Ch. 109

“When we come of age, we leave for the city. And we have to choose between two options. Either accept a man’s culture and abandon the jungle… or abandon the man and return to the jungle.”

“Why not just bring the man back? Make him a live-in son-in-law!”

“There’s a long-standing rule that only those of our bloodline can live in the village.”

It was well known that jungle tribes were closed off from outsiders, but I hadn’t realized it was like this. Not that I’m an expert on jungle tribes.

“So you chose the latter? You left Kenta behind?”

“I did.”

“I don’t get it. You liked him enough to have his child.”

“I did like Kenta, but not as a husband. I never liked the city much either, and I always missed the jungle.”

A second shock.

“…Wait, so you didn’t come back to the jungle because you had a child—you went out from the start just to…”

“I left to find a man.”

That was a pretty R-rated thing to say.

I always thought of Anel as a predator type, if she were an animal…

Suddenly, I kind of felt sorry for Kenta. In a way, he’d just been used as part of Anel’s plan for a second generation.

You lost to the jungle, Kenta!

“On the other hand, plenty of people abandon the jungle for good. I think Annie will probably be like that.”

“Your daughter?”

“Right. Annie is very timid and gentle. I’m always worried, because the jungle just doesn’t seem to suit her.”

I was a little flustered over Anel’s relationship with Kenta and the fact that he’d been left behind with the city, but soon enough I just accepted it as someone else’s business.

As long as Anel was happy, it wasn’t my problem. Kenta was none of my concern.

I stopped walking and rummaged through my bag for the compass.

“Oh, right. Want to touch this, sister?”

We’d walked around while talking and ended up at the plaza where the feast was starting.

I needed to check off Anel on the compass before I forgot.

“That’s a strange compass. You want me to touch it?”

“Yeah, just put your hand on the screen.”

As soon as she placed her hand on the round glass above the needle, the compass needle began spinning rapidly.

Before long, it pointed in a different direction than before, as if it had found the next person.

“It’s like a magic tool.”

“It is.”

“What does it do?”

With sharp insight, Anel seemed to know this was no ordinary compass.

“It shows the person who misses me most, who’s closest to me. Pretty special, right?”

“What an amazing thing. Then it wasn’t pure coincidence we met. I was wondering how you ended up here.”

“I just followed the compass, and you were here.”

“I’ve been thinking of you a lot lately. Annie is just your age from back then. She’s very different, but…”

Whenever Anel talked about her daughter, she smiled, but there was always a hint of sadness.

Though I’d been in the village for a while, I still hadn’t seen the girl.

—

When I entered the plaza, someone placed a crown made of woven branches on my head, decorated with bird feathers and animal teeth.

“It means you’re welcome here.”

“Thank you. I like it.”

The crown smelled strongly of some unknown herb, and it actually put me in a good mood.

I adjusted the crown, making sure it sat straight, and turned my head toward the delicious smell. There was a whole goat roasting over the fire.

This was a real feast—lots of people, lots of food.

The atmosphere was so lively, it was hard to believe this tribe was supposed to be closed off to outsiders.

“I thought your people were shy with strangers?”

“They make exceptions for precious healers.”

“I’m a Spirit Mage, though…”

“I know that. Hehe.”

Will Spirit Mages ever get their proper recognition?

I looked around and sat near the bonfire.

Right away, a familiar tribeswoman ran up and greeted me—the one who’d fallen from the tree and hurt her leg, my very first patient.

“Eat!”

“Huh? What’s…”

“Alcohol!”

“I’m not good with alcohol…”

“Alcohol! Drink up!”

The tribe people all seemed to know a little of the common tongue.

They used it however they wanted, but it got the point across.

“Geenie, you can just pretend to drink. They’re so grateful, they want to give you everything.”

“Then just a little.”

At first, I meant to just pretend to sip, but the liquor was shockingly delicious.

It was sweet, tart, and smooth on the tongue.

“Oh? This is really good.”

“Isn’t it?”

Anel beamed and poured me more.

I’d never had much chance to drink, so I’d never even thought about whether I liked it or not.

