230 – Zzi #4
“It’s nice to meet everyone…! This Inoi is Inoi…! It’s been over a month since I’ve seen all of you, so I was quite worried, but now I’m very pleased to see everyone again…!”
Inoi was wearing a dress made from leopard skin.
She looked like a completely wild nymph.
Apparently, she had survived for an entire month in this dense jungle filled with vines, insects, and strange animals.
“A month? We’ve only been adrift for five days?”
Lee Jin-A asked, clearly confused.
At this, Seo Ye-rim smirked and clicked her tongue.
“That’s why you young ones don’t know anything. Cracks like this sometimes have what’s called the Ribbon Theory, where time flows differently. Cracks generally experience slower time. And places like these double cracks are even more extreme.”
That’s true.
I knew the story, but it sounded more profound when Seo Ye-rim said it. I guess it’s because I come from a fieldwork background, so I don’t really understand the theory stuff well.
“Well, come on…! I wish to guide everyone with the Leaf Tribe…! It’s not too far from here…!”
Huff, huff…!
Inoi and Kalilnoi spun around me in circles. It was a dance of joy for the nymphs. I felt extremely happy and found myself smiling warmly.
Yeah.
My life should have nymphs in it. It’s a relief to see that Inoi, Kalilnoi, Coris, Illinois, and others are all safe and doing well.
With that feeling, we arrived at some kind of “tribe.”
I called it a tribe because it literally was one.
There were women wearing clothes made of teeth, bones, and leather, gathered in huts and tents, starting fires and chatting about something. The moment we arrived, they pointed spears at us and frowned.
“—!”
“—!”
“—!”
I don’t know what they were saying, but it wasn’t friendly.
Local inhabitants within the crack, maybe?
These were like the elves we’d seen.
Why are there only women here?
Most were muscular with striking bronze skin. There were also a few with pale skin, but generally, they exuded a robust and healthy vibe.
Did the men all go hunting or something?
Soon, Inoi spoke.
“The Amazoness Tribe needs recognition from Chief Amazoness to enter the village…! If we head to the square, the chief will be there…!”
Swish.
Inoi pointed somewhere, and sitting there was someone. With a feather-decorated hat and face painted white like an Indian warrior, Seo Ye-rim looked surprised when she saw the face.
“Illinois…?”
“Is this Illinois sitting in the chief’s position a surprise? This Illinois was a miracle nymph who once served as the chief of the Illinois Indian Tribe!”
The tribal chief was Illinois.
It was surprising.
Truly, a miracle nymph, huh?
On Illinois’s shoulder sat Ahn Ahn, the Emperor Ant.
—Zzi…!
Whooom.
Ahn Ahn flew toward my shoulder and clung to me.
The tribe’s women were greatly astonished when they saw this.
“Zz…Zzi…!?”
“Zzi…!”
“Zzi…!”
The women spoke like worker ants.
Zzi.
I’m not sure what it meant, but it seemed important.
Are they calling me Zzi?
They removed Illinois’s feather headdress and placed it on my head.
“Zzi…!”
“Zzi…!”
Of course, Illinois frowned and shouted in the situation.
“What the Olympus…! What sort of coup is this? This Illinois’s term as chief was supposed to last five years! This unilateral impeachment is an insult to this Illinois…! Call me a lawyer immediately…!”
Regardless of Illinois’s screaming, the women lifted me up and sat me on a high chair.
I’m not sure, but it felt like they were installing me as their chief.
Why?
Could it be because Ahn Ahn follows me?
At this sight, Inoi commented.
“Excluding Heracles, in the Amazoness tribe, the only men ever welcomed like this are the owners of the houses…! Even this Inoi feels extremely surprised…”
She looked shocked, her hands pressing on her cheeks.
Soon, Seo Ye-rim, who had been observing, asked.
“Amazoness…?”
“Of course! They’re the Amazoness tribe from the Demoskira Archipelago…! They are hunting women who hunt all sorts of monsters and men…”
Amazoness.
I had heard of them before.
Why, in myths or movies, there’s a tribe made up of beautiful female warriors, right? It was a dream-like tribe to men, and I never thought I’d actually encounter it in real life!
“Ahh-! Young Core Jin-A has arrived! I, Core, am extremely glad to see Young Core Jin-A!”
Pop.
At that moment, Core burst out from inside the tent and ran into Lee Jin-A’s arms.
Core pulling Lee Jin-A into a tight embrace was a very touching scene, and I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
“So, let’s dance to celebrate this reunion!”
“That’s very good!”
“Of course! Let’s dance…!”
Doong-chit, doong-chit, doong-chit—
The nymphs began to dance. Following their movements, the hunters and warriors joined in with them. I couldn’t help but laugh at this wonderful sight.
Then, white-skinned women approached me wearing bone helmets and handed me a cup of wine made of bones. It seemed like grape wine, and it tasted great.
“—”
Women said something.
Lee Jin-A couldn’t understand their conversation but could faintly make out that they were asking her to change clothes.
The armor was made of bones and leather, revealing the stomach and thighs.
“This looks like something straight out of Monster Hunter. These materials don’t seem ordinary. They’re sturdy.”
Lee Jin-A smiled while changing clothes. The Amazoness women seemed subtly friendly toward her.
Did they sense some kind of kinship?
While they were somewhat friendly toward Yu Ara, they whispered and avoided approaching Seo Ye-rim closely. They didn’t even give her clothes to change into.
“What? What is it? Exactly what’s the problem? Why are you saying things only to me?”
