully hiding my trembling.
âIt may not have been valuable before, but itâs different now.â
âWhat?â
âWhy did the Odis Academy send out new students in the battle against Kuhelm? Didnât you find that funny? They thought they could win even with newbies.â
The chief and the tribesman were enraged when I spoke ill of the tribe. The chief screamed.
âBut Odis lost the children of my fate to me!â
âYes. With the power of wealth.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âKuhelm is no match for Odis because of their resources. They always win with the power of wealth. Is it really not worth it?â
The chiefâs eyes shook.
âItâs working, his eyes are shaking.â
I didnât miss this opportunity.
âIâm the daughter of Duke Dubblede, the richest man in the continent. Do you want me to contact my family and get that wealth in return for letting me go?â
The chief burst into laughter.
âYouâre making no sense. It made me laugh. Just because we live in a recluse doesnât mean weâre clueless. The moment you contact Dubblede, I know that they will crush our tribe!â
He shouted, but I pretended to be calm and laughed.
âWhen did I ask you to contact Duke Dubblede?â
â⦠Then?â
âIâm the daughter of Duke Dubblede, the richest man in the continent, that means I know how to make wealth.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âUse me.â
There was silence in the room.
The man slowly got up after hearing my response.
âYouâre a cunning child.â
âThatâs right.â
After laughing heartily, he told the tribesmen in the room.
âThey are considered noble in Kuhelm. You shouldnât be negligent in serving them.â
âYes, Khan.â
âYesâ
The tribesmen bowed their heads.
It means that my proposal worked.
***
Emeline and Alan got up as soon as me and Mina entered the place where students gathered under the guidance of the tribesmen.
The tribesmen bowed down toward me.
âIâll prepare a meal for you. If you need anything else, please feel free to tell me.â
The Kuhelm tribesmen were suddenly polite to me. After they came out, Alan looked at me strangely.
âWhy are those barbarians so kind to you?â
âBecause I made a deal with the chief.â
âWhat?!â
He shouted and stared at me.
âA deal with the barbarians who kidnapped us? You donât have any pride? If youâre an Odis Academy student, you should have died instead of tarnishing the reputation of the school!â
âYouâre talking nonsense.â
âHuh, what?â
âAs you said, if Kuhelm is a barbarian, weâve already tarnished the schoolâs reputation by being caught. So why are you still alive?â
Alan was rendered speechless but soon shouted.
âBut I didnât have any deals with those barbarians.â
Just then, the door opened and a table full of greasy meat, fresh fruits, and grilled fish came in.
âPlease have a meal.â
It seemed that the tribal chief generously served food for me, Kuhelmâs ânobleâ.
I sat down casually and started eating.
âOh, itâs pretty tasty.â
The meat is juicy and soft, and the fish does not smell fishy at all because of its exquisite fire control. More than anything, fruits! The fruits are sweeter than those eaten in the empire.
Having starved all day, I hurriedly ate. And the students who had not had a sip of water all day gulped when they saw me.
âArenât you going to eat it?â
Alan snorted at me.
âDo you think weâll beg you like you? Right, guys?â
When he said so, he looked at the students. The students only looked back at him awkwardly. They couldnât respond to Alan, they only seemed to be very hungry.
I looked at Alan ridiculously.
âNot you.â
âWhat?â
âEmeline, come and eat. You have to be full of energy to run away or attack.â
Emeline immediately sat across from me, and answered, âYes.â
âOh, itâs delicious!â
âRight?â
We finished the meat that came out in two pieces and handed over the grease left in our mouth to the sour orange juice.
âAh, I finally think I will survive.â
Before being sent to the battlefield, I was very nervous and was dragged around, also was on the verge of fainting because I hadnât eaten yet. After I have eaten, my mind becomes clearer.
Among the students, there was some groaning and stomach growling.
âI will die before the barbarians die.â
âI havenât had a meal since yesterdayâ¦â
That was the same for Alan, he coughed and said,
âWell⦠even though itâs barbariansâ food, I canât die like this. Dying to the barbarians is a disgrace to the school. We have to fill our stomachs and wait for a chance to attack⦠We should eat food too, right?â
Alan said quietly, so I glanced at him.
âSay, âIâm sorryâ to me.â
âWhat?â
âSay that âWhat I said before is nonsense. Please share the food.'â
âYou wonât give food to your friends? Are you saying youâre going to survive alone?!â
âWho said I wonât share? I only told you to apologize.â
âI canât!â
âReally?â
I knocked on the door. Then a tribesman came in.
âDo you need anythingâ?
âI ate it all. Please put it away.â
Alanâs expression hardened. The students looked surprised and at a loss on what to do.
I said to the tribesman with an indifferent look.
âDo you have dessert too?â
Seeing me smiling brightly, Alanâs mouth was agape as if he was stunned.
After a while, the chief came to the place where we were trapped. He smiled broadly seeing me eating ice cream, a dessert given by a tribesman.