I died young in my last life, and in this one, I’d been so focused on trAnnieng I forgot to age.

Now, sitting by a warm fire, sipping under the moon, I realized—I actually enjoyed it.

It struck me how long it had been since I had a moment like this.

“Whew… this is nice. This kind of thing.”

It really hit me that I was an adult now, and alive, and that made me feel both tired and satisfied.

When I got caught by Magi, I thought for sure I was dead.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“But I think I’m getting tipsy.”

“It goes down smooth, but it’s strong. Our tribe’s traditional liquor is famous for its flavor. Other tribes trade bear pelts for it.”

So it was a local specialty.

I figured I should enjoy it while I could, so I kept sipping.

“Outsider! Eat! Meat!”

“More alcohol! Pour!”

The tribe people brought me roasted goat and kept refilling my cup whenever it was empty.

They were all very interested in me.

“Everyone seems pretty good at the common tongue?”

“I teach it regularly. The world’s too big to just stay in the jungle.”

That made perfect sense.

Anel spoke the common tongue so fluently, you’d never guess she was from the jungle unless she told you.

“Really, is there anything you can’t do?”

“Oh, you flatter me.”

“But it’s true! Your sword skills are top notch… and it turns out high-ranking mercenaries are really rare and valuable.”

As a kid, I didn’t realize it, but Anellia, Kenta, and the Shavel captain were all high-ranking mercenaries.

And a high-ranking mercenary was one of only about 3,000 elites continent-wide—strong, respected, and expensive.

Thinking back, the fact that three high-ranking mercenaries protected a kid like me was something I was grateful for.

“I wrote you a letter once.”

“Did you? Where did you send it?”

“I didn’t know your address… so I asked the Mercenary Central Guild and sent it to the address for the Shavel Mercenary Corps headquarters. I put ‘For Anellia of the Shavel Mercenary Corps!’ on it. I thought, if I was lucky, it’d reach you. You never got it, right?”

Telling an old story over drinks made me feel so grown up.

“Sadly, no.”

“I figured.”

“I quit the corps less than a month after we parted. Even if the letter had reached headquarters, I wouldn’t have been there.”

There were so many inconveniences in this world.

Sending a letter took months, and it was almost guaranteed to get lost.

“But we met like this, didn’t we? If you think about how amazing that is, you should thank the gods…”

“Oh, them.”

Those damn gods.

If I had a personal god, it’d be the god of misfortune. Or maybe the god of trials!

I made a thoroughly blasphemous face and downed my drink.

Draining the cup in one shot, I actually felt a little better.

“Phew! You’ll never hear me say, ‘Oh god, thank you,’ or anything like that.”

“Did something bad happen?”

“Too many things, that’s the problem.”

Enough to write a book about.

“The reason I’m even here… Forget it. Not going there! All I know is, I’m way less devout than these jungle people.”

Most nobles were deeply religious, and the closer you were to power, the more so.

That was the way everyone was raised from childhood.

The farther from power or the city, the less devout you were likely to be.

“The gods can’t watch over everyone.”

Anel comforted me and refilled my cup.

I’d already had about five and was getting buzzed—my face was hot.

So this is what it’s like to get drunk.

My mood was all over the place.

“But still, they don’t need to dump all the bad luck on me!”

“You seem to have a lot bottled up.”

“There are exactly two people in the world I’d like to grab by the collar if I ever meet them—one is the gods, and the other…”

“The other?”

“…There is. A guy you don’t know, and I can’t stand him.”

Rovenin Fedri.

The only way to erase that guy from my head was to beat him.

Just the fact that he got under my skin this much was enough to wound my pride.

“Anyway, what’s in this drink? Can you make it in the city?”

“You like it? I suppose you could. But the recipe is a secret, so even if you know the ingredients, you can’t make it exactly the same.”

“What’s the main ingredient?”

“Fruit, detox herbs, and… the main ingredient…”

Why was she drawing it out?

Anel paused while I took another drink.

Then, when I finally lowered the cup, she smiled gently and told me.

“Snake.”

“…”

[…]

Pfft.

[Boo-hoo! I hate you, Anel!]