Ch. 108

Reverence? Yeah, right!

Those were the eyes of hunters looking at prey.

No wonder they started showing me all this excessive hospitality. The moment I arrived in the village, they ushered me straight into a tent.

“Ugh…”

“My stomach… growls… hurts…”

I just wanted to show off my skills to my sister, and suddenly, I was the village’s volunteer healer, working in some remote corner of the world.

“No! I can’t do anything about a stomachache!”

People lined up to show me their wounds, and I had to heal them with a face like I was chewing on dirt.

Most of the injuries were external: festering cuts on palms from trees, foreheads gashed down to the bone, or thighs torn open by animals.

Undaine’s magic could only heal external wounds.

They were grateful, but I had so little volunteer spirit that I wouldn’t touch it even if I was starving, so instead of feeling rewarded, all I felt was annoyance.

If you don’t want to be hurt, don’t get hurt!

Don’t come to me!

…But if I shouted that, I’d look like a psycho, so I held back.

It was true, but there was no need to broadcast it.

‘This is why the old folks said not to show off your strength too much.’

I wasn’t the only one grumbling.

“Kyahaha.”

“Rai! I told you to behave.”

[…Ugh, these tiny brats are even climbing on my head!]

“Don’t bite them. If we have more patients, it’s just more trouble for me.”

While I was unintentionally volunteering, Rai had become a plaything for the kids.

The adults were afraid of Rai and stayed away, but the kids, totally innocent, clambered all over him and rode around.

Only when I ran out of mana did I finally escape the parade of patients, and when I looked back, Rai’s fur had been braided here and there, decorated with ribbons, and even had a flower necklace.

“You look kinda cute.”

[Knock it off.]

“I mean it.”

How could a wolf have such expressive faces?

I poked Rai’s sulking, puffy cheek and stood up.

Stepping outside the tent, I found a pile of fruit and dressed meats that patients had left as thanks.

“I really hope I’m not expected to do this again tomorrow…”

That thought suddenly worried me.

Healing magic was one of the most advanced types of water magic—it took a lot of mana and was mentally exhausting.

I planned to stay in the village for a few days and wanted to keep a good relationship, but being a volunteer healer every day just wasn’t in my nature.

“Geenie!”

“Sister.”

I was munching on some fruit, starving, when Anel came back, looking really happy.

“Thanks for everything. Sorry, too.”

“It’s been a while since I did this kind of work.”

“The villagers want to throw you a feast. They’re all preparing right now. You have no idea how grateful everyone is.”

“They should be! I’m high-level talent.”

I was never a humble person.

And I was a Spirit Mage, not a healer. The villagers probably didn’t know the difference.

“We’re a closed-off people, so it’s rare to welcome outsiders like this.”

“After working me this hard, it’s only right to show some hospitality.”

“Hehe, you haven’t changed.”

“There’s meat, right?”

“Of course! But before the feast starts, let me show you around the village.”

I bit into the fruit and followed Anel.

The sun was setting, and it was the perfect time for an evening walk.

The village wasn’t that big, but it was well-organized and looked well-defended.

High walls were built here and there, and I could see watchtowers.

There were well-maintained weapons everywhere, a reminder that this was a dangerous jungle.

Even though the place seemed peaceful and calm at first glance.

“By the way, what about your daughter? Was she one of the kids playing with Rai earlier?”

“She’s very shy, so she’s hiding somewhere.”

“Hmm.”

I’d named both the snake I used to have and the wolf I had now as Rai, but Anel accepted it without surprise.

Did I really come off as someone who did everything half-heartedly?

She knows me too well!

“Oh right, I meant to ask: who’s the father?”

“I never told you?”

“You kind of said it was someone from the mercenary corps.”

She’d said she quit the mercenary corps and returned home right after we parted ways, so I figured the father was probably someone from the Shavel Mercenary Corps.

Someone I knew…

“Who do you think? It’s Kenta. You remember, right?”

“Pfft.”

The fruit I’d been eating suddenly tasted awful. I spat it out and wiped my mouth furiously.

Did she say Kenta?

[Kenta?]

“Kenta?”

Both Rai and I wanted to pretend we hadn’t heard.

My ears are for sale!

“Yeah. He was always good to you.”

“Haha, I don’t remember anyone like that.”

“Did you really erase Kenta from your memory?”

I wish I could.

He was the musclehead who loved showing off his bulky frame, always wrestling with Rai.

“Of course I remember. He’s the habitual offender who always tried to eat Rai.”

“He was a little mischievous. But snakes are meant to be eaten, Geenie.”

It was hard to argue with a jungle tribeswoman.

[…Please tell her wolves aren’t for eating.]

Rai suddenly felt a wave of terror and scurried away from Anel.

“Sister, your taste is… unique.”

It wasn’t my place to judge someone’s taste, but this was honestly shocking.

No matter how I looked at it, Anel deserved better.

Seeing my negative reaction, she just laughed quietly and brushed her hair back in the wind.

“Kenta wasn’t the greatest man in the world.”

“Glad you know.”

“He did have some pathetic sides, too.”

The sun was setting, the forest wind always rustled with the leaves, and Anel, laughing with her silver hair blowing in the wind, was so cool and strong and beautiful and radiant that I could never describe it all.

Anellia had always been like that.

Someone whose mere presence grabbed your attention, like a wild beast.

“But he really tried his best for me.”

“That’s not a good enough reason! The entire mercenary corps was obsessed with you! Even at ten, I could tell you had nothing but fans!”

“That’s true.”

In the Shavel Mercenary Corps, she was everyone’s Anellia, everyone’s ideal.

Being drawn to someone strong and beautiful must be human instinct.

All the men competed for her attention.

But she never seemed to care at all, which to my younger self was so impressive.

But still!

Out of all the men, she picked the biggest musclehead I knew! The guy whose brain was probably just more muscle! He was simple, to put it nicely, and honestly a bit dumb, so how he won her over would always be a mystery.

“But you can’t pick everyone, can you?”

“I don’t get it. Why Kenta?”

“Well, it just happened naturally. He risked his life for me like an idiot, more than once.”

“Tch, stubborn man.”

I clicked my tongue and folded my arms, and Rai nodded along enthusiastically.

She laughed loudly, then put her arm around my shoulder, drawing me close, speaking gently as if whispering.

“Geenie, do you dislike Kenta that much?”

“No matter who you bring, you’re too good for them!”

“Thank you. I’m happy you think so highly of me.”

I knew I was being childish. I just hated that Anel ended up with someone I didn’t really like.

If she brought an emperor, I’d worry that the power would make her life hard. If it was a rich guy, I’d think he was too wealthy.

Whoever she brought, she always seemed too good for them.

I was just one of her many devoted followers.

“Come to think of it, something’s strange…”

“What is it?”

“You’re here, your daughter is here, but where’s Kenta?”

“Who knows, he’s probably living his life somewhere.”

“What?”

“Kenta probably doesn’t even know he has a daughter.”

Excuse me? Sister, this is not something to laugh off!

Only then did I realize the source of my weird feeling.

Now that I thought about it, there were only women in this village.

Even among the elderly patients, only grandmothers. Even the kids playing around were all girls.

“I didn’t notice… Is your tribe all women?”

“Not exactly, but it’s a very strong matriarchal society. We raise boys, but once they’re grown, they all run away from the village.”

“Gasp.”

“Maybe because the women are so strong, there just aren’t any men left. So, to carry on the line, we go out and hunt men.”

“H-hunt?”

That was such a cultural shock, I couldn’t even speak.