“Muh-heh, Core Ye-rim, if you think about it, you’re closer to a witch than a warrior…! The Amazoness tribe worships strength, so Core Ye-rim is more of an outsider to be wary of…!”
It seemed that was the case.
Seo Ye-rim didn’t like this place.
She found these women very suspicious.
Swish.
Seo Ye-rim looked towards the village square where a large campfire was blazing and various women were dancing in circles. In the distance, she could see Haildo watching in amazement.
‘That guy, is he gawking because there are so many women here?’
Actually, Haildo wasn’t gawking.
He was simply marveling at the fact that he’d met new people deep within the crack, but Seo Ye-rim saw this as him being surrounded by women.
“Guys, it’s best to leave this place as soon as possible.”
Seo Ye-rim wanted to take Haildo and escape from here.
It was because the women who were looking at Haildo had suspicious expressions.
“Zzi…”
“Zzi…”
They were calling Haildo “Zzi.” Seo Ye-rim didn’t know what it meant, but she had a bad feeling.
Soon, Illinois laughed.
“No one can leave the tribe until the wedding ceremony is over…! The wedding ceremony will end tomorrow…!”
Wedding ceremony.
It meant marriage.
Yu Ara, who was busy untying Nymph Morales tied to a pole, asked.
“A wedding? What kind of wedding?”
“Muh-heh, now that men have entered the Amazoness tribe, which had long been trapped in the crack facing extinction, of course, we’ll need to hold a marriage…! It’s going to be a mess…!”
Morales was the nymph who loved stirring up trouble. The prospect of things getting more exciting had her wiping her hands in anticipation when suddenly, Inoi raised a hand and shouted.
“It’s clear that Troublemaker hasn’t been cleansed properly yet! Let’s beat Troublemaker, all of my nymph sisters!”
Du-du-du-du-du!
With a shriek of “Heekk…!”, Troublemaker Morales quickly hid behind Kalilnoi. Kalilnoi, who had been dozing off, woke up and gently pushed the nymphs trying to hit Troublemaker away with her large wings.
Kalilnoi was the adult nymph after all.
Mediating between smaller nymphs was always the role of the elder nymphs.
From behind Kalilnoi, Morales said:
“Muh-heh, hitting this Morales is now impossible…! It’s meaningless…!”
In the midst of this chaos, Lee Jin-A shouted in surprise.
“A wedding? Is Haildo getting married? To whom?”
“As far as this Inoi knows, according to Amazonian tradition, the strongest warrior gets the right to choose the man first! There’s going to be a tournament to decide who the best warrior is…!”
“What? How do we participate in that tournament?”
“That is only possible for the tribe members…!”
Inoi was knowledgeable about various tribes and ethnic groups of Greece due to lessons from her master.
Soon Core added.
“Young unmarried women can apply for asylum as a tribe member! If you prove your strength, you can join as a tribal member and participate in the tournament…!”
Prove strength—
At this, Ye-rim’s ears perked up.
Although not openly, Yu Ara and Lee Jin-A exchanged sharp glances while considering the proposition.
I like women who laugh heartily at my jokes, but I admire those who are independent, proactive, and dedicated to their work.
In that sense, the women here in this tribe seemed mostly independent and amazing women. They were all healthy beauties, and their personalities seemed good too.
“—”
“—?”
“I’m not sure what they’re saying, but I’m glad to meet you. I’m the legendary Legend Haildo. Some people also call me Haildo the Squirrel Beast.”
Looking at the smiling women beside me, I thought:
If I rescue these women from the crack and take them to Korea, they’d surely spark a huge interest just like when the elves were first discovered.
Also, it seems like they struggle with a serious low birthrate problem here as an all-female tribe. Korea faces a similar issue, so this could be a win-win situation.
“That way, my fame will spread across the world instantly.”
Heh-heh…
Just imagining it made me laugh.
When I laughed, the women around me laughed warmly too.
“…!”
I was shocked!
Even when I didn’t make a joke, they laughed…!?
Is this heaven…!?
There’s a place like this in the world…!!!!
“Have you eaten an orange recently?”
Hahaha-hee-hee…!
No matter what I said, bursts of laughter erupted everywhere.
I was so moved that I felt like crying.
Swish.
At that moment, a woman appeared, wearing a bronze sword and a tight leather armor. When she showed up, the women laughing around me took a step back, and their laughter abruptly stopped.
There was a sense of fear.
She had rosy hair and a striking face with strong features, giving off a powerful vibe. She looked like a South American movie star.
Was she the head of the guards here?
“I am Rose, Deputy Chief. I fought in the Trojan War as a silver-rated warrior alongside my sisters and distinguished myself. You’re Haildo of the strange realm, right? I’ve never seen a man so well followed by nymphs or one who controls the honey ants. You must not be an evildoer.”
“You… understand my language…?”
“I know it’s surprising, but we have sorcerers here capable of language magic. The problem is something else. After the ‘collapse,’ we’ve been unable to leave this land. That’s our issue.”
“I see.”
Through the precedent of the elves, I somewhat understood the plight of species enduring life in these cracks.
Could we save them, just like how we saved the elves?
Thinking this, Rose, with her rose-like red mane, slammed her sword into the ground solemnly.
“Nobody escapes this island. Since you, Hero Haildo, have appeared after a hundred years, you must take the responsibility of impregnating all of us. If you refuse, you’ll be executed under the ‘No-Male’ law, or we’ll leave you alive just enough to suffer the consequences.”
What—!?
I felt dizzy at her words…!
