Thank you to everyone who gave comments and coupons! Episode 164
52. The Magical Beasts and the Treasure Trackers of the Desert – The Magical Beasts and the Treasure Trackers #2
“━. ━. ━.”
“━━.”
A night in the desert.
The people sat around the fire in pairs, dancing and singing exotic songs in a strange language.
To the rhythm of clapping hands, barefoot girls shook their bodies, their jewelry jingling. Their sheer veils billowed lightly in the evening breeze, with heavy eye makeup and raised eyebrows, complemented by enchanting emerald eyes that swept the hearts of men nearby.
Healthy, sun-kissed skin, toned bellies, and perfectly balanced arms with not a sagging bit of skin in sight distracted everyone with their smooth and at times intense movements.
“This is quite a lively festival. How long has it been since something like this happened…?”
Azidahaka sat next to me, sipping something resembling wine that people had handed over. Her tail, flopped lazily on the ground, occasionally twitched, seeming to respond to the atmosphere, which suggested she too was relieving her stress from the noise, the heat, and the intoxicating vibes.
━ Good people, indeed.
I glanced at the young men dancing with the maidens, the little children wide-eyed at the fireworks beyond them, and the elderly men smiling gently at them.
“Wow, check this out! The leather is so well perforated!”
“Isn’t it? At this rate, we’ll save a ton of time making gifts,”
I could see the maidens in the distance, stitching away with the spines they’d pulled from me, fabricating what looked like a huge carpet.
Azidahaka, who had also been quietly observing them, spoke up.
“Your spines are quite popular with the women. Quite unexpected.”
━ My spines are popular?
“No, of course, materials from Behemoth are top-notch, so it’s expected. My surprise is that the White One here is showing them some kindness.”
━ Do you take me for a cruel landlord? Even I sometimes do good deeds for others!
“Ha ha, I see.”
Azidahaka smiled softly. I subtly shifted my gaze to the stars twinkling in the night sky.
Having been reborn as a ferocious beast and rolled through a rugged life, I still felt like a product of a modern society, repeatedly taught right from wrong. It could be tiring to live life always on edge like a razor blade.
If my actions and good deeds could bring smiles and joy to someone, then maybe this whimsical kindness wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
Of course, I hadn’t had the luxury of such thoughts until recently, but now that I had found a bit of mental space, my heart began to regain a small hue of blue from its previously barren desert-like state.
‘What a remarkable bunch they were.’
I recalled the striking face of Guki, who bore the sins of Usir and Nialli, sitting alone amidst the explosion.
━ That Guki… even after being so used, he still looked after Nialli. He tried to walk a long way while bleeding profusely, carrying her on his back…
The memory of Guki’s back was still vivid in my mind. As I got lost in my thoughts, Azidahaka gently countered my ruminations.
“On one hand, I envy Nialli for being so loved. I wonder where they have gone and how far they have traveled by now…”
━ Perhaps they just walked until they dropped? The desert is unforgiving. It won’t be easy for those who have lost strength and suffered injuries to survive. It’s almost like they were sent off to d*e while walking…
“Well, even if they have rotted, Guki doesn’t strike me as the type who would just bleed out and d*e. They might have gone off to some remote place and started a family. Maybe they’ll have about a dozen kids to raise.”
Azidahaka’s tiara glimmered with a hint of red. They say the eyes hidden behind that veil could catch glimpses of fragmented futures.
━ What do you mean, a dozen kids? Are they hamsters or something? And given what they’ve done, does starting a happy family even make sense? If you do wrong, you should face the music!
“You’re right. But raising a dozen rotten daughters like Nialli wouldn’t be all sunshine and rainbows…”
━ That would indeed be challenging.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. Anyway, I too felt deeply about Usir and Guki’s selflessness. I wondered if I could do the same for someone else.
‘No, probably not.’
The kind of favors I could grant would be limited to pulling out growths from my back to hand over to pretty maidens.
“White One! Please pull out just one thin spine for me! It’s way better than a fishbone! I promise it won’t mess up the end!”
“I—I want one too! I need to make something for my trousseau… In return, I’ll give you this. This cheese is delicious!”
Pock. Pock.
━ But seriously, isn’t the popularity a bit excessive? Is there a needlework craze going on or what? What’s with everyone wanting to make something for their trousseau?
Scratching my head, I received the cheese in exchange for a needle and stuffed it into my mouth, shrugging my shoulders. The sweet, melting flavor mixed with nuts would have been perfect alongside some spicy chicken dish.
“Here’s some meringue lamb, aged in a low-temperature warehouse. If you grill it with the cheese, it’s delicious!”
The maidens who took the needles brought back heaps of meat stuck to the bones as thanks. Once grilled and topped with cheese, I took a big bite. The unexpected burst of spicy flavors was beyond anything I anticipated. Spices along with the creamy and flavorful cheese and tender meat—what a harmony it made!
【Experience points have increased.】
‘Experience points, huh. But leveling up is still a long way off.’
After reaching level 20 as an adult, it wasn’t easy to gain levels anymore.
However, having eaten all sorts of things and racked up experience points, I maintained a positive outlook, thinking I would soon demonstrate even greater strength.
“Goddess, here’s a curtain I made! Do you think it’s good enough for a decent groom?”
A dark fairy maiden brought a thick cloth and shyly held it up toward Azidahaka, hunching her shoulders.
Receiving the curtain from the dark fairy, Azidahaka cocked her head.
“Am I to judge this? My eye for fashion and critique lacks mercy, you know.”