âIt seems that my people treat you well.â
âYes. They were very kind to me.â
âThen after you finish, letâs have a proper conversation.â
âOf course.â
âYou said you could make me a fortune. Youâre definitely an interesting girl. So you invented something very special and made a big contribution to Dubblede?â
My hand immediately stopped.
âItâs a story about long-distance teleportation.â
[Why did the frequency of battles decrease?
Kid, war is like chess. If we catch the king, itâs over. But we have a long-distance teleportation. It means that there is a knight in the empire who can move anywhere, anytime, no matter how many spaces.]
[They canât attack because theyâre afraid that we might capture the king of the enemy with a long-distance teleportation.]
[Yes. If we know the coordinates, we can move easily. What kind of foolish person would wage a war?]
Thatâs what Isaac said.
But of course, it will not be easy to capture the king of the enemy country.
Even if we use long distance teleportation, itâs not easy to penetrate the ultra-high level barrier.
However, it is true that it had tremendous utility in the war. Because it is not easy to spread the barrier everywhere during the war, everyone is anxious that they canât use teleportation.
âMake a long-distance teleportation scroll. Donât hesitate to give us all of your support.â
â⦠If I make it, will you get us back safely?â
âOf course.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âGive me an escort. With an escort, we can go anywhere in the village, you will give us whatever we need.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âIâll wait for your answer.â
The chief glanced back.
A large man with thick hair, who could not see because his hair covered his eyes, and a thin young man came forward.
They seemed to be escorts to be attached to me.
âRather than an escort, I think he put someone to spy on me. But thereâs nothing else I could do.â
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
âOkay so, now what?â
Odis will be in big trouble if I make the long-distance teleportation scroll.
The aftermath will also be given to Dubblede, who enjoyed power by monopolizing long-distance teleportation. But if I donât make it, I donât know what will happen to my life.
Odis was unable to save us because they did not know where their village was.
In other words, the Dubblede also canât save me because they do not know the coordinates.
âItâs not just the long-distance teleportation scroll that makes money.â
âNo, I want it.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âBecause youâre a smart kid, I believe youâll make the right choice.â
Having said that, the chief ordered the tribesmen.
âIâll make your friends work. Until you make the right choice.â
Everyone looked at me.
âYou should watch your friend working under a shade while drinking a drink.â
It means that they will treat me well, but I will feel the urge to make a quick decision while watching the students suffer.
After saying that, the chief left, and the students were headed to the quarry, guided by the other tribesmen.
âIf they even have a quarry, their village might be bigger than I expected.â
The students had to work under the surveillance of the tribesmen.
Some with weak physical strength nearly fainted. After seeing that, Mina told the tribesmen.
âGive them some rest.â
âThe chief ordered you to work.â
âIf we stay like this, we will die.â
âThe chief-â
âI am!â
Mina bit her lips and stared at the man.
âArenât I the bride candidate for the chief? I could be his bride, but you easily reject my request?â
ââ¦â¦.â
âAlso, if you give us a little bit of time, the ânobleâ will be satisfied, right? Right, Leblaine?â
When I didnât answer, the young man clicked his tongue and declared.
âTen minutes to rest!â
Only then did the students sighed with relief and collapsed one by one.
Alan, who was the first to fall, stared at me and said,
âAs expected of Mina. Itâs different from âyou know who.'â
I got up and ignored him casually.
âWhere are you going?â
âThe bathroom. Emeline, letâs go together.â
âWhy does she have to go with you?â
âBecause sheâs my close friend. I want to drink water.â
ââ¦â¦ Heâll escort you. Hey.ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
When the thin man gestured at the bushy-haired man, he followed me without any qualms. Emeline whispered to me, glancing at the bushy-haired man that was following them.
âShall we run away? He looked foolish.â
âLook at that manâs hand.â
He had a wounded hand full of calluses. Seeing his hand, Emelineâs brows narrowed, and I continued.
âItâs the hands of a killer. Dubbledeâs Irie also has that kind of hand. I think heâs the strongest one in this tribeâ¦â¦.â
âWell, there must be a reason why the chief attached him to you. What are you going to do now?
âDid you forget our assignment?â
âAssignmentâ¦?â
I replied with a chuckle and smiled.
âIsnât the freshmanâs task âfind the enemyâs relicsâ?â
Now it was time to go to work.
Emeline said, sticking her tongue out.
âYou reallyâ¦â
I immediately changed my expression and was about to say something to the man.
âExcuse me, Iâ¦â
âC-chick⦠chickâ¦â
What?
The man muttered with a disheveled face, and I narrowed my eyes.
âDid he have a low intelligence by any chance?â
âC-chick, chick finally, weâ¦â
âDo you know me?â
âLittle c-chickâ¦â
âWho are you?â
âHello chick, chickâ¦â
I felt a strange sense of dread.
âLooking at it now, I think I saw him somewhere⦠Did we meet in my previous life?â
Itâs not a face that I remember clearly though.
When I tilted my head, the man came closer to me.
âChick, I know you. Me, Sourire. Chick, we met⦠in heaven.â
What?!