“P-please, do tell! I need to get married this year, so… If possible, you could even point out if a good groom exists…”
“Hm, normally, I wouldn’t do this for just anyone, but…”
Azidahaka looked at the heaps of food and liquor surrounding her and shrugged, as though she had no choice.
“Very well, I will use a bit of magic. I can replenish it with jewels after eating.”
Slowly, she removed her tiara and in a cold and sharp gaze, studied the curtain with her piercing red eyes.
“It’s terrible. The stitching is messy, and the shape is crooked. But the embroidered animal is a southern desert swallow, yes? You captured the animal well—it’s round and cute.”
“N-no, it’s a Fire Dragon…! A fearsome one…”
“Indeed… with a piece like this, finding a groom will be a challenge…”
The maiden’s face fell.
“Um, let us see where you look. I shall read your love fortune.”
Azidahaka stared into the eyes of the dark fairy maiden. The twitching of Azidahaka’s eyebrows indicated that the outcome wouldn’t be good.
Even I, lacking any skill or knowledge in sewing or embroidery, could see that the curtain the young lady brought was riddled with holes and looked like nothing more than a rag.
“What—what does it say…?”
To the maiden’s question, Azidahaka lightly donned her tiara once more and spoke nonchalantly.
“On a day when clouds cover the sun and a large bird cries near the village, hold bread in your mouth and keep shouting ‘Late!’ as you circle around the corner of your house multiple times. The more hastily you run, the shorter your dress hem, the more likely you are to meet a good partner.”
━ What?! Is that a real prediction?
“Y-Yes! Thank you!”
Taken aback by the odd explanation, the dark fairy maiden repeatedly bowed her head as if she’d received the answer to a long-standing dilemma. Watching her hurry away, I couldn’t suppress my frown.
━ So is that really going to help the maiden get married?
“Well, it’s not certain, but I did give her the most probable future.”
━ So, did you also foresee a horde of suitors lining up for her?
Had the dark fairy maiden bragged to her friends about her curtain, now a group of other maidens was approaching Azidahaka, each carrying little bits of jewels and gold shards.
“Um, Azidahaka, if it’s not too much trouble, may I too…?”
“I—I have a date with a man from a neighboring tribe this year. What color should I wear…?”
As Azidahaka read their fortunes, two moons rose high above us in the sky.
━ Impressive, everyone. Why is there such a craving for marriage?
Most of what the dark fairy maidens asked was about when they would get married and who they would end up with.
Feeling a bit perplexed, I shrugged, while Azidahaka chuckled as she bit down on a shard of gold the dark fairies had given her.
“Look around you, White One. It’s all about the faces of the people.”
━ Look around?
I squinted to examine the faces of those around me.
“Don’t you notice anything strange?”
━ Strange… strange things…
I scrutinized the expressions of the young maidens, the elderly, and the children, trying to find anything unusual. The moment I felt the doubt, a lightning bolt struck through my mind.
━ The men are scarce. Here, the number of men is drastically low.
Until now, I hadn’t realized, but it dawned on me that the young males were indeed overwhelmingly outnumbered by women.
“In the desert, men typically have shorter lifespans. It’s not easy for them to hunt and protect their tribe in the harsh and barren wasteland. So, it seems men are a precious resource around here. To get married, the women have to provide a significant dowry and many gifts to the men.”
━ Ah, I see. That’s how it works in the tribes. Still, isn’t that a bit of a problem…?
I noticed a dark fairy woman in her early twenties embracing a boy of about ten from behind.
At first, I thought they might be siblings with a significant age difference, but—
“Y-young lady, not here with so many people…”
“Just be still. They’re all too drunk to see us.”
Watching the dark fairy woman’s sticky hands brushing against the boy’s body didn’t help dispel my doubts. The boy’s face turning a deeper shade of red as it rested against her ample chest made me nod in satisfaction.
━ Upon a second look, it doesn’t seem like there’s an issue here at all.
“The remaining men probably feel they could kick the bucket at any moment. They want to secure an heir as quickly as possible.”
In nations experiencing war and famine, marriageable ages tend to drop significantly. Practices like child marriage and young grooms are happening right here.
“It wasn’t always like this from the start.”
As Azidahaka and I were chatting, a voice behind us interrupted with a gentle tone, like that of a sage.
Turning to see, there stood our small village chief Abraham, sporting a white beard and leaning on a staff, with a bittersweet smile.
“This village used to be much more lively. There were far more young, robust men… Now instead of water, they brew alcoholic drinks from the desert fruits and sheep’s milk, but originally, there was ample drinking water here.”
Abraham’s eyes shimmered as he gazed into the flickering fire.
“The streams flowing from Mount Sinai, the waters of Canaan, used to be fresh and clear right here. Even the ditches and waterways are remnants from that time.”
“I’ve heard of Mount Sinai. It’s said to be imbued with miraculous and mysterious energies. I’ve even heard that when all the land to the west became a desert, the springs there never ran dry.”
Azidahaka seemed to reflect on his words and nodded slowly.
“Did the springs of Mount Sinai ever dry up?”
“Not exactly, but you could say it’s not far from the truth. We were robbed of our mountain. About 20 years ago, they took the mountain and monopolized the spring waters.”
━ And who might that be?
At my question, Abraham glanced around, checking if anyone was listening, then whispered with a low and quiet voice.
“The worshippers of Satan.”
[Author’s Note] If you enjoyed reading, please press the recommendation button at the top of the mobile screen! With just a two-second act of kindness, you can make a writer’s day! @[emailprotected